This is great but don’t forget admissions is a sales team.
Love the school for the school and not just because if admissions. It’s nice to have a great first impression but in the end, it just means a better sales pitch…. Not that it’s a better school for the student.
OK, last pre-admissions tour, trying to figure out the RD/possible-EDII list, and first up . . . .
Swarthmore: SAME, so on the bubble. Campus was a big hit, at this point I can pretty much predict S24’s reaction, and this was definitely his sort of campus–nice mix of buildings, and a rolling campus with a lot of greenery and walking paths. Shout out to the outdoor amphitheater, one of the coolest spaces we have seen anywhere–it felt like something out of Tolkien. And they have their own train station that goes straight into Philly. Pretty great combination.
On the down side, there were definitely a lot of references to how hard the classes were, how hard the students work, and also a lot of focus on Engineering and CS. Obviously they are good outside of those areas too, but I am not sure they will make S24’s final list given these academic impressions (which is fine with me if so).
And finally, the truly last one of all (sniffle) . . .
Haverford: SAME. Sort of a mirror image of Swarthmore in terms of relative pros and cons, and so on the bubble as well (which is pretty good at this point, I should note).
Academically and in terms of vibe, Haverford was spot on–smart and intellectually diverse but with a commitment to balance and non-academic activities as well. The BiCo with Bryn Mawr was appealing too.
The campus was not as big of a hit with S24. Not quite the rolling hills and sense of spaciousness as his absolute favorites. I looked it up, actually–Swarthmore’s campus is apparently 425 acres, Haverford 200 (some sources say 216), and I am realizing he responds positively to the somewhat bigger LAC campuses. He also thought maybe the buildings at Haverford matched a little too much.
Finalizing his list (due 12/1 to HS college counselors) is going to be very interesting.
3 posts were merged into an existing topic: Off-Topic Discussion from “Colleges Crossed Off List or Moved Up After Visiting”
4 posts were merged into an existing topic: Off-Topic Discussion from “Colleges Crossed Off List or Moved Up After Visiting”