Richmond is out?!?!?!?
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Total shocker. I thought Richmond was a sure thing, their amazing dance program was the deciding factor for me. I have been eliminated, as that was my final answer 
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For those seeking a “sure thing”:
Take the moneyline on Baylor.
I understand the University of Richmond decision based not only on the current on-campus controversy, but also on the city of Richmond which has a lot of Old South attitude that many from more liberal areas of the country might find a bit off-putting.
BC is interesting for location, but disqualifying based on OP’s daughter’s stated preferences for Greek life & little-to-no religion.
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Well, color me wrong. This is a bomb @homerdog! I am sure this wasn’t an easy decision with all the positives that Richmond has to offer but happy she is getting closer to the final decision.
Maybe it is Colgate becuase BC can also be somewhat conservative with it’s strong Catholic history. Hmmmm…?
On the other hand, it is much bigger than Richmond so maybe that makes a difference? Also, as I said earlier, I do think her visit with friends at BC helped propel it to top of list and whatever these friends shared must have resonated with her.
Guess we will find out eventually!!!
I feel like if those two things really bothered her, she would have already crossed BC off the list. I think she must be questioning whether she wants the urban/suburban larger campus versus a smaller, more remote campus.
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I don’t think Colgate can beat the enthusiasm and networking power of BC alums . . . and I live in NY! Of course there are many other factors.
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@homerdog - For information gathering purposes and for those of us that work/volunteer with college applications, are you comfortable sharing where the Richmond student is looking to transfer? Curious what a student that struggled in that environment, is now searching for. I don’t want to derail this thread, so PM me if you prefer.
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That’s interesting and reaffirming. We had the same uncomfortable, bad fit experience regarding the culture and social aspects of Richmond with our D18. It was easy to get swept up in the beauty of the physical surroundings but something just didn’t click with the vibrations coming off of the students.
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Agreed! I think Colgate hits the sweet spot - enough similarity to the positives of Bowdoin but with more students and more of the social scene/Greek life that homerdaughter wants. Aside from the Boston location, I don’t see BC as the best fit here (I grew up in MA and knew many kids who went to BC). Can’t wait to hear the final reveal.
I can’t say exactly as she was shy to tell us the names of the schools where she applied. It sounded like the area of Richmond was a turn off. She thought, with the college having a lot of kids from the NE, the school would feel if not liberal at least balanced. She didn’t consider that Richmond itself has a lot of issues around politics etc. with its fair share of very conservative residents. I’m sure that having a Covid freshman year made it worse but it was the NJ NY cliquey girls who made friends over the summer and then stayed cliquey at school that turned her off. Since I talked to parents with sophomores and juniors, though, I know that’s not all because of Covid.
This student admitted that she didn’t dig deep into the vibe at Richmond before she applied ED. She thought the campus was pretty and the academics had a good reputation. She is a very well spoken, social and liberal and mainstream student who just isn’t feeling it.
The wealth of the students seems to be noticeable unlike it is for S19 at Bowdoin. Lots of wealthy kids there but you can’t tell. They aren’t showy. Richmond, with its small size, but Greek life and cliques of wealthy showy female students is not a fit. I did talk to other parents whose kids aren’t into Greek life at all and have found friends and are happy. I told D that, if she avoided Greek life, then maybe it would be ok but she thought if she was there she’d want to rush …but not with women like we now understand are in those sororities.
The other factor for us was that we felt like the BC and Colgate alumni base are stronger for connections. Since it didn’t seem like she wanted to stay in the south, we didn’t think UR alums would be as much help over time. We are finding, with S19, that the alumni base can be very important for internships etc
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I’m not surprised that BC edged out Richmond for this student, and this thread is really enjoyable. Going with Colgate for the win. Congrats either way to your daughter!
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I encouraged my dancer S21 to apply to Richmond and he didn’t think it would be liberal enough for him. Sounds like his instincts were spot on and I can let go of any lingering FOMO. Thanks for sharing your impressions!
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When my S21 looked at Colgate he crossed it off the list based on a rep of having too many rich Kids from NY/NJ.
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This is one of my favorite threads and I’ve really enjoyed following Homerdaughter’s journey and @Homerdog’s insightful and thoughtful analysis and narrative.
I’m voting Boston College. I think the combination of beautiful campus adjacent to an amazing college city, great school spirit and social life both on and off campus, breadth of curricula, and strong alumni network, with the cherry of the ballet/dance opportunities on/off campus (not to mention close to D19 and easy flight from Chicago) is a winning combination.
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Thanks for the reply. Very familiar with the Richmond area, so not surprised. Hope she finds a new school that fits her better!
Agree about alumni bases - both our kids have benefited from their alma mater’s alumni base.
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Very interesting process. So many of the top wants in a school have disappeared.
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I was just coming over to change my vote from Richmond to BC. Felt as if Richmond was mom’s favorite, not necessarily D21’s. I think it’ll be BC. I’m wishy-washy, though. After the Davidson admission, I thought that was gonna be it.
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Like what?
Warm weather? That was a want but, if we had had a chance to visit Wake and Richmond and Davidson with kids on campus before she made a list then maybe they wouldn’t have made it. And maybe the CA warm schools would have stayed high on the list but CA is awful with Covid and we can’t even visit. In the end, weather isn’t as much of a factor because other things are more important.
Dance? Both BC and Colgate have enough dance for her. We’ve checked into that and spoken to dancers. With Covid she hasn’t been on pointe for over a year and ballet isn’t as important as long as she can dance contemporary or maybe even do poms instead.
Not sure what else you are referring to
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Richmond was never my favorite. I was always worried about the social scene. It wasn’t until we met with our friend’s D that I couldn’t look the other way anymore.
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Hey! My kids are technically rich kids from NY😉. Just kidding—I know what you mean. But don’t forget that there are plenty of down-to-earth, outdoorsy, geeky, understated, socially conscious kids growing up in NY or NJ who happen to be from comparatively wealthy families. I think the culture of a school (especially a small one) has more to do with the existing vibe which draws like to like, and less to do with geographic origin of the students.
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