<p>Neither son really fell in love with the school he attended (or attends). I think the love came a bit later once on campus and doing lots of things that they had not done before.</p>
<p>My older son really wanted to attend an Ivy or Duke. It did not work out, as he was waitlisted. So he went to his safety, the U. of Alabama, on a full scholarship. He called me about two weeks into school and said he could not imagine himself any other place. He really loved the school and all the opportunities it offered. And the fact that they won three national titles while he attended was pretty cool, too.</p>
<p>The same lukewarm feeling came when it was time to pick a law school. Again, he shot for the moon and really wants Harvard or Stanford (again, waitlisted). So he chose to stay home and attend UVA on a full scholarship. He loves it! Has made so many good friends. Enjoys his classes. Likes that my husband and I drive down once a month or six weeks to visit. He cannot imagine himself at any other law school.</p>
<p>My younger son wanted to go to Alabama and run cross country/track. It did not work out, but he got a full tuition ride at another school. Loves it. The classes are challenging. He is in a fraternity. Doing all sorts of volunteer work. Tutoring others in math and physics. And he gets to run, too. Again, he cannot imagine attending a different school.</p>
<p>So, sometimes the real love comes a little later.</p>
<p>D2 fell in love with Vandy but when it came to apply, she knew she would likely be accepted but with no merit aid. She ended up at a local LAC, Maryville College, and LOVES it. Go MC Scots!</p>
<p>I’m the type that is going to weigh all the options and take my time making a decision. D, on the other hand, knows what she wants and decides quickly, rarely looking back. She only applied to 5 schools - all of which she liked - but one she fell in love with. I wanted her to keep an open mind until merit offers were on the table. After the tour, interview, lunch with students and a class at the school she now attends, we were sitting on the front porch of the admissions office when D said “This is it Mom. This is where I belong.” She was right. She’s very happy. </p>
<p>S didn’t even bother with many tours. He knew since middle school where he wanted to go to college.</p>
<p>If merit or FA are factors, it’s actually better if they don’t fall in love with one school. And, it’s not like there’s only one place they can be happy. So taking her time to decide and carefully considering her options can be a good thing for your D. </p>
<p>I had know idea during the visiting and app process if my S had fallen in love with any school. he was very non committal all during the process and we never pressed. </p>
<p>It wasn’t until he got the acceptance to a particular school that he admitted to us it was the one he was really hoping for. </p>
<p>Our son applied to six colleges and was accepted to all of them. We had visited five of them, plus others he didn’t apply to. We eventually visited the sixth college he was accepted to, in January of his senior year, or maybe February. We walked around the campus on our own, then had a group meeting with admissions and then an organized tour. That evening, at dinner, I asked if everything was equal right now, which… Before I could finish he said the college we last visited was where he wanted to go: U. of Denver.</p>
<p>I think it’s better if they don’t fall in love with one school. My daughter didn’t, and had some nice schools to choose from when she had to make her decision two years ago. My son, unfortunately, fell in love with Brown and nothing else compares. He knows it’s a long shot and has come up with some other viable options, but I am afraid he will be very sad when ED notifications come out next month. I guess if your child is going to love a school, it should be a safety!</p>
<p>My older D fell in love hard with the 1st school she visited. We were there on a miserable day (cold, gray, spitting sleet after having snowed an inch or so the night before) but she loved the campus and it felt right to her.</p>
<p>She applied EA, got accepted and was done with her search. </p>
<p>@gunnerz I think there is some truth to the “saying” that they tend to like the last school they visit. That is true for our S, and we saw quite a few schools over the last 3 years. Now, it could be that this particular school was, indeed, a great fit for him…</p>
<p>My daughter fell in love with UConn and never wavered. We are OOS, but her major qualifies for the regional discount. She loves her school - go Huskies!</p>
<p>S2, having never visited, was accepted in late Oct. to his school. I think he was relieved but wasn’t “in love”. It was a large directional state u. that was not on the top of anybody’s list at his high school. After high school football season was over, he was finally able to go for a visit/official tour. By the time the tour ended, S2 was sold hook, line and sinker. Loved his four years there. </p>
