Master Index of Archived Threads


The College Search (Revisited)

ScarletKnight41 Aug 31 2006 09:32 PM

Does anyone know anything about Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh? They have a B.A. in Creative Writing that looks intriguing.

Willets Point Aug 31 2006 09:38 PM

Very prestigious. John Nash - and his imaginary roomate, I guess - went there.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 31 2006 09:43 PM

No - Dr. Nash went to Princeton.

Willets Point Aug 31 2006 09:45 PM

For his PhD. Undergrad & Grad were at Carnegie-Mellon.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 31 2006 09:52 PM

OK, but the imaginary roomie was at Princeton (at least in the movie).

Willets Point Aug 31 2006 10:37 PM

I bet Princeton is proud to have such a prestigous alum but pissed that he never gives to the alumni association (geez, do you have to split hairs and ruin a good joke). Anyhow, the imaginary roommate is completely imagined by Hollywood because the real John Nash only had auditory not visual hallucinations. I thought that our Frank Thomas had some affiliation with Carnegie-Mellon but I checked his book and there's no mention in the index.

cooby Sep 01 2006 01:37 PM

My son's room is a wonderland of college brochures and mailings. You are welcome to come rummage around. Be careful, though, you may break an ankle.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 01 2006 01:46 PM

We have a similar debris field here (I'm thinking of taking out a restraining order against Roanoke - they have killed a forest on what they have sent to my daughter, and we have no idea why they are so persistent. We have never contacted them at all). The reason I'm interested in accounts of Carnegie Mellon is that it is a latecomer to this discussion, and I'm not sure that we'll have a chance to visit before it's time to make a choice about an early decision school. Up until now NYU has been the Early Decision choice, but we started researching Carnegie Mellon and their Creative Writing program seems like a very good choice for Impulse2 (it includes courses in screenwriting and playwriting). I'm hoping to get some more information so we can decide whether it's still a good idea to apply early decision to NYU. Even if we don't visit, Carnegie Mellon is having an information session in our area at the end of September. We're definitely going to attend, and ask a lot of questions. Impulse2 is also interested in American University, but she's not planning to submit an early decision application there (it was a close call for her between American and NYU). We visited back in July, and we were very impressed with the school and its programs. Bard, Barnard and TCNJ are rounding out the list of schools that are in the application mix at the moment.

Willets Point Sep 01 2006 01:52 PM

The Mets are playing at Pittsburgh Sept. 15-17. What better time to visit!

cooby Sep 01 2006 01:57 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: We have a similar debris field here (I'm thinking of taking out a restraining order against Roanoke - they have killed a forest on what they have sent to my daughter, and we have no idea why they are so persistent. We have never contacted them at all). . We had a similar phase with Arcadia

Willets Point Sep 01 2006 02:01 PM

This Indiana institution started a regular one-way correspondence of fliers, programs, and catalogs to me starting around the beginning of my sophomore year and not letting up until I finally left for college. I never knew why they wanted me so bad.

seawolf17 Sep 01 2006 02:15 PM

St. John's had me on their list with my name spelled three different ways, so I got three copies of everything. It drove me nuts.

Willets Point Sep 01 2006 02:16 PM

Shakira Shakeera Shake Kira

Edgy DC Sep 01 2006 02:21 PM

Chiquita.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 01 2006 02:29 PM

Willets Point wrote: The Mets are playing at Pittsburgh Sept. 15-17. What better time to visit! I thought of that. But D-Dad and MK have a Cub Scout sleepover that weekend, and the six-hour drive to Pittsburgh is too much for me to handle.

Willets Point Sep 01 2006 02:30 PM

I'd drive you but my anniversary is that weekend.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 01 2006 02:35 PM

You and your damn priorities Willets. Bring Ms. Tiger along! I spent my first anniversary at a ballgame (although, admittedly, I didn't have two hangers on along for the ride).

ScarletKnight41 Sep 01 2006 04:25 PM

Well, it seems like there isn't the urgency about this that I thought. NYU is still her first choice, so she'll submit an early decision application there. Carnegie Mellon is in the second division running, along with American.

sharpie Sep 01 2006 06:04 PM

We've also been going on college tours. Bard is contender in my house, too. She was turned off to American University because the tourguide was a nerdy conservative Christian. These are the things on which decisions are made.

KC Sep 01 2006 06:44 PM

sh: >>>She was turned off to American University because the tourguide was a nerdy conservative Christian. These are the things on which decisions are made.<<< Cal I've always admired your online contributions to the forums over the years, but I think that's a pretty bigoted statement. Turn the tables for a moment and think how you might feel if someone posted that they wouldn't do something because, "stereotypical adjective stereotypical adjective whatever ethnicity/religion appeals to you" was involved? Smelly stuff.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 01 2006 06:58 PM

Well, I do understand the concept that a high school senior can be turned on/off to a school in large part based on whether he/she can relate to the guide. At NYU and American we had guides to whom Impulse2 could relate very well. She didn't connect as well to our Barnard tour guide - I don't think she has totally prioritized based on that, but I'm sure it was a factor.

