Another round of tours with D24 who loves everything and is having a hard time narrowing her choices. The good news is that she now is fully confident that she can thrive in many places and there is no such thing as a perfect college
Smith College - WAY up! Early in her search, she did not want a women’s college, so she had not thought much about Smith, but now she has Smith at the top of her list. There is so much to love! We thought the campus was gorgeous with the beautiful brick buildings, flowering gardens, gorgeous lake, and lots of green space. The remodeled library is spectacular. The housing system is particularly appealing to her and having 11 cafeterias is awesome! Tour guide said food is a 7/10, which is solid. The town of Northampton is incredibly appealing- very walkable, lively, quirky, and lots to explore. D24 very much likes the open curriculum and the 5 college consortium and free buses between towns is appealing. I love how easy it is to get there from the Hartford airport. Opportunities for research sound tremendous. She is definitely applying, possibly as ED.
Amherst - same. D24 desperately wants to love Amherst and has visited twice. She even got to attend their fall festival over the weekend and had a lot of fun. But, though she loves Amherst on paper, something about it just isn’t clicking the way she wants it to. She likes the campus, loves the open curriculum and 5 college consortium, and she will apply, but she was hoping to confirm Amherst as a clear ED1 choice and that didn’t happen. Especially not after touring Smith and feeling like she would be happier there.
Mount Holyoke- Same. D24 loved Holyoke but expected to. She has several friends who attend and love it, and she spent the weekend in the dorm with one of them. She loved the campus, especially the library, and met lots of nice students. She had a good interview and thinks she would be happy there, but prefers Smith, but will also apply to MHC.
Connecticut College - WAY up! Lovely, well maintained campus and the tour took us inside lots of buildings, which was great. We glimpsed several classes in session and they were small and students seemed highly engaged. She loved the flexibility curriculum with an emphasis on interdisciplinary connections and practical application. She had an interview that was encouraging. The biggest downside is that the campus is not easily walkable to a fun town, so it felt more isolated than the 5 colleges. Still, she thought she would be happy there, too, and will apply.
Wesleyan - Down/Off. the communication from the school regarding he tour was somewhat confusing and the tour was WAY overbooked. There were over 50 people in our “small” breakout tour group, so we really couldn’t hear much/get much out of it. While some buildings were lovely, some were …. not, and the campus just didn’t hit the right notes with her. We picked up the school paper an it had a very serious, angsty vibe. Middletown was not a bad college town, but she preferred Northampton. So, it’s is one we thought she would love based on the website, but the tour just didn’t hit the right notes.