Re: Turo for car rentals - I’ve heard of similar experiences from other people who didn’t have a good experience using that organization for car rentals.
Re: AirBNB/VRBO - I’m very reluctant to use AirBNB or VRBO anywhere. Mostly because I want the ability to cancel up to 2-3 days beforehand and not have to pay a penalty. But a close 2nd reason is because when I’m going to travel somewhere, regardless of where it is, and I’m PAYING to stay some place, I don’t want to have to do a deep clean of the place in addition to the nightly rate I’m already paying.
And at SO many AirBNBs/VRBOs, there’s the ‘cleaning fee,’ but then the owner requires you to do ALL of this extra stuff before you leave. I’m like, “Forget it. I’ll stay at a hotel.”
and in a lot more areas these days, there are local ordinances that no longer allow AirBNBs/VRBOs (or they’re phasing them out), but it’s buyer beware because there’s still a lot of dishonest AirBNB hosts out there who are still trying to rent their units when they’re not supposed to.
If the college town’s supply of hotel rooms is already taken, just stay somewhere that’s farther out, like an hour’s drive away. See if there’s places more affordable that require a drive.
This is amazing news!! Great school. Everyone loves it there. Too small (and no cheer team) for my daughter, but would otherwise have been on our list for sure.
I considered it back in the day but didn’t want to go all the way to MN.
My wife may look at me like a psychopath if I book hotels for move in in four different cities (most where D26 hasn’t been admitted yet) in addition to the admitted students ones I’m about to do this weekend. Not saying I won’t do it, but it may come at a different cost in my house if I do.
I got waylaid on the Airbnb subreddit at one stage and tl;dr no longer trust reviews!
TBH I rack up so many Hyatt points and some free nights with my credit card it almost doesn’t make sense to stay anywhere else if a Hyatt is an option. (And re @sbinaz’s comment, I also don’t have to strip beds and load washers while paying a cleaning fee..) We do use airbnbs in Tahoe for bigger groups but they are the ones we know now (….we also know the ones not to go back to….)
You can compare prices and locations. It’s basically the same as my corporate rate.
Costco is also fantastic if you want to buy a new car. They have a dealer in your area based on what type car you want. You get the “Costco price” (non binding) and start negotiating down. A lot of dealers use it to lure customers in but you have a written quote and then use it to negotiate with the non Costco dealers until you get the lowest price possible.
In CC terms, the assigned Costco dealers are like Northeastern where you get the marketing pitch but most just end up somewhere else.
Did your D26 apply to Kenyon too? RD? My S26 applied to Kenyon for RD. He has 4 RD schools that he won’t hear back from until March. Such a looooong wait! Of those 4, he’s hasn’t visited one. He will visit that last one IF he gets accepted. He’s been to Kenyon 3 times - first one was a campus visit, second one was for Kenyon Young Writers Workshop in the summer, and the third visit was for an interview.
Kenyon was my crush school with D22. She got in and we went for an admitted students day. Such a beautiful place. She chose somewhere else but I sure wish I could go back and choose it myself!
Kenyon made D26’s final list. I know we had a back and forth about it before we visited. If it were located somewhere else it would probably be way up on her list. It made the cut despite location, which is saying something given how she felt about the location.
Yes, Kenyon RD is one of the many on the list. I hear it’s very pretty. And a great place for kids interested in writing like your S26! I guess last year they notified on 3/11, so fingers crossed it will be close to that time. Most of D26’s schools won’t notify until 3/20 or later, I think.
@Wjs1107@ECCA2026 Kenyon has been my crush school (secretly because I’m careful not to sway S26) since our first visit! Something about the campus that makes it so enchanting, I don’t know exactly what it is - other wordly? S26 wants to be a writer, so in my heart, Kenyon, being a “writer’s college,” seems perfect for him. But only S26 will determine if it is a good fit for him. We will see!
@ECCA2026 S26 and I have gone back and forth too. He didn’t ED because there’s not much within walking distance! BUT Kenyon still made it to his top 3! We will see how he still feels about Kenyon IF he gets in. He feels a strong connection to the school because of the Kenyon Young Writers experience this past summer - it was transformative - he loved it so much! What is your D26 planning to major in?
@31fan I hope our kids find out closer to early March too! What is your D26 planning to major in?
Ok, so my husband and I are watching the Indiana Oregon game and we somehow landed on the broadcast that doesn’t have commercials. It’s halftime and we’re watching the marching bands (pep bands?) do their thing. Couldn’t help but think of @SpreadsheetMom and the others with band kids. They’re very impressive. Also, my husband thinks if this were “battle of the bands”, Oregon should win. They aren’t looking too good for a win in the FB game right now, so maybe we should give them that.
For the school my son got into rea, the only admitted student day event is being held on the night of a huge concert at the school. We booked within an hour of him getting into the school, and are still staying 30 minutes out of town in a vrbo. On the other hand, my son is excited about the concert and wants me to try to get tickets. I can only imagine the parking issues.
Oh, fun! We just got home from dinner, and my husband is watching some basketball game (Oklahoma City and Memphis?) – so I’m not watching. I don’t know anything about Oregon’s and Indiana’s bands, but now I’m going to look them up, lol.
My D26 changes her mind frequently about whether she really wants to do marching band in college. At first it was a definite yes, must-have…then it turned to, well, it’s a big commitment. And now the pendulum is swinging the other way again. But tomorrow it will be different.
My husband once got a fortune cookie that said, “You have the rare ability to make decisions quickly and wisely.” This was like 25+ years ago, and we STILL laugh about it and quote it often because it couldn’t be less true.
We would be doing the same thing if my husband got this fortune cookie. No one in the world takes longer to make decisions than him. He reviews things from every possible angle before deciding anything. Our son is the same. Daughter is very decisive. And once she makes a decision, she never looks back.
She is strongly committed to being uncommitted. Her take is there are so many things she hasn’t been exposed to yet in high school, why would she decide now? And, I honestly have no idea what she might do. She likes math, economics, biology and english right now, but plans to explore some more subjects when she gets to college.
