<p>I picked my DS’s school…I made him apply last minute after a few deferrals in the EA round. It had ALL of his requirements, small LAC with discussion based classes, good Environmental Science program, near the mountains with an active outdoor club. He knew absolutely nothing about it when he sent in his app on Common App. We live in So Cal so this makes sense. He ended up getting accepted with an incredible merit aid offer. He went to their accepted student event and was over the moon about the school, sent in the check immediately upon return home.</p>
<p>@5boys, Wow what a great story. I’m sure son is forever thankful for his smart mom :)</p>
<p>Hmm, OP, now that you have named the schools… I think there is a huge gap between the types of kids that are attracted to those two schools. I have a kid accepted to Chicago, and can’t possibly imagine her fitting in at Northwestern. This isn’t apples and oranges, it is apples & marmosets. So possibly your kid is right to brush off your Northwestern love. 
He probably knows best on this one – he needs to be with his tribe.</p>
<p>I do feel sad that I won’t go sit in the tulip garden in the spring at Macalester with my D, scuff through the fallen leaves at Kenyon or Mount Holyoke on an autumn parent’s weekend, or eat the wonderful pad thai at the restaurant next to the Lawrence campus. And possibly I would pick a different college for myself from the fantastic list she has to choose from. But I feel like she has narrowed her list to three that would be terrific for her, no matter which one she picks. So I for one am at peace with this. (Although if you see a solo adult with a Jamba Juice sitting alone in that red tulip garden at Mac on a warm spring day someday, it might be me…)</p>
<p>Yep, had that situation with our oldest. She ended up going to the school SHE was most excited about (and I mean over the moon), and that excitement and autonomy in the decision has carried her through several rough spots in the years since. H and I learned the valuable lesson that the student’s excitement about a college option should not be underestimated as a predictor of overall happiness in college.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention… also what the thread is titled, that I already bought the sweatshirt at the other school he was considering because I was SO sure he was going to pick it, because I thought it was perfect for him.LOL!!! It was MUCH more convenient… on the same coast, 20 minutes from grandparents, MT. Rainier majestically perched in the background…NOOOO, he picked the school that is as far away to home as physically possible.</p>
<p>But TOTALLY agree with Jane… so off he goes this August, after an amazing gap year.</p>
<p>My daughter was admitted to Yale (and other schools) but chose Northwestern. She is currently a senior and when we were recently visiting on campus my husband looked at me and said, “In retrospect, four years later, she still should have gone to Yale.”</p>
<p>I was floored and happy our daughter was not with us.</p>
<p>They are not put on this earth to please us! Oh and my daughter has is so happy, has gotten an amazing education, and has never looked back at her decision.</p>
<p>I’m kind of the opposite. My husband, my son and I all attended the same LAC. We thought it hung the moon. We compared all other colleges to it and none lived up. Then D came along and wanted nothing to do with it (and she was right, it would not have been a good fit for her) and found a small-ish university that was perfect for her. After she’d been there for a semester or two, I started comparing it to our perfect little LAC and frankly the LAC was lacking. Things I had never noticed before, or assumed had to be done a certain way were suddenly things that could be done better, cheaper, more student-friendly and more parent-friendly. So now I find my loyalty to my alma mater is much weaker than before, and not because of anything it has done - I just like D’s university SO much better! </p>
<p>D is a junior, and the last time we were at her campus (800 miles from our home) I suddenly realized that once she graduates I will have no reason to ever return to that campus. It was a knife thru my heart - I LOVE that campus. It feels very home-like to me, although I never attended there. I will miss it after she graduates! If it were possible or practical I’d look into getting a job there. (I know, you’re all dismissing me as a wack-job now!)</p>
<p>amtc, my in laws sent my BIL to UVA instead of Yale–he was a Jefferson Scholar and got a huge scholarship and special privileges including not having to declare a major (he declared one anyway). My BIL is perfectly happy with the choice and in fact believes that he wouldn’t be in the career he loves if he’d gone to Yale. My MIL however has always regretted the choice and still mentions it often, 25 years later. In fact, she mentioned it in her speech at her 50th Anniversary Party.</p>
<p>Only chiming in because U of C has make an appearance several times. DS chose Williams over U of C. I wouldn’t have. I was happy for him because it was his favorite school. His sister almost forced him into Dartmouth, which was not for him.</p>
<p>She chose Barnard which I absolutely would have chosen for her. Unique attributes (NYC, LAC and research U and feminism) really fit her. I can’t imagine her anywhere else.
She was over the moon when Hillary was her commencement speaker.</p>
<p>I totally understand. My D is considering a school that is not at the top of my list. No matter how I try to convince her my choice makes the most sense, she won’t even listen to me!</p>
<p>I admit that I just love visiting college campuses and the general vibe they have. I’m going to miss touring them</p>
<p>amtc, your husband said it to YOU, not to your D. Perfectly reasonable. If he starts saying it to your D, that’s another matter.</p>
<p>Consolation: for the record, I loved Dart too.</p>
<p>I also want to say that kids are often psychic about their schools and choose them for reasons we can’t factor in in advance.</p>
<p>New CC motto: love the kid on the couch and his/her college choice… :)</p>
<p>I really liked U-Dub… (in-state tuition… beautiful!), but it was not yD’s choice, so instead I decided to take a few classes there (after finishing paying her tuition :)) To this very adventurous kid, U-Dub sounded like a HS extension. “Mom, I two thirds of my class are going there, and I want a place where I can meet some new people!”</p>
<p>H and I both loved Dartmouth. Their alumni that spoke at a local event were the happiest and proudest alumni ever. After visiting, neither kid would even apply.</p>
<p>As to the OP’s question, D picked the perfect school for her - H and I would have failed miserably, as our first choice would have been very different. Once we saw her on her campus freshman year, we knew she was wiser than her parents. We thought D’s school would be perfect for S and he did apply. He chose very differently. Once we saw him on his campus, we knew he, too, had made a perfect choice for him. They both ‘just knew’ where they belonged.</p>
<p>BunsenBurner - I love that motto!</p>
<p>My son is completely unmoved and unfazed by my Northwestern love. He is a UChicago kid through and through. On a happy note UChicago sends lots of swag and he really isn’t into it so I got the scarf, pen, calendar, window decal, etc. Now he just pretends he doesn’t know me when I wear the scarf! :D</p>
<p>Wh at said to H when he was in love with another school D got into-why don’t you apply there? He got the message.</p>