Son of AGDee's College Search Thread

[HQWest]

If hes really interested in nuerobiology a good bet is a strong liberal arts school with a medical school like Wash U., Emory, Wake Forest or Duke. Those will have strong fundamental undergraduate programs and good opportunities for research. I would caution him to stick to a more classic major like chemistry biochemistry molecular bio or cell bio rather than neuro bio or biomed as a major. If you get into it and decide you dont like it - it is easier to change your major or to find a job after undergrad. If you arent top notch in biomedical science or decide not to go to grad school it can be tough to get into a business career.

[StealthMode]

Oooooh I've heard a lot of good things about emory's medical program. Any students I met who went there were smart as whips and my old best friend (who had chronic illness) in Atlanta preferred Emory's hospital over any other hospital in the city. But it's got about 7,500 students and is in a major metropolitan city so Halostar might not like the setting. Might be worth a visit if he reads up on it and likes it.

[HQWest]

Emory has about 5500 undergrads 5000 grad students - with 500 undergrads out at the Oxford College campus in Oxford, GA. Students at Oxford do two years out there and then finish their four years at Emory. I wouldn't call the main campus urban though - certainly not compared to Ga Tech. Of you saw the movie "Driving Miss Daisy" - the road they keep driving down ends at Emory's Fraternity Row.

You can also always go to a small school and do a summer NSF Research in Education for Undergraduate Summer program fellowship at a bigger school to do your research.

[BlueCarnation]

Of course I'm going to plug U of M. The political science department, of which I am a proud graduate, is one of the best in the country, so even if he doesn't major in it, he can benefit from it. I never felt like it was such a huge school--even in my largest lecture class that had over 500 people in it.

My parents went to Oberlin. Wonderful school.

There's also Lawrence here in WI. It has a great reputation as a smaller liberal arts school.

Good luck to him!

[HQWest]

There are some big schools that have really good Honors college programs - so that you can be at the big school but have the more advanced classes and keep the smaller (20-50 person) class sizes . A couple of these have really good scholarship opportunities as well.

[AGDee]

It's prom night This is my baby...

[AGDee]

So, Halostar retook the ACT hoping to increase his score by 1 point and he increased it by 3! That means he is done with standardized testing, except for the AP exams he'll have to take next May. He is a very happy camper. This increase has the potential to open more doors we weren't anticipating, especially in the scholarship arena. It puts him in the "middle 50s" for the most selective schools.

He finished the school year with all A's so he is still has his #2 class rank.

We are planning a visit to Oberlin for July 5 and I believe he wants to plan a visit to Wash U- St. Louis. Smaller schools in the midwest on the more selective side is still what he is aiming for and we are totally open to suggestions. Although some of these private schools have a religious affiliation, he doesn't want one that is too overtly religious. Right now, I believe he will apply to:
Albion College- Albion, MI (probably his main safety)
Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI
Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
Washington University, St. Louis, MO

He is considering applying to the University of Michigan but really feels it is too big. He feels like people expect it of him. I don't think that's a good reason to pay application fees, CSS Profile fees and ACT score fees to a school, personally. We'll see how that pans out in the end. Hypo is trying to talk him into applying to Northwestern. I think he will feel it is too big.

He is back to being completely undecided about a possible major. He loves learning everything. He is feeling very stressed about not knowing exactly what he wants to do for the rest of his life. I've pointed out that he may not do the same thing for the rest of his life. I heard a statistic recently that eighty percent of the jobs someone will have in the future don’t even exist yet. I need to share that with him. There certainly weren't Information Security jobs when I was in college the first time around.

In the meantime, I am, quite simply, very stinkin' proud of this young man.

[StealthMode]

Originally Posted by AGDee

In the meantime, I am, quite simply, very stinkin' proud of this young man.

So are we! What a handsome, smart young man you have.

[happilyanchored]

If you need any help planning your visit to WashU, please don't hesitate to PM me!

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by happilyanchored

If you need any help planning your visit to WashU, please don't hesitate to PM me!