KC Sep 01 2006 07:19 PM

There's a big difference between being turned off by someone and keeping the reasons to yourself and saying it was because the person was a stereo- type adjective stereotype adjective ethnic/religious individual. Like I said, picture the shoe on the other foot and how you'd feel reading it. Scarlet, you'd be outraged.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 01 2006 07:26 PM

Perhaps it's the fact that I have been going through this process with a less than easygoing teenager that makes me sympathetic to what sharpie said rather than the way that he expressed it.

KC Sep 01 2006 07:30 PM

Perhaps. Or perhaps you don't want to admit that if I made a remark about your ethnicity you'd be so understanding. I shouldn't even say I, I should say someone, you're stuck with me - like it or not. The whole double standard bullcrap goes against everything we've been taught since grade school imo.

Rockin' Doc Sep 01 2006 07:33 PM

I agree with KC's take on this point. I'll use a broad stereotypical example for illustration. For instance, if Cal had instead said that his daughter had been turned off during her visit to American University because her guide was a rich, spoiled Jewish girl, then you would have every right to be offended by the inappropriateness of such a remark. To me, part of the college experience was to meet and interact with others that share different characteristics, experiences, and beliefs than myself.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 01 2006 07:37 PM

You know what Kase - you did make remarks last week that didn't sit well with me. Your lack of understanding of the meaning to Jewish fans to have someone like Shawn Green on the Mets was pretty dense, IMO. But I understand where you were coming from, and that your intentions were good at their core. I know you didn't mean to be blithe. Knowing sharpie online as long as I have, I'm reasonably sure he didn't mean to be insulting. We can all choose to jump down each other's throats if we want to. Or we can take a breath and try to look at what was meant rather than how it was said.

KC Sep 01 2006 08:01 PM

My being dense about Green was somewhat intentional, I figured you figured that out. I don't think that fans desire for player X over player Y to be obtained based on bbbyyy is appropirate and I find it a turn off. We've done that. I stand by my opinion that, for example, if someone made a public statement to something that hit home with you you'd be outraged. Rockin' makes a fine example, if I uttered something like that online there would be some heads spin- ning for sure and you can't deny that looking me straight in the eyes. I'm gonna have to hit the conservative christians up for some cash, I don't even like the bastards. Oooops, that wasn't nice either.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 01 2006 08:19 PM

There's a line between arguing that someone should be obtained because of bbbyyy and for those in the bbbyyy to celebrate when one of their own joins the team. Throwing water on the celebration was unnecessary. And, back to the original topic, someone giving a tour of a nonsectarian institution should be concentrating on the school, not on his/her own religious teachings. I have no idea about the religions of the guides on the school tours that we took over the summer, and that's how it should be. If one of those guides was emphasizing one religion over others at that school, I'd get a bad taste in my mouth. RD is correct - part of the college experience is getting exposed to all sorts of different groups. I live in a township with an amazing number of cultures, and we are very glad that our kids are growing up with classmates of all sorts of backgrounds. But there is a time and a place for everything. A college tour of a nonsectarian university isn't a place for a guide to push individual agendas.

metirish Sep 01 2006 08:21 PM

Just don't go to Bob Jones University. http://www.bju.edu/

KC Sep 01 2006 08:23 PM

SK: >>>A college tour of a nonsectarian university isn't a place for a guide to push individual agendas.<<< Keep dancing ... he didn't say that. He commented on the guide. Bigoted.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 01 2006 08:33 PM

But how would he know about the guide if the guide wasn't acting in a way that was pushing his/her religion? And yes Irish - Bob Jones U. isn't on our list, for obvious reasons.

jerseyshore Sep 02 2006 12:31 AM

ahhh...the college search. i remember being amazed at the ones to which my daughter applied..11 in all Lafayette, Boston College, NYU, USC, University of SanFrancisco, University of Washington, University of San Diego, University of Virginia, University of Seattle, University of New Mexico, University of Rochester.....i tried and tried to figure out what was the common thread that made her apply to those schools, which ALL seemed so different....She was accepted at all and the final choice came down to NYU, USC or San Francisco....she picked San Fran, which would NOT have been my choice.....its just hard to get inside their heads and know what turns them on about a certain school.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 02 2006 09:04 AM

That's a pretty far flung group of schools JS. Was she looking for a particular academic program? Or something else very specific that those schools all had? In my daughter's case, she wants a school that has musical theater performance options (preferably with some study involved). She would also like to take up fencing again. That has narrowed down the search tremendously.

jerseyshore Sep 03 2006 02:17 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: That's a pretty far flung group of schools JS. Was she looking for a particular academic program? Or something else very specific that those schools all had? In my daughter's case, she wants a school that has musical theater performance options (preferably with some study involved). She would also like to take up fencing again. That has narrowed down the search tremendously. my girls was, I think, looking for a smaller school within a big city. I had made a deal with both my daughters...they graduated with 4.0's and I'd pay for any college they wanted to go to...their job was to get the grades mine was to pay...the older one was kind, as far as scholarships...from low to high USC offered bout 10% of the bill, NYU about 35% and SanFrancisco gave her what amounts to abot 70% of the entire cost. But for the most part, I pretty much stayed out of the process...

