How did she like DU?
She liked it - it wasn’t a wow, but it felt doable, and there’s a lot of advantages of the school. Direct flight, although the airport is a bit further out than I last remember! The location is nice in that you have a campus that feels like its own separate entity but then you can easily walk to restaurants and supermarkets, etc.. it’s quieter than a super urban location, but easy to get into a the bigger city if you want. Great access to outdoors and Boulder for a bigger party atmosphere if one wants.
What really impressed us was the Learning Effectiveness Program. It comes at an additional cost, but it seems well run and has so much to offer. It definitely eased my anxiety about the college transition for a kid with learning differences, even if you only used it for one quarter or the first year.
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My son is a sophomore at DU, and the LEP program has been fantastic for him. If you have any questions - feel free to reach out.
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They always show up on the lists for learning. Didn’t realize it was an extra cost. You can take the street car to airport but it’s a bit far. I think it’s a hour. My daughter did once on a visit - we didn’t know. We’d have her uber. Lots of skiers. My daughter’s bf went there and he was in the mountains all the time. She’d visit each qtr must be good with APs he was out in 3 years. He found it easy but he’s one of those kids that finds all school easy. He chose it to ski - vs other higher ranked he’s got a job with a pension fund mngr so did well.
The good news is there’s at least one that she liked - so if DU is the call, you know she likes (even if doesn’t love) it.
I love your strategy of being there on a real day in addition to the package day.
Good luck.
I have heard really good things about DU’s supports.
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Visits went well. Decided to do St Olaf and Marquette back to back and I’m glad we did. Admitted students day at DU in early March went well and on the surface it hit all the right notes.
St Olaf was next. We arrived a day early for admitted students day and he spent the afternoon touring with his older brother’s friends. Then he had dinner, and attended an ultimate frisbee practice. He had a blast and was so excited when I picked him up that night. Admitted student day went well and he enjoyed the class he attended. In the end, we agreed the admitted student day wasn’t necessary (given the extensive tour the day before, the time with his brother’s friends coupled with our knowledge about the school). In hindsight we should have opted to just tour St Olaf on our own and ask to attend a class. On the drive to Milwaukee my son honed in on the pros and cons of following in his big brother’s footsteps. (They are pretty tight and my youngest has always fallen right in stride out of habit, ease, and comfort). The excitement from the night before started to lessen.
Marquette’s admitted student day was the next day. I was worried that 2 visits plus a 5 hour drive would be too much, but he rallied. To my surprise he seemed to catch his second wind mid-morning and got more excited as the day progressed. He really liked the visit to a cadaver lab and the bus tour of Milwaukee. He was super excited about their new gym, and the tour guide was excellent. All in Marquette made a really positive impression and he liked Milwaukee.
After visiting Marquette, DU was pulled out of the running. Due to cost, proximity to home, and peer pressure, UW-Seattle was pulled into the mix. He spent the past month thinking about St Olaf, Uw, and Marquette. He made lists and weighed unsolicited opinions from too many friends. (I purposefully kept my opinions quiet). He finally decided on Marquette yesterday.
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Congratulations!!
Wondering what @salls daughter decided?
Who knew - a tour of dead people lab is a way to win over college kids 
Congrats - great process - and I’m glad he got to see the real school vs. the packaged presentation!! Enjoy Marquette !! If he’s a basketball fan, it’s a great place to be!!
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Ack - daughter still deciding! I’m just trying to make sure she has all the info she needs to make the decision.
St. Olaf visit was mixed, and she was a little bummed because she was just hoping to love it and make the decision. The tour guide we had was not a great fit for her, she wasn’t feeling great, weather was really hot (which is her least favorite - and I know, would not be the norm!), and almost all of the students she heard from or talked to during the Admitted Students Day were really into Theater or Music, which she is not. I think she’s worried about finding her people on campus and given the fact Northfield is so small (super cute, but she was a little surprised it was only like 3 blocks of cute) she thinks that it would be super important as most socializing is on campus.
I agree with all the good comments on this board tho - it’s a beautiful campus and a special school. There was a panel of professors during the Admitted Students Day and we were so impressed with how engaged the faculty seems to be with their students. I think the classroom environment would be great for her also as it tends to be a lot more discussion based.
St. Olaf did seem to have a lot of great support, also, although perhaps not as easy to navigate as DU. The Learning Effectiveness Program at DU seems more robust.
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Congrats on your son’s decision! 