<p>MIT....ehh um she said she didnt want it to be cutthroat/intense. The environment there isn't very warm at all.</p>
<p>If you read any of the admissions blogs on the MIT web site, or visit the MIT boards, you'll see that while the school is very hard academically, students are not cutthroat in the least and in fact work together on a lot of the work.</p>
<p>I disagree. :) Just because you say it doesn't make it true. Plain and simple..it's not a very warm environment.</p>
<p>Many thanks to everyone who took the time to share their knowledge with us! I copied all of your posts and "the ball is in D's court" now as she sifts through all of the information. She has 'stars' drawn by some of the schools and others have been crossed from the list as she learns more about each college.<br>
Again, thanks so much! You helped to narrow the focus and get us headed in the right direction - we couldn't have done it without you!</p>
<p>Your daughter will be considered a desirable candidate at many schools. Boston College has a great German program, and is located in an upscale suburb of Boston (but with easy access to the city). Other than that- Oberlin, U Rochester, Rice, and Swarthmore sound like fits. Well, Swarthmore is quite competitive and has grade deflation, so maybe not. She is Ivy material- might find Cornell students too competitive. Brown may be good. She would have a good chance at Princeton and Harvard.</p>
<p>Well, I'm not going to tell you what schools to look at, just how we went about it. </p>
<p>First thing, get a BIG file box. You'll soon start getting flyers from many schools across the country. Take a second and read them. If the sound good at first glance...file them. If not, toss em. You should average around 20 pieces of mail from different schools every week and an additional 10-20 from schools who have already mailed you before. Read em. file em or toss em.</p>
<p>Then visit the internet for each of the file em schools. Then based on this next step either continue to file em or toss em. </p>
<p>From your filebox plan some visits. I would strongly suggest visiting any campus that is in your top 5. That's alot of travel, so plan a mini vacation with it. Also make sure to visit a big, medium and small college campus. See the differences (and there certainly are differences) between sizes. </p>
<p>My example of this was a spring break trip through Oregon, we visited a small (Linfield) a medium (western Oregon) and a big (Oregon State) over a couple days, visited the Or coast for a couple of days and visited another small (lewis & clark) on the way home. Our D fell inlove at first with OSU. Which really surprized us as it was the biggest campus. Anyway the point is visit different schools in the region your D wants to go. We even booked a trip to Az to visit schools to be certain. We also visited about 8 or 9 more schools in the whole process, it narrowed it down to what she wanted in size, location and opportunities.</p>
<p>While alot here mention a school (their preference) over any other, I would say the vast majority of colleges and universities in this country offer a good education. What it comes down to is how does the school fit the child? No matter how noteworhty a university might be to some, if it's miserable to your D, it's wasted money and time. </p>
<p>Our epilog, My D is headed to Willamette University. Her love for OSU changed because her out of state status would have added $50,000+ in debt to us, making it far more expensive than a private school. We found this totally unreasonable to charge her such an excessive tuition for where her parents live and have jobs. OF course, if my D was a S, and could run a 4.3 40, and average 7 yards a carry, no problem being from another state. </p>
<p>WU offered a strong financial package and along with other scholarships, she should leave WU with little to no student debt. </p>
<p>Debt of course is another issue and it seems easy for some to encourage others to take it on. Not me. Debt is something you'll have to payback eventually.... alot of student debt, even at a low interest rate is going to drag on and on for alot of kids. It is something to talk about in the selection process very seriously.</p>
<p>Thought I would wrap up this nearly year old thread and let you know what transpired after all of your INCREDIBLE advice. I am still in awe of the level of knowledge of the posters on CC - just amazing!</p>
<p>D's senior year has gone wonderfully well. She qualified for state tennis again as a singles player and medaled this year! (Hard to do when you come from a town with no indoor courts and no pros for instruction!). She qualified for the state orchestra for the third year and was selected as 3rd chair! She was notified that she was the only National Merit Finalist at her h.s. and retains her 1 ranking. Her fundraising continued, sending more $$ to the organization she supports by selling small watercolor paintings she creates - to date has sent them $5,000. Last weekend she was named one of 26 students out of 240 nominated for the State All-Academic team. Was named a 'Governor's Scholar'. Received a Discover Card Scholarship and a Robert C. Byrd Scholarship. Awaiting word on others.</p>
<p>When D got down to the task of applying, she decided she was a midwest girl through and through, and really didn't want to go to school on either coast. She took a map of the US and folded each side under, selecting her schools from the area that remained. </p>
<p>H and I were silently disappointed that she didn't at least TRY for a couple of the super reach schools recommended by the CC posters. But, as my wonderful brother-in-law kept telling my sister during their son's college application saga this year, "It's not about you". Also, along with the posts, we received some great PMs - one from a ND grad who also recommended WU, NW, UofC, etc. He cautioned us about the potential 'Ivy/East coast pressure cooker environment' that could be present at some schools, and whether someone from small town Midwest would thrive in that setting.