sharpie Sep 03 2006 05:56 PM

Just looked back. Didn't realize I started a controversy. The guide spent time on the tour talking about his personal religious and political beliefs which I think is inappropriate no matter what his views or beliefs are. I was making the point that my daughter was turned off because of what he was stressing and extrapolated that into feeling that that was how life would be at American University. My larger point was that the guides that schools use have too great an influence on the prospective student and that schools should pay attention to whom they use. I have conservative Christians in my immediate family, Kase, and I love them dearly and your saying that I'm some kind of bigot because my daughter was turned off to a school by a sermonizing college guide is off base. Maybe I was flip and didn't go on to explain myself as fully as I should have but your characterization of me is, frankly, pretty outrageous. Had the guide been a leftist atheist and pushed his agenda that would have probably also influenced how she felt about the school.

KC Sep 03 2006 09:12 PM

Yes, I should have just made a simple questioning comment and waited for you to respond. Instead I carried on here and in a twenty-page-email-steel-caged squared-circle-death-match email exchange with Mrs. Fields. I apologize calsharpie.

Johnny Dickshot Sep 03 2006 10:48 PM

That guide was probably going after the 'rents and not the kids. I wound up at the school I went to in part because a recruiter at college day was slick and won over my mom. After all, he could take one look at me and realize I wasn't gonna be paying for it. This was remarked on before, but I had absolutely no clue what I was looking for and zero strategy when I was making this decision 20 years ago. Today it seems everyone has a grand design. Whatever happened to being clueless?

sharpie Sep 04 2006 04:18 PM

Apology accepted, Kase. As far as cluelessness, I think most kids are still pretty clueless, judging from my daughter (and how the guide factors so much into her thinking). It is the parents that have grand strategies, mostly. Friends of mine who just dropped their daughter off at Penn talked about how freaked out some parents got when the kids went off with someone from the college to make up their schedules and that they would have no impact on it whatsoever. One particularly obstreperous parent was apparently told that they could pay for it but otherwise they should just shut up.

Edgy DC Sep 04 2006 05:10 PM

I rode a bus to New York with a recent American University grad that made me wish I was 23 again. Instinct says don't talk to pretty young ladies on busses, but, after the horriffic movie ended, she chatted me up. Uuh-huh. Searching for non-lecherous conversation, I mentioned I knew a young lady investigating their performing arts program. She offered that the recent graduates she knows from AU's fine arts and performing arts programs are happy and gainfully employed. She also said that their new performing arts center is the envy of other departments in the school and the performing arts departments of other area schools. So that's a recommendation. It's murder sucking in your gut for six hours.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 04 2006 06:09 PM

We toured the Katzen Center - it's gorgeous. The woman who interviewed Impulse2 suggested that we walk over and take a look at the place. I stuck my head into an office there, and a nice young woman told us that they didn't have any official tours scheduled, but she took it upon herself to show us around. The place had fabulous acoustics, and Impulse2 was quite impressed. BTW, there's a very interesting art museum housed in that building - you and Cha should check it out the next time that you're in that part of town.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 05 2006 11:33 AM

Vic Sage Sep 05 2006 11:37 AM

Carnegie-Mellon has one of the most prestigious performing arts programs in the country, for what that's worth. My mother-in-law graduated from there 50+ years ago, but i'm sure the school has a nicer group of students by now.

MFS62 Sep 05 2006 11:38 AM

Scarlett, how many letters have you received so far from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland? When my girls were looking, they got about one per week. And their message of "no student turned away for financial reasons" was sure tempting. Later

Valadius Sep 05 2006 11:39 AM

A family friend toured Carnegie Mellon last year for performing arts, and said that they were boasting that Haley Joel Osment was going to be there this fall. When she moved into her dorm at NYU last week, she found Haley Joel Osment living on her floor.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 05 2006 12:09 PM

MFS62 wrote: Scarlett, how many letters have you received so far from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland? When my girls were looking, they got about one per week. Tons. Almost as much as Roanoake.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 05 2006 12:11 PM

Vic Sage wrote: Carnegie-Mellon has one of the most prestigious performing arts programs in the country, for what that's worth. It's worth a lot. Thanks Vic.

Rockin' Doc Sep 05 2006 07:01 PM

One of the ophthalmologists in our office did his undergraduate studies at Case Western Reserve University.

metirish Sep 18 2006 12:57 PM

[url=http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lifood0918,0,1124642.story?coll=ny-main-bigpix]What Do You Think About This?[/url]

Rockin' Doc Sep 18 2006 01:14 PM

It sounds as if the food vendor for the college has tried to accomodate him, to a greater degree than I would have probably expected, and the student still isn't satisfied. At this point, I think the school has done all that should be expected of them. If the school food service vendors can't supply meals to his satisfaction, let him fix or go out to purchase his own. Then, if he still wishes to continue his hunger strike, I say give him a prorated refund for the remainder of the food plan he had purchsed, a case of bottled water and some organic multivitamins.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 18 2006 01:30 PM

I agree with RD. The school and food vendor have made reasonable attempts to accommodate the studen't religious beliefs. If those attempts are still not good enough for him, then it's up to the student to find foods that satisfy his restrictive diet.

