@twogirls that sums up what D wants perfectly. Thanks! I’ll have her look at Lehigh. Can’t hurt. H told her to do as many apps as she wants. Lol
As you know, Vanderbilt is big on test scores EXCEPT they are going TO this admissions cycle which falls right into your D21’s wheelhouse (if she doesn’t get an opportunity to take the SAT this fall). That would be a tough one to give up on for ED…especially if your H is right about ED applications going down this year. The kids I know at Vandy absolutely love the experience and Nashville is a great town for college students.
@socaldad2002 we know two kids who transferred out of Vandy this year. One to Wisconsin and I’m not sure about the second. They were very similar type kids to D and they did not like the social life. Thought it was cliquey and southern feeling.
I have a hard time describing D when it comes to the social part. She is definitely social. Here in the Midwest, though, lots of girls are pretty casual (even the cheerleader types). They like to dress up for dances or maybe birthday parties but, on a regular day, it’s 100 percent leggings and sweatshirts. I’ve talked to D about this when it comes to southern schools. She said she’s fine getting more dressed but I don’t know if it would be her first choice. When we visited BC, those kids looked like her kids. Friendly, comfortable. I think she could make Wake or Richmond work but she would hate big time southern Greek life and I think Vandy might be that. She would likely fit in at the school and find lots of friends but maybe not in a sorority.
The three Tulane videos she saw today had student hosts that seemed like her but I know those are only a few kids. And now I’m hearing some downsides to Tulane like bad food and not great dorms which I think could be a deal breaker!
My H just told her to apply to Northwestern. He was on a NU kick with S19 for a while too. He and I pushed back quite a bit. It’s crazy stressful there. If she could get into Medill, it might be worth it though. Ha. Since we are both alums, maybe that’s the only school he would agree to let her use ED? lol. I’ll ask him. She said it’s WAY too close to home…
No shortage of reaches out there that might fit the bill. Just signed D up for info sessions for Emory, Rice and Northwestern (sigh).
When I visited my old dorm at UT-Austin (which is known to be the residence of a lot of sorority girls), I was surprised at how casually the girls were dressed.
Did you look at Tufts with your son? It is bigger than most of the NESCACs, and there isn’t much dressing up here in MA!!
@homerdog I tend to agree with you about Vandy, but of course it’s worth applying and if she gets in you could visit.
I don’t think Emory has the rah rah she is looking for, but t’s still a good idea to do the research and let her decide. The students go to the games at GT.
Both are obviously great schools…she just needs to decide on fit.
@homerdog Hope this isn’t a hijack… We did the Northwestern info session today. (It’s a reach, bigger than D wants, and yes, WAY too close to home. It still might make her list for a few reasons, mostly some unique major options.) H and I went to grad school there so don’t know much about undergrad. I didn’t realize it has a “crazy stressful” environment. More so than Vandy, Emory and Rice? That’s interesting.
Just tell her you and H are going to move when she goes to college!!
Same with grad school and same impression. What little I could gather about the vibe from the prerecorded virtual sessions was not what I was hoping for.
Right! We will move to Maine!!
It seems like you might still be looking for mid-size safeties. Can I offer up Loyola Marymount. My completely non-religious D17 has had a great experience at two Jesuits. Started at Fordham and then just transferred to LMU after a medical leave. The religious aspect is extremely low-key, just need two theology classes I think. There is a great dance program, beautiful campus, they have EA and your D would likely get some merit. Also, with the core curriculum, your D gets a good exploration of different liberal arts. My S20 is also going to attend a Jesuit school, but he is a D1 recruited athlete, so that was his priority.
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@kbm770 we know multiple kids who had to “take breaks” from Northwestern because they were basically having breakdowns. Said everything hyper competitive. Hard to get accepted into clubs. Have to fill out apps and do interviews to be part of philanthropy like Dance Marathon. Felt like they were constantly trying to build their resume on top of classes. We know two rising sophs and their parents tell us they do like it and are having a balanced experience - intense and fun- but I think it depends on your major and it gets more competitive as you get older. I guess I could see D in the school of communications there but we would really have to do a lot of homework on that one.
