<p>Reading all these posts bring back memories of the excitement (and relief!) that the college application process ended up making my daughter very happy. She didn’t get into her first two choices (Ivies), but, in retrospect, I think Smith was exactly what she needed. I always tell parents who are all wound up by college applications that the right college will pick the student – and the student will pick the right college. That’s not to say that there’s only ONE right college – we are blessed in the US with many excellent choices in higher education – but that the winnowing process on both ends ensures that the best choices end up on top.</p>
<p>TB, I think D had that first “click” with Smithies when meeting 15-20 of them at a local “prospect” party. It was the first time that I saw her brighten up in the search process. She enjoyed and seemed energized talking to the other young women.</p>
<p>There was another click when on the first visit to Smith, Jonathan Hirsch, the orchestra director at Smith, invited her to come back that evening and sit with her section on stage while they rehearsed.</p>
<p>The click was very loud on the last visit, the day after her overnight at Wellesley, a “coming home” kind of click. </p>
<p>MWFN, notwithstanding the above, D applied EA to Yale and was very very quiet when she got turned down. Fast forward a year and she said that if Yale came back asking for her, she would tell them “no thanks.” My own thought is that she would have done well enough at Yale but that Smith gave her the opportunity to distinguish herself.</p>