I knew because we are all there.
Right now.
Even if we don’t know it, we are in the waiting room, trying to find something to keep us entertained while we keep our minds off the things we could be/should be doing.
And it is sooooooo tedious.
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We are back from D25’s admitted student overnight. She had such a good, validating visit. She will be committing to Hillsdale!
The drive home this morning was pretty bad. The roads in Indiana were complete black ice. It was slow going and treacherous. It was so cold during the visit too but so nice.
I’m so happy she has now decided. She still has to decline her other offers and actually hit the commit button but that should be coming soon!
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We are back from Miami University where we attended Make it Miami. It was a safety school for S25 and he didn’t really consider it that strongly but I wanted him to go and see it because he was accepted into both the business school and the honors college. It was a good visit and the Farmer Business School is a great program and the Honors college is pretty amazing. I love the small college town of Oxford too 
All of that said, it wasn’t love at first sight or anything so I think it’s probably unlikely in the end. He did decide to attend the Duke finalist day at Furman, he did really love his first visit so maybe that’s a thing!
Also, it is really cold in the midwest and I’m not sure how you all survive!
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My S25 was very disappointed to find out today he didn’t make the interview round for the ADS scholarship competition at Michigan State. He was given a tiny “semi finalist” scholarship as a consolation prize I guess. 
Michigan State isn’t totally out of the running, but I think he is less excited about it if the price is higher than his other options. We’ll see how the numbers all compare in the end I guess and if any more scholarships are forthcoming.
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Flown Spirit many many times. And Delta, United, AA ect. Spirit is fine, the pricing now is setup with options for like basic, economy (with a carryon) plus, first, etc. Not the right names but you get the idea. Very similar to how most airlines do it now. Spirit is often delayed (but again most are anymore) so I try to never have a connection if possible, and if I do I make sure to have two hours to connect. I don’t see Spirit as much worse than any other if you are flying budget. Delta is just way to expensive and they use the same planes, same tiny uncomfortable seats, and measly service as everyone else. The only issue right now with Spirit is they are in bankruptcy and thus cut back severely on flights so there are less options. If you can find a direct flight and use a carryon I wouldn’t worry about using Spirit vs anyone else.
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it actually does have less legroom, on average. Feel free to check plane by plane too as YMMV by specific route. Also depending your height the 2-4+" difference may not matter. It does if you are tall! These U.S. Airlines Have the Most and Least Legroom
My spouse literally doesn’t fit on spirit.
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Also personally, I had to fight with them years ago to take a car seat for free - which was federal law at the time (I believe still is). I FLEW A ton with small children and spirit were the only gate agents I ever met that were either gaslighting me, or untrained. Either is bad.
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We live near Cleveland and S25 was accepted to Case. It’s expensive so I’m not sure he would go unless a competitive scholarship comes through. It’s a cool area. We go out to Little Italy somewhat often. There are some very nice homes just southeast of the area as well.
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Leg room is an issue for sure. We only use Spirit for short haul flights, like 2-3 hours. If I’m flying 6+ hours we use United. Delta is usually still quite a bit more than United. United also accepts transfer of Chase Rewards Points, so that helps.
ETA: Never flown Jetblue and their 32.3inch seats, might have to check them out. SWA has very limited offerings near us and always requires more connections.
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Well, I didn’t jinx things back in December, but now I’m in a pickle for admitted students day! 
We got a room for one night, but dang, it is super expensive and not really the location I was hoping for. But I suppose if I had to choose between the acceptance and one night at a hotel, I would still go for the acceptance.
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We live in a JetBlue hub so almost always fly it, or Delta. We have some spirit flights, but not a ton. We also factor in risk of cancellations and what will happen if a major one. Here, Jetblue or delta typically has many flights a day to the destinations, spirit not so much.
That said, if cheap enough I might fly it on a very short route alone. But as I say, my spouse literally doesn’t fit on them, has to sit sideways a bit which isn’t great for one’s back and a way to kick off a trip:) My kids are also both quite tall, so would barely fit. I wish we were short sometimes - would make flying SO much easier.
