Having kids, buying diapers, watching them learn to walk, seeing them off to the first day of school. These are all memorable moments. Taking your first born to look at colleges is one on hand absolutely fantastic because I firmly believe in teaching your kids to be independent and fly the nest. On the other hand, I can’t believe where the time has flown and how did I become a mother of a kid going to college.
Applying to colleges, looking at colleges, what is offered at college, absolutely everything about college has changed dramatically since I went to college. More people, less slots. Tons of extracurricular options, outrageously expensive, beyond competitive and the parents are different too.
We went on one tour today and the parents asked the majority of the questions which I found strange. Why weren’t the kids asking the questions. After all, they are the ones that will eventually be coming to the college of their choice, alone. What the parents were basically asking is which candy bar has the golden ticket for my child so I can pick it. Sort of funny but sort of insane, that particular school was Harvard.
The other tour today was Brown. I’d apply. It was Jessica’s favorite too. The open curriculum is fantastic. In many ways Brown reminds me of LREI. The key to success is being a self-starter. Small but not too small. Providence is a nice sized city with plenty of arts and good food.
All and all it was really fun to visit college life today. One thing that still stands out is what I loved about college. The opportunity to spend four years of your life in an intellectual setting to take a variety of classes, meet people from all over, and discuss politics at 2am. College is a four year stepping stone that is essential to becoming an adult. You transform over time.
I am really excited for Jessica, as I will be for Emily and Josh and in six years from now, it will be just me and Fred. It seems just like yesterday we were having Jessica. All I can say is wow.
Comments (Archived):
Having missed out on going to college in my youth, what was really strange when taking my daughter a few weeks ago to her university visit was thinking all the talks were directed at me – I was so looking forward to going…..
What a nice post. I think you’ve headed your children in the right direction. As my husband said of our kids, “They were babies, then we turned around and they were 18.”
When I went on my northeast college tour I spent a couple of nights in the Beta house with Fred! Great shot of Jess on the front stoop. I also loved Brown but didn’t have the scores to get in. It looks like the quintessential college…ivy, the quad, etc.
Lastly, it does seem like yesterday that I babysat for Jessica on 14th street while you guys ran out for a bite. Thankfully for both Jess and I, she was asleep the whole time!!
LOL about all the hovering parents at the info sessions. My husband is a college prof – and you would not believe the stories!! My favorite is the student who sent his work via email, home to be “proofed/edited” by dad before submitting it to class. When he complained to his prof about a grade and that “his dad told him not to change that paragraph”….the prof asked the father to come to his office for a chat…..when the dad was asked to refrain from editing and proofing his son’s papers so the son could take some responsibility for his own work – the father was at first shocked but then slowly, sadly – realized what he had be doing (for several years, since the boy was a Sophomore). It was a very emotional moment for the father and son – and the boy actually took that moment to tell his dad that he was also changing his major -from Business to MUSIC!
In this case, it all worked out – some other parents have not always been so easy to deal with. My husband knows immediately in the very first few seconds of an interview which kids want to be there and which kids parents what them to be there….who do they think they are fooling? They only accept 25 kids each year into their program and you can be sure – it is not the group with the helicopter parents.