Thanks! I do have a friend whose son lives in St. Louis who may accompany us so that could be fun.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by AGDee

We are planning a visit to Oberlin for July 5 and I believe he wants to plan a visit to Wash U- St. Louis. Smaller schools in the midwest on the more selective side is still what he is aiming for and we are totally open to suggestions. Although some of these private schools have a religious affiliation, he doesn't want one that is too overtly religious.

Darn, I won't be home on the 5th, other wise I would meet you at Obie. They have the best homemade candy and donuts at a convenience store on the square. Hope he loves the school.

[amIblue?]

You must be so proud of him, and may I please learn from you on child rearing? Your two are quite the pair!

[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by AGDee

Hypo is trying to talk him into applying to Northwestern. I think he will feel it is too big.

Last year I would've said, "yes!" Now, I'm still ticked that generallygreek was rejected, after 6 years of enrolling in their gifted camps and on-line programs. One thing I will say is that the music department did specifically reach out to her to visit, come for an audition, etc., which she ignored (probably didn't help her application), because she didn't think she wanted to pursue a music major. Guess who's now decided to major in music?

Great job on the score increase, Halostar!

[AGDee]

Just as I had this gut feeling that Hypo would end up at Barnard, I have the same gut feeling that Halostar will end up at either Oberlin or Kalamazoo. He really doesn't want to stray outside of easy visiting distance and both fit that bill. They both fit the bill of small school with an open minded and excelling student population.

As for child rearing... I don't really know. I did IQ test their dad before I married him (I was in grad school working on a master's in clinical psych at the time) so they had a good gene pool. I did reward the positive behaviors and punish the negative and, once they were in later elementary, didn't really challenge me on anything because they knew the limits and knew they would be enforced. My mom was their babysitter until she was too ill to do so anymore, but she always gave them educational toys and books, read books to them, watched educational shows with them, introduced them to a variety of topics (science, reading, etc) and shared HER love of everything- animals, astronomy, politics- with them. They've seen me and their dad go to grad school while working and raising them, which likely helped reinforce the importance of education. I encouraged them to follow their passions. Scouting organizations are fantastic and helped develop them. We always engaged in service activities (going through toys before Christmas to see what could be donated, park clean ups, etc.). Perhaps, more than anything- I raised them to value respect. The words "Shut up" were not allowed in my household. I have never said those words to them, they have never said them to me. Anger was sometimes expressed with yelling, but never included insults. It was geared toward behaviors, not personal characteristics. Most often, it was communicated calmly with talking points and it usually revolved around them leaving messes in the house.

I think, overall, they had parents and a grandma who really love to learn also. Whether this is genetic or environmental, I don't know. But they were curious as toddlers and we tried very hard to channel it appropriately without killing it. I don't agree with the term "Curiosity killed the cat." I think curiosity is healthy and a sign of intelligence. Before the Internet, I used to carry a note pad around with me to make a list of things I wanted to look up in the encyclopedia when I was at the library. I would just wonder things about the world and wanted answers. They are very much the same way, but have that information at their finger tips. There were always books- lots of books.

In grad school, in my Intelligence class (where I learned to administer IQ tests), we discussed a list of environmental things that correlate to higher IQs. There are a few that I remembered most and which I tried to make sure I followed were these:
1. If parents stopped what they were doing to answer their children's questions, IQs were higher
2. In households that had lots of books, IQs were higher.
3. In households where children saw parents reading for fun, IQs were higher.

I saw their strengths and encouraged them to use them. I saw their weaknesses and we have worked on them. I talked to them like adults and didn't dismiss their thoughts or ideas just because they were children.

They aren't perfect...lol.. they are far from perfect, but they have become very interesting people. Hypo was always fearless and took chances. Halo was afraid of everything, but is learning to push and challenge himself to get beyond his fears. In fact, he rode a bike for the first time in 11 years this week. He was afraid once the training wheels were off. At 17, he learned to ride a two wheeler. We celebrated that He is liking the freedom since we have three drivers and two cars this summer. Work and internships trump everything for car priority use so he has been without wheels a lot.

[AGDee]

Oh yeah... 15 months til my nest is empty. Wow!