I think D has some of those same concerns.</p>
<p>In the end, D applied to Notre Dame EA, University of Kansas (Honors Program), University of Tulsa, and Washington University in St. Louis.
H and I wish she would have applied to more schools, but again, it was her journey, not ours. Daughters results:</p>
<p>Notre Dame - she was admitted EA and named a Notre Dame Scholar (top % of those accepted). ND gives no merit $$. Letter came one week before Christmas and she was very pleased with the acceptance!</p>
<p>University of Tulsa - daughter was admitted and offered the Presidential Scholarship (four year free ride - nearly $30,000/year).</p>
<p>Unversity of Kansas (Honors Program) - daughter was admitted and offered $40,000 over four years, which is nearly a free ride.</p>
<p>Washington University in St. Louis - this was the last letter to arrive and D was very happy she was accepted. They decreased the # of students accepted this year and it seemed competition was very tough. WU gives $2,000/year for NM status.</p>
<p>We visited each school twice - she attended classes, visited with students and professors, ate the food, saw the dorms, etc. As you would expect, UT and KU rolled out the red carpet, due to NMF status. KU even drove her around in an "official KU car" to the classes she visited! ND and WU were helpful, but of course, none of the star treatment! </p>
<p>Making the final decision was not easy. D is a good kid and we think she worried about turning down the full rides. It does hurt a little (well, a lot, to say no thanks to that kind of money), but we knew the schools were not right for her. We reassured her that we started saving for college the day she was born, we wanted her to pick the school that was right for her, letting us worry about the cost. My husband told her that when she decided she should just come out and say, "I want to go to......", which she did a week ago Sunday. </p>
<p>"I want to go to Washington University". We think it was her favorite all along, she just needed to "let it rattle around in her subconscious" (as she put it). It meets nearly all of her original criteria, and some more she has added along the way. A highly ranked school, small classes, excellent professors, beautiful college campus setting, with a noncutthroat environment. They offer and encourage dual/double majors and minors, great for a 'science/math loving, violin playing, German learning, artistic kid' who isn't exactly sure what she wants to do with her life. The WU violin professor said she could play in the orchestra and take lessons from her as a nonmusic major (ND violin professor could not guarantee either!). WashU offers guaranteed four year on-campus housing and the dorms are beautiful. With the suite set up, D wouldn't have the "sharing the bathroom" with males issue to worry about. She also signed up for Healthy Living (Substance free) housing. The campus offers many places to eat on campus and the food is wonderful. Before uttering the "I want to go to.........." words, D did have a "crisis of confidence", as one CCer put it. She shed some tears and expressed her concern that her medicore h.s. education had not prepared her for a school such as WashU. The school provided a list of parents of present students who agreed to be contacted with questions. I found 10 on the list who came from towns around the size of ours and had children who had attended a public high school. ALL of the parents were very supportive and said that their children had done just fine, and so would D. I think their e-mails are what tipped the scale and made her decision possible. </p>
<p>This has been a wonderful, at times difficult, emotional journey. If we could write a personal note to each and every one of you, we would. CC is the most amazing place to visit, and I usually feel totally outclassed by the minds who post here. When I thought about all the different people, from different parts of the country, who took their time to help us with our process, it made me think of the closing paragraph of our lovely daughter's college essay. Thank you, again, so very much.</p>
<p>"No one chooses an arduous path through life; however, the winds of fate blow where they choose, sometimes bringing together dissimilar people with a common story. Although no one can resist the blind, unbiased direction of the wind, at least we have each other to lean on when the gales of life become too fierce."</p>
<p>Sounds like a wonderful fit - given your D's exceptional credentials and your remote location, she will probably, for the first time, be surrounded with peers and friends who share her interests, her passions, and her abilities. It'll be an incredibly powerful experience for her!</p>
<p>Told you so. Now wait till you experience move in weekend - you will have a great time. You might even get to know Bed - Bath & Target better than you want. Try to have her attend a A&S weekend in the summer & sign up for a pre orientation program. Get set for a great 4 years.</p>
<p>Congratulations- Wash U sounds like the perfect place for your daughter! You ran a very well thought-out college search and application process. I think that you were smart to only apply to four places. Wow, by maintaining focus, she has also had a great year and won some very significant honors.</p>