Willets Point Sep 18 2006 01:35 PM

Mr. Met looks sad. :(

soupcan Sep 18 2006 01:47 PM

Was he not accepted to his college of choice?

ScarletKnight41 Sep 18 2006 01:48 PM

Is Mr. Met applying to college?

Willets Point Sep 18 2006 01:49 PM

Tangetal material on the same page as that article.

metirish Sep 18 2006 01:50 PM

Is Mr.Met a muslim?

ScarletKnight41 Sep 18 2006 01:50 PM

The Pope's apology to Muslims? Quite a stretch, IMO.

cooby Sep 18 2006 02:00 PM

I sent Mr. cooby that picture to brighten his day. He doesn't like Mr. Met :(

seawolf17 Sep 18 2006 02:40 PM

Rockin' Doc wrote: It sounds as if the food vendor for the college has tried to accomodate him, to a greater degree than I would have probably expected, and the student still isn't satisfied. At this point, I think the school has done all that should be expected of them. If the school food service vendors can't supply meals to his satisfaction, let him fix or go out to purchase his own. Then, if he still wishes to continue his hunger strike, I say give him a prorated refund for the remainder of the food plan he had purchsed, a case of bottled water and some organic multivitamins. It looks like the school has done everything it can do, legally. They've offered him options, and he's rejected them. If he wants to go on a hunger strike, let him; he's a moron.

cooby Sep 18 2006 02:42 PM

I'll bet they've got some organic spinach around they could offer him

Rotblatt Sep 18 2006 03:01 PM

cooby wrote: I'll bet they've got some organic spinach around they could offer him Hah! That actually made me laugh out loud. Very nice, cooby!

ScarletKnight41 Sep 18 2006 03:09 PM

]He didn't like a university suggestion that he move from his current dorm, where all his friends are, to a more expensive apartment-style dormitory that had full kitchen facilities where he could prepare his own meals, and would not be required to be on the meal plan. This shows that the student is full of crap. If his religious food requirements were really so important to him, then he would live with the inconvenience of not being in the same dorm as all his friends (all of his friends are in one dorm? He doesn't sound like Mr. Popularity, does he?).

cooby Sep 18 2006 03:15 PM

If he's on a budget, and most college kids (most college parents) are, the words "more expensive" might have something to do with it

Willets Point Sep 18 2006 03:24 PM

Is he required to be on meal plan? At my college all freshmen were required to be on the full meal plan which was a waste because I know most students didn't want to eat every single meal at the cafeteria. I think sophomore year we could chose the size of the meal plan (# of meals per week) and Junior/Senior year were finally able to opt out completely if so desired. It pissed me off not to have a choice although I guess to give the benefit of the doubt they made it required for a good reason (concerns of nutrition for young adults away from family for first time, keeping costs lower for everyone). More likely the catering service worked into the contract and the college passed the costs on to the students.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 18 2006 03:31 PM

Apparently in his current dorm he is required to be on the meal plan, but he wouldn't be in the apartment style dorm (which would cut against the expense of the dorm).

seawolf17 Sep 18 2006 03:34 PM

At least in NY, I believe state law requires all students who live on campus to purchase a meal plan of some kind. We have a lot of flexible meal plans (kosher, commuter, apartment, etc.) based on the varied types of students we have on campus. Our apartment folks aren't required to purchase meal plans, but many do buy small ones.

cooby Sep 18 2006 03:36 PM

Meal plans are the way to go. For one thing, it's flexible, so if you start running out of money, your parents can add more to your account. For another thing, most of those dining halls are open late so your kid can go eat and you don't have to worry about them needing cash to go to the convenience store and buying junk to eat. I don't know about the other schools but at Penn State it was ala carte and my daughter made many a meal out of a couple of bowls of cereal.

cooby Sep 18 2006 03:39 PM

Oh, and although she lived in an apartment off campus for her last two years, we still bought her a plan because after all, she was on campus most of the day except while student teaching. I don't think they were required for any particular year. They're really well worth it.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 30 2006 01:05 PM

Here are a couple of quick updates - 1) NYU is definitely the Early Decision choice. The application is in. The fingers will remain crossed through mid-December; 2) I was at MK's Fall Ball game last night, talking to another mother of a high school senior while we were in the stands. She made the comment, "It's amazing how much influence the tour guide had on my daughter's decision. She is totally turned off of xxxxx College because she had a rude tour guide." I told her that I concurred that the tour guides do have a lot of influence on the process.

