<p>Yabeyabe2- so funny and true! My d has about zero interest in looking at the websites or the brochures. In fact I have sometimes regretted showing her the brochures, because something in the way they word something turns her off the school…and it might be a great school. I am trusting her that she can just “feel” if it is right when she visits!</p>
<p>When kids are in a bad mood, they can conjure any reason not to like a school you want them to look at (even if they are already there). I remember my son declaring “No way am I ever going to tell people I go to a school names Ursinus!”.</p>
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<p>yabeyabe2- D’s boyfriend has discounted many schools based on their name (or website configuration)</p>
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<p>rockville - I’m preparing myself for that 50-50 statistic you propose: D1 achieved her goals with her senior fall ACT and D2 might not. But it’s still her choice, and I do think she’s in a very different headspace than she’s ever been. Also, she knew she might not be able to schedule it - this is a “one more shot” and not anything we count on in any way.</p>
<p>I teased my D1 that she was choosing schools based on interesting mascots … for a while, you could “rank” her list by them, with the weirdest one her first choice.</p>
<p>Holliesue-No marriage plans yet for your d and boyfriend, right? : )</p>
<p>vitrac- heaven help me! first boyfriend ever…quite precious…both of them are very awkward “nerdy” kids. one of the schools my d likes a lot is Alfred…d’s bf won’t even look at it b/c he doesn’t like the name (fine with me!)
;)</p>
<p>Holliesue-Perhaps you should speak to him about the unique benefits of attending Univ of Hawaii!</p>
<p>vitrac-he isn’t THAT bad…ha ha…I have no doubt that once college comes they will agree to part!</p>
<p>Rockville Mom: I am delighted to hear that your son found the ACT relatively easy. Let’s hope he got a top score. This will open hopefully open doors to good scholarships and honors programs. Great job that your son studied for the ACT this summer.</p>
<p>I hope that you and everyone here has a most happy, healthy and sweet new year!</p>
<p>MDCISSP, thanks and I hope your son continues his great leadership activity and you find a place he enjoys</p>
<p>I have rather dated knowledge of Knox (going back a few pages here), but as of 9 years ago, it had absolutely no Jewish life to speak of.</p>
<p>Just hope that my son is blessed with an acceptance to Towson. I think this is his first choice. He is almost finished with his application. Am eager for my son to get his applications in ASAP as I anticipate this to be a year where the in state schools will get massive applications.</p>
<p>Good luck to your son on his Towson application, mdcissp. When he gets in, do you think he will prefer to live at home or on campus? Do you know much about the housing on campus?</p>
<p>Thank you for inquiring. My son would have to live on campus at Towson. I only saw one dorm on the Towson tour. I ask my son won’t you be better off living at home going to the local com. college as he is very happy at home. We provide the peace and quiet he needs.
My son said he doesn’t want to transfer schools, i.e. 2 years at cc then 2 years at a 4 year university. Have not seen the single rooms at Towson and will inquire.</p>
<p>MDCISSP, if Towson is your clear first choice, but ED is not an option, it might help if your GC helps you make clear it is his first choice, or if you can express interest in other ways, such as visits.</p>
<p>If a peaceful room is key, perhaps a private home near campus is a good option?</p>
<p>MDCISSP: Yabebae2’s suggestion about Towson is a good one. You son should also mention that it is his first choice in his essay. I know that you’re worried about increased applications to state schools, but Towson does accept most kids with GPAs above a 3.0 and fair test scores. I’m hoping for good news for your son.</p>
<p>My daughter and I are going on a tour of UMCP tomorrow. She’s visited the campus, but wants to do the official tour. I’ll post our impressions after we go.</p>
<p>I got the visit to UD set up. That will be in October, I’ll post our thoughts after we go. I finally figured out CMU. We are going to their local information session here in town and then will go in November for the tour, etc. </p>
<p>I guess the websites don’t have enough appeal for her right now. However, she did tell me that she had gone to youtube to watch videos that people have posted of the some of the schools she is interested in. So I guess her idea of researching schools and mine are different, but at least she is showing some interest.</p>
<p>Rockvillemom - I like your idea of printed materials. I went on line and requested materials from the schools she is interested in and gave her email address. If info comes to her, she will read it. I guess it’s when mom gives it to her, not as interested! Hopefully between the brochures and emails she will look through the stuff.</p>
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<p>A happy and healthy new year to everyone!
I’ve been away (visiting adult kids for Rosh Hashonah - it happens before you know it that you are the one going to them!) and I can’t believe how many pages of this thread have developed! Thanks everyone for the great info!
Regarding a small school versus a large school: I would think that a small school with a very small Jewish population would be limiting. I also agree with the poster who said that size does not necessarily correlate with the degree of nurturing. I had mentioned that Penn State is very nurturing. I also had a student at Penn, which was not anywhere near as nurturing as Penn State. And, believe it or not, I found that there was a lot more pressure for a non-Asian student to join a fraternity at Penn than at Penn State. Some things are strange but true! At a very large university that knows how to be nurturing and create small communities within the larger university, students can easily find others who share their interests and social styles, even if these differ from what people think of as the mainstream culture of the place. This may be more difficult in a smaller college, making it much more important to be extremely careful about cultural fit. I also do not think that any college, large or small, is going to present a situation where a student will be dragged to a tutoring center or conference with a professor. The student does have to take the initiative no matter where he or she goes. I know students who have flunked out of very small, supposedly nurturing, colleges, and I know students at large universities where the whole lab section went together to the tutoring center to write up lab reports, where grad students are on hand to help and answer questions (larger universities can provide these services, and they can be open for more hours than at smaller colleges).<br>
This is not to say that everyone belongs at a super-large university. But I think that people on the thread should keep an open mind about this and really look at what the colleges and universities do to support the students instead of having a firm cut-off for number of students. And, people should look at the numbers of Jewish students and consider whether their students will have enough of a Jewish community to sustain identity.
If I don’t make it onto the thread again before Yom Kippur, an easy fast to everyone!</p>
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<p>[10</a> Costly Mistakes in College Admission - Steve Cohen - Admissions - Forbes](<a href=“10 Costly Mistakes in College Admission”>10 Costly Mistakes in College Admission)</p>
<p>I thought this was one of the best summary articles I have seen on things to do and not to do.</p>
<p>Great article, RM!</p>