Congratulations!! Now the really hard part (for you) begins…to choose. I look forward to hearing your thoughts too.
I’m a little late to the party but reading your thread beginning to end was better than the last few movies I watched. You are an amazing person and have earned every one of those acceptance letters.
I was particularly interested because I’m a former foster parent who adopted a sibling group a few years back. My oldest son was just beginning high school at the time, and our decision to double or family size turned his life upside down for awhile. He wrote about it and how it changed his life- ultimately for the better - in his college application. He will be deciding between Cornell and Brown in the next few weeks. I know everyone on this thread is wishing you well and awaiting your final decision. Enjoy all your college visits. Best of luck to you. I hope you don’t mind me sharing your story with those I’ve come to know in the foster care system. Other kids can really be inspired by your courage.
@BUalum93 Aw thanks! Its people like you who make an effort to help out lesser-privileged kids out who REALLY make the difference. I know that if I stayed with my biological mom I would probably just be going straight into the workforce. What you do is super admirable and awesome, and I’m sure those kids are super gracious for what you have provided them.
I sure wouldn’t mind if you shared my story! I hope it inspires other kids who have had similar situations to mine.
Yes @ASJU9511, please let us know which school you end up choosing!
UPDATE: So I’ve visited a few colleges so far, and here is my rundown.
DUKE: The architecture made my inner-art nerd scream. I really liked West Campus. However, I wasn’t a big fan of how segregated the other campuses were. My overnight host was a frat guy and I wasn’t really into the whole idea of the fraternity after spending a few hours with him. I loved Duke’s career center too. However, I didn’t feel the connection. I don’t really see myself going there for four years.
WILLIAMS: I was most excited about this one. This was the one I’ve hyped up in my head for so long. I came back and I was very disappointed in realizing that I only liked it. I wanted to love it. There were so many things that appealed to me going to Williams. But, somehow, I didn’t feel the ‘click.’ Although I loved the classes, the students, and the environment, I just didn’t love the ‘whole’ as much as I did the ‘parts’ I guess. I did like it better than Duke though.
EMORY: This one disappointed me the most. I’ve come to find out I really hate Atlanta. There wasn’t much I really liked about Emory tbh. I didn’t really care for the classes, the campus felt dense and noisy with all the construction and with it being near Atlanta, and I wasn’t a big fan of the student body either.
Overall, right now my list goes in order of preference of colleges I’ve visited so far is Williams>Duke>>>>>Emory. My next stop is Brown, then Cornell, then Yale,and finally Stanford.
Wow, you must be missing loads of school. Hopefully, you can stay on top of it all without entering meltdown mode.
It is essential that you have the opportunity to make your campus visits and form your up-close opinions of the programs, campus, and student body.
Are you taking notes from a checklist of what you feel must be/ should be present for you as you seek to find a place to live?
Continued success to you on your journey.
Wow, that’s a lot of visiting. You have a tough call to make in 2 weeks, I wish you the best!
It’s so awesome that you are getting to visit all your choices and get to feel whether you will fit in or not. My son thought Univ Chicago was going to be high on his list, but then he visited. He said while he was on campus it just didn’t feel right. Enjoy the rest of your visits. I know all the moms on here can’t wait to hear all about them.
It’s almost May 1 - did you choose?
I agree with OHMomof2! Update on your visits, impressions, and any decision, would be most helpful. 
I hope you don’t leave us wondering how it all ended. I’m curious if you got to visit Brown. We loved our visit.
I’m sure you’re extremely busy right now, but I’m looking forward to hearing your choice too!
@ASJU9511 : lots of people are waiting with bated breath for your campus visit reports AND for your decision
im so curious to know what you chose!!!
Alright guys! I toured more colleges! Here’s the update:
BROWN: Oh man, Brown was a culture shock to say the least. Coming from a very conservative and Christian area Brown was crazy. I knew college was going to be liberal, but I never realized that it would be “celebrating 4/20 by smoking reefer on the main quad” liberal. I didn’t like the homogeneity of ideas either. I went to their political union and it felt like an echo chamber of liberal ideas. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fairly liberal guy, but I was troubled by how little a presence conservatism had on the Brown campus. Overall, it wasn’t my cup of tea.