Willets Point Oct 31 2006 05:45 PM

Are you still searching? I don't want to get my hand slapped for archiving this again.

cooby Oct 31 2006 06:27 PM

I got home from work to find a note from my son saying that there is an Army Reserve recruiter coming to visit us tomorrow night

seawolf17 Oct 31 2006 07:00 PM

Uh oh. I have nothing against our armed forces per se, but their recruiters are shady as hell. Lock the doors and turn off the lights.

cooby Oct 31 2006 08:20 PM

I think my son made the appointment. Then left me a note and left for work.

cooby Nov 01 2006 11:06 AM

Nobody I've talked to is giving me a good feeling about this...

cooby Nov 02 2006 10:09 AM

Whew....son is still a civilian

ScarletKnight41 Nov 02 2006 10:25 AM

Good. Did you have to lock the doors and shut the lights?

cooby Nov 02 2006 10:45 AM

We might have to from now on... When they left my son said "please don't let them come back, all they did was feed me propaganda". Which I guess was what they were supposed to do. And all he really wanted was a little information to cover all his options in the coming year. Offered him a ton of money for college, and told him maybe he could get a job as a guitar player in the Army Band! But my son is a pretty smart kid and he realizes there's just a little more to it than that...

ScarletKnight41 Nov 02 2006 11:00 AM

Good for him - he seems to have a good read on the situation.

cooby Nov 02 2006 02:57 PM

I just hope he can fend them off when they see him in the hall at school. I think that's how this all got started

Farmer Ted Nov 02 2006 03:44 PM

I spent six years in the reserves, bored out of my mind. I think I would have had a better expereince had I enlisted in the regular army for two or three years. Decent benefits--they paid off a chunk of my student loans while serving plus I got the VA loan for my mortgage.

cooby Nov 02 2006 03:57 PM

Farmer Ted, they promised to put my son through our local college (you know the one) for nothing

Johnny Dickshot Nov 02 2006 04:10 PM

The Navy recruiter who finagled a meeting with me as a HS student was so slickly seductive, and I was so clueless, I nearly took the bait. Dad told me that night the military put their sharpest people in the recruiting office and said the service was a great place to go "if you want someone else to run your life."

cooby Nov 02 2006 04:21 PM

These two were good, plus they dropped names of kids they'd signed up; I'm sure so it would sound more like the thing to do. Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing. But 17 years old is very very young to be making such a major decision and I think a hard sell to a kid that age is not entirely honorable. Plus I think, except the action, my son would hate the military life.

Yancy Street Gang Nov 02 2006 04:45 PM

I'm sorry to say this, but I'd do everything I could to prevent my son or daughter from enlisting. I don't think my son would be tempted at all. His perspective on things looks to be a lot like mine and the thought of being in the military was always completely unappealing to me. (I even dreaded registering for the draft when I was 18.) I don't have as much of a read on my daughter, who's currently 5. If she grows up to be the type who might be tempted by the military pitch, I might have something to worry about. I hadn't read this thread in a while, so I just now saw Scarlett's mention of NYU for the first time. That's my alma mater. I remember visiting a few colleges and once I saw NYU's "campus" I knew beyond a doubt that that was where I wanted to go. It offers a different kind of experience than you'd get at a more traditional campus, but it was a great choice for me and I never regretted it. Especially because I had been a suburbanite up until college, and have been one ever since. I'm glad I had my four years as a city dweller. I think everyone should live in New York City for at least part of their life.

cooby Nov 02 2006 04:47 PM

Yep, draft registration came up last night too, if for no other reason than an attempt to change the subject. My son will be 18 years old in 37 days...that's enough of a worry to me.

ScarletKnight41 Nov 02 2006 04:47 PM

Yancy - I'm definitely a fan of living in the City. We lived there until my daughter was 5 and my older son was 2, and we go back often to visit friends. I'm glad to hear that you had such a good experience at NYU. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the news will be good in December!

cooby Nov 02 2006 04:49 PM

though he also said that if you neglect to register, they rarely catch you :)

Farmer Ted Nov 02 2006 05:05 PM

Coobs, I wouldn't go to that local college even if it was free. I joined up during my freshman year in college. I was an easy one for the recruiter since I was going to do it any way. Wasn't interested in ROTC or anything like that, tho THEY tried to recruit me.

Nymr83 Nov 02 2006 05:09 PM

cooby wrote: Yep, draft registration came up last night too, if for no other reason than an attempt to change the subject. My son will be 18 years old in 37 days...that's enough of a worry to me. you're worried that he'll be 18 or that he'll be registered for the non-existent draft?

sharpie Nov 02 2006 05:14 PM

My daughter has lived in NYC all of her life so she is looking elsewhere. She fully intends, however, to live here after college as she pretty much looks down on everywhere else. As far as the military goes, both my kids would never go. Lenny had some medical issues as an 8-year-old that will disqualify him anyway.

cooby Nov 02 2006 05:17 PM

Farmer Ted wrote: Coobs, I wouldn't go to that local college even if it was free. Well of course you wouldn't :) Worried that the yahoos that think the draft should be reinstated wiill get their way

Nymr83 Nov 02 2006 05:26 PM

cooby wrote: Worried that the yahoos that think the draft should be reinstated wiill get their way i doubt a third of congress feels that way and even half of those who do still wouldnt vote for it. politicians are all about one thing: self-preservation. voting for a draft would be voting yourself out of office.

sharpie Nov 02 2006 06:02 PM

]voting for a draft would be voting yourself out of office Not if it were done after a second terrorist attack and the pitch was that we've gotta bulk up the Army to get the bad guys and it is only temporary. Other than that, I agree with you.

