Kids, Homework, College, AP, Ski Racing, All of It

A B C HS kid will likely be accepted into most state schools with the exception of Binghamton or Stonybrook. They will also have a wide range of private schools to choose from as well. However they are unlikely to receive much if any academic aid and if you are in that middle income or above range and you have put away some 509 money, they won’t get any financial aid either.

That’s the real issue, how much debt will they incur or how much can you afford to fund. There’s a college for everyone if they want to go. Some of the community colleges in NY are top notch and a bargain, you just don’t get the college immersion. 2 years there and a good GPA will allow you to transfer most anywhere.

Z wrote

private school thus no NYS regents exams

Never occurred to me.  Private school in NY doesn’t automatically equal no Regents exams.  Non-public school administration of Regents exams is voluntary, and the private high schools down here that I’m familiar with do administer them.  Not that I’m sure a Regents diploma carries a ton of weight, especially outside of NY, but having a Regents diploma does open up some scholarship money.  Not a ton, but every penny counts.

My daughter’s college requires students to take a foreign language, unless you had taken 3 years of a foreign language in high school, in which case you get a waiver.  Not uncommon I don’t think.  By having as many years of math as she did....because we pushed for the Advanced Regents diploma and beyond...she also had her quantitative (math) liberal arts requirement waived.  That put us up to a semester and a half of classes she didn’t have to take.  Point being....pushing on might not be a bad thing.  Would have been nice if she parlayed that into an early college graduation, but I can’t fault her for going the full four and adding a second minor that will compliment her degree.

Yes, foreign language immersion is the way to go.  My wife took as much Spanish as was offered in high school and then added a concentration in Spanish in college.  She could read and give you a dissertation on Cervantes....but that classic non-immersion Spanish didn’t prepare her to be able to carry on much of a real world conversation in Spanish, although the number of different dialects can make that a challenge.

This thread just blows me away. I'm over the top happy for those of you who have kids and enjoy all that goes with it. I'm just as equally as happy that I don't have to deal with it!

If I had kid I'd encourage him/her to go to a trade school.  You guys ever try and get work done around your house?  If you have a trade (no matter what it is) and are good at it (honest, trustworthy, quality work) you can name your price and you'll never be out of work.

I'm not saying college is overrated but sometimes it's overrated

My wife majored in Spanish in college. Did her junior year in Spain. She couldn't speak a lick when she arrived , but was fluent when she left..

I have been working in kitchens for the last 20+ years. my Spanish is pretty good. At least I can curse like a sailor and talk trash with the guys..

JasonWx wrote

 
I have been working in kitchens for the last 20+ years. my Spanish is pretty good. At least I can curse like a sailor and talk trash with the guys..

LOL!

Right on target Marz , Latin is the root derivative of many english words in not only the law but Medicine , Science etc . It does instill discipline teach syntax and vocabulary and gives one some verbal facility . Also helped being an altar boy in the Catholic church back in the day . And hell if ya couldnt pronounced it ya just mumbled fast ro keep up hahahahahah

In my day GREEK was  taught  too.
 
My undergrad roomate a brilliant mind had a triple major German , Russian and and Poly Sci . He went to work for the feds doing foreign claim work for SS among american dependents in Europe . Turned down a UN job as an interpreter because there was better travel with the SS role . The spook farm was after him too but that was not his cup o tea .

True ! Similar to some with Math difficulty at the more complex levels of the discipline , i always tested well in it BUT sucked at it grade wise got B and C . Did eek out 2 A 's in university ' but by then i KNEW how to study . In hs i was all about Hoops , Chicks , and playing saxaphone .

Last statement is right on target . Clarkson will take SUNY Cot at Canton 2 yr engineering grads at par , . Its great business model for both the kid and Clarkson .

Kid saves major  dinero , gets 2 degrees and Clarkson gets the BUNDY aid at graduation for the eqivalent of ALL 4 years  after 2 yrs investment in the kid  ."  Clarkson native juniors do not have the eqivalent credit hrs in the discipline at THAT point and the SUNY kids know how to work " direct quote from  a retired Clarkson Dean of Engineering .DrEd Misiaczek  

warp daddy wrote

  In hs i was all about Hoops , Chicks  

My mom always says she didn't know our HS handed out homework until my sisters went to HS

Oh hell yeah , i had a few of the ladies doing some math  hw for me ... Like i said i eeked by in that . Then my school merged in my sr yr and they created  a boys hs and a separate girls hs . Ours  was run by Xaverian brothers and those old boys dont screw around it was run like a college so i HAD to get busy .

Z wrote

Your thoughts on this guys?

Get him hooked up with a local contractor (carpenter, plumber, electrician) starting next summer. Work as an apprentice for a local respected trademen.  Skip college and learn the skills to become a master level trademen.   Start his own biz in his mid 20s.  Run a small crew of 3-5 and take the winters off earning 60-100k.  

