It’s exciting around here this August! Haley is moving to Corvallis to start graduate school at Oregon State-MA in Environmental Arts & Humanities.
This means that we have a multiplying domino effect in our house as we move back upstairs to the master bedroom space she’s been occupying during the pandemic. This move feels different than her first move to college, when lots of her stuff was left intact in the house. This time she’s taking all of her books, furniture, boxes from the basement and she recently became a dog mommy. I’m both sad she’s leaving, and excited for her next adventure!
This is coinciding with the first week of Application Camp, so my first group of students may be sitting on lawn furniture if the new couch doesn’t arrive in time. All part of the adventure!
Two of my stellar rising college freshman students are coming to help with App Camp and we were chatting the other day about their plans for heading off to college. What to take, when they’re leaving, how they’re feeling…..
I came across this article with tips for dorm room essentials, including good flip-flops for the shower and an extra power strip to plug in electronics.
And it’s time for families to start having conversations about boundaries for communication once students leave home. It’s so tempting, and so easy when most of us are attached to our phones, to constantly text and post and “like.” I am all for staying connected this way and actually think this easy access is good in some instances. It can also make it harder for students to gain true independence and fully immerse in their college experience.
So like most things, it’s really about balance and setting and sticking to agreements.
I remember when Haley left for college we were in the middle of watching a TV series…can’t remember now what it was? Maybe Downton Abbey? Whatever it was, we agreed that we’d check in on Sunday late afternoons and sometimes that would include “eating dinner together” and/or remotely watching a show. It gave me a time where I had free rein to ask questions and hear about her life, and she had a built-in heads-up that I would be asking. I agreed not to inundate her with texts all week long and it didn’t hurt my feelings when I didn’t hear from her before Sunday. We kept this plan up through the first year and then found that it naturally fell into a rhythm for the rest of college–but it really helped us establish a plan that worked for us both in the beginning.
My rising seniors are absolutely slaying App Camp, and multiple students even sent in some apps DURING CAMP BEFORE SCHOOL EVEN STARTS! And two even heard back with preliminary acceptances! Exciting! Almost everyone is on track to hit November Early Action deadlines, which is advantageous for a number of reasons including hearing back earlier and easing the stress of senior year and the overall college process.
Juniors are taking practice tests, getting ready for round one SAT/ACT this fall, and working with me on some exploratory exercises as they start researching colleges and programs to find their fit.
Did I mention the couch had to go out THE LIVING ROOM WINDOW??? So that was fun.
