Finding a College for Your High School Senior

As my 15-year-old daughter would say, "Good luck with that."

OMG - who knew that a bright, talented 17-year-old young man would be so reluctant to engage in a process that will define four important years of his life? Where he lives, how he spends his time, the foundation for his career (hypothetically, anyway). This is big stuff. Important stuff. And HE'S DRAGGING HIS FEET AND IT'S MAKING ME CRAZY!

Apparently I'm not alone. It's not just boys - I hear that girls are similarly afflicted.

As much as I'd like to ignore the matter and leave it in his hands (a tough-love tactic: you-made-your-bed-now-lie-in-it), I won't. He doesn't have the judgment to realize the consequences, even though next year, magically, he's going to have enough good sense to be able to survive on his own at college. God help us.

I'm going to chronicle some of our experiences and want to invite anyone and everyone to join in the discussion by leaving comments. WE NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET!

Let's start at what some experts consider a second-stage of the college search process - considering different colleges (we're going to leave the "what's your major" discussion alone for now).

Loren Pope wrote a terrific book, "Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges." Don't be surprised if you think about college differently after reading the book. Previously I was focused on finding a good school that offered my son's preferred major, particularly something VERY AFFORDABLE, and I expected that he'd end up at the state university about two hours away that is a flagship in our state university system.

But after reading this book and considering things on a broader scale, the paradigm shifted. Maybe a small college would be a feasible option that offers him the chance to more easily create close relationships with professors and be challenged in different ways. It's not that this isn't possible at a large college or university. But a small college offers a different atmosphere and he might really thrive at one.

Be forewarned: Pope is considered to be a bit anti-Ivy League and the focus is on small schools. It's still worth a read. Be sure to visit the Colleges That Change Lives website, too.

The book also helped me realize that we might be able to afford something besides a state university, that small colleges might be a financially viable consideration after all. But more about that on my next post.

What books can you recommend for college-seeking students and parents? Please leave a comment.


Photo courtesy of Garrison Photography

A Fast, Creative Way to Dress Up the Walls

I fell in love today.

Ever heard of Blik? Me neither, until yesterday. Blik makes and sells surface decals - incredibly awesome surface decals "...for the commitment phobic."

The designs are up-to-date, imaginative and seemingly easy to apply. The decals are extremely affordable, as well. I can easily imagine them in a nursery, home office, teenager's bedroom or dorm room.

The decal that may me go "oooh" is a design from SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), Mid-Century Gothic. The webpage for this design showed two orders used together to create a sort-of headboard in turquoise and gold. Ooooh. It would make even the dullest dorm room shine, for only $120.

Check it out and leave a comment. I want to know what you think.

I'm an iPod Slacker Because of My Teenagers

It's not my fault. I'm blaming this one on the kids.

You see, I could have cared less about iPods and MP3 players and the whole deal a few years ago, but then I actually listened to someone's iPod and, well, the clouds parted, the sun's rays beamed down on me and angels sang. Well, not exactly angels - some band was signing and the clarity of the music hooked me right away. I was ready for an iPod.

But all those directions! I'm not a Mac person and didn't understand the nuances of the single vertical line versus the double vertical lines versus the arrow - and that was only to turn the iPod on. Downloading the software was easy enough, but understanding how it all worked, what should be turned on or off to download or upload - it's too much. Not what I wanted to invest a lot of time learning. So my kids did it for me.

The result? I'm still helpless. I had to erase my iPod for some reason and now it's useless until I load it again. So my iPod has idled on my desk for months, empty. I haven't even been able to use the docking station I received for Christmas (yes, it's been THAT long). I resisted asking my kids for help: After all, isn't it better to teach me to fish than to give me one to eat?

Too bad. It's another year and more before my son will leave for college. My daughter is only a high school freshman. No need to learn the technology now, when it will just evolve again. Fiddle dee dee. Tomorrow's another day. (Insert your own lame phrase here.)

Like I said before... it's not my fault, so don't blame me.

They Should Call It Cutting and Ironing

My kids are on Spring Break this week and while my son is at crew training camp, I've brought my daughter and her best friend to visit my sister and brother-in-law. My sister loves to quilt and has just about every sewing tool made, so we've been working on a couple of sewing projects. One project will be a gift for neighbors who are expecting their first baby (I'm "decorating" some cloth diapers that they can use as burp cloths); the other is aprons for use by parents who provide food at my son's high school crew events (we spend a lot of time feeding the rowers).

I haven't sewn in years and it's fun to discover how much I remember (and what I've forgotten). Fortunately, the sis is far less rusty than I and together, we've done a pretty decent job between us.

Without a doubt, the thing I've forgotten most is how much time is spent measuring, strategizing, cutting and ironing, especially ironing! Holy cow. Since when did sewing make you work up a sweat? How is it that I can spend eight hours on other tasks and 30 minutes at the machine?

From here on out, I'm gonna call it like it is: Cutting and Ironing. It's not sewing. There's no sitting in this effort. You stand, you think, you iron, you cut, you swear, you iron, you swear some more. And when it's over, you have six diapers and four aprons.

Cutting and Ironing. It took a lot of work, yet in the end was very rewarding. We'll have to do it again soon.

Photo by Anne Norman