I want to give @porcupine98’s #16 a thousand thumbs up. And IMO no one does themselves a service harboring “the one” fantasy about much of anything, let alone college choices. My own DD2016 is current a sophomore at a school she removed from her Common App list after completing all the supplemental info and essays and said she did not want to live in Wisconsin. She had been accepted to her big reach school and thought that is where she wanted to attend until she received a telephone call from her current school asking why she had not submitted her application…lots of things change senior year in a few short months.
If you like the liberal arts feel (Lafayette) and want to pursue politics, why not consider schools like William & Mary, Georgetown, George Washington, etc. Yes they are bigger than your traditional LACs, but they are still pretty small compared to large universities. Don’t know what your stats are to know how realistic they might be, but worth a look.
Feel is important. But as others have posted, feel isn’t limited to a particular school but more like the type of school (size, geography, greek life, residential life, class size, sports, etc) My S had it narrowed down to East Coast, 5k-10k students, suburban, self contained campus, excellent academics / business school, small classes, D1 sports, school spirit, etc. There were several schools that worked (BC, Wake Forest, Lehigh, William & Mary, etc.) Then it was deciding upon the ones where he gained admission. He would have been quite happy at any of them, however, would have not liked an urban school like BU or NYU. Don’t get your heart set on a particular school. Admissions is quite fickle.
I have twin DDs who are college juniors. One walked on to a campus and fell in love. She couldn’t stop grinning and knew right then it was her school. Visited 3 more times, felt the same, applied early decision, got in and has had a wonderful experience.
The other never got “the feeling.” She was rejected from her first choice and chose her second choice. She liked it, but felt she was missing something because of her sister’s experience. Guess what? It’s been a terrific school for her. She’s doing great academically, has a strong group of friends and works as an RA. It’s “her” school. She’s made it that way.
Your college experience will be what you make it. Get involved, choose classes that interest you and embrace your school. Good luck to you.
Every spring on CC, there are posts from kids who simply cannot decide which school to choose from among the ones that accepted them. Why? Because there is no soul mate school. You might get a good feeling about a school, but when you get there as a student, find that it’s different from what you expected and have to struggle to like it. Or you might only be able to afford your safety and then find that you love it when you get there.
The kids who seem the happiest in college are kids who don’t have romantic notions about dream schools, or who do, but like my son, get rejected by that dream school and have to choose another one.
So Lafayette is your first choice.
If you get in you will go - right? that is what ED is all about- if not then pull your application right away
ED deadline was November 15th
You posted a lot of praise about another school
Firstly, Lafayette is prestigious.
Secondly, no, the vast majority of students, IRL, do not feel like a college is “the one.” Maybe here on CC that’s possible, but 90% of those kids feel that Harvard or Stanford are “the one,” and they still won’t get in. Most students in this country go to their local public colleges. Many students here on CC do a lot of research to find suitable colleges that they feel they could be happy at, which offer majors of interest and are affordable. That’s the best advice you will get: apply to a range of schools in terms of selectivity, where your stats are above the 50th percentile for matches, and in the 75th for safeties. Bear in mind that the more selective a school is, the less guarantee there is that a safety school is safe.
Lafayette has Division 1 athletics. It has high average GPAs and test scores. It has a 28% acceptance rate. It’s a very good school with an excellent reputation, and is not a true safety for anyone, especially males, because of sports. You don’t have to be in love with it to apply, but you do need to be darn sure that it’s your first choice over others if you are applying ED.
@swampdraggin - Lafayette has an Early Decision 2 program with a January deadline.
If you aren’t getting the vibe - bag it.
My daughter had “the feeling” at a small, private, liberal arts school and was so excited about going there. Now there, it is not at all what she expected and will most likely transfer next year (possibly to a big, public, state school!)