<p>^ My son is admitted to Trinity. Also admitted to Boston U., Willamette U., U.C. San Diego, U.C. Santa Barbara; waitlisted at Grinnell and at Emory University. He is focused on the schools where he’s been admitted.</p>
<p>One of his criteria when applying was a school where he could major or at least minor in Japanese. That cut down the list significantly. I’m also very sorry he struck CMC from his list when applying, because he could have studied Japanese at Pomona while taking International Studies at CMC. </p>
<p>He’s not religious; he’s a liberal atheist. Religious schools were never an option. He’d be happy going hiking every other weekend; I imagine he could make it happen almost anywhere.</p>
<p>He’s corresponded with two Trinity professors and will meet with them and some of their students to try to get a feel for the campus. We’re from Silicon Valley, where there’s not much of a “prep scene.” Most of the high-level executives at top technology companies here prefer to enroll their children in strong, highly diverse public schools. There is a lot of intermingling among students on these campuses. My son’s school has “open access” honors and AP classes, so he’s used to encountering brilliant students from a wide range of socioeconomic levels and ethnic backgrounds. The kind of bias I’ve read about on this site is not something he has encountered, frankly. I think he’d regard it as sort of juvenile.</p>
<p>I have my own bias toward the sciences and engineering, and so I’m perfectly ready to believe that the culture among the engineering students at Trinity is different. But they are a small group, I’ve discovered. Less than 9 percent of the student body.</p>
<p>We’ll see. In the end, he may choose Williamette, which threw an enormous merit scholarship at him and has a very strong program in Japanese and a close relationship with next-door Tokyo International University.</p>