LTE 2.0

[CathyCA]

Alas, Turk has set up shop in the wrong end of the Commonwealth outside of Philly (Mrs. Turk doesn't think this is so bad), a mere 4 hrs or so from the ancestral (?) Turk roost. Am just up the road from Villanova, and know a little bit about St. Joe's and the other Philly Big 5 schools if they ever wind up on anyone's list. (Are you still keeping an eye on Ursinus, CathyCA?). Swee'Pea is liking Pitt very much; she kicked butt her first year and landed with a good group of kids in her dorm. This year she takes on O-Chem, which I understand is what separates the pre-med pretenders from the contenders. I am about as objective as Dookie V here, but I'll take the kid and give the points.

Looking forward to hearing how the Lavabe clan works through the selection process...

Christian has narrowed down his list of schools to those within a 2-hour radius of home. And by home, he means his dad's house in northern California and my house in eastern North Carolina. So, as far as I can tell, Ursinus is out of the mix.

This summer, Christian has visited UC-Davis, UC-Berkeley, Stanford and UC-Santa Cruz.

He tells me that NCSU, Duke and unc are in the mix here in North Carolina. I need to get him to look at other colleges within a 2-hour radius of my house. I wonder what other colleges he'd be interested in visiting.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Alas, Turk has set up shop in the wrong end of the Commonwealth outside of Philly (Mrs. Turk doesn't think this is so bad), a mere 4 hrs or so from the ancestral (?) Turk roost. Am just up the road from Villanova, and know a little bit about St. Joe's and the other Philly Big 5 schools if they ever wind up on anyone's list. (Are you still keeping an eye on Ursinus, CathyCA?). Swee'Pea is liking Pitt very much; she kicked butt her first year and landed with a good group of kids in her dorm. This year she takes on O-Chem, which I understand is what separates the pre-med pretenders from the contenders. I am about as objective as Dookie V here, but I'll take the kid and give the points.

Looking forward to hearing how the Lavabe clan works through the selection process...

Christian has narrowed down his list of schools to those within a 2-hour radius of home. And by home, he means his dad's house in northern California and my house in eastern North Carolina. So, as far as I can tell, Ursinus is out of the mix.

This summer, Christian has visited UC-Davis, UC-Berkeley, Stanford and UC-Santa Cruz.

He tells me that NCSU, Duke and unc are in the mix here in North Carolina. I need to get him to look at other colleges within a 2-hour radius of my house. I wonder what other colleges he'd be interested in visiting.

What are his interests? Of study, I mean! ;)

[CathyCA]

Alas, Turk has set up shop in the wrong end of the Commonwealth outside of Philly (Mrs. Turk doesn't think this is so bad), a mere 4 hrs or so from the ancestral (?) Turk roost. Am just up the road from Villanova, and know a little bit about St. Joe's and the other Philly Big 5 schools if they ever wind up on anyone's list. (Are you still keeping an eye on Ursinus, CathyCA?). Swee'Pea is liking Pitt very much; she kicked butt her first year and landed with a good group of kids in her dorm. This year she takes on O-Chem, which I understand is what separates the pre-med pretenders from the contenders. I am about as objective as Dookie V here, but I'll take the kid and give the points.

Looking forward to hearing how the Lavabe clan works through the selection process...

Christian has narrowed down his list of schools to those within a 2-hour radius of home. And by home, he means his dad's house in northern California and my house in eastern North Carolina. So, as far as I can tell, Ursinus is out of the mix.

This summer, Christian has visited UC-Davis, UC-Berkeley, Stanford and UC-Santa Cruz.

He tells me that NCSU, Duke and unc are in the mix here in North Carolina. I need to get him to look at other colleges within a 2-hour radius of my house. I wonder what other colleges he'd be interested in visiting.

What are his interests? Of study, I mean! ;)

Math, chemistry and music. He got his highest grades in his science and math classes. His lowest grades (all As) were in symphonic band, marching band and jazz band.

[devildeac]

Alas, Turk has set up shop in the wrong end of the Commonwealth outside of Philly (Mrs. Turk doesn't think this is so bad), a mere 4 hrs or so from the ancestral (?) Turk roost. Am just up the road from Villanova, and know a little bit about St. Joe's and the other Philly Big 5 schools if they ever wind up on anyone's list. (Are you still keeping an eye on Ursinus, CathyCA?). Swee'Pea is liking Pitt very much; she kicked butt her first year and landed with a good group of kids in her dorm. This year she takes on O-Chem, which I understand is what separates the pre-med pretenders from the contenders. I am about as objective as Dookie V here, but I'll take the kid and give the points.

