<p>^I’ve heard that Hamilton still retains Kirkland’s quirkiness to a certain extent–the “dark” side and “light” side of campus. That dynamic would worry me wrt self-segregation, but it’s not as preppy as Colgate.</p>
<p>The “trespassed upon Olympus” feeling = me at Denison. A pity, since NMF full tuition at an LAC would have been very nice, but it was way too cold that day for girls in sundresses and heels.</p>
<p>Of course, to be fair, as a student at Hamilton I naturally was much more aware of its quirks and nuances than I was of Colgate’s as an occasional visitor. I’m sure there were (and are) non-preppies who go to Colgate and live to tell the tale.</p>
<p>My daughter visited Hamilton (best friends older brother is there) and liked it. There is something about the light side and the dark side (Hamilton v. Kirkland dorms or vice versa) and the alternative-y folks tend to live on one side and the prepsters on the other, but I gather it is all in fun and she sensed that people who got on very well.</p>
<p>Congratulations on getting into Swarthmore, keilexandra. It is a great school but you are correct, it is the epitome of a school that would be bad for her. She’s bright enough, but the pressure would be far too high. </p>
<p>yabe, I hear you. She heard from a friend of her brother’s that lots of the guys at Goucher are gay. He’s not and he’s movie-star handsome so his social life is pretty good. In terms of aiming below reach level, that is where she is most comfortable. If you go too low, do you lower your chances of getting into grad or medical schools? You probably have to be at or near the top of your class at lesser-ranked schools, but if you are, does being the top of your class at a lower school actually help?</p>
<p>We’d also like to add one or two to our Canadian school list.</p>
<p>^Look at Acadia in Nova Scotia, maybe?</p>
<p>College of Wooster, OH is exceptionally supportive of students. S2 has applied and I wish it were closer to where we live. For an anxious student who seems not to like “girl drama,” I think it is one of the kinder, gentler places, with high quality academics, profs who know the students. Theatre and dance are prominent. And I just checked the airfares from BOS to CAK. Today, Airtran is $150. The flight is under 2 hours.
Could be that I missed one of ShawDaughter’s priorities, but Woo might make the list.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, Acadia is about 50 minutes south of Halifax. One of S1’s friends attends and loves it. Lots of dual citizen Canadian/American kids I know go to school in NS very affordably. Drawback is that NS is not easy to get to, although there may still be flights from BOS?</p>
<p>Google Maps says that it’s an 11.5 hour drive from Boston, but it ignores the existence of a ferry from Saint John (I think–anyway, there’s a ferry somewhere along that coast). A very loooong drive nonetheless, but doable for move-in.</p>
<p>A quick search of Expedia shows that BOS->YHZ (Halifax) nonstop flights do exist.</p>
<p>you guys are great.</p>
<p>merlin, I wondered about College of Wooster. The head of enrollment came and spoke at ShawDaughter’s school in January at our inaugural kickoff of “The College Process.” She was lively and entertaining. Sadly, I realized that I had no idea where Wooster was, but learned (I knew were Worcester was, though, and how to pronounce it as Woostah). I also wondered whether it had gotten so much play as a college that changed lives that it might have changed. Generally it sounded like a good school. But, non-stop flights are great.</p>
<p>And, there are two non-stop Air Canada flights a day to Halifax. We’ve driven there. You are right, keilexandra. It is a loooong drive. About an hour longer than that it would take to drive to Wooster. But, if it is non-stop, I don’t have a problem. My kids have flown all over the world (ShawDaughter has been to England, Ireland, France, Russia, Japan, China, Indonesia, Australia, plus plenty of places in Mexico and Central America. Her goal is to get to all of the continents). Plus, her French is very good (though it is not Quebecois), so depending upon where she is, she should be able to manage. </p>
<p>In the 2008 Macleans that I have, Acadia tied with Mount Allison as #1 among undergraduate focused universities. (I probably should pick up 2010 on my next trip to Canada.) We’ll put Acadia on the radar screen. With the tuition differential for her at Canadian schools, I’d be happy to buy her a car to take to school.</p>
<p>Re second tier schools harming admission to top grad schools, when I was Yale Law School, I recall the 500 students being from well over 100 colleges, many previously obscure to me. </p>
<p>In these economic times especially, grad schools will recognize the attraction of having followed the money to a less prestigious school, provided the applicant did very well there and on any relevant boards.</p>
<p>She sounds like someone who would benefit from a being an honors student at a small, friendly school–lots of attention and support, no cutthroat academic or social competition.</p>
<p>
shawbridge, I know a young woman who is a biology student at Colorado College and is very, very happy there. The block system allows for fieldwork and other practical experiences, which can be a lot of fun for a science student. This student’s dad was telling me all about the things she has done and I mostly can’t remember the details, but I know that she ended up doing summer research with one of her professors, which included climbing trees and counting eggs of some endangered bird species…</p>
<p>I know several kids who are very happy at Colorado College. From what I can tell, it is supportive, not cutthroat, alternative-y, not frat/sor happy, more laid back, etc. But science seems like a subject that one needs to build cumulatively and thus, have some each term. (Math and physics especially). I just wasn’t sure about the consequences of losing that cumulative buildup of knowledge. My second question was whether it works to cram and courses with labs in a short term. But, it sounds like it is working for your friend’s daughter. All the kids I talked with were taking international politics kind of courses, for which a block system can easily work well. </p>
