You guys, surely you all remember the first version of this book that came out 15 years ago? It probably spoke to many of us, lol.
Well LOOK at what’s being released soon. 
We so need Samuel Jackson to do an audio version.
Apologies if this wasn’t okay to post!
Hmm. During this process I have learned that my husband is a lot more attached to prestige and rankings than I previously assumed. It appears that he has been looking at rankings lists and has opinions on which school D should choose based on these lists. 
I am totally going to buy this book!
Is he pushing her toward a school that she’s long since crossed off? Because that’s a problem. If it’s one still in the running, well, she can hear him out and then make her own choice!
He says he is not trying to push D, but is bringing up his concerns to me and talked with S23 about it too. He thinks UW is a better school and he is also concerned that going to school in Canada may put D at a disadvantage for grad school or jobs. And then D came to me and asked me if I thought that going to school in Canada would put her at a disadvantage so I don’t think he has been 100% successful in hiding his concerns from her. 
My answer was that a lot of things are constantly changing in the world, I don’t think it is really possible for any of us to predict today what the most ideally advantageous path would have been by the time she graduates in 4 or 5 years (and here I’m talking about which major as well as which school!)… so I think the only rational way to prepare for the future is to go to the school she’s genuinely excited to attend, study something she enjoys and feels is full of possibilities, learn as much as she can, and remain open to change.
I agree with you in general – with maybe a caveat if the goal is grad school for finance, consulting or law. (Which I don’t think is your kid’s interest?)
And then for engineering, I would double check the licensing required to work in the field in the US, and make sure the degree from the Canadian school would provide whatever is necessary to get said licensing?
Yes, she plans to do an engineering degree. All of UBC’s programs are accredited through Engineers Canada and recognized under the Washington Accord (mutual recognition for licensing of professional engineers). Of course I expect that there may be some differences in practice depending on where she wants to live and work in the future. She does not know if she wants to live in Canada or the US, and we also hold EU citizenship so that is a possibility as well.
So good to hear you had a great visit at Kenyon!! That school was my secret crush school lol. I wanted my S26 to choose Kenyon so badly! I’m going to miss it!
Cannot wait to hear what your son will choose!
Kenyon was my crush school with D22 and I was bummed when she didn’t choose it too! One of these years, I’m going to apply to their summer writing program for adults and see if they’ll let me play student for a week!
Haha! I was thinking of applying too for their Writers Workshop for adults!! S26 took their Young Writers Workshop last summer and loved it!
Okay hold up, they have a summer writing workshop for adults?? I want to do that! Let’s do it. 
After reading about it for so long from so many of you, I’m now going to have to figure out where Kenyon is and how to get there.
If you’re coming from the East or North, it’s through an hour or so of rolling hills and family farms. Lots of Amish folks, so you have to be careful on blind curves or coming over hills because of the buggies. My Aunt was raised Mennonite and the family stayed in Mennonite country in the Shenandoah Valley, so I felt at home on the way. It’s funny how often people think agricultural places are the “middle of nowhere”; I like small towns better and Gambier is idyllic to me. But my son was raised in more urban environs than I was, and likes to imagine himself in more urban circumstances still. We’ll see.
That was me! Still here 36 years later
The farm country in that area really is beautiful. My family have great memories of our trip there. We saw a horse and buggy on the road. Which D26 was excited about as it was her first time seeing one. And, we saw a man and horse working a field with what my 100% urban self can only describe as what looked like 18th century technology.
But the contrast was too stark for our multiracial California urban family. The smallness of the town, the politics and the lack of diversity in the area were collectively a lot for us. To be clear, I am not suggesting any of those are bad. And not intending to start a discussion of any of those elements. Just stating that they are all such a leap from our lived experience that it would be a lot for D26 to commit to dive into that space for the next 4 years of her life.
All that said, we loved, loved, loved, Kenyon!
In case anybody is interested, Walmart has a small countertop ice maker for sale right now marked $50 off orig. price. Just ordered one for D26’s dorm room. D24’s roommate last year had one and they loved it. Here’s the link in case anybody wants to save some $$. 
Your daughters sound like mine. She didn’t really want to talk about any of the schools we went to admitted students days on the plane rides or car rides home because she said it takes her a few days for the experiences to sink in - that was 2 weeks ago. She just recently shared her final 2. I’m not surprised Haverford is on the list as it was a great visit for her. Going in, she was very concerned that nearly 40% of students were athletes but we didn’t get that sense in part because she talked to a random group of girls (including 2 athletes) for close to an hour who made her feel very at ease. Haverford is highest on the vibes list but mom is pushing her to stay closer to home and having a flight cancelled while in the connecting city didn’t help matters.
Stuff keeps getting more real. C26 picked up their cap from school today - will be using D19’s gown*, they’re almost exactly the same height. Plus, has confirmed being roommates with the person they’ve been talking to and they have officially listed each other on the housing app. And got confirmation from disability services that their documentation meets all their requirements so they’re registered with them (also gives them priority registration, which is nice).
*and D19 looks like she will be reusing her NYU gown, haha. She accepted yesterday and today got an invitation to the department’s year-end function (sometime in the next couple of weeks I think) so she can meet the faculty and other grad students ahead of joining next year - they have already been very proactive with her which was one of the things that helped sway her, but I did think this was a nice touch.
We talked with D26 tonight and major progress! She has a clear frontrunner now. In fact, she is probably 90% of the way there, but wants to sit on it a bit and make sure. We asked if there was any more information she needed to help her make her decision and she said no, which was a strong sign.
Wife and I are very excited about where she’s thinking and think it is a great choice for her! I don’t see her committing until middle to late next week knowing her. But, excited to share once she does.
I feel a million times better now knowing she’s unstuck and seems to have good feelings about the choice. The last week has been pure torture for me! What an emotional roller coaster.
That’s so great she has already found a roommate!
Yay! Can’t wait to see her final choice