D25 and I were talking to the neighbor last night about colleges (her girls both in college now.) I told d25 “do you realize when talking you compare all other colleges to 1 school” and neighbor told her she should go to that school as nothing else meets all her wants. Its like a lightbulb went off in d25s head.
I want her to pick cmich for a few reasons. She loved everything about it. The programs, the dance opportunities, the dorms, the walkability, the safety, the school spirit. It not being a TE school means I can quit 2 years earlier. My salary was frozen for 3 years, I got a 1% raise last year all while the president of the university took a 600k raise and we are being told we need to cut 30 million from our budget. I need to consider other options for my financial future. I like michigan politics more than Indiana or Missouri.
Speaking of swag, does anyone want the St. Josephs sock? They only send 1 so that you go to admitted students day to pick up the other.
I couldn’t agree more. They’re going to choose a place that feels like a good fit. Part of that might include feeling welcomed and valued. Like they college sees something unique in them. And while admissions is just admissions, they get directives from the administration. I don’t think that how they approach the interaction with students can be entirely ignored. It’s the first interaction students have with the institution before they set foot on campus. It sets a tone, a tone that the administration is ok with.
One anecdote from a friend is that their child had narrowed their choices and the college they ultimately picked was one where they got the most personal attention. My friend said that the kid had a great interview, or maybe it wasn’t an official interview just a conversation, with an admissions officer when they visited. When they started classes that fall the student ran into the admissions officer who not only remembered them but also remembered what they talked about when they met. I was kind of surprised given how many students they must meet, but also the kid is really impressive and it wasn’t a super selective college so maybe that made them memorable.
S25’s best swag came from UTK. It was a box with a flag and a card that played Rocky Top. Every other school just sent a packet with some stickers. But I was impressed with what UTK sent, even though he won’t be attending.
We had a snow/ice day yesterday, which doesn’t take much in this neck of the woods. S25 went back to school today and I was a little freaked out and lecturing him about driving safely. This was the delightful response. Ah teenagers! Such joys!
I definitely wasn’t suggesting that, and completely get where you are coming from. Even down to considering UTK and Clemson (they were on my kids’ lists so we visited both) and the procrastinating! My only real point was that hopefully VT still sends out a welcome packet because it was nice to eventually receive.
It’s overwhelming trying to compare schools with their different acceptance dates, academic programs, overall vibes while trying to figure out if they could feel “at home” there for the next four years.
@fuschiachop, no birthday or anything else like that we could think of. @Rostov and @Julmarmc, Hofstra is currently C25’s top choice among colleges that have offered admission. C25 is waiting on two RD results, both of which would also require long-shot Big Merit Aid™ to work, and there is an even more outside chance that one of the other EA/rolling colleges could come up with a BMA™ offer (there’s one specific scholarship they don’t award until weirdly late in the process) that would bring them back in to the conversation.
If all four of those actually were to come in with acceptance and serious BMA™, then it’s just a matter of figuring out which one actually wants C25 the most, which is to say C25’s pretty much in the position of Rod Tidwell right now (just in place of Arizona insert Hofstra, I suppose).
And @happy1, I agree that attention from admissions doesn’t necessarily relate to attention as a matriculated student, but I do think that there is a connection in terms of campus administrative culture, and how focused they are on the student experience. So yeah, if C25 does go to Hofstra flowers won’t appear at the dormstep every week or anything remotely like that, but it does say something about what administration feels about students, including students who (given the scholarship they’re offering) they’re not going to make a monetary profit from during their attendance.
I just have to acknowledge the very excellent use of Rod Tidwell reference.
Which, since I tend to be terrible at movie references, would’ve normally flown right over my head except this happened to come on last night while my spouse was surfing along, bemoaning the fact that, although at least pitchers and catchers have reported, the start of baseball season is still FOREVER away.
I too think there is a tie in between the way schools respond to admitted students and the overall administrative culture, even in how useful their website is. I’ve gone onto websites of schools my son has been admitted to and those he is still waiting to hear from. You can glean a lot of information about admitted students days, orientation, schedule of events etc ,even before being admitted, at some schools and I find that super helpful. Other schools have no info whatsoever. We’re trying to put together a possible itinerary of admitted students visits based on info we don’t have yet, to try and minimize flights, travel time and it would be so helpful if all schools could announce their admitted student events up front during this decision season, especially b/c of the short turnaround between decision dates and tour dates - only 1 -2 weeks in most cases.
Seperately, I really like when colleges send emails to the parents, with information that could be useful.
Macalester has been a standout among the schools my son has been admitted to. Lots of helpful emails and a personal note from admissions mentioning his personal statement and why he stood out. The strength of our college tours last year has aligned with the post acceptance communication so far, so I think that is quite telling.
Is anyone else feeling antsy today? I don’t know if it’s the snow, the news, the long, long wait until “mid-March” when RD decisions start to come or what. I am just…antsy. Maybe it’s because we have an upcoming trip to see DU in a couple weeks, or because I just got back from a trip. I have been jumpy all day.
@OctoberKate - I knew the school you were talking about from the start of your post - I will never understand why VT sends nothing. They claim it’s an environmental decision, but man… Especially because once you’re there, you can’t walk ten feet without swag being offered. I do hope y’all come to Hokie Focus to get a better feel for the school than the admissions process. My daughter is there and couldn’t be happier. Once she officially started, we have been super impressed.
