Dressing for "winter"

[Orchidflower]

You think she wants to tramp around in Army boots? She sounds more girlie than that.
Marshall's has some cute things more in the Jr. line for her I think. (I hope/assume you're joking, LOL!)

She always could try Buffalo Exchange for resale coats, too.

[Nords]

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Originally Posted by LOL! *She will be bringing a few friends with her every break she comes home, so you can start getting the homestead ready for that now.

It'll be interesting to see how that works out. I don't know if she'll be homesick or tempted to visit other families. She really has a travel bug.

Of course "boyfriend meeting the parents" candidates will be offered an "opportunity" to accompany us to taekwondo sparring and to surf the North Shore.

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Originally Posted by Texas Proud what is her major again PS... my niece who made a 1590 twice on the SAT did not get in... and she had a LOT of things going for her... I think she just did not have it as her #1 school and did lousy on the interview or essay...

She strongly wants to study civil engineering. She's been taking engineering & drafting courses in high school and she did a lot of engineering projects during last summer's college programs. She could be the fourth Nords generation of engineers and its first woman engineer. No pressure!

A friend said their Rice civil engineering curriculum included over two years of courses on concrete. Between that and Hawaii's sewage problems our kid will have lifetime employment.

I'd love to see an "after-action report" on what persuaded Rice's admissions committee. Browsing the college discussion boards can give one a pretty intimidating impression, and feedback is hard to come by at any college. (A USNA Director of Admission told me in 2006 that they will not appoint candidates with any SAT score of less than 590, no matter how far they can throw a football.) By Rice's demographics of their current freshman class, our kid would have been solidly in the lower/middle of the pack. NROTC didn't have anyone get into Rice in 2008 but they sent at least one girl in 2009.

I think SATs of 700+ are helpful but not essential. Early decision, NROTC scholarship, woman engineer, high school class rank, six AP classes, big fish in a small pond candidate from a small state, taekwondo black belt, activities outside of school, Rice expanding their student body by 10%, their recent emphasis on the "whole person" application... any of those could have put her over the top.

She doesn't have a Girl Scout Gold Award or a varsity sports letter. No student council or class president. No sustained community service, although she's done lots of one-day environmental projects. She took the SATs three times and Rice must have politely ignored some of her earlier efforts. Rice apparently bought her explanation of why she got a "1" on the AP Calculus exam, or else her other math accomplishments made up for it. No one in our family is a Rice alum or employee.

She e-mailed Rice's NROTC unit the minute she got the NROTC scholarship. One of their lieutenants obligingly trotted right over to their Admissions office with the news. Scholarships aren't supposed to have any effect on the committee's decision but who knows.

We've read that early decision is a 10-15% booster. I don't know the final numbers yet but I guesstimate that Rice got about 1100 early-decision applications and offered admission to about 250. OTOH this year they could easily get over 12,000 total applications for 1000 students. The "problem" with ED is that the kid has to make a commitment to just one school, which essentially strips them of all financial negotiating power. Of course finances are a lot smaller issue when NROTC is paying the tuition bill.

If I had to pick only one factor then it'd be Kumon. She's been working through their math curriculum literally since first grade, and she completed it in her sophomore year. (Almost all Kumon math kids stall out a couple levels before the end and then drop out of the program.) She went on to finish all of their "optional" math topics, too, including topics like differential equations, matrices, vectors, and probability/statistics. Kumon's North American president came out to hand her a plaque and told her that she was only the 4th student in North America (and the first in Hawaii) to finish the curriculum.

[LOL!]

Nords, it is very likely that my wife and I will meet your daughter in the future. I'll be sure to ask her about Kumon and that 1 on AP Calculus.

And whether she wants to come home for Xmas or not, her friends will insist that she does and that she takes them with her.

[Moemg]

Why don't you let your daughter look through a few online catalogues such as Land's End or Eddie Bauer . All the winter things are on sale and if you look you can usually find a free shipping offer online . I'd suggest a few all pupose turtlenecks , a heavier cotton sweater , and an insulated (not too heavily ) jacket plus gloves , scarf & a hat .

[CuppaJoe]

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"I'll just stay in the dorm. They'll have the heat on." That was followed by: "I'll just run between buildings. If it's cold, I won't want to be outside anyway."

LOL! Might be the only exercise she gets besides dialing/punching the phone to order pizza. I went to college in a cold cold climate but who cares, you’re either studying or drinking socializing at the “local option beer bars.” Don’t tell dad. It might be a good idea to wait and see what others wear or she’d be looking for a new wardrobe anyway. A friend did the reverse, flew into a tropical climate wearing a wool tweed sports jacket. Someone in shorts and flip flops said, “what are we going to do with this one?” Nords, don’t deny her that moment!

[Keim]

Love the story. Reminds me of a Hawaiian I met my first semester of college in Helena Montana. The temp had dipped to about -30 (not including windchill) before Christmas break. I never saw Harry after that semester...

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Rice apparently bought her explanation of why she got a "1" on the AP Calculus exam

Ouch. May want to keep that a secret from fellow engineers. Guess she'll have fun in Calc 101 freshman year...

(said by a fellow engineer that didn't take any math in college due to "higher than 1's" on a bunch of AP classes).

[WhoDaresWins]

I think a ski jacket would be a practical winter coat in Houston and for trips elsewhere "on the mainland". That plus a cap and scarf, pair of gloves. This advice from someone who has never visited TX except to change planes in Dallas. I will rectify this next month when I visit old friends in Houston for a week so I'm happy to hear it is warm there now. I have a cousin who has lived in HI since the early 70's. His daughter went to college in Idaho for one semester but transferred back to UH after that. I'm not sure why as the family took ski vacations regularly so she knew about snow and cold weather presumably.