Nymr83 Nov 02 2006 07:30 PM

i dont even think it would happen then. i think the only way a draft wouldnt be a death sentence to the legislature is if we were attacked, openly, by a sovereign state.

Rockin' Doc Nov 03 2006 12:14 AM

My father spent 23 years in the Air Force. He has been happily and comfortably retired since the age of 50. I guess having been raised in a military family gives me a little different perspective than most here. Recruiters can be rather pushy at times, but they have some good programs to offer the right individuals. My college roommate went through Army ROTC and then spent 12 years in the Army. He got a free education including getting his Masters in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland. He is currently a Colonel in the Army reserves and and Vice President of an engineering firm he help found. He will be fully retired with 2 pensions (military retirement and company retirement plan) at the age of 53. An optometrist colleague of mine, drew a small stipend and got his 4 years of graduate school covered in exchange for 4 years of service in the Air Force. It allowed him start his professional career free of debt so he could start his successful practice. One of my high school buddies flunked out of college and ran off and joined the Navy. There he learned self discipline and commitment. After serving 4 years of service, he attended the University of Rhode Island on the GI Bill and earned a degree in computer engineering. Obviously, the military isn't for everyone. However, for the right individuals, military service can help to open a multitude of opportunities. The individual simply needs to carefully consider their options without falling for high pressure sales tactics..

cooby Nov 03 2006 07:53 AM

] Recruiters can be rather pushy at times, but they have some good programs to offer the right individuals. Absolutely. But when you and I and your buddies got out of high school Rockin' Doc, there was no war going on and no threat of one starting, and that makes all the difference. When you've got a potential employer waving $100000 under your 17-year-old nose and they've still got to pull out all the stops to convince you to take their job offer, you know that job offer has some serious strings attached. I've got a very deep respect for the US Military, don't get me wrong. But my maternal instincts tell me to back away from this.

sharpie Nov 03 2006 05:09 PM

Driving up to Geneseo and back on Monday/Tuesday.

seawolf17 Nov 03 2006 05:40 PM

Geneseo? The finest small liberal arts college in America?

Rockin' Doc Nov 03 2006 09:14 PM

cooby - "But when you and I and your buddies got out of high school Rockin' Doc, there was no war going on and no threat of one starting, and that makes all the difference." I agree that the the potential to have people shooting at you does make the offers far less enticing. I can certainly understand a parent's reservations, but it seemed many were dismissing military service out of hand. It can be a good choice for some , you just have to investigate it thoroughly to see if the offer suits your needs. What can I say, my upbringing resulted in my being a highly patriotic indidvidual. I twice tried to enter the Air Force, but things never quite worked out. The first time they had discontinued the program covering optometry school in return for service time the year prior, so I took out the loans and paid for it myself. I again attempted to enlist in the Air Force the summer following my graduation from optometry school, but they put me off until January of the following year when they would be enlisting doctors again. I instead took the job I already had awaiting me in North Carolina. Twenty one years later, I'm now the senior doctor in that practice and the Air Force stopped trying to recruit me once I hit 40.

cooby Nov 03 2006 09:38 PM

lol, oh my gosh, you mean my son has to fend them off for 23 more years? My dad was in the Air Force. He has lots of good memories

Rockin' Doc Nov 03 2006 10:38 PM

I never got phone calls or visits, the simply mailed letters to my office address three or four times a year. The past few years, it's Wal Mart that keeps trying to recruit me. I finally called the number on the Wal Mart recruitment letters last year and laid out what I would be looking for in order to quit my office and go to work for them. They have never contacted me again since.

Willets Point Dec 05 2006 07:32 PM

Bump.

cooby Dec 07 2006 05:52 PM

My son was accepted at Lock Haven University today. He got a big beautiful certificate on heavy stock with his name in calligraphy, accepting him into the class of 2011. It's gorgeous. When my daughter was accepted to Penn State, she got a acceptance postcard with a request for another deposit.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 07 2006 06:19 PM

Congratulations to Young Cooby!

Nymr83 Dec 07 2006 06:47 PM

cooby wrote: My son was accepted at Lock Haven University today. He got a big beautiful certificate on heavy stock with his name in calligraphy, accepting him into the class of 2011. It's gorgeous. When my daughter was accepted to Penn State, she got a acceptance postcard with a request for another deposit. I think that tells you which school is looking to impress you and begging you to go there and which school is saying "We're Penn State, we rock, we don't need you, be glad you got it in and fork over the dough"

cooby Dec 07 2006 07:20 PM

Yep :) And not only do you fork over the dough, and lots of it, but they send letters asking for contributions, too. Yeah right, maybe after this college loan is paid off, baby. I could be remembering wrong, but my husband said the same thing when he saw this beautiful acceptance letter. Anyway, I figure he'll probably get accepted at PSU also, so we will see what they really do send.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 14 2006 03:48 PM

The search is over. The news is good. NYU it is. Whew!

