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Melen starts college today at WashU . . . the educational bubble?!?

Melensdad

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Spent the weekend in St Louis, dropped Melen off at college to start her summer session at Washington University. There are some other high school kids there too, but this is just a regular summer semester for WashU students and they allow selected high school kids to take the classes, for full college credit. So it should be interesting to see how the summer goes.

We got there Saturday afternoon, walked the campus and found the dorm where Melen will be spending the summer. *The dorms here look like hotels at Disney World with little cafes, bike rental shops, exercise facilities, and even some student run shops. *Oh, and lots of flowers, nifty architecture, and other things that make this an other-worldly experience. *Yup, WashU sure knows how to pamper the kids. *Their dorms are rated "Top 5" in the world. *Did I mention they have TWICE A WEEK MAID SERVICE in their Air-Conditioned dorm rooms? Or they have Tempur-Pedic mattresses on their beds? Or that each floor has multiple study lounges, plus each floor has a social/TV lounge, plus each floor has a kitchen? Or how about the fact that the main floor has a music room (sound proofed) with a baby grand piano, a kitchen, multiple lounge areas, mock-classrooms complete with computer white boards so students can practice their presentations, etc, etc, etc.

Classes begin today, 5 hours per day (that is 2 classes) unfortunately with Melen's particular schedule, she has NO lunch break, just 15 minutes bewteen her classes. *The literature tells the kids that they will have 2 to 3 hours of studying for each hour they are in class. *That means they could have up to 15 hours of homework in addition to the 5 hours of class time. *4 hours of sleeping and eating. *Something tells me they are a bit over zealous about their claims???

Oh, and this place is sickeningly politically correct. *There are signs all over campus proclaiming it is a Tobacco Free campus, but nothing I can find says it is Drug Free. *And there is their No Firearm policy, big bold notices say that guns are not even allowed to be transported in vehicles, or stored in your trunk in the parking lots. *Apparently they don't have a Trap & Skeet club on this campus? *Even Purdue and I.U. have target ranges on campus! *Oh, lets not forget the water bottle ban. *No plastic water bottles are allowed on campus. *You have to carry plastic cups or aluminum cans. *Apparently plastic bottles fill the recycling bins too fast? *But aluminum cans do not? *

I'm all in favor of recycling, I have no problem with being tobacco free and if they don't want guns on campus that is their choice, but I'm not a fan of having people live in an unrealistic bubble. *This campus, while beautiful, is NOTHING like any other campus we have ever visited. *The kids here are coddled and pampered and exist in a space that is divorced from the real world. *Don't get me wrong, I love this campus for what it is, but I suspect it is also a hotbed of abject stupidity and unrealistic societal ignorance mixed in with an amazing education.

So will my daughter come home with a ball of mush upon her shoulders? Time will tell. But at least for the summer I think she will be generally fairly safe. She's take a biology class in human genetics and an English class discussing banned books.

Given the prices of college I see no way that a child can earn enough money after graduating with a no-skills degree to pay back this school (tuition/housing is nearly $60K per year).
 

Melensdad

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:eek: Wow, am I out of touch! Sounds pretty nice though!

What I am finding is that as the elite schools fight for the best and brightest of the kids they tend to bump up the campus luxuries/facilities. I've seen it at every one of the "top 50" campuses we've visited. These schools know that the top kids have their choice of where they want to go so since the educations are roughly the same, the campus "experience" is what they use to influence the kids to choose one top/elite university over the next.

That said, all the beautiful landscaping, decorative clock towers, free concerts, maid service and campus cafes tend to jack up the prices the parents pay!
 

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
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Wash U is a great school.
St Louis is a good place for her to enjoy this summer.

Wish I had known you were here.

If Melen needs anything, with which I can help, contact me.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

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As long as the parents are willing to pay for this crap then the schools will offer it. It's a sign of the times and the modern day helicopter parent.
 

Melensdad

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As long as the parents are willing to pay for this crap then the schools will offer it. It's a sign of the times and the modern day helicopter parent.

I think a lot of the problems are that colleges have become so competitive, just look at the taxpayer subsidized educations at 'state' schools and you see many of these same amenities on those campuses. Dorms are now suites with semi-private bathrooms. Dining halls have been replaced with on campus food courts and, in some cases restaurants! As the taxpayer subsidized state school build these park like campuses, the private schools are forced to compete to draw in the kids.

Seriously look at some campuses and put yourself in the place of a smart kid who has all the choices! Do you think a kid is going to pass up good food, free concerts, beautiful accommodations in exchange for living in an old, cramped, non-air conditioned dorm at a slightly better quality school?
 

Melensdad

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Hardly.:yum::yum::yum:

I will bail her out of jail for you, and send you the bill.

Seriously though. Anything, just ask.


franc

Thanks I appreciate it.

My wife is planning to head down there twice this summer with her diabetes supplies, but other than that I doubt well need to take you up on the offer because, unless she gets into trouble she should be in good shape. It really is a neat city and amazing campus.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

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Seriously look at some campuses and put yourself in the place of a smart kid who has all the choices! Do you think a kid is going to pass up good food, free concerts, beautiful accommodations in exchange for living in an old, cramped, non-air conditioned dorm at a slightly better quality school?

I can understand kids making the better choice if they are on a full scholarship. But there aren't that many full scholarships out there (for my demographic) anymore. If my kid can live off campus in a small apartment for cheaper then that is where they are going to be staying. It worked for me.

Unless my kids are going into a science, engineering, or math based undergrad program then there is no way I'm paying for a fancy school. They can get a liberal arts degree at a community college as far as I'm concerned.
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
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What I am finding is that as the elite schools fight for the best and brightest of the kids they tend to bump up the campus luxuries/facilities. I've seen it at every one of the "top 50" campuses we've visited. These schools know that the top kids have their choice of where they want to go so since the educations are roughly the same, the campus "experience" is what they use to influence the kids to choose one top/elite university over the next.

