Checking demonstrated interest for each school. Most on the list say it’s considered or important so I guess she’ll be doing what she can to show interest! Just Colgate (surprising to me) and BC and Miami OH say they don’t track interest at all. Davidson, Denison, Wake, Richmond, Tulane all track it. With acceptance rates diving at all of these schools, who knows when showing interest can make a difference. Not willing to risk it. I get why schools track interest but if they saw this thread, they would know how picky D is and why she’s interested in their schools even if we didn’t make it to campus ha! I do think it’s good to visit. S19 had a very hard time writing essays for schools we did not visit.
She’s signed up for Tulane’s mailing list and been receiving emails and mail from them. Just got a mailing that had a postcard in it. It asks the kids to check different boxes for things they’d like to learn more about. I had her check a few boxes and we will get that postcard back to them.
Travel may get easier after the first semester or two when your D meets people who are headed your way.
My D was a 10.5 hour drive away (SC from PA). She did fly a couple of times her first year; but then she made friends. One lived in MD and had a car, so D would ride most of the way back with her (and 2 other students) and then I’d pick her up, so a less than 2 hour drive each way for me. Another friend lived in CT, so they would drive to our house, friend and other New England students would stay overnight with us, and then they’d finish the drive the next day. D took a car her last two years (internships) so we never drove down again until graduation. She did fly home at Thanksgiving those years.
S is 6.5 hours away (no good flight options) and we share the driving with 2 or 3 other families from our area. But I like driving and don’t mind going out and back in one day.
As other posters have noted, kids are resourceful (and mine went to big schools, so plenty of opportunities to share rides). Road trips can be fun. And I was happy to contribute generously for gas and tolls.
Your trip brings back fond memories for me. I ended up visiting 51 campuses over my 3 kids’ high school years, but that number had a lot to do with basketball prospects.
My favorite trip was a non-basketball visit. I would have been pleased if my middle child matriculated at any of the colleges in her plans. It included a planned VA-NC-GA section and a midwest section. Beforehand, she crossed off UVA, UofRichmond, W&M, and W&L, so the state of VA was dropped entirely.
We flew into Raleigh-Durham to visit Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Georgia. Then, we flew Atlanta to Detroit. We visited Michigan, Notre Dame, U Chicago, and Northwestern. Then we flew home from Chicago. We had so many great chats.
My daughter was most psyched to visit UNC (since about the age of 4) and Georgia. I was most keen for her to visit Notre Dame and U Chicago.
During the visits she crossed off all FOUR of the colleges one of us had highest on the list and Duke. She ended up applying to Michigan, Wake, and Northwestern from that group of 8. What a surprise! You just never know.
Enjoy that precious time with your child! I am sure you will.
@bloomfield88 thanks! It makes sense that Michigan, NU, and Wake end up being a group of schools that a student likes. D is a double legacy at NU but, unless there’s a giant SAT surprise, she won’t have a chance even in ED.
I love these trips. It will be an odd one with just the three of us but maybe we can FaceTime S19 along the way.
I also worried about those posts regarding Denison’s food, as my son is picky in the sense that he knows good food and will complain vociferously about bad food. But he’s been fine with it this year. He tends to eat at Slater (the student union) more than the dining halls, in part because of his training schedule, and he thinks the food at Slater is good. I’m sure it can’t compare with Bowdoin, which seems to be kind of famous for its food, but it’s probably not as bad as you fear. The main dining hall is also quite gorgeous.
@tkoparent Kids live on campus all four years at Denison, right? And eat on the dining hall all of those years? I definitely want to visit even if it has to be summer. Wonder if the dining halls are open in the summer when Denison has some camps and if it’s the same food!
I checked and it seems students who are in apartments (mostly seniors, I think) are not required to take a meal plan, but anyone who is one of the regular dorms is. There are two dining halls and the student union that I referred to. The meal plans include various combinations of dining hall “swipes” and debit dollars - the debit dollars can also be used at the student union. I’m not sure about the summer. In case it is helpful, here is a link that includes contact information: https://denison.cafebonappetit.com/ My son actually called me just after I posted earlier and he confirmed his view that the food is fine, although it gets “repetitive.”
@homerdog, I’m glad she’s returning that postcard to Tulane. I think Tulane checks LOTS of boxes for her.
While Uptown New Orleans may be green and next to Audubon park (sort of the Central Park of New Orleans) it is, indeed very much a part of the core city. It’s right on St. Charles Avenue, which is sort of the spine of New Orleans, where all the historic “wedding cake” Greek revival mansions are and Mardi Gras beads are stuck in the branches of live oak trees from all the parades. I checked with my H (who lived in Boston and New Orleans) and he did confirm that BC is really at the border of Boston proper, and Is a very long and not-to-attractive trek through high-rise apartment and other residential areas to get there from the city, and very different from the feeling of Uptown New Orleans.