Everyone likes to feel wanted and loved. My son received some swag boxes, but the best was Xavier who sent a custom printed flyer complete with a key quote from my son’s essay and a specific statement on how Xavier offers various opportunities that line up with my son’s application and essay. It was very nicely done. They are still on the list, but for my son the two keys are if they offer the flexibility to do all the things he wants to do in a realistic way, and how responsive they are, and of course cost. He has emailed various questions to each school and signed up to follow their various social media pages. One school is by far the most responsive, most helpful, and seems to have employees that seem to truly care. Several never responded to his questions.
This is really good to hear - because this is what I’ve been afraid of NOT happening. We are coming to Hokie Focus and I’m hoping it helps him get a better vibe. We did a tour last Spring and it just left him feeling kind of eh. The campus felt weirdly dead - it was a Friday so maybe there wasn’t a lot going on that day? But I’m not confident that the Saturday morning Hokie Focus timing will be any better. The thing that seems to be his deciding factor right now is where he feels like he’ll be able to make community. UTK felt too big, Clemson felt great. VT didn’t feel welcoming or friendly to him when we visited, but I’ve asked him to give it another shot - because everything we’ve heard from current students is how much they like it.
Anyway, I’m really glad to hear that you all have been impressed with how things are going with your daughter’s experience. I’m hopeful that anecdotes like that will weigh some in his mind when he’s thinking about fit and feel. I know it makes me feel better that kids aren’t just numbers once they get there.
I remember Xavier sent my oldest a swag box with a pair of socks, maybe a water bottle and a few other little things and a hair scrunchie. He gave everything to his buddy except for the scrunchie, which he insisted on keeping because he loved it so much lol. It was Covid so he had grown his hair out and could actually make a nice little pony on the top of his head.
He remembered that swag box and Indiana’s Kelley school which sent him a bunch of swag saying “Direct Admit” which he still kept the shirt because he thought it was so darn funny. Purdue sent him a rocket notebook. UMD sent him a yard sign.
The community is a big part of why she loves it. My daughter can’t walk across campus without people stopping her to talk (we teasingly call her the mayor). She says you can make a big school feel small, but you can’t make a small school feel big. I thought she might get lost in the shuffle (her graduating class was 84 people) but she has thrived. I’d be glad to connect them if you think that would help - just DM me. She would know people in whatever he wants to major in. She’s also a tour guide so she will be working Hokie Focus.
I should also note that my husband and I attended (and her twin brother attends) a different school in Virginia, so I am extra proud that she has made herself at home so well.
@OctoberKate just want to say that I have a similar response – finding the “oh they don’t have to offer merit because everyone is such a star and everyone wants to come here” narrative a little…obnoxious. A lot of amazing schools who don’t “have” to court their students still find ways to make people feel seen and valued. (and yes I agree – so not about swag). (although I DO like to get a hefty coupon for a bookstore purchase.)
That said, my daughter is very much in love with how much students seem to love VT, and she is also feeling seen by their women in engineering visit program. So, we’ll know more once she visits in a month!
Side note – I think you have a son at WPI, and while WPI was one of her top choices for over a year, the declining women presence in engineering there is a real drawback for her. I remember you talking about that from the male perspective. Plus, all of their admitted student days are on Wednesdays! So it’s a 3 day commitment, which is extra hard because she is in boarding school.
Anyway, just wanted to chime in! :).
I know I’m new here, but it is fascinating reading everyone’s different journeys through senior year and surviving college apps and visits. Lots of similar stories of the emotions running high for both student and parents! My DD did most of her apps as EA early last fall, as well as a bunch of visits, so we’ve had acceptances sitting here forever, just waiting for the financial aid info, which is slowly rolling in. She did do a few new RD applications in December and has heard back from all schools, but now feels like she is starting over from scratch because she is ruling schools out. She was invited to interview for a Presidential Fellows program at one school, met some other girls there at the interview day that she connected well with, and was super excited, it was her top pick. She heard back today that while she got a larger scholarship than we expected for being invited to interview for the program, she did not get chosen for the Fellows program. She is now wanting to cross this off her list as an option, feeling that our visit for that interview day had her feeling what a great opportunity it was, and now she feels second best since she wasn’t chosen. Hard to talk to her once she has made up her mind. Her former top pick she ruled out because none of her friends or teachers had heard of the school (a small SLAC in a neighboring state), so she is convinced it can’t be a good school. I am trying to encourage her to attend Accepted Student Days to give some of these places a second look. But she hates having to either miss school and get behind on school work, or call off work on weekends. Her third choice came in much more expensive than anywhere else, but I told her she could try to do an appeal and see if they come up with extra merit aid for her. Other schools she has ruled out (and not even visited), because they are now farther away from home than she wanted, or are north of us and in a colder environment than she thinks she wants (not much colder, just more likelihood of having to walk to class in snow more in the winter). She liked another school, but did not like the surrounding town (I agree, it is not a pretty college town, but the campus was really nice). I think she really thought she’d find a school she’d fall in love with by now and have all this ironed out. She got a direct admit offer from Juniata so may entertain that (we’d have to see how the financials come back, but I’m guessing it would be similar to other similar SLACs she has applied to). I’ll have to check out their financial health, that’s my big concern!
Her former top pick she ruled out because none of her friends or teachers had heard of the school (a small SLAC in a neighboring state), so she is convinced it can’t be a good school.
This sounds so much like my daughter! I cannot convince her that she is objectively wrong.
Maybe there’s a friend nearby who also got in and one of them could have a pair…