That said, all the beautiful landscaping, decorative clock towers, free concerts, maid service and campus cafes tend to jack up the prices the parents pay!

Oh, that's right, you lived in the Beta house. You're used to having maid services in college. :poke: In my fraternity we had brawls over who got the bowl of 'mashed potatoes' that were stirred and didn't still have dry flakes in them. I was just the redneck who was Sgt. at arms for 3 years and 'head mechanic' for all four years. Even back then the college was so expensive that there was no way I could have gone there if it were not for doing well on Honor Scholars testing. My parents made me take out school loans for my room and board; Honor Scholars only get tuition paid.

Hopefully she likes it there. Clearly a very small student body suited me much better than a place like IU or Purdue. My daughter is going to school all year, each year, possibly looking to graduate in three years even after missing a full year with two brain surgeries. The good thing is that she thrives in large groups and makes friends easily. I'm certain your daughter will know by the end of summer if that's the right fit for her. I assume they don't have Pan-Hel or 'Beer Olympics' there. :whistling:
 

Melensdad

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Hopefully she likes it there. Clearly a very small student body suited me much better than a place like IU or Purdue. My daughter is going to school all year, each year, possibly looking to graduate in three years even after missing a full year with two brain surgeries. The good thing is that she thrives in large groups and makes friends easily. I'm certain your daughter will know by the end of summer if that's the right fit for her. I assume they don't have Pan-Hel or 'Beer Olympics' there. :whistling:

Melen identified medium sized schools, 5000 to 10,000 students, in or near a reasonably sized city. While I was like you, I wanted a very small school, she is looking for something larger and less isolated.

Honestly I have no clue where she will study. She may find that a school like WashU is perfect, then again she may find it either too big or too small. Time will tell.

As your Mel is doing the year round study, I did that in Grad school and finished a 2 year degree in 12 months. I've had similar conversations with Melen about doing the same thing to finish in 3 years but my wife is not necessarily in full agreement on that study path. Oxford University pushes out their undergraduates in 3 years and does so while making their graduates some of the worlds foremost experts in their topic is study. They also eliminate most of the 'BS' politically correct classes that so many of our US based colleges require kids to take so they can be more 'well rounded.'. Remember taking Cultures & Traditions during our sophomore year? That was totally worthless, but mandatory.
 

Melensdad

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I'm very proud of my kid :clap:

Her first 2 or 3 days at college were a big adjustment for her, but then things settled into place. She got over being homesick, made a group of friends, and is enjoying college life at WashU while getting some pretty impressive grades.

So far she has had 3 quizzes and 1 test in her Biology/Human Genetics class. The quizzes are worth 10 points each and she has accumulated 30 points! Tough to beat that. She got an A on the test, with a 93%. Sounds bad for her, but the average in the class was only 84% so she had one of the top scores. Not too bad for a 17 year old high school kid in a class with mostly college Juniors and Seniors (there is 1 other high school kid in the class, he got a C on the test).

As for her English class (banned books in history), she's only turned in 1 paper and that earned her an A+.

But don't think she is just sticking her nose in her books and not having fun. She's at SIX FLAGS today with a bunch of her friends, she's been to "the loop" several evenings for dinner and entertainment, has gone to several of the school sponsored social events, etc. In fact we only get a moment or two on the phone with her because she is usually too busy to talk to us.

Still unsure what she is going to do with her life, she will be returning to finish high school this fall, but is waivering between international law and getting a PHd in Genetics and becoming a researcher. But heck, she's only 17, next week she may want to be a hair stylist. Still, I'm glad she got into this program and got to experiece something new that may open her eyes to things she never got to see in high school.

My wife and I are driving down on Wednesday to see her. Just for the day. Long drive for a short visit, but we are looking forward to taking her to dinner and meeting her friends.
 

Danang Sailor

nullius in verba
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If you like really good Italian food, some of the best restaurants in the country are in the neighborhood known as The Hill. It
was settled by Italian immigrants around 1900 and the food is nothing short of superb! Anyone in town can tell you where
to find good eats "on da Hill!"

 

Galvatron

Spock and Galvatron < one and the same
Congrats to Melen for making you guy's so proud.....i wish her a fun yet educating time.:wink:
 

Melensdad

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Melensdad

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Tragedy has struck our household. :wink:

Melen got a B on a paper!

Not that I'm complaining, I'm not. But she was pretty upset by the grade. She still has an 'A' in the class, so all hope is not lost. Me, I just think it is reality setting in that indicates she has to work a little bit and that not everything in life will come easy for her.
 

muleman

Gone But Not Forgotten
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Good learning experience when they find out there are others who can challenge them. She will learn more out on her own than at her home school where everything is real comfortable.
 

Melensdad

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. . . She will learn more out on her own than at her home school where everything is real comfortable.

Yup, sometimes a smack upside the head is a good way to get an attitude adjustment.
 

Snowtrac Nome

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i think the plastic bottle ban is because there is more money to be had in recycling aluminum than plastic
 

Melensdad

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i think the plastic bottle ban is because there is more money to be had in recycling aluminum than plastic

I think it's there because they are too damn politically correct. Just like the fact that they have "tobacco free" signs all over campus but not a single sign saying they are drug free!?!
 

Melensdad

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I never complained about a B! Never! :yum:

Well the smarty-pants kid just redeemed herself with a score of 99% on a test she just took. It was a human genetics class where they are studying evolution a nd how it relates to mapping the human genome??? I'm not even sure what I just wrote, but she got a 99% on it.
 
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