@scorekeeper1 We actually have LMU on a long list we made a while back. Good to hear about your D’s good experience. I’ll have D look at it more!
I hear you about Vandy. The southern sorority thing could be an issue. Our close friend’s rising junior rushed twice and didn’t get her top choice houses so she has been “greekless” for two years but still has a great group of friends, some greek, some not.
Re: Tulane, when we toured the dorms they were your typical small rooms with a sink. I think they just completed a new cafeteria last year and there is no shortage of great food in and around NO.
There are a lot of upper class NE and CA kids and 1/3 of the students are Jewish which might not be everyone’s cup of tea. I say this as a member of the tribe : ). Tulane is big on community service and i don’t get a competitive vibe at all. Seems friendly, collaborative with a flexible curriculum.
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I have to laugh. We live in Chicago just a Purple like away or 20 or so minute ride to Northwestern. We did the engineering tour and my son took AP Stats there Junior summer (whole year in 3 weeks… Crazy).
I told my son I could come up like on Friday’s to take him and some buddy’s to Edzos for Lunch or dinner. He took out his school list. Took out a pen. Scratched Northwestern off the list like right in front of me…
LOL ??.
@Knowsstuff Yeah. Add on that we already have season tickets to football and the kids already bleed the hot sauce from Buffalo Joes, and NU is a little too close to home. Lol. Gosh, I’d love to have her that close though! We are a full 45 min away and wouldn’t have to go every weekend, right?
We have a similar “proximity to home” issue with both Stanford and Santa Clara, not that we’re having any delusional thought(s) about an acceptance to Stanford. :lol:
If she’s into Tulane I think she should def. consider Emory. It’s in such a lovely area and I think it gets a great diversity of types of students. My college boyfriend lived in that part of Atlanta – it’s really really lovely neighborhood and Atlanta has a lot going for it.
I don’t know much about Tulane so I can’t weigh in. I did visit the campus right after Katrina for work and it was devastating to see. I was part of a site visit touring higher ed campuses in order to allocated some federal relief dollars.
Anyway, I think Emory is more laid back and less sorority focused than both Vandy and Wake. I know a few kids there and they are all different from each other – which I think is good. I don’t think it’s as socially stressful as Northwestern and Duke can be, IMHO. (@homerdog knows my feelings about Duke – really not trying to start anything here, everyone 
A friend of my D’s chose Emory over Wellesley specifically b/c she thought it’d be less intense and she’d have a more enjoyable college experience. Of course, I don’t think most folks would consider those two colleges overlaps, but the point is this is a very academic focused kid who also is social like your D. My D’s friend is bi-racial, FWIW, and socially is loving it. I say this b/c I know your D is liberal and has been involved in BLM.
I tried to get my D18 interested in Emory but she made a decision she wouldn’t apply to any college south of NC. She’d done Duke TIP programs farther south and the heat made a lasting impression. Of course, we kept saying, you won’t be there in JULY! But then again, you gotta narrow the search somehow, so we moved on.
I remember reading (in a BOOK, nonetheless) about Emory back in the 80s during MY college search and thinking its sounded great. Didn’t apply but it’s always had a soft spot with me…
Of course, I’m sad she taken Davidson off her list. Sniff sniff…
@AlmostThere2018 we aren’t nixing Davidson yet. She already wrote the supplemental essays for Davidson and it’s just a matter of a click and a little money to send it in. I know kids can change their minds between Aug of senior year and April and we are less unsure of her chances if going all RD.
She’s going to take a look at Emory. Good to hear your thoughts. No football team, though. It will be interesting to see which priorities of hers float to the top when she sees her choices in the spring.
At this point, the plan is to apply widely. It’s such a weird application year and everyone seems so unsure how this will go…
In a normal year, I would think her results will include a ton of waitlists. Maybe that will still happen and that will stink but not sure how to do much about that. She’s showing a ton of interest where she can.