[LOL!]

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Originally Posted by FUEGO Ouch. May want to keep that a secret from fellow engineers. Guess she'll have fun in Calc 101 freshman year...

I am virtually certain that at least 50% of the freshmen Rice students in Calc 101 probably took the AP Calculus exam in high school and did not do well on it.

[Bestwifeever]

On the other hand, Nords's daughter mightl need LESS clothing for some of her social life at Rice:

Night of Decadence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

News photo from last year's NOD party:

[Moemg]

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Originally Posted by Bestwifeever On the other hand, Nords's daughter mightl need LESS clothing for some of her social life at Rice: Night of Decadence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia News photo from last year's NOD party:

That's true ! Just make sure she has a clean sheet for toga night !

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO Ouch. May want to keep that a secret from fellow engineers. Guess she'll have fun in Calc 101 freshman year... (said by a fellow engineer that didn't take any math in college due to "higher than 1's" on a bunch of AP classes).

I do not see that any high school kid could have had Partial Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Laplace, Fourier and Z transforms, Maxwell's Equations, Real and Complex Analysis, Galois Theory, Stochastic Process, etc...

Perhaps these materials are integrated into engineering courses, but they all look like math to me.

[FUEGO]

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Originally Posted by NW-Bound I do not see that any high school kid could have had Partial Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Laplace, Fourier and Z transforms, Maxwell's Equations, Real and Complex Analysis, Galois Theory, Stochastic Process, etc... Perhaps these materials are integrated into engineering courses, but they all look like math to me.

Had most of that in high school. Never heard of some of that thank goodness (Galois Theory??). Linear algebra was optional for us civil engineers (didn't take it). I guess you could say I was an advanced student in high school at a pretty good school. You should have seen what the smart really advanced kids were getting into.

In truth I did take a 1 credit hour class in college that was labeled with the MA prefix to denote being a math class but was probably more properly a computer science class since it was only focused on computer modeling of different phenomena. In fact it was taught by faculty from the comp sci department.

[kumquat]

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Originally Posted by Nords Here's an interesting challenge which no doubt you winterized posters will find hugely entertaining.

OK, I've held up long enough:

Using Houston and winter in the same sentence is an oxymoron!

I talked to a friend (who hales from here) in Houston, asked him about winter clothing. Response was shorts, t-shirt and sandals.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO Had most of that in high school. Never heard of some of that thank goodness (Galois Theory??). Linear algebra was optional for us civil engineers (didn't take it). I guess you could say I was an advanced student in high school at a pretty good school. You should have seen what the smart really advanced kids were getting into.

Wow, I am impressed. Search the Web for Rudin's textbooks, and tell me if they use that in HS. You can tell that my kids were not that advanced. And even though I thought I was pretty good in math, none of the topics I listed would be within grasp of myself and my peers, back when I was in HS. Indeed, these were material for at least the 2nd half of the sophomore year, more like junior level and going up to graduate level.

PS. Galois Theory has applications in Error Correcting Codes. I had it as a senior level class. Yes, very few EEs even learn about Error Correcting Codes. Stochastic Process was a graduate level class and a prerequisite to learning about Stochastic Optimal Control and Estimation. Linear Algebra was used in Linear (of course!) Control Theory, also a senior to graduate level class. I believe these are still current research topics, but that gets deeper than what I learned 30 years ago.

PPS. Real Analysis is not Calculus. If a textbook shows graphs and curves, it is Calculus. Real Analysis is at a higher abstract level, and all undergraduate engineers I have known, and indeed even most at Master level have not had exposure to it.

[Bestwifeever]

When my kids (smart enough but not genius smart) went to college, they were advised to take the college classes for their majors even if they had AP'd out of them. Their high school counselor's theory was that the AP classes looked good on the transcripts when applying to college but they might not be on the same page as the rest of the students in their majors if they didn't take all the classes. This strategy would not be true for genius smart kids, of course.

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever When my kids (smart enough but not genius smart) went to college, they were advised to take the college classes for their majors even if they had AP'd out of them. Their high school counselor's theory was that the AP classes looked good on the transcripts when applying to college but they might not be on the same page as the rest of the students in their majors if they didn't take all the classes. This strategy would not be true for genius smart kids, of course.

I guess all schools are different, but I found the AP classes and college level classes beyond AP taught at my high school to be much more academically rigorous and in depth than the analogous college courses. For one thing, we had 45 minutes of class 5 days a week for 2 semesters in HS, vs 50 minute classes 3 days a week for 1 semester in college. Just way more instructional time in HS.

Could also be due to having the smart kids who generally apply themselves in the HS versions, whereas the college classes are full of average students who are just coasting through the course hoping to pass it to fill a prerequisite slot.

[LOL!]

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Originally Posted by kumquat ... in Houston, asked him about winter clothing. Response was shorts, t-shirt and sandals.

Thanks for the confirmation.

I tried to find a live web cam in a Houston ZIP code that showed how pedestrians are dressed.

EarthCam - Houston Cam has some cameras very close to Rice U, but not many night time pedestrians. But the last 24 hours are archived.

[Nords]

Spouse pointed out to me today that we have absolutely no cold-weather tolerance. What a typical Houstonite would find comfortable weather for t-shirts & shorts would probably leave us Hawaii residents curled up in a foetal ball in the corner...

Notre Dame has a big Hawaii club. I don't know how those guys adapt to the weather, especially when they can spend a couple weeks in tropical paradise over the holidays and then have to return to the Dark Ages.

[Orchidflower]

Houston is just is not a walking city it seems with the exception being the Clear Lake area around NASA. Well, it isn't D.C. or even Chicago who are walkable cities anyway.