Centerfield Dec 14 2006 04:46 PM

Congrats to Impulse2.

cooby Dec 14 2006 04:52 PM

Now she can relax and enjoy her senior year :)

ScarletKnight41 Dec 14 2006 05:29 PM

She can relax. I can relax. It's all good :) Thanks guys :)

Nymr83 Dec 14 2006 05:39 PM

cooby wrote: Yep :) And not only do you fork over the dough, and lots of it, but they send letters asking for contributions, too. Yeah right, maybe after this college loan is paid off, baby. i loved my college but donations? get real, you got my tuition for 4 years you ingrates, and i feel the same way about my way too expensive law school. i do donate to programs that benefit students there, just not to the school itself.

sharpie Dec 14 2006 06:24 PM

Congrats to Impulse2. My daughter (no CPF handle for her) decided not to go for early decision/admission anywhere because (a) she didn't really have one place that was head and shoulders above all others and (b) she didn't have her act together. Now she's a little miffed that a bunch of her friends know where they're going and she doesn't.

SteveJRogers Dec 14 2006 07:34 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: The search is over. The news is good. NYU it is. Whew! She can hang with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen! Assuming they're not seniors, I've forgotten how long it's been... BTW, they have a Sports Marketing degree in their MBA program, I was tempted to try it out, but not a fan of riding the subway too and from Westchester County every week for a class Congrats and good luck! And Godspeed!

ScarletKnight41 Dec 14 2006 07:44 PM

Thanks sharpie and Steve :)

Rockin' Doc Dec 14 2006 10:51 PM

We are still awaiting word from NC State regarding our son's early decision application for the College of Engineering. NC State does not send out the decisions until early January.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 14 2006 10:59 PM

That's a pretty late Early Decision notification. Best of luck to him!

cooby Dec 14 2006 11:03 PM

sharpie wrote: Congrats to Impulse2. My daughter (no CPF handle for her) decided not to go for early decision/admission anywhere because (a) she didn't really have one place that was head and shoulders above all others and (b) she didn't have her act together. Now she's a little miffed that a bunch of her friends know where they're going and she doesn't. My son has been all set to go to LHU for the past couple of years, but now his best friend has decided to go to Penn State, so that is where he wants to go too. He has, however, not heard from them as of yet.

attgig Dec 14 2006 11:19 PM

HEY! just saw this thread, and I'm actually a Carnegie Mellon Alum - graduated 2001. if you have any questions, PM/Email me. oh...nevermind. i just read through the rest of the thread. hehe. congrats!

ScarletKnight41 Dec 14 2006 11:33 PM

Thanks :)

seawolf17 Dec 21 2006 12:00 PM

It's the most wonderful time of the year... I finally get to give the red and green stamps a workout, as we've started going through the final review process for our Fall '07 applicants. The Early Action decisions go out tomorrow, and now we start working on the mounds and mounds (we're up about 80% in apps so far this year) of files a look.

cooby Dec 21 2006 09:14 PM

Today he got accepted at Bloomsburg University! He's so cute, a while ago I heard him playing Sesame Street on his guitar

ScarletKnight41 Dec 21 2006 09:17 PM

Congrats again! :)

cooby Dec 21 2006 09:19 PM

Thanks! Seawolf, he's still waiting to hear from Penn State and said they'd be going on their break soon. I should tell him that your college admissions office works hard right through the holidays

Rockin' Doc Jan 19 2007 08:20 AM

Yesterday, my son received e-mail notification from NC State that he had been accepted into the School of Engineering for the Fall of 2007. He should receive his official acceptance letter and student admissions packet in the next few days. We are all greatly relieved to have this search finalized.

ScarletKnight41 Jan 19 2007 08:37 AM

Mazel tov - that's fabulous news! I'm sure he's going to love it there :)

metsmarathon Jan 19 2007 10:28 AM

engineering is the coolest!

seawolf17 Jan 19 2007 10:42 AM

Three graduating seniors here in the Pool, all (I think) interested in majors we offer, and I get none of them. I'm a complete failure. Just kidding. Congrats!

Nymr83 Jan 19 2007 12:32 PM

I think you have to realize that any kid of Scarlet/Cooby/Doc is going to be too smart for your school. kissing up to 3 people while insulting only 1 is good math, right?

Edgy DC Jan 19 2007 01:37 PM

Check the splash damage. You're insulting Vic Sage also, and he's vicious.

Willets Point Jan 19 2007 01:51 PM

Plus if people know you're a kiss-up they may get angry with you too and you'll have 5 angry people on your hands.

seawolf17 Jan 19 2007 01:56 PM

Yeah, but I know Vic doesn't exactly have fond memories of us, so he might be on your side... although we have come a long way since Vic's days.

