<p>Carolyn,
Thanks for posting! Isn't this a great step for our kids (and us!)? Congratulations to your family and good luck with your son's search.</p>
<p>Yeah Carolyn! I'll bet that was some trip! San Diego to Wisconsin.</p>
<p>I too wish your daughter much joy and happiness in her new surroundings and much success in her new school.</p>
<p>And I am SURE your son's journey is going to be VERY interesting.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>Carolyn, How nice to hear your daughter is so happy! My son is at his outdoor orientation at Roanoke College and it was wonderful to hear the happiness in his voice as he described his dorm room and the people he had just met. Especially from my low-key son. Yay for our kids!</p>
<p>I am so glad to hear that your D's reality is as good as her dream. I had been thinking of you and your D as Curm and the other '06 parents reported in on their drop offs. It's great to hear from you.</p>
<p>Wisconsin does that to people ;-)
What a wonderful beginning!!!</p>
<p>Great news and thanks for the update, Carolyn. When she chose Beloit, it really did seem like a perfect fit and now that she has experienced it, she was right. You guys really searched widely and revised and revised and a lot of thought went into making the match. I wish her lots of wonderful times in this new adventure. Time to relax about admissions, oops....onto the next child in line. I hear ya about it being an entirely different process with your son, as it should be. I know it was with my two. I'm sure it feels great to hear your D so happy with her choice. Thanks for sharing.</p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>Glad to hear from her, Carolyn. The angst over AP Euro was one of the first CC stories I remember, and now look how happy she is! Post about her experiences in a few months, Beloit sounds like a wonderful school that could get more attention. Best of luck to her, and your son.</p>
<p>Congrats, Carolyn, and good luck with the next in line!</p>
<p>Yeah, you, Carolyn (legendary CC guru), deserve the "wonderful feeling" knowing that your child is at the "right school".</p>
<p>Glad you shared that with us, and welcome back :) You were missed !</p>
<p>Excellent. Good lessons for all- it IS all about the fit.</p>
<p>Congratulations. That moment when the girl child finds her first real place outside the home we have also enjoyed. It's a good metaphor, that first time when you start to dance, spontaneously, and several other people just join in. Generally means you are all hearing similar music. Congratulations.</p>
<p>My H just took S2 back to Beloit for his second year. S stated that he "couldn't wait to go back," so the good fit definitely lasts beyond the first weeks. Hope the same is true for your D, Carolyn. BTW, Beloiters, including my S, apparently do a lot of dancing.</p>
<p>Carolyn,</p>
<p>For all the good advice you've given us, it is a joy to read about your daughter's happiness. Both of my daughters left for their sophomore year and thankfully, are both convinced that their choice was most definitely the right one. Like you, I have a son just beginning his junior year of high school tomorrow. Unlike your son, he is not at all interested yet in thinking about colleges (or high school, for that matter). I look forward to hearing about your son's journey as well as updates on your daughter.</p>
<p>Carolyn: </p>
<p>Showed D2 your post about your D's dancing on campus at Beloit. As you might remember, D2 was accepted at Beloit, but after visiting and overnighting at Beloit, she just did not feel as comfortable with the other students as she did with Earlham, IWU and St Olaf's.</p>
<p>I asked D2 what would she have done, if she had accepted Beloit and saw a student dancing on the lawn/campus. D2 said she would probably keep on walking to whatever she was headed, one thing for sure, she would not stop and join in.</p>
<p>Another example of why both your family and mine seek for our child to 'feel' comfortble and 'fit' into their college community. So very important. Beloit seems the right 'fit' for your D and was most likely the wrong 'fit' for our D2.</p>
<p>So CC's who are helping your child for 2011 or 2012, if at all possible have your child visit and visit and sit in classes, and talk to students/faculty, and roam around, and eat lunch in the school cafeteria, and stay overnight if possible and really learn as much as possible about the essense of the college community, most especially the other students.</p>
<p>No one college fits all, and not every child will be comfortable at just any school. Viva La Difference, say the French (I am told) and for parents that saying should be paramount in your child's search IMO.</p>
<p>BTW, really happy for you and your H that your D has found her place, may the sun keep shining for her. :>)</p>
<p>Meganvirg,
As you may remember from our other discussions, St.Olaf actually was a school my daughter also considered, and for a while Earlham was her "top choice." I loved St. Olaf, and kept hoping it would make the list, but she was ready for something different in college and ultimately decided that St. Olaf's student body was too similar to her high school's. Earlham fell off her list after she attended their summer program, and decided the students were too intense about politics for her. </p>
<p>I think she could have received a great education at any of the schools, but, as I know you agree, that's not the only thing college is about. I think where some kids (and parents) go wrong is focusing just on the academic side and not paying attention to how they fit into the campus culture or milieu. This is probably more important if you're looking at small liberal arts schools, but to a certain extent, I think it holds true of any school. Four years is a long time to feel you're in the wrong place, even if the academics are great, and the name on the diploma is prestigious. :)</p>
<p>Jadedog,
Thanks! I must say that Beloit parents are among the nicest people I've ever met. :)</p>
<p>It is so wonderful to get a good fit! Congratulations on a harmonious beginning. I , too, have one who is a rising junior. He probably would have trouble listing 10 colleges. So we have a long way to go just starting a list as he has absolutely no idea, no preferences on the type of school
or subject of study. You're a leg up with yours in that he has a list of sorts in mind. I'll be interested in this journey with your second, as I start with my third.</p>
<p>Carolyn,
When I read she was dancing, I thought "she could of danced at son's school". But it is about the student and not the parent (especially not someone else's parent). I am sure my son will smile when I tell him of your post.
LA</p>
<p>add: I told son about the dancing-He got a HUGE smile and said it sounded "Johnston" but the Johnstons would be half-naked.</p>
<p>Congrats on your D. I, too, have recently moved into my dorm (not beloit, though) and unfortunately my experience is not going as well...</p>
<p>im a 2012er and me just walking around mills in oakland made me feel like i knew this would be a top 3...maybe even first choice for me..i visited a week ago yesterday</p>