<p>I am just curious, how many of you thought without a doubt they will go here, only for them to say, I am going here instead?</p>
<p>A second question. If you have more than one in college are they going to similar colleges or night and day.</p>
<p>For example, our DD will go Tech, which is ACC, but in a small college town. Our DS goes to UMDCP which is really urban. Neither would be caught dead going to the other school based not only on location, but even the style of the campus. Like I said, the only thing they share in common is they are both ACC.</p>
<p>Our daughter initially said she wanted to go to Swarthmore. When she was accepted EA to Stanford (where her brother was happily attending), we were sure that she will go there, but she ended up choosing Swarthmore over Stanford.
(Both kids had since graduated, and both are happy with the choices they made.)</p>
<p>S had 2 choices. After investigating both thoroughly (we thought) and visiting both extensively, S chose School A which had given him a full tuition scholarship. I really thought he was leaning toward B (without nearly as much scholarship money), so I was surprised. Turned out that A was not the fit we thought it was, so he transferred to B, which is the same college his sister had gone to, and is very happy.</p>
<p>At the beginning of the process, I really didn’t see him ending up at the same school she had gone to. But, things change, kids grow and mature.</p>
<p>Not shocked at all. Both knew where they wanted to go before the start of senior year, and both ended up attending those colleges. It was kind of boring, actually.</p>
<p>Our DS for 2 yrs was Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Notre Dame. In the summer of his rising sr yr it was Air Force Academy, Air Force Academy, Air Force Academy. Before the results came out he changed again and decided UMD Scholars. It was a ride of the lifetime.</p>
<p>This is where I agree kids change and grow alot during their sr yr. They start really thinking about the fit of the college for them compared to the illusion.</p>
<p>Our DD was for one college until her brother said, NO, you’ll hate it, go here instead (Va Tech). From that day on she was Tech all the way, even to the point I think she lost 5 lbs last week from nerves waiting for her acceptance letter. FWIW, I think she wanted Tech all along, but needed a peer not a parent to say YOU CAN GET IN. (You all know parents opinions mean squat!) </p>
<p>I am not shocked or surprised by DD’s choice, she picked all of her colleges based on the same factors. Now had she said I want to go to NYU, then my jaw would have hit the ground since it is not her at all. (talking about city life)</p>
<p>Surprised, not shocked I would say. S2 would not apply to any school in cold weather, we could not dissuade him. He ended up choosing Tulane over USC and UC-Berkeley (and others). He feels it has the perfect program for him in the perfect college town. Time will tell if he is right, but we wholeheartedly support his choice (and we like that Tulane scholarship, not to mention those NOLA restaurants).</p>
<p>No surprise here. Early in the h.s. years, S1 talked about the Service academies or a civilian military college. By jr. year he had decided to go NROTC at NCSU. and never waivered. S2 applied to two instate publics in Sept. of sr. year, was accepted to both by Christmas and chose the one that was his favorite all along (ECU).</p>
<p>Each child was the poster child for his/her school so no suprise.</p>
<p>DD chose a LAC in a major university in NYC. She would language at DS’s very rural, Starbuckless LAC in the Western Berkshires. He wouldn’t make the cut at her school – all women!</p>
<p>But it was been fun visiting NYC and the mountains. The combination has been perfect for me.</p>
<p>I agree Greenery! We were on cloud 9 for a total of 5 minutes when DD got her 1st pick, then we quickly got off of it when we went “OH CRAP, 2 now in college!”</p>
<p>A bit surprised (he had to take out loans vs graduating debt free) and somewhat disappointed (3 hours from home vs 14 hours from home), but it all turned out fine.</p>
<p>Surprised that S decided to attend his safety even before all of his other college apps were submitted. That decision really lowered his motivation to complete other apps, write more essays, etc. and the list of schools that he ended up applying to soon whittled down to 4 from an initial list of 6 or 7 prospectives. I guess I shouldn’t complain, since we saved some $$ on the application fees, and he couldn’t be happier with his decision.</p>
<p>re question 2: Kid 1 went to Columbia because he wanted to be in Manhattan; kid 2 didn’t apply to any schools in NYC or even the state of New York; kid 3 will probably apply to a few upstate schools but none in the city.
But 1+2 both were in big research unis, 3 will probably go for a LAC. Is any of that “night and day”?</p>
<p>What “shocked” me was that my son didn’t want to take a car with him. I still can’t get over that, although I understand his very well considered reasons.</p>
<p>As to his college choice, once he found it, he never wavered and wasn’t too keen on applying anywhere else or even looking at other colleges, despite the selectivity of his choice. No surprises there, except how dead set he was on going where he ended up. Good thing he got in ED! :o</p>
<p>I am completely NOT surprised where it looks like my D will be attending in the fall (will wait to send in deposit until after upcoming admitted students day). To me (and to her) it is such a perfect fit for her. </p>
<p>I think my son (now a HS FR) will be looking at very different schools. In 3 years, I can tell you if he shocks me or not!</p>