Is this college trip a waste?

TXArtemis
Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:45:59 +0000

OP, from other threads, I recall your daughter is a junior and that within the past couple of weeks, she made a similar college visit trip to Baylor. Seeing Rice now will help her compare/contrast while the info and impressions are fresh. It will also provide a good foundation for her music vs. other degree decision-making process, including a look at a strong pre-med program. A more personal, extended visit with you vs. with the HS orchestra group will be much better in terms of quality. Moreover, there’s nothing like learning firsthand fall of junior year how competitive admission to Rice is–the visit might be a great motivator!

So…I don’t necessarily see this as a bad thing, and I have to agree with others that it’s probably too late now, midday Friday, to cancel this weekend’s trip without causing her to be upset.

With that said, it does sound like she may be overly invested in college search at the moment. You have a senior in the middle of his search and application process, so naturally, it’s a topic of conversation around your home…but he should be the focus, not her! I’d think you could let her know on the drive back from Rice that you won’t be able to do any more visits or significant work on her search until spring, after big brother is done, unless the opportunity to take her on a Minn or Pitt trip arises. Do you have a copy of Fiskes at home? the Colleges that Change Lives book? If not, perhaps you could order a couple of college search books from Amazon used–even better, give her a budget and let her research and select the books she’d like. Also, aren’t you within driving distance of Dallas? If yes, you can search the web to see if there are any more college admission tours/fairs this fall (most occur in Aug and Sept). Otherwise, it’s great that you will have facilitated the Baylor and Rice visits. Those experiences will serve her well as she returns her focus to grades, the upcoming PSAT and all the other (admittedly less exciting tasks!) on the “what I should be doing junior year” list.

If you go, have a safe and productive trip! :)