Nymr83 Jan 19 2007 02:48 PM

Vic is never on my side.

ScarletKnight41 Jan 19 2007 02:51 PM

You did get an application from my kid. Which was pretty cool after that debacle with her recruitment night postcard ;)

sharpie Jan 19 2007 03:25 PM

Um.. I've also got a kid going to college, there are 4 of us here. Sorry, she didn't apply there which was more geographic than anything else as she did apply to a couple of SUNYs.

seawolf17 Jan 19 2007 04:17 PM

0-for-4! With three K's! I'm Rich Becker!

cooby Jan 19 2007 05:11 PM

seawolf17 wrote: Three graduating seniors here in the Pool, all (I think) interested in majors we offer, and I get none of them. I'm a complete failure. Just kidding. Congrats! Hey Seawolf, nothing against your school :) My son's letter from Penn State is in the mail, but they would not tell us what they decided, ggrrrr...

ScarletKnight41 Jan 19 2007 05:18 PM

OMG - how frustrating! (Good vibes for good news for young cooby!)

cooby Jan 19 2007 05:18 PM

After reading through this again, I see that congratulations are due to Rockin' Doc's son! That is great news and I'm sure your whole family is happy and proud :) PS to seawolf...my son knows that out of state tuition is a little steep...

Rockin' Doc Jan 19 2007 06:50 PM

Best of luck to cooby jr. on the upcoming decision letter. I hope it's good news. The cost differences between in state vs. out of state tuition is definitely a consideration in the college search process for many families. It was not the overriding factor, but it definitely factored into our decision.

Frayed Knot Jan 19 2007 10:47 PM

Yeah, but those upcoming Wolfpack v Blue Devil wars are going to be an intra-family bitch.

Rockin' Doc Jan 19 2007 11:18 PM

My best friend is a die hard Duke fan that has two daughters that graduated from NC State as engineers. His youngest is a senior and will graduate with honors from NC State in May of this year. His daughters always give him grief for pulling for Duke against NC State. His response is essentially, "I was a Duke fan long before any of you became NC State students. I always root for the Wolfpack unless their playing Duke, but I pay enough money to NC State to cheer for whomever I please." I'm suspect that the same type of relationship will develop in our household starting this fall.

Nymr83 Jan 19 2007 11:51 PM

I didn't even look out of state (or at private colleges) because of the tuition difference, knowing that i wanted to do grad school of some kind afterwards i thought it besat to keep undergrad tuition costs down as much as i could... i'm paying out of the ass now, probably as much in a semester as SUNY charged me for 2 years.

cooby Jan 20 2007 04:15 PM

PSU acceptance received (that sucker's big too, I owe them an apology) and now he has a choice to make between three colleges... There was an article in the paper today that said that there were nearly 100,000 freshman applicants for this fall's class, and they are figuring to enroll just 15,000 freshman. Quite a cut to make! Because of the big numbers, he was assigned to another local branch campus for his freshman year than his friend was, thus the need to make a choice.

ScarletKnight41 Jan 20 2007 04:39 PM

Congrats to young cooby!

Rockin' Doc Jan 20 2007 07:58 PM

Congratulations to cooby jr. I'm glad he made it into Penn State.

cooby Jan 20 2007 08:39 PM

Thanks! :)

sharpie Feb 12 2007 02:13 PM

My daughter got her first reply and has been accepted to Earlham College in Indiana. She's quite excited -- might not be her first choice but it is the first acceptance -- which means she'll go somewhere.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 12 2007 02:27 PM

Excellent - that's always a relief to get the first one :)

cooby Feb 12 2007 08:55 PM

Gonna be a lot of empty bedrooms around here this fall

Rockin' Doc Feb 12 2007 10:22 PM

Empty? Heck no, I plan on getting a pool table.

Rockin' Doc Feb 12 2007 10:23 PM

Congratulations to your daughter sharpie. Now the pressure is off and has an acceptance in hand, she can wait for her top choices to wise up and offer her a spot in their upcoming freshmen class.

sharpie Feb 12 2007 10:38 PM

Yeah. Also means she can eliminate the ones below it.

cooby Feb 27 2007 10:04 PM

LHU it is. In the paper tonight, we read that LH University will be implementing the first laptop-only freshman class in the state of PA this fall... Lots more to it than this, but unless you or a loved one are going to Lock Haven U this fall, you prolly don't really care...I think it's kinda neat. With the support of the deans and provost, President Keith Miller has slated fall 2007 as the start date for the Student Technology Enhancement Program, or STEP initiative. At that time, each incoming first-year and transfer student will be required to own a laptop computer. The process has involved one and one-half years of research and will include another one and one-half years before implementation. There were open forums, departmental meetings, STEP Task Force meetings, and workshops, among other venues enabling faculty and staff to have input into the process. Thus, we are ready to proceed for the fall of 2007.

cooby Mar 08 2007 06:01 PM

My son is now officially registered for the draft.

ScarletKnight41 Mar 08 2007 06:45 PM

Not a happy milestone :(