Looking forward to hearing how the Lavabe clan works through the selection process...

Christian has narrowed down his list of schools to those within a 2-hour radius of home. And by home, he means his dad's house in northern California and my house in eastern North Carolina. So, as far as I can tell, Ursinus is out of the mix.

This summer, Christian has visited UC-Davis, UC-Berkeley, Stanford and UC-Santa Cruz.

He tells me that NCSU, Duke and unc are in the mix here in North Carolina. I need to get him to look at other colleges within a 2-hour radius of my house. I wonder what other colleges he'd be interested in visiting.

Would University of Richmond and William and Mary be outside that 2 hour radius? How about Campbell, UNC-W and Elon? WFU would be about 3.5 hours away.

[CathyCA]

Alas, Turk has set up shop in the wrong end of the Commonwealth outside of Philly (Mrs. Turk doesn't think this is so bad), a mere 4 hrs or so from the ancestral (?) Turk roost. Am just up the road from Villanova, and know a little bit about St. Joe's and the other Philly Big 5 schools if they ever wind up on anyone's list. (Are you still keeping an eye on Ursinus, CathyCA?). Swee'Pea is liking Pitt very much; she kicked butt her first year and landed with a good group of kids in her dorm. This year she takes on O-Chem, which I understand is what separates the pre-med pretenders from the contenders. I am about as objective as Dookie V here, but I'll take the kid and give the points.

Looking forward to hearing how the Lavabe clan works through the selection process...

Christian has narrowed down his list of schools to those within a 2-hour radius of home. And by home, he means his dad's house in northern California and my house in eastern North Carolina. So, as far as I can tell, Ursinus is out of the mix.

This summer, Christian has visited UC-Davis, UC-Berkeley, Stanford and UC-Santa Cruz.

He tells me that NCSU, Duke and unc are in the mix here in North Carolina. I need to get him to look at other colleges within a 2-hour radius of my house. I wonder what other colleges he'd be interested in visiting.

Would University of Richmond and William and Mary be outside that 2 hour radius? How about Campbell, UNC-W and Elon? WFU would be about 3.5 hours away.

W&M is out. So is U of R. Both are 3 hours away.

Campbell is within the 2 hour limit, and UNC-W is about 8 minutes outside of the 2 hour radius, but I'm not telling Christian that! Elon is about 20 minutes outside of the 2 hour radius, but again, I'm not telling!

WFU is 3 hours from here. I wish he would consider it. They'd probably give him preference as an alumni kid if my law degree counts for anything with the college admissions people.

[ArkieDukie]

Christian has narrowed down his list of schools to those within a 2-hour radius of home. And by home, he means his dad's house in northern California and my house in eastern North Carolina. So, as far as I can tell, Ursinus is out of the mix.

This summer, Christian has visited UC-Davis, UC-Berkeley, Stanford and UC-Santa Cruz.

He tells me that NCSU, Duke and unc are in the mix here in North Carolina. I need to get him to look at other colleges within a 2-hour radius of my house. I wonder what other colleges he'd be interested in visiting.

What are his interests? Of study, I mean! ;)

Math, chemistry and music. He got his highest grades in his science and math classes. His lowest grades (all As) were in symphonic band, marching band and jazz band.

It's outside the radius, unfortunately, but Washington and Lee has a stellar chemistry department. I know this because I taught there for one year as a sabbatical replacement. UVA is quite good, too. I hate to admit it, but of his schools in the 919, unc probably has the best chemistry department. At one point they were ranked #2 for analytical chemistry. Haven't looked at the rankings in a while. With that being said, both Duke and NCSU have good people in their chemistry departments. Of his CA schools, the first 3 have very good chemistry programs from what I know. I'm not familiar with UC-Santa Cruz. Stanford and Berkeley are top 5 programs, IIRC.

If he would ever like to chat about possible career options, I'd be more than happy to do so. Although my field of study was in one of the traditional areas of chemistry (organic), my current research areas is more in the bioanalytical chemistry area. Not sure if he's interested in that sort of thing, but I'd be more than happy to give him the dirt.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I would think he would enjoy WFU. Center of the state, so much around within a short drive. Mountains, beaches. I liked not being so close to home. And it beats the hell out of California.

[CathyCA]

It's outside the radius, unfortunately, but Washington and Lee has a stellar chemistry department. I know this because I taught there for one year as a sabbatical replacement. UVA is quite good, too. I hate to admit it, but of his schools in the 919, unc probably has the best chemistry department. At one point they were ranked #2 for analytical chemistry. Haven't looked at the rankings in a while. With that being said, both Duke and NCSU have good people in their chemistry departments. Of his CA schools, the first 3 have very good chemistry programs from what I know. I'm not familiar with UC-Santa Cruz. Stanford and Berkeley are top 5 programs, IIRC.