So much trade work in Adks and so few skilled craftsmen.  

ScottyJack wrote

Z wrote

Your thoughts on this guys?

Get him hooked up with a local contractor (carpenter, plumber, electrician) starting next summer. Work as an apprentice for a local respected trademen.  Skip college and learn the skills to become a master level trademen.   Start his own biz in his mid 20s.  Run a small crew of 3-5 and take the winters off earning 60-100k.  

So much trade work in Adks and so few skilled craftsmen.

Obviously everyone has to find their own path but Scotty’s definitely on to something here. Part of me wishes I’d gone this route myself.

ScottyJack wrote

Z wrote

Your thoughts on this guys?

Get him hooked up with a local contractor (carpenter, plumber, electrician) starting next summer. Work as an apprentice for a local respected trademen.  Skip college and learn the skills to become a master level trademen.   Start his own biz in his mid 20s.  Run a small crew of 3-5 and take the winters off earning 60-100k.  

So much trade work in Adks and so few skilled craftsmen.

So, then continue with Spanish or no?  If you’re running the business and you need to communicate with non-native laborers.

ScottyJack wrote

Get him hooked up with a local contractor (carpenter, plumber, electrician) starting next summer. Work as an apprentice for a local respected trademen.  Skip college and learn the skills to become a master level trademen.   Start his own biz in his mid 20s.  Run a small crew of 3-5 and take the winters off earning 60-100k.  

So much trade work in Adks and so few skilled craftsmen.

The key is to go to trade school or apprentice with a true tradesman. Around here anyone with a pickup truck and a hammer can call himself a "contractor" and most of them don't know what they are doing because they never had any actual training. In Europe you have to apprentice for a certain number of years before you can call yourself a "tradesman". If you are a true tradesman, once you build your reputation, you can name your price.
I've been trying to get two of my trees trimmed recently. I know it's been a bit stormy lately so they are busy but over the past several months I had one guy come an give me an estimate and then never show up to do the job. I've called two others and never even got a call back. I'm  getting to the point where I'm ready to rent a high-lift and a chipper and do it myself and then maybe go into the tree trimming business.

What a great idea

Up here I’d go with french.  Lots of Canadians investing in real estate.  In fact,  67% of people who are registered for wilmington bikefest are canadians!  

The two most practical things I ever learned in school (in order):  Typing and Latin.  Latin will help your English, French and Spanish.  For STEM or law students, I think you have to consider it a must.

campgottagopee wrote

If I had kid I'd encourage him/her to go to a trade school.  You guys ever try and get work done around your house?  If you have a trade (no matter what it is) and are good at it (honest, trustworthy, quality work) you can name your price and you'll never be out of work.

Trades work is really hard to outsource overseas.  I don't know how many are going into it; suspecting not many.  Probably as important as the skill is the ability to speak/treat customers properly.....see previous post re. tree trimming.

Z, et.al., the World Economic Forum Jobs Report might be worth a read.

Marz, what "Chinese" is your daughter studying?  Mandarin, Cantonese, other?

Hell, you don't need to be skilled to work in the DAKs, you have trouble finding a person to cut the grass. There's plenty of work up here but if you want to run a business your back to trying to hire people.

warp daddy wrote

Right on target Marz , Latin is the root derivative of many english words in not only the law but Medicine , Science etc . It does instill discipline teach syntax and vocabulary and gives one some verbal facility . Also helped being an altar boy in the Catholic church back in the day . And hell if ya couldnt pronounced it ya just mumbled fast ro keep up hahahahahah

In my day GREEK was  taught  too.
 
My undergrad roomate a brilliant mind had a triple major German , Russian and and Poly Sci . He went to work for the feds doing foreign claim work for SS among american dependents in Europe . Turned down a UN job as an interpreter because there was better travel with the SS role . The spook farm was after him too but that was not his cup o tea .

I know a North Country School grad who was amazing at languages.  Learned 17 or 18, including Chinese and Arabic.  Probably knew 5-6 by the time he went to college.  He worked as  UNC interpreter for a while.  In his case, he would study in order to learn to read and write.

My mother decided to learn Spanish in her 50s.  Dragged me along for a 6-week summer program in Mexico when I was in high school.  She was taking Spanish 3 and I took Spanish 1.  We stayed in a private home for some immersion.  For me that meant I could take the second half of Spanish 1 at my prep school.  Put me in Spanish 3 at the public school I attended for junior year back in the 1970s.  The retirement plan for my parents was for them to travel in South America after my father retired because it was the only continent they hadn't explored yet.  So never too late to get the basics of a language.  But far easier to learn another language when someone has experience beyond Level 2 for a second language.

My daughter is really into Chinese right now.  But talks about taking Spanish again in college.  That's fine with me.