Since you mention lessons, it sounds as if you have at least partially outsourced the driver’s license process. If a family can swing it financially, that is definitely the way to go! When I was pondering whether I wanted to spend the (not inconsiderable) money for private driving lessons for C25, I consulted friends with older teenagers. To a person, they told me to go for it. As my college roommate said, “Teenagers will drive you crazy, but all the money in the world won’t solve most of your conflicts. Learning to drive is truly something you can throw money at and make it better for everyone.” Unfortunately, unless you are absolutely rolling in dough, you will have to get in the passenger seat to get your teen to the required number of supervised hours behind the wheel in most states. 
FWIW external courses and lessons are required for under 18s in some (many?) states.
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My daughter is on a restricted license, maybe it’s called a junior license, until she turns 18. If you can get in-the-car driving instruction, you can get your full license sooner. Unfortunately for us, she couldn’t sign up for driver’s Ed at school because of when her birthday fell and we weren’t around for her to do it in the summer. To pay for it out of pocket was nuts. But at least she can drive one friend. And the legally enforced driving curfew hasn’t been too much of a hassle. Her perspective would be the opposite. Not being able to drive multiple friends is her burden. I’m ok with her having less distraction while still a newbie on the road, especially with all the ice we’ve had this winter. I was not prepared for the worry that comes with a teen driving.
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I get REALLY annoyed by so-called full service airlines that nickel and dime you on everything (yes, United, Delta and American , I’m looking at you). Quite a fan of JetBlue /alaska; the latter easiest for me now with the routes I take and you get status very quickly so get free baggage & upgrades. I’ll fly southwest if it’s easiest but I hate their seating policy especially when traveling with a group and glad that’s going to change.
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No doubt, my husband and I are both going to be taking him out all the time. No way around it, even if you do purchase a few lessons.
As L_NewEngland mentioned, it’s often mandatory to purchase lessons for minors. In our state it is necessary.
My son just turned 18 but there was no question about getting him some lessons before we took him out. Money well spent.
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We considered in-between options, and she may eventually get there, but she is keenly aware of the reality that those options are unlikely to help her have any sort of professional career. The reality is that she applied to eight schools that have a BA in dance and nine with a BFA. Right now she has options for four BAs and 3 BFAs, but the latter all have some issue (academics/financial stability/strength of their BFA). At this moment she can’t even consider the BA options because she’s so laser focused on the BFA. Might that change over the next 2.5 months when all the results come in? Yes. But even when we visited a reachy school on a whim because she was underwhelmed with the academics of another school she was sussing out, she came back the car and said, “Mom, I have a pit in my stomach.” Why? “Because if I go here I’m not going to be a professional dancer [because the training there is not enough].” To actually answer your question, though, we have leaned away from schools where she would need to be in the community for training. A one off class? Sure. But she has spent a large chunk of her high school experience in the studio, and is hoping to build a better community on campus once she hits college.
Thanks for listening, all!
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Well just back from a whirlwind two college admitted student day. Flew to one on Friday and then flew from there to another on Monday. Multiple delays/flights canceled and arriving at both colleges at 3 am was exhausting. One the flight home they bumped us up to First Class which was very much needed. Both schools were safeties and I am not sure either will remain in the running, but it was good to get out (almost needed a second suitcase for all the merch they were handing out). My spouse is driving to one this Friday and then we have a longer road trip to hit two more in March. Exhausted and ready for this to be over.
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Funny as we drove to Indiana Monday night and drove home today and roads were fine our way!
Laughing because I think it was maybe 20-25 degrees on our Indy tour. Tour guide had on just a fleece and my daughters jacket was unzipped. 
Visited U of Indy and it stays on the list (current #2). D25 really liked the program offerings and loved talking to the professor. She said it was an “educational visit” and she learned a lot. Ive been impressed with her mature reflections after her visits. She seems so stoic and quiet and often appears bored so it hasnt always been easy to tell what shes thinking.
I will actually be a bit sad turning down some of her schools as we have had lovely experiences with friendly, helpful people who have given d25 personal attention.
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There was a particular section of IN that was bad and then all of a sudden it was fine again.
I know what you’re saying about turning certain colleges down. I feel really bad about turning down her #2 as it’s a fantastic place but just doesn’t suit her as well as Hillsdale. Maybe S28 will decide to go there.