If he would ever like to chat about possible career options, I'd be more than happy to do so. Although my field of study was in one of the traditional areas of chemistry (organic), my current research areas is more in the bioanalytical chemistry area. Not sure if he's interested in that sort of thing, but I'd be more than happy to give him the dirt.

Thanks, AD. That's good information to have. I'll share it with Christian when he comes home in August.

And thank you for your kind offer to chat with him about career options.

[CathyCA]

I would think he would enjoy WFU. Center of the state, so much around within a short drive. Mountains, beaches. I liked not being so close to home. And it beats the hell out of California.

I didn't like WFU as much as I liked Duke.

Christian would enjoy going to school in California.

Whether he goes to school near my home or near his dad's home, he's still going to be far away from one or the other of us.

[ArkieDukie]

Alas, Turk has set up shop in the wrong end of the Commonwealth outside of Philly (Mrs. Turk doesn't think this is so bad), a mere 4 hrs or so from the ancestral (?) Turk roost. Am just up the road from Villanova, and know a little bit about St. Joe's and the other Philly Big 5 schools if they ever wind up on anyone's list. (Are you still keeping an eye on Ursinus, CathyCA?). Swee'Pea is liking Pitt very much; she kicked butt her first year and landed with a good group of kids in her dorm. This year she takes on O-Chem, which I understand is what separates the pre-med pretenders from the contenders. I am about as objective as Dookie V here, but I'll take the kid and give the points.

Looking forward to hearing how the Lavabe clan works through the selection process...

Meant to mention this earlier, but I taught undergraduate O-Chem in a former life. Organic is to chemistry as geometry is to math. It's got it's own funky sense of logic, but it actually does make sense once you get the hang of it. My advice: work lots of problems, do NOT get behind, and do not choose to simply memorize the material rather than understanding what is going on and why. Since organic chem is such a cumulative subject, stuff you learn the first week of class is still relevant the very last day of class. The light bulb can click on at any point in the course - for me, it was at the beginning of the second semester. I saw that happen a whole lot when I taught, too. So, my last piece of advice would be to keep plugging if it doesn't make sense right off the bat. Okay, I changed my mind: get lots of sleep on the night before an exam. Your brain has got to be working.

Best of luck to Swee'Pea, and be sure to PM me if I can ever offer any helpful advice!

[ArkieDukie]

I would think he would enjoy WFU. Center of the state, so much around within a short drive. Mountains, beaches. I liked not being so close to home. And it beats the hell out of California.

I didn't like WFU as much as I liked Duke.

Christian would enjoy going to school in California.

Whether he goes to school near my home or near his dad's home, he's still going to be far away from one or the other of us.

Do you ever video chat with your sons, Cathy? It might make things a bit easier. That's how I visit with my family. We set my mom and dad up with an iPad so they can FaceTime with my younger sister and I. My parents love it, and video chatting has been an absolute godsend due to my mom's aphasia.

[CathyCA]

I would think he would enjoy WFU. Center of the state, so much around within a short drive. Mountains, beaches. I liked not being so close to home. And it beats the hell out of California.

I didn't like WFU as much as I liked Duke.

Christian would enjoy going to school in California.

Whether he goes to school near my home or near his dad's home, he's still going to be far away from one or the other of us.

Do you ever video chat with your sons, Cathy? It might make things a bit easier. That's how I visit with my family. We set my mom and dad up with an iPad so they can FaceTime with my younger sister and I. My parents love it, and video chatting has been an absolute godsend due to my mom's aphasia.

No, we don't skype or do facetime. They do it with their friends.

Here is a typical telephone call from one of my boys in California:

"Hi, Mom. What's up?"

"I've been at work, I've been over to MyMama's house, I went shopping, and I talked to friend."

"Oh. That sounds nice."

"What have you been doing?"

"Playing on the computer. Hanging out with friends."

"Anything else?"

"No."

"What did you have for lunch?"

"Leftover pizza."

"What are you going to do this evening?"

"Hang out with friends. Play on my computer."

"That sounds like fun."

"It is. I love you, Mom. 'Bye!"

***************************

I kid you not. Most convos with my sons last about 3 minutes. Skype or Facetime isn't worth the effort for those short convos.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I would think he would enjoy WFU. Center of the state, so much around within a short drive. Mountains, beaches. I liked not being so close to home. And it beats the hell out of California.

I didn't like WFU as much as I liked Duke.

Christian would enjoy going to school in California.

