Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Peer Groups and College Visits

This is my oldest daughter's senior year in high school. Little did I know what a stressful year it would be.

It is time to visit colleges. I need to find an institution of higher learning that will stimulate my daughter's young brain and provide her with training for the future. I also have to find a place where my daughter will feel comfortable. The brochures in the guidance counselor's office say: "It is imperative to visit colleges to determine which school will be the best match for your child."

We have visited three colleges thus far. The Art Schools are winning.
The first state system of higher education school did not cut it. The students were wearing Abercrombie and Hollister.

I didn't take any pictures at universities. I did notice that the Art students looked a lot more like my daughter.

The following photos are from Otakon 2009. These are the my daughter's peeps.



Cosplay at Otakon. Trenchcoats and military style uniforms were all the rage this year.


Trenchcoats and uniforms again. White and Blonde wigs are always in fashion.
Green, blue and purple hair are always in vogue.

These photos were from July 2009 in Baltimore.
Doug and I sat across the street at an outdoor cafe. We nursed a few local brews and enjoyed the sights.
They were not considered outrageous by any means. Daughter was in control of the camera and taking photos of characters she liked.
Daughter is seriously interested in digital animation and game arts. We visited the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Saturday. The kids were not in costume, but they dressed quite creatively. Hair came in many colors and at least 75% of them wore glasses. She felt at home. Isn't that part of it?

13 comments:

chay said...

Tell Annelise she needs to visit E-town!! :O! Actually, if she wants to get a feel for what dorm life is like, I'd be more than happy to host her for a night... or two >___>or a year.

dive said...

Yay for cosplay!
Good luck with the college thing, Neetzy. Over here we don't get to choose, it's way too cut-throat. The uiversities cherry-pick the very top students but most kids are happy to get a place anywhere.
I was lucky enough to get where I wanted to go but then (it was the seventies) I dropped out to go on the road with rock bands. Hey ho.

Jeannette StG said...

Don't worry too much about "which" college:) Your daughter will tell you when she doesn't like it. Sometimes you can't tell beforehand LOL

neetzy said...

Chay,
That sounds like an excellent idea! I also need to check out that coffeehouse/gallery. They want to show my paintings in the spring. We'll be in touch.

Dive,

Just curious...how does it work over there? We have to take SAT tests. Daughter is in top 10% of class. We could probably go just about anywhere if we wanted to pay $30,000 per year out of our pocket. I can't really afford that.

Jeannette,
Thanks. I'm new to this game. It is fun and scary all at the same time. I just don't know if her choices will be the best match for her. She is so introverted and shy.

dive said...

It seems to work pretty well, Neetzy. I'm not so sure about these days; there are hundreds of students after each spot in the top universities so they can cherry pick the very best, but back in my day (remember I live in a Socialist Nightmare) I applied to the uni I wanted, sent them my finals results, sat an entrance exam and an interview and they said "Come on in". Plus (it being a den of Marxist Evil here) the government paid me a student grant to cover all my expenses at college, so - just like with our evil healthcare system - I paid not a single penny. Yay!

Shazza said...

Sis - knowing A, I think it will be very important for her to feel comfortable so that she gets the most out of her experience. Especially if she is living on campus.
Good luck!

neetzy said...

Comrade Dive,

You evel socialist! God forbid! Do you really think the US of A wants an educated populace? We might uh...read about policy instead of blindly listening to fat radio wingnuts.

Shazza,

I'm with you. Doug feels a little uncomfortable with the "art school" thing, but she really fits in. They are all freaky geeks in animation.

Katie said...

Wow, the college visit. I hope your daughter finds a good college to fit her interests and one where she feels comfortable. I managed to avoid the college visit thing as I was in CA and wanted to go to college in Maine, so when my mom was visiting her parents there, she went and looked at the three schools I was interested in, and she then told me which one would be best for me. So I applied, got in, and on my first day of school I saw the campus for the first time. Luckily my mom knows me really well and it worked out great.

neetzy said...

Katie,
Thanks. Daughter A is so introverted, I don't know if she will feel comfortable living far from home. She loves the art schools, but I worry about her lack of assertiveness.

Shell Sherree said...

Ahoy, Neetzy, I be hopin' ye have a bonny time at the Marauders with yer fine lass, and ye come across no dithytiv scallywags while ye be swashbucklin'. Arrrrrrr-arrrrrrrgh!

{Dithytiv was my wv - seemed somehow appropriate.} :)

neetzy said...

Shell Sherree,

Shiver me timbers! Not a pirate among the scurvy lot. We tried to talk pirate and the cheerful looking students in their yellow shirts looked at us like we were crazy!
Aargh!

Dar Presto said...

My daughter is a cosplayer too. We enjoy Tekkoshocon here in Pittsburgh.

My kiddo will be looking into colleges in the next few years, and at the moment I'm thinking a college of art and design, like SCAD or MCAD might be appropriate. Who knows?! Best wishes, I hope your daughter finds just the right fit.

neetzy said...

Dar Presto,
Thanks for stopping. Sounds like our daughters would be best friends. I thought of SCAD but it is a bit far. We did like the Art Institute in Pittsburgh. We liked PCAD in Lancaster, will be checking UArts in Philly, maybe CCAD in Columbus Ohio.