freshman class scheduling; helicopter parent or legit concern?

[Anonymous]

I did this my freshmen year, and it would have been ok EXCEPT there was construction limiting the sidewalks down to one ‘lane’ of pedestrians each way. And it was already a long walk from place to place.

And you know what, it ended up ok. I learned something from it, and I dunno, maybe it made me less anxious about other things because I was so anxious about being on time for 3 of my classes ha ha!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did this my freshmen year, and it would have been ok EXCEPT there was construction limiting the sidewalks down to one ‘lane’ of pedestrians each way. And it was already a long walk from place to place.

And you know what, it ended up ok. I learned something from it, and I dunno, maybe it made me less anxious about other things because I was so anxious about being on time for 3 of my classes ha ha!

The building they were constructing ended up being the home of my major! Massive gorgeous building. And another really amazing class I have awesome memories of. So, the construction and schedule problem is funny to me now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are also these nifty things called bicycles now that can help you travel a half-mile in about two minutes.

Bikes aren't a good idea on this campus. I'm actually a cyclist so I know all about bikes. My son specifically asked about bikes on a campus tour he took a year ago, and the tour guide said no one really rides to class on this campus--he gave the reason and while I don't want to post it here (don't want to reveal the school), as a cyclist myself I will say it makes a lot of sense.

I don't get it. This is an anonymous forum and there is literally no personally identifying info in your post. What possible reason could you have for not giving the reason and thus identifying the school. Plus if the reason is SO specific that only one school could possibly have that reason, then it seems a bit silly to say that bikes are bad on campus. It sounds like bikes are just bad on this one campus who has something so unique about them that it makes bikes bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are also these nifty things called bicycles now that can help you travel a half-mile in about two minutes.

Bikes aren't a good idea on this campus. I'm actually a cyclist so I know all about bikes. My son specifically asked about bikes on a campus tour he took a year ago, and the tour guide said no one really rides to class on this campus--he gave the reason and while I don't want to post it here (don't want to reveal the school), as a cyclist myself I will say it makes a lot of sense.

I don't get it. This is an anonymous forum and there is literally no personally identifying info in your post. What possible reason could you have for not giving the reason and thus identifying the school. Plus if the reason is SO specific that only one school could possibly have that reason, then it seems a bit silly to say that bikes are bad on campus. It sounds like bikes are just bad on this one campus who has something so unique about them that it makes bikes bad.

I have a few ideas: (1)Mandatory uniform includes a kilt, traditionally worn with nothing underneath (2) 12 cyclists were stoned to death on campus in the last 6 months (3) campus hermit gets 'triggered' (4) Campus speed limit of 5MPH is religiously enforced (5) Mandatory lute playing is incompatible with bicycling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My student's orientation was yesterday. Class registration was at the end of the day (students were separate from their parents, who had their own orientation events to attend) so students did this on their own with the help of an academic advisor/upper classman volunteers.) When I saw my kid's schedule I was upset. It wasn't the type of classes he was taking, but the fact that he was taking them so close together, with little time in between, and mostly on m/w/f with almost nothing on t/ th.

He is taking a total of 18 credits, and I'm specifically being a little vague with the exact subjects of his classes. I will mention that the math class is the highest level students typically start off at for this major, most students for this major/school start their freshman year at a lower level. Students have to test into this, and he just barely made the cutoff to qualify for it, so I was already feeling a little apprehensive about too much "overload."

M/W/F

9:00-9:50 Math (building A)
10:00-10:50 English (building E)
11:00-11:50 "class required for major" (building B)
12:00-12:50 Spanish (Building E)

2:00-2:50 Science (Building C)
3:00-3:50 "Class #2 required for major" (Building D), Wednesdays only


For Tuesday he had just one class scheduled for about an hour in the morning, and on Thursdays that same class, plus the lab for his Science class in the afternoon--so Tuesdays and Thursdays were extremely light.

So just right away, looking at the schedule, I was concerned that he was scheduled so tight from 9-1, with just ten minute breaks between each class. Then I looked at a map of where exactly these classes were located, and I was more concerned. Buildings A, B, C, and D are all fairly close together, but Building E is a ways off--according to Googlemaps it's half a mile away and about a ten minute walk, and that's just building to building, not accounting for actually getting into the classroom, and getting in a seat. And with the schedule above, he'd be making that trip EACH TIME he switched classes in the morning (3 times.)
If the walk to each building takes the full ten minutes, that leaves no time for a quick restroom break, to account for those times the professor keeps lecturing past end time, a minute to chat with a classmate about setting up a study group, etc.

I told him no way. This schedule was practically pre-destining him for stress and failure. I wanted him to see about moving at least one of the classes to T/Th to help balance the load. He gave me a hard time, saying he didn't want too much of a break between classes. I ended up going to where the advisors were and asking them to help change his schedule.
I did NOT want to do this. I did not want to interfere, I do NOT want to be "that parent." But I'm about to drop $40k a year, we are not wealthy and I will be making major sacrifices....and that schedule just seemed set up for failure.

Was a wrong? Should I have just let him keep that schedule, even if I'm pretty certain it was way too overloaded and would be stressful to navigate. Was I "that parent?"

