You definitely need to visit. Luckily we have been to all the campuses once, and several of them twice so far. My son’s opinions have changed with each visit. At Miami the first day there was a lot of partying going on and he was quickly turned off. Then we did a visit with the premed and honors groups and he suddenly felt he could fit in. Another trip we went for a tour and audition of the music department and he felt at home. For another trip we visited Denison and Kenyon; he really liked Kenyon and not Denison so much. We returned to both schools again for music auditions and suddenly he did not like Kenyon and really liked Denison in large part due to its music program and sax prof.
I can’t stress enough how valuable visiting campus is especially if you can meet some of the professors your kid will be working with.
This is really useful; thank you. I wish we had time to visit his schools several times, but it will be a struggle even to make it just to the admitted student days (I booked a trip to California just last night!) Your tip to meet with his professors is a good one–will make sure to do that.
It’s definitely hard to parse. If my son does a music major or minor they have a a 4 semester ensemble requirement, but you can pick which you want to do and you can participate longer than 4 semesters. He is going to do marching band the first year for sure if he goes to Miami and they move in a week earlier. The housing is crazy to me. UC and UK both only have enough dorm rooms for freshmen, and UK can’t even fit all the freshmen.
For what it’s worth, I interviewed at UC some time ago, and was very impressed by the school, campus, and city. (I’m a prof myself.) I’d have happily taken the position there, but sadly, it was not offered to me. . . Cincinnati, from what I can recall, seemed like a very underrated city with many cool neighborhoods.
Sounds like great options! So many decisions for these kids to make at such a young age although he can always pivot whenever he needs to. I tell students that the best thing to do is to work hard at whatever path you pick and don’t stress if you change your mind because all experiences are valuable in the journey. We are in a holding pattern over here waiting for decisions on reaches in late March. He has some good options already and has narrowed it down to 2 if he gets rejected from the rest. He has a better approach than me-he tells everyone who asks that there is no point stressing about it until he knows for sure what his options are. I look forward to admitted students days in April because I have a feeling he will just know when we go back. For my kid, I think alot will be feel and where he can picture himself. I suspect he may not be able to fully articulate why he ultimately chooses a place. Ultimately, I trust his judgment but I find when he leans one way, I see all the negatives of that choice and when he leans the other way, I see those negatives. I have been good about keeping most of my thoughts to myself except with other senior parents so that I don’t let my own anxiety influence him or drive him crazy. His top 2 of the acceptances really are good options. This feels like a suspenseful movie to me though.
My daughter applied as a transfer to Macalester, toured Carleton but did not apply (she thought it had a similar vibe to Hamilton which is where she was leaving) and St. Olaf. I think she initially preferred Macalester for the location, St. Paul is an amazing city. But ended up at St. Olaf and is loving it. Good luck.
My son is having a hard time getting past the small town location. My gut tells me Carleton will be a no. I think Michigan is probably top of his list but we’ll go back and visit all of the top choices if he gets into them.
One of the things that was really important to him was a strong lgbtq presence however and Macalester knocks it out of the park on that one. Michigan is so large that it should be easy to find his people too- I hope.
I have a good friend whose daughter is a senior at St Olaf and she has had a great experience.
They have lots of kids who come in and can’t swim and I’d say a much larger percent of low SES students than most schools. If you fail the swim test then you have to take swim lessons to fulfill your PE requirement! Their goal is to make sure all their graduates have this life-saving skill.
Checking in here before Tour de Blizzard. I just got back from a spontaneous trip to Austin and have barely had time to unpack my bags. But the frosty mid-north (what would we even call this region?) beckons. Remembering (as I do about once a year) that I still haven’t replaced the worn bungee laces on my winter boots. Here’s hoping they hold for another week!
On the home front we’re in a holding pattern. No new updates from schools – expecting to hear from a bunch in late March/early April. S25 got in a bit of trouble at school and is navigating his way through it. He made a mistake and the consequences seem fair but uncomfortable. I am trying not to ratchet up my anxiety (I’m very good at catastrophizing) and to be grateful for the learning experience. Mistakes are good! Right?
Quail update: my saintly sister is pet-sitting the two birds for the week. Gizmo’s vocalizing sounds like a dove trying to mimic a rooster, so we may have a matched pair on our hands (which is possibly not ideal for Speedwagon). Last night my husband was checking on them before bed and Gizmo was missing! He went into the office where our son was working on a biology project and sure enough, there was Gizmo, sitting on his keyboard, communing with the kid on the other side of the screen. When husband approached, Gizmo startled and began helicoptering around the room. Silly bird…
The 2 year requirement is only for music majors so doesn’t affect most students fortunately. It’s funny because the other school in contention only has a pep band and I’m not even sure she would participate in that. There’s really so many little things to weigh when choosing a school. It’s also kind of fun for me to deep dive into the differences!
You guys, my older son’s fraternity posted a valentine’s post on instagram featuring pictures of the brothers that don’t have significant others… and I can’t stop laughing at the picture of my kid. It’s like he’s trying to look hot… except he’s MY KID. The vibe is SO trying too hard. I can’t stop laughing at him. It’s probably mean. I sent the link to my S25 and he wrote back with the laughing crying emoji, so I think it’s not just me. (But he IS the cutest of the guys featured… not that I’m impartial in this. )
That is what I am choosing to believe and not over think it. They have 59 days of school left and hoping for a smooth/quiet finish.
We did a revisit of what might be his top choice. It went well as I think we might have rushed it the first time. He chose the Open House instead of Admitted students day which allowed them to view the program and meet grad students in the field. We have another one scheduled in March for a school that he was deferred to. If he likes it then we wait for the decision and if not then he can go ahead and make a decision. So excited for him and it seems to be getting close.
Aaaaannnndddd Virginia Tech has announced that Early Action will come out tomorrow at 5pm. Based on their instagram of this week, we really thought it would be today. I am very tired of waiting (and my kid is totally not in a hurry, so I’m trying to not be all impatient around him…)
Yeah, and on that note it’s probably a good call. I just wish they hadn’t teased on instagram with “Class of '29, will you be our Valentine” and the like. That really made it feel like today.
Yeah, I’m sort of tired of the will they or won’t they release games. I’m tired of all of it and honestly I wish my kid would be like “I’m happy with these two choices, let’s let the rest go”. But sadly here we are.
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