CORNELL: This was the first college I actually felt at home! I didn’t have an overnight host due to my awful procrastination so I had to stay in a hotel. And because its so hard to travel to Ithaca I had to stay in town for three days as opposed to only one day as is recommended by Cornell. Walking through the campus was breathtaking. Cornell’s rustic beauty was amazing to say the least. Going to the ILR orientation I was surprised by how much of an LAC feel I got from it. The profs all knew the students by name and the classrooms were intimate and discussion-oriented. I learned about how versatile the ILR degree was. It seemed to fit the myriad of things I would want to do after graduation. And studying in the Cornell library was sooooooo cool to say the least. For the rest of my time there I wandered Ithaca and Cornell, trying out new food at restaurants and window shopping through the many stores. Overall, at that point, Cornell was my number one choice. I just felt so homely there.
YALE: Oh my god… A lot of people like to romanticize the idea of the “this is it” moment students have when visiting colleges. But I never gave much weight to it. Until now. I loved Yale so, so, so much. The architecture, although was somewhat austere and medieval, was so cozy and nice. Yale had an air of scholarship and history to it that I never found at the other colleges. Every student I talked to had a passion, and boy did they love talking about it! Not only that, but they loved talking to me about MY passion. Most students I talked to at Yale I clicked with almost immediately. The economic and political diversity was so refreshing too. I loved that there was not only a good balance of Humanities students, but also of STEMs people as well. And I would be lying if I said the Yale Political Union didn’t play a part in my infatuation with Yale. Living in a suite was awesome to say the least. I greatly enjoyed the tight-knit community to say the least. And the butteries… So much for staying fit in college. And, finally, leaving the campus I had a feeling of… Longing. I was growing kind of emotional. I never had this happen with a college. I didn’t want to leave! I wanted to stay! It was, overall, an amazing experience. But that’s the gist of it all. I fiercely loved Yale so much.
STANFORD: There’s a lot of good at Stanford. I liked it. It was definitely the most beautiful place I ever been to. And the weather was near perfect. But I didn’t have as great a time there. I don’t want to sound mean or anything, but it felt… Superficial I guess. Stanford felt like more of a corporation than a place of learning. The campus felt like it was erected overnight as opposed to just growing organically. And most students I talked to always tried to awkwardly shoehorn how great Stanford was in most conversations. And no one would even honestly give me one thing they didn’t like about Stanford. That threw me off a bit. It had the vibe of a state school honestly. No one really wanted to talk about their interests or passions or anything. Don’t get me wrong, they were all off-the-charts intelligent, but I guess I was looking for a serious vibe. And the start-up scene people are obsessed with is so obnoxious. It felt like success was the only thing that was on a lot of people’s minds and that dissappointed me. Not to say this characterizes the majority of Stanford. Maybe I had poor luck meeting people? Maybe I just didn’t have as good a time everyone had? But overall, Stanford was great to visit, but I don’t think I can see myself going here for four years.
So, to put it shortly, it came down to Yale and Stanford. And I committed to Yale. From what I saw, Stanford is a place where you can groom your success. Yale is a place where you can mature as both a person and as an intellectual.
I’m so happy for you!!! You’re a very impressive young man and Yale is lucky to have you!
Thank you for the update ASJU9511! I love that you were able to see these wonderful places in different parts of the country … that in itself is a huge “win.” And congrats on choosing Yale - may you grow and thrive there. Wishing you many blessings on your journey!
ETA: where will your BF, referred to in post #4, be going to college? He was the one who correctly encouraged you to apply to these dream schools, wasn’t he?
@GnocchiB Ah yeah! Unfortunately he didn’t get into MIT and was waitlisted by Duke and UChicago. He’s going to Clemson Honors College. It was their loss though. He truly is a smart fellow who will succeed wherever he goes. I love him to death and know he’ll be okay.
Congrats on Yale! Super fun reading this thread… I wish more people wrote threads like this!