If someone said ”New Orleans suburb” I would instantly think “Metairie” but never think of Uptown as on the outskirts because of it’s greenness. Very little of New Orleans is NOT leafy (unless things have changed greatly in recent years) and a lot of the great restaurants (the famous ones and the mom-and-pops, not to mention zydeco dance places) are located in the old residential areas. I guess I’m saying a medium-sized city with a slow-moving cafe culture and a ten-month growing season in the deep south just has different look and feel than a huge northern city like Chicago or Boston and is comparing apples to mangos. At any rate, your D is also interested in U Richmond, which is located adjacent to a country club and could be classified as more suburban in relation to Richmond than Tulane is to New Orleans (and also a very nice school).
Have your D google images of Magazine Street, New Orleans. THAT is what lies on the other side of Audubon Park (and pretty much heaven for a young adult who likes hip-yet-charming urban places ?)
We have been to both BC and Tulane (S2 applied and was accepted to both) and @inthegarden answered your question about the locales way better than I could have! The only thing I will add is that our son just felt Tulane had a totally different “feel” than the other schools on his final list. You know, that all important, elusive “feel”…
I think you are wise to eliminate W&L for travel reasons. We live in an area where W&L is hugely popular (a 3 hour drive from here) , and we know at least 20 grads (probably more) of all ages. We visited it with S1 and he just wasn’t feeling the size or location. S2 considered applying but eliminated it for similar reasons as his brother. Interestingly, he did visit friends at W&L several times during college and his time there solidified his decision.
As particular as OP appears to be, not sure Tulane is going to be her favorite. In New Orleans, and correspondingly at Tulane, you have to accept that things may not be “just so”. The remainder of the campuses on the shortlist appear better suited to appeal to a demanding standard. It’s an incredible place for many reasons with much to make one overlook flaws, but from an infrastructure, up to date, neat and tidy perspective, University of Richmond it is not.
Boston College is located in Chestnut Hill. Or the Heights. It’s one of the most beautiful and sought out areas of greater Boston.
The top of the hill or upper campus overlooks downtown Boston. Lower campus is Boston city line. It borders a city square one side and a large reservoir on the other side. It’s really nice and a popular running Nd walking spot.
It’s a blend. It’s not “suburbs” in the traditional sense at all.
Also the T ride to Boston goes by Fenway Park, BU and other schools and normal city sights. Ugly tall buildings? Lol. It just goes through Boston.
Don’t have anything to add on W&L specifically, but there seems to be a correlation between the difficulty of transport to a school and the strength of the Alumni network. I’m thinking of schools like Dartmouth, St. Lawrence, Grinnell, Whitman, etc. which are known to have very strong networks. Maybe shared sacrifice leads to strong bonds?
@pishicaca Yeah I actually do get that. I have a feeling that Tulane would be a place that would be a yes or a no and not a maybe but she’d need to see it. It’s so specific in it’s location and we’ve never been to New Orleans. I bet she’d love the energy and the weather and the park being right there. I get the impression that this part of town is maybe quaint and a little gritty compared to a place like Richmond but I don’t know how D would respond to that. She loves old historic neighborhoods but I think she’d want to feel safe too.
I also get that Richmond is going to be very manicured. Not what I would want necessarily but she might like it. We don’t know yet. Davidson is pretty manicured and she liked it but I think Richmond is a level above that. She likes Northwestern’s campus and that’s not particularly manicured. It’s got a mix of different types of buildings and is situated up and down Sheridan Road which is fairly busy. I’m kind of picturing Tulane like that. But warmer. And way more fun.
I have a food comment…When you are looking at schools, look beyond the dining halls. Lots of schools have programs where students can use meal swipes at restaurants and at food trucks that they bring to campus.
@privatebanker Right. I get where BC is situated. Access to that reservoir is wonderful. I think D is liking how she can walk to shops and restaurants/coffee at Bowdoin and is looking for something like that. Kids at BC seem to stay on campus or go to Boston via Uber or the T. When we offered to take our student-friends out for dinner, they took public transit to a sushi place and then we drove them home. There’s not a neighborhood of coffee shops, etc. walkable from campus.
Of course all of these “wants” will be evaluated along the way. She’s not going to find everything in one school!
@momofsenior1 I know. Restaurant food, though, is SO bad for you. Thinking food trucks not great either. She’s a very healthy eater so needs good, fresh produce and vegetarian options not laded with fat! I’m sure we will be checking out the food along the way.
@RockySoil honestly, i think that tight alumni network is a small school thing. All that you named are small with Dartmouth being the biggest but still quite small and focused on undergrads. If a Bowdoin alum sees a Bowdoin student’s resume, he wants to help. If a OSU grad sees an OSU resume, I’m sure he still wants to help but probably sees a ton of them. Plus, a small school experience is a bonding one so alums typically have similar experiences to those the current kids have so they have a warm spot in their heart for them. At a big school, kids have all different experiences and maybe don’t always share as much in common.
Not sure if I’m making sense. Haven’t had much coffee yet.
My D is a healthy eater too. She’s been blown away by her food options. There are restaurants with acai bowls, amazing salad bar, soups, etc… They rotate which restaurants take swipes when. The food trucks are super fun - lots of ethnic cuisine so many vegetarian options.
PS. My D got on a health kick last year. Instead of the freshman 15, she was down 15 lbs thanks to easy access to the rec center, tons of walking, and healthy eating.
