<p>Regular mail or priority mail?</p>
<p>Large envelope priority mail.
Ill keep my fingers crossed you get it tomorrow.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>My D applied ED1 and has not heard yet. Has anyone else from Massachusetts not received their decision yet? And if they have was it regular mail ?</p>
<p>Btmell your son getting accepted regular after applying early really gives me hope as I was just deferred. I heard today. I think the letter came via regular mail.</p>
<p>In my letter it said make sure you apply to other schools and reading that really sucked as there is no where else I would want to go then bates except a school I know I have no chance of getting into. Now is the time. Throwing in random applications to schools I don’t want to go too. So who has a suggestion of schools like bates I could apply too?</p>
<p>I’m so sorry, Swimmer - I know just exactly how you feel. My son was so disappointed. He had other schools in mind before deciding to apply ED to Bates. His top three choices after being deferred were Bates, Union and Clark. We were all blown away with Clark - I think he might have ended up a Clarkie had he not been accepted at Bates. They were very generous with financial aid as well. We all loved the feel of the place. Hopefully you have other schools in mind?</p>
<p>BTMell- I do have other schools on my list. My second favorite school is probably skidmore. I also like both Franklin and Marshall and Conneticut college. Clark is one of the schools on my list though I have never visited. I also visited union but something about the area it was in just really threw me off. Thought the house system at Union was cool through!</p>
<p>I didn’t like the area around Union either - it didn’t feel safe to me although I liked Union a lot and it’s a gorgeous campus. We liked the house system too - very Harry Potter-ish.</p>
<p>Check Clark out. Very open and accepting and very into finding your match. We all liked it a lot.</p>
<p>ETA: There are several kids in our area who attend Skidmore and really love it.</p>
<p>Swimmer, BTMell gives sound advice, and I hope you don’t mind some more. My son is also a first-year at Bates and didn’t apply anywhere ED. Bates wasn’t at the bottom of his list, but it wasn’t at the top, either. He was wait-listed or rejected at his top schools, but Bates fits the profile of the kind of school he wanted, and he now says it feels like a really good fit. He is very happy there, and no doubt he could have been happy elsewhere. That will be true for you, too. I hope you get your wish–but if you don’t, I know you will find a place you love. At this point, you have to be open to it. Sounds like you have some good options.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the advice! </p>
<p>I am sure like you I know I will be happy else where. A boy in my grade told me a few weeks ago college is like ice cream. You have a favorite but you like them all. So I keep that in mind. </p>
<p>It’s just the wait now that sucks. Oh and all the essays I have to write.</p>
<p>Swimmer576 if it helps to know my oldest graduated from Union two years ago (I am wearing a Union sweatshirt now!). He LOVED Union, he made wonderful friends during his orientation outing trip and he had a wonderful educational experience. Every person I have ever met who went to Union maintains a strong connection to the school. Just my two cents. Another school we were very impressed with was Dickinson in PA. Best of luck with your applications.</p>
<p>I agree with Milestones3 comments. I don’t believe there’s one perfect place at all. My older son didn’t apply ED anywhere for various reasons and we found for him it was really nice to have several options and since we’re financial aid “aware”, being able to compare offers for both of them was really important. In addition to comparing, we were able to talk to financial aid offices to see if what they were offering was their best offer - a couple even increased their offers. It never hurts to ask. </p>
<p>There are so many good colleges - I know you’ll find the place that’s the right fit for you. Heck - it could still be Bates! When my son entered the RD round, we kept an open mind and my son felt that any of the places he applied he’d enjoy and be challenged intellectually. It sounds like you have a great attitude about the process. He wasn’t crazy about all the essays either during the holidays last year. </p>
<p>You’ll have to let us know where you end up.</p>
<p>Swimmer -
I’m sorry your deferred, but no matter what happens your the best and you will find a great college, Bates or somewhere else. All of these folks have great advice. Believe in yourself through your college career and your life.</p>
<p>For those still waiting, my S received his regular mail on Wednesday. We are in the Northeast.</p>
<p>Great advice here. Glad to have all the seasoned parents here to offer support.</p>
<p>Another Bates Mom (S is a Junior who applied RD) sending congratulations to those of you who were accepted! </p>
<p>Swimmer, try not to get discouraged - you have some wonderful schools on your list. </p>
<p>I’m from the Cap region and I always find it interesting the negative reaction to Union because of where it is located. Really, Schenectady is not that bad; yes, there are some sketchy areas but that is true of a lot of schools (Johns Hopkins, Yale, UChicago, come to mind.) Union’s campus is actually about a 1/2 mile from one of the wealthiest suburbs in the area. Granted, Schenectady is not Saratoga, but few places are. </p>
<p>As for suggestions - I will throw out St. Lawrence. It was my son’s second choice and he felt it had a lot of qualities similar to Bates. They also give lots of merit aid if you have the stats (S got $30K/yr from SLU)</p>
<p>Union was also a school my son had on a short list at one time as well. We saw so many that we just couldn’t get to this one. We did get a chance to see Saint Lawrence. There was just something really comforting about that place. The friendliest people. The staff we met seemed happy to be there. If you like sports, their facilities are ranked really high. Something like #18 in the country. I believe this could have easily ended up being my son’s second choice as well. They did everything right with the way they communicated. I think its a special place.</p>
<p>Colby (boo, hiss! :0))
Skidmore
Hamilton
Conn College
Union
Clark
Trinity
Dickinson
Franklin and Marshall
St. Lawrence
Hobart and William Smith
Wheaton (MA)</p>
<p>Outside the NE:
Colorado College
Lawrence
Oberlin
Kenyon
Whitman
Pitzer</p>
<p>My daughter received her acceptance yesterday here in Western PA, via Priority Mail. A wonderful early Christmas present! We love Bates, including my son who is at Bowdoin and sometimes wonders why he chose Bowdoin over Bates! </p>
<p>Best of luck to those who are still waiting (this is a crazy time of year with the postal service), congratulations to those Bobcats who have been accepted and lots of encouragement to those who were deferred or denied. As so many others have pointed out, there are SO many fine colleges out there and you will ultimately “land” at one that will be a great fit for you. As an educator myself, I regularly come into contact with graduates from my high school who return and say, “I didn’t end up at my first choice college, but this ended up being the perfect college for me.” I love the ice cream metaphor.
I certainly concur with all of the other small liberal arts colleges that others have listed and would like to add:
Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA (my nephew just graduated and loved it: I’ve visited several times)
Allegheny College, Meadville, PA (the Western PA counterpart in some ways to Muhlenberg). I know countless graduates who have gotten a first class education here and similar vibe to Bates: happy, engaged students.
Denison University and College of Wooster in Ohio (lots of fabulous SLACs in Ohio)
All of these colleges are listed in Colleges that Change Lives I believe.</p>
<p>We also liked Clark a lot. Close to Boston. Worcester is similar to Lewiston-Auburn and lots of service opportunities. They also have a very cool 5 years and you can get a Masters degree.</p>
<p>How did I miss Muhlenberg and Denison? My son, currently a Bates Freshman, visited and liked both!</p>
<p>Thanks for all these advice. Maybe I should add union back to my list. </p>
<p>It’s funny you all mention Muhlenberg and Dickinson. I visited both. Dickinson had to much of a focus on foreign languages for me and I could never go to Muhlenberg because I have a bad connotation with the school. If it wasn’t for those little things at each school I am sure they are both great schools!</p>