<p>Other pragmatics - weather in terms of logistics. Travel in Maine can be hard in the winter - both by road (getting to an airport) and by air. Is she okay with that? She could get stuck at Thanksgiving and never make it home (although usually the snow doesn’t really fly until later). At winter break, things are easier because a day or two delay is generally something you can deal with.
On the plus side - Maine weather is never boring. It does get darn cold, but she’ll learn to deal with that. It’s not that difficult. And New ENgland falls are all they are cracked up to be. The rocky Maine coast is wonderful too.
I think she will find her seminars - some at Mudd and some at the other colleges, particularly Pomona.
I think some folks at ASP were still uncertain by the end, but I don’t know of any who were completely turned off. (But my sample size is small - the ones I happened to chat with.) I think most of the folks who were still undecided may have had financial issues to consider, but I’m not at all sure.
Remember that the big workload at the start is deliberate - it helps the kids learn to work together and find help with they need it. It’s clear that there is a lot of support in the system. ANd given that Mudders seem to have a lot of parties and other fun events, I think they have a reasonable social life.</p>