<p>None of my three sons fell “in love” with their schools. I think they chose the one they felt most “at home at” and so far have been happy with their decisions.</p>
<p>My D has 6 top choices and says she would be happy to attend any one of them. Given her stats, I would say that 2 are match and 4 are reach. Relatives keep asking her where she would “really” like to go. She says that there is no point in picking favorites until she sees where she gets in.</p>
<p>My S seems to have fallen in love with his school… after beginning his first quarter. Phew!</p>
<p>We had both fallen in love with a different school after our tours… alas, he was not accepted there. A bit harder for me to get over, than for him. But all’s well that ends well, and indeed, even I now believe that his current school is a better choice for him, in many ways.</p>
<p>Fortunately the two schools share a color, so the jacket he bought at “former first choice” has been re-purposed with a little “sewing ripper” magic to remove the original logo…</p>
<p>My older 2 had a utilitarian view of college. They each only applied to one school, were accepted, earned their degrees, and have solid careers. They knew exactly what they wanted to do, what they needed to do to do it, likelihood of employment when they finished by doing x,y, and z and did precisely that. My oldest ds loved college. I do not know if he loved his school, though. He has made comments to his youngest brother that he misses being a student. He made the most of the opportunities he had and it shows in his accomplishments. But it was a small university and the school atmosphere there is much different than the Roll Tide enthusiasm of his younger brother’s choice. Definitely different experiences.</p>
<p>Youngest ds applied to several schools. Tours and tour guides made zero impression on him one way or the other. They either came across as used car salesmen or ditzy airheads. He focused on depts, classes, and opportunities for undergrad research. He didn’t fall in love with any school, though he did eliminate one due to the attitude the dept had toward their students that before the visit had been near the top of his list. He wasn’t even wowed when our disasterous tour of NCSU ended with the registrar taking us on a personal tour. (Long story, but our tour guide was totally clueless. We finally asked her where we could go to find out where the physics dept was and she sent us to the wrong building. A person passed us in that building and noted our completely frazzled state and asked if he could help us. It ended up being the registrar. Really nice man and he definitely made up for the rest of the failures.)</p>
<p>Ds’s decision was made after going to Bama’s CBH finalist weekend. He came home from it pumped and said that he wanted to go there if he was accepted into the program b/c it offered everything he was looking for: peers, research, and support for academically advanced students. It was his 3rd trip there. He had been there previously for a competition and another time to interview the dept and sit in classes as well as the useless (except for seeing the entire campus and dorm rooms) group tour. Those 2 visits didn’t make the decision clear. They just made him keep it on the list. CBH, otoh, definitely wowed him.</p>
<p>He is finishing up his first semester and loves it there. Says he can’t imagine being anywhere else and that CBH has definitely lived up to what he thought it would offer. </p>
<p>My S fell in love with Berklee College of Music and then with NYU. He didn’t get in to NYU and was waitlisted at Berklee… I’m glad now that he didn’t go to either one. He ended up at Belmont and it has been great, and way less expensive. </p>
<p>My D is a high school senior and it has been an interesting and surprising college search with her. At first she was dead set against even applying to any of the three rather prestigious local universities in our city, but after visiting them she totally changed her view and is applying to one of them ED. The other is more of a financial safety (state school but one of the top programs in her field) but she did a summer program there and loved it, so she insists she will not be devastated if she ends up there. She did a second summer program at a faraway private school she “thought” she was in love with and was her original first choice; she liked the school but hated the city it is in. Meanwhile the school I was in love with turned out to be terrible when we visited it; we all hated it, and she isn’t even going to apply. I guess this is how it <em>should</em> go, right? You start with a basic list of schools that have the programs and other things you want, then visit as many as you can; some rise up and others fall, and hopefully you get in to the one you decide is the best fit. </p>
Really nice man and he definitely made up for the rest of the failures.)</p>
CBH, otoh, definitely wowed him.</p>