D has asked me to ask you for help. She thought she might come back from Kenyon with a clear frontrunner in mind, but she hasn’t. We have been discussing this all the way back form the airport. She is now getting very worried.
She says the fellow students and professors are priority #1. All the kids are smart, she knows. She says not too nerdy, but not too obsessed with partying. She wants professors who are engaged and can teach well, and not boring. Mom and Dad want good opportunities for her, and good career centers that are proactive. And yes, saving money from the merit schools (all but Kenyon) would be nice, but we can afford the schools. We want her to be in a place where she will be happy. Help please, the clock is ticking!
Of course, Duh! Psychology, English, Art. ECs not too important. She is very go with the flow. She would be quite interested in a debate team I think. Thanks @doschicos , you are great!
My daughter chose Kenyon . The tour guide at U Rochester told a “funny” (to her) story about how she spent several days per week for a whole semester running on a treadmill in the gym before Physics class next to her physics professor, and he didn’t speak to her the whole time. We didn’t find it that amusing, but we did find it illuminating. Hence, no UR application at all.
@wisteria100 , she was a little concerned that her host told her that partying happens three nights a week. Although, her host at Kenyon also said that she herself has still never had a drink or smoked pot, and hadn’t been pressured to do so. One of her fellow prospies mentioned how her fake ID wouldn’t work at Kenyon, because she is from Ohio anyway. She liked it a lot though, but not more or less than the others.
I cannot offer any insight other than that of the University of Rochester’s English Department which is very strong and highly regarded. I think that unfortunately the amazing Professor Russell Peck has retired by now but younger d had randomly selected a class of his for her first semester freshman year, not knowing of his amazing presence and career. It was memorable.
Partying 3 nights a week as in Fri, Sat and another night? Or 3 weeknights and the weekend? The former is likely found at a lot of schools. The latter would be concerning.
Apparently Wed, Fri and Sat. You reckon that is the regular deal? No kids at college here yet. She got the impression that the parties were for the whole campus.
This is what I liked about our tour of the U of Rochester: We were in the library and there was a lot of writing on boards with dry erase markers. The tour guide told us that one day he had trouble with a math problem. He was doing the problem on one of the boards, wrote down that he had no idea what he was doing, and then stepped away to use the bathroom. When he came back, the problem was solved with step by step directions on how to solve it. The tour guide told us that this is very common. My daughter ended up not applying, but I was very impressed with the school.
I’d follow the money if she doesn’t have a strong preference. I do think partying is pretty heavy at Kenyon, in spite of the lovely campus. They are strong in English and have a pretty nice new art building, though. My kid at Dickinson had great relationships with her profs, still keeps in touch with a few. She is a strong promoter of Dickinson 4 years after graduating (went to an accepted students activity in the DC area in the past few days to meet students, I think).
I do think 3 nights a week with parties, especially at a school with Greek life, is par for the course. The important thing to investigate is what are the options for those who don’t want to partake? Are there concerts, movies, readings etc? If you don’t attend do you feel less a part of the community.? At every school there will certainly be non partiers, but at small schools , if you are not into the party scene, you should try to scope out the % of like minded kids, because parties can really dominate at a small school
Thanks to you all so far. @wisteria100 , I will pass on this info. I though the hard part was making a list, but this is 100 times harder, because of the time constraint. I feel like she has read every niche and Uni go review about all her choices. I think she needs to process all her thoughts for a couple of days, but there are hardly any days left!
I think 3 nights a week of “partying” / going out is pretty common for college students. Doesn’t mean your D has to partake in any of it anyway. My D’s good friend is a rising senior at Kenyon and likes it a lot. She was the type in high school to be involved in everything and has lots of academic and extracurricular interests. She started as a chemistry major (and did a summer of research at a hospital in Boston after freshman year) but switched to history her junior year and is staying at Kenyon this summer doing funded history research that I believe will be the start of a thesis. She has also been involved in theater and dance at Kenyon. Anyway, D’s friends says fraternities and sororities are more prevalent at Kenyon than she thought going in (and she is not in a sorority) but all the parties are open to the entire campus.
I think your D should figure out if she wants LAC or research university (URochester) as a first cut. That seems to me to be the biggest differentiator. We were at U Rochester today and while this University was initially a top choice for S, each visit he realized that it was less and less of a fit for him (although it’s a great University). Once he heard that intro calc and science classes can have up to 250 students in them at Rochester, that was it for him. Not what he wants. So he picked Lafayette (which has about 30 students in those classes).
Then perhaps if your D wants LAC, the choice between Dickinson and Kenyon (if she likes both equally) can be made on things like particular academic programs, net cost, distance/convenience from home…hard choice…
Thanks @momofzag . I feel like I unnecessarily complicated matters by pulling a “moms choice” card. She wasn’t expecting to like it, but her overriding comment on Roch is that she sees herself somehwere smaller. She is also horribly indecisive, so I am the nitwit for suggesting it!
I echo the sentiment that if there is not a favorite school pulling into the lead, the best move might be to make the decision based on financial fit: the school that costs the least. And do not forget to include the cost of travel.
But – are you sure that one school doesn’t stand out in terms of academic fit? I’m sure all three of these schools - strong as they are - are good in English, Art and Psych, as well as many other things. Maybe one has more classes that she might like, or degree requirements that are the least taxing to what she wants.
I had my daughter (prospective English major) scrutinize class offerings in the English departments at the schools she was considering. A few fell off the list because while they had plenty to offer, the classes did not match her specific literary interests.
"her overriding comment on Roch is that she sees herself somehwere smaller. "
This statement, combined with the larger intro classes as pointed out by @momofzag, leads me to believe she should drop Rochester from her list.
Then, its down to 2. Nothing wrong with using the remaining days to give it more thought. Do any former students of her high school attend either Dickinson or Kenyon? If so, she should talk to them. If she still can’t make up her mind after another week, go for the cheaper option. Both are great spots to be.
@lindagaf You mentioned that your D had been reading college reviews on various sites. Has she checked out hercampus? It’s a site with perspectives on schools written by female students. Could bring her a different view.
Do you think she is in anyway longing for her wl schools? That could be hampering her decision making process.
I agree with previous comments that it seems Rochester is the outlier, and if she sees herself in a LAC for undergrad perhaps it should fall off the list.
Regarding Kenyon and Dickinson, if academics are more a less a wash, and cost is “realistically” more or less a wash (knowing in an ideal world the least expensive option could wind up being first choice)… in other words if all else is equal… my questions to her would be
people: which did she most resonate with people wise? These people- students and profs- will be her community for the next four years and her lifelong friends. Did one stand out for her? Could she picture herself equally happy at either or does one have more special appeal than the other?
location: if she has to literally split hairs over this decision did one location rise to the top or fall to the bottom? She’ll be living there for four years, maybe that should be a factor when all else is equal.
Finally, if she truly cannot decide, go the least expensive route if it’s the only differentiator.