Yes you're that parent. I don't even understand what your problem is? Only 10 min between classes and that's not enough for a potty break? He's EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD. Or that 10 min is too short to walk back and forth between buildings?? So he'll jog/speedwalk/get a bike -- he's got the energy of an EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD, not a 50 year old.

I don't even get what your problem is and why he's "set up for failure." You do realize that in high school, you have back to back classes right? So that's how he set this up. It's a very high school schedule -- starting at 9 and ending at 4 with an hr break. It's what he's used to. He's not used to having 50 min here and 2 hrs there and believe me in college for most people that ends up being a waste of time bc by the time you get to a study lounge and getting going on some studying/HW during a 1 hr break, it's time to pack up again to get to the next class. So what most end up doing is just going to the next class building, grabbing lunch, and talking to whoever is around (or these days checking their phones) -- it quickly adds up to multiple hours being wasted each day.

The way he has set it up (though I suspect it's not like this anymore since mama made him change it) is SMART. This is what I started doing soph-senior yr college, once I "got it." M and W will be his busy days, class all day long. T and R will be just 1 class each -- that leaves like 10 hrs in the day to study/prep for the next day's class/assignments etc. He can spend the entire day/half day in the library. And when he's stressed on M or W -- it'll be easier for him bc unlike others, he'll be thinking -- I just need to get to 4 pm and then I'm chilling all day tomorrow and I have time to figure out the problem set or whatever.

I think you're being ridiculous and if I were him -- I wouldn't have changed it or would change it right back when I got online scheduling and mama wasn't peering over my shoulder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you’re a nightmare. You should apologize to your son.

I set up my schedule with three days on and two off because it gave me large chunks of time to write papers and study. Fortunately, my parents didn’t even consider overriding my decision. Honestly, I don’t think it would have occurred to them to micromanage to that degree.

although I agree with you, it might be legit to point out that scheduling classes with 10 minutes in between might be a problem on a big campus. I was on a campus where it couldn't be done sometimes. If they're in the same building no problem, but I'd tell my kid to look at the campus map and make sure the choices are feasible.

OP here.
His Thursday classes are also back to back, but in buildings that are only a 4 minute walk apart. For the M/W/F classes it wasn't as much about the back to back (though I wasn't thrilled) but the fact that each and every one of the 4 morning classes was half a mile away from the next, and only ten minutes to get there.

I don't understand. He's an 18 yr old male. Does he have some kind of fatigue issue? Does he not consume enough calories? Why is it SUCH a big deal that he'd have to cover a half mile in 10 min??

[Anonymous]

Maybe a skateboard would be better

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe a skateboard would be better

Hoverboard?

[Anonymous]

Op, the lab section of a class often runs long, very long. He was smart to schedule his lab for a day without much else. I would encourage -maybe- even 12 credits to start. Or 18 and he drops a class or two after trying them out. Problem is beginning Freshman are often shy about dropping and don't. There's a lot to adjust to Freshman year so a lighter schedule is better. Too often Freshman are trying to impress.

[Anonymous]

OMG!! Your poor son.

[Anonymous]

I think this is not your place to get involved, but I also think it's a horrible schedule that will lead to burnout. Has he taken many advanced courses in HS? Is he extremely motivated and a high achiever? This schedule is too much

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is not your place to get involved, but I also think it's a horrible schedule that will lead to burnout. Has he taken many advanced courses in HS? Is he extremely motivated and a high achiever? This schedule is too much

It would have been better if Op had talked to her son, expressed her concerns about the schedule and then let him decide whether or not to ask for some schedule changes.

[Anonymous]

I took 18-20 credits per semester in a compressed program, that schedule could kill a GPA, and cost merit money
15 max, first semester, imo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op. You are right, your son is not giving himself enough time to get between classes and he will have too many exams/assignment falling due the same day of the week.

18 credits is a lot even when they are split between M/W/F and T/H.

That said, your kid has his reasons for wanting a light T/TH. He is the one who made this schedule and he'll have to work it out with his professors if he's consistently a few minutes late every day. He may ask his professors if he can leave class 5 minutes early in order to make the classes on time.

He would have figured it out and you should have let him figure it out. I totally understand where you were coming from though. Your his mom and you don't suddenly stop looking out for his best interests the minute he goes into college. I get it. But you need to back off.

OP here. Thanks. Yes, my main concern was getting from class to class in that ten minute break, when it takes a full ten minutes just to walk between buildings. Just one "sprint" would probably be ok, but having 4 back to back classes where EVERY time, he would have to sprint between classes, just seemed insane to me. I don't think he or the advisors looked at which buildings the classes would be held in when they designed the schedule. The advisors were working with hundreds of students.

If the distance is an issue, don't you think he'd figure this out after a day or two and drop a class or reschedule? Do you not think he is smart enough to figure this out on your own? Give your kid the space to make mistakes and solve the problem on his own. That's how they learn and develop judgment and confidence. You aren't a helicopter parent; you're a snowplow parent. You are doing your kid a terrible disservice

[Anonymous]

Wow. You're such an embarrassment, OP. Your poor son. As soon as he can, he'll find a job far, far, away from you.