<p>I’d be delighted to see her in Colorado. I actually had been looking to buy a house in or near Boulder (may still if I can convince ShawWife, but she likes water) as I have a close friend there and we do a retreat (strategic planning for life) up in the mountains every summer. I always find a sense of spirituality in the mountains. We could torment ShawDaughter by visiting her.</p>
<p>I took an astronomy course during a January term when I was in college, and it was intense but it didn’t feel like cramming. We had lecture in the mornings, labs in the afternoons, and observation at night. It was a standalone course, so it didn’t have to fit into a sequence - I do see your point about that. But somehow it must work.</p>
<p>My son (junior) is very interested in Colorado College. We’ve been trying to figure out how to visit when classes are in session, but it’s not easy - you can’t go in the first few days of a block, or the last few days, and visit slots in the spring are taken up by seniors. So we plan to go in early fall.</p>
<p>My husband often talks about following our children around. They pretend they’re not listening.</p>
<p>Calreader and Shadowbridge----- My slightly ADHD son is head over heals in LOVE with Colorado College and he is only a Sophmore and hasn’t even visited yet. He has done a lot of research on CC because he was also worried about the block schedule for sciences… he wants to go to med school. If you search the CC forum, there are some great posts regarding this. Basically everyone put his mind at ease. The school seems perfect for my S and he thinks the one class at a time then 4 1/2 days off would be absolutely amazing. He is a real outdoor buff so he is imagining all those days off to pursue all of his interests. He also thinks he would fit into their intellectual, unassuming, laid-back student body. We are also trying to plan a visit next fall, but I guess the overnight will have to wait. I have never even seen him care about a college catalog before, but when it arrived at our house he studied cover to cover and couldn’t stop talking about it.</p>
<p>5boys. Maybe our kids will end up there. By CC forum, do you mean Colorado College or College Confidential?</p>
<p>By CC I mean Colorado College, forgot that they have the same initials.LOL. Yeah, I’m hoping my S will be able to get in there. I think visiting will motivate him to get good grades. Sometimes that’s all it takes. He is a pretty good student now at a top prep school, so here’s hoping. Regarding the pre-med classes at CC. I heard from someone on this forum, “after living and breathing Organic Chem for 3 1/2 weeks it tends to be forever etched in your brain, and it works out favorably when you take the MCAT’s.” Kind of makes sense. Also, I thought that if you wanted to major in something besides science and go to med school… like my S, you could wait till the end of your Senior year and then take your pre-med classes. It sounds easier with the block plan.</p>
<p>Colorado College is a well-run school. The faculty and administration is certainly well aware of the concerns sometimes raised about the sciences, cumulative learning, and the block plan. I recommend you discuss these concerns in your visits and other communications with the school, to determine whether they really have a bearing on your particular kid.</p>
<p>My impression is that, if anything, the natural sciences are an area of strength at Colorado College. The flexibility and freedom of the block plan is a great advantage in doing scientific field work and independent research. The continuity issue is addressed by classes run more or less continuously in parallel to the block schedule. My son, for example, takes cross-block Italian and music lessons in addition to his regular one-at-a-time block class. How well or poorly this works for, say, a physics major is an issue you’d want to explore.</p>
<p>hey parents. this thread is a little old but some of you seem to have rising seniors in your family so I’m going to go ahead and respond to these last posts. I’m actually at colorado college this summer taking a 200 level science course. I’m a B+ student with a decent weighted gpa, lots of APs and decent test scores (ACT 31) so it seemed like this could be a good school for me. They have a high school summer program where you can take a block class for credit and see if you like it. Before I came here I thought this would be one of my top schools to apply this fall. But after this opportunity to try it out, I’m not even sure I’ll apply. Based on talking to other students, I think the intro courses seem good. But in a 200 level course I’m finding it tough to learn at this pace. Just about the time I catch on to something, we are off to the next new challenge/concept. I think a trimester or semester format is going to be better for me for the long run There are one or two hs students in my class having no trouble learning at this pace. But, I’m definitely not in the minority feeling that this is a tough way to learn, at least in a non-intro science class.</p>
<p>This is a great thread, but I might suggest starting a new one for B+ students of the class of 2011, just to make sure the subject doesn’t get buried because people mistakenly think this thread is too old to be relevant.</p>
<p>Roanoke College is a awesome school in Virginia. I currently go there and I was a B student in high school myself. I love it here and the financial aid is great, shoot if you have any questions!</p>
<p>I love this thread! When did the world begin to think that every teenager had to be robotic perfect to get into college? Uughh…</p>
<p>I am the parent of a B+/A- (4.1 weighted) student that has no desire to apply to Ivy or LAC. Her SATs are 1950 - not bad but it is in the B+ range. She has tons of ECs and community service. She wants the big D1 experience and doesn’t want to attend a school where it is primarily intellectual/focused on research. She is a work hard, play hard kid. The problem she has is everyone else…other people including her GC are pressuring her to “reach higher” and claim that she is underselling herself. Both her Dad and I are fine with her attending most state flagships - even OOS - if she thinks she can be successful and happy. We thik that most provide a good/great education and actually prepare the kids for real life. Does anyone have suggestions on how we/she should handle these unsolicitated comments?</p>