Visit results -- not right for my DD

novicemom23kids
Tue, 05 Apr 2016 00:48:57 +0000

I toured with my D last week and we are from PA (philly suburbs) as well. I have followed your threads and I have learned a lot from your experiences. My D also has Pitt on her short list and I feel that there is a good chance that is where she will land. She is just a Jr. this year so we have some time.

I was worried that D would feel exactly the same as your daughter at UA - especially about the town. It is one of the reasons that we made the decision to go down Jr. year at the beginning of this search – could she see herself at UA so far from home? Her experience was so different from your D - and the reason why the “visit” is so important to this process. We were watching the girls/women as my D was trying to see if she would/could fit in - and whether she would like to go Greek or not. We saw young ladies of all shapes, sizes, and “looks”. It was interesting because we could not determine one specific UA look - we did discuss and try to put it into words and we could not come up with any one word or trend. (each other campus that we have visited had a “feel” and/or a “look” that seemed to jump out at my daughter - she couldn’t seem to come up with anything except “friendly” “diverse” and “spirited” for UA). The first day of our visit was a colder day after their spring break and the next was much warmer — we saw all types of styles of people (clothes, interactions, groups walking, etc…) and everyone just seemed to friendly. It was a surprise and my D could instantaneously see herself in Alabama. I was happy that she was happy but also surprised. It seemed so very different from Pitt - where she also felt that she would thrive (??) It stays on our list and she is looking forward to applying. If she gets accepted we will visit again next year to help make the final decision.

Best of luck to your daughter as she makes her decision and as she begins her journey.