Whether he goes to school near my home or near his dad's home, he's still going to be far away from one or the other of us.

He would, but you wouldn't.
Make him compromise, and pick a school in Kansas.

[CathyCA]

I would think he would enjoy WFU. Center of the state, so much around within a short drive. Mountains, beaches. I liked not being so close to home. And it beats the hell out of California.

I didn't like WFU as much as I liked Duke.

Christian would enjoy going to school in California.

Whether he goes to school near my home or near his dad's home, he's still going to be far away from one or the other of us.

He would, but you wouldn't.
Make him compromise, and pick a school in Kansas.

No! Kansas might as well be as far away as California because it entails a plane ride to get there.

[CameronBornAndBred]

No! Kansas might as well be as far away as California because it entails a plane ride to get there.

How many people step off their plane from Kansas quoting The Wizard Of Oz?

[Lavabe]

No! Kansas might as well be as far away as California because it entails a plane ride to get there.

How many people step off their plane from Kansas quoting The Wizard Of Oz?

Waiting for a response from DinK. ;)

[Native]

Does Native or Rolvix do Duke Tours for the admissions Office? I thought one of the two did tours, but I may be mistaken.

Native enjoys doing them when he can, though not officially. He hated turning down the job but something had to go. His enthusiasm for Duke is infectious. I can't speak for him. He has a lot of projects going right now but, PM him. He'd do it if he can work it in.

Love, Ima

Yeah, I'm not officially affiliated with Duke Admissions but I can give one hell of a tour (and I'll take you inside more places than they do on the official one).

I'll just put it to you this way: we ran into Nolan Smith on the last tour I gave.

[Very Duke Blue]

Alas, Turk has set up shop in the wrong end of the Commonwealth outside of Philly (Mrs. Turk doesn't think this is so bad), a mere 4 hrs or so from the ancestral (?) Turk roost. Am just up the road from Villanova, and know a little bit about St. Joe's and the other Philly Big 5 schools if they ever wind up on anyone's list. (Are you still keeping an eye on Ursinus, CathyCA?). Swee'Pea is liking Pitt very much; she kicked butt her first year and landed with a good group of kids in her dorm. This year she takes on O-Chem, which I understand is what separates the pre-med pretenders from the contenders. I am about as objective as Dookie V here, but I'll take the kid and give the points.

Looking forward to hearing how the Lavabe clan works through the selection process...

Christian has narrowed down his list of schools to those within a 2-hour radius of home. And by home, he means his dad's house in northern California and my house in eastern North Carolina. So, as far as I can tell, Ursinus is out of the mix.

This summer, Christian has visited UC-Davis, UC-Berkeley, Stanford and UC-Santa Cruz.

He tells me that NCSU, Duke and unc are in the mix here in North Carolina. I need to get him to look at other colleges within a 2-hour radius of my house. I wonder what other colleges he'd be interested in visiting.

Where ever Christian goes and what every he decides he wants to do, he will do just fine. He is a great kid.

[CathyCA]

Alas, Turk has set up shop in the wrong end of the Commonwealth outside of Philly (Mrs. Turk doesn't think this is so bad), a mere 4 hrs or so from the ancestral (?) Turk roost. Am just up the road from Villanova, and know a little bit about St. Joe's and the other Philly Big 5 schools if they ever wind up on anyone's list. (Are you still keeping an eye on Ursinus, CathyCA?). Swee'Pea is liking Pitt very much; she kicked butt her first year and landed with a good group of kids in her dorm. This year she takes on O-Chem, which I understand is what separates the pre-med pretenders from the contenders. I am about as objective as Dookie V here, but I'll take the kid and give the points.

Looking forward to hearing how the Lavabe clan works through the selection process...

Christian has narrowed down his list of schools to those within a 2-hour radius of home. And by home, he means his dad's house in northern California and my house in eastern North Carolina. So, as far as I can tell, Ursinus is out of the mix.

This summer, Christian has visited UC-Davis, UC-Berkeley, Stanford and UC-Santa Cruz.

He tells me that NCSU, Duke and unc are in the mix here in North Carolina. I need to get him to look at other colleges within a 2-hour radius of my house. I wonder what other colleges he'd be interested in visiting.

Where ever Christian goes and what every he decides he wants to do, he will do just fine. He is a great kid.

Thank you, VDB!

[DukieInKansas]

No! Kansas might as well be as far away as California because it entails a plane ride to get there.

How many people step off their plane from Kansas quoting The Wizard Of Oz?

Waiting for a response from DinK. ;)

Don't know about quoting Wizard of Oz but I do like returning home. If he came to Kansas, his "Aunt" DinK would watch out for him.