East Coast Planning

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Well, travel on Thanksgivings can be frustrating -- and rewarding. As a result of several mishaps, I recieved six free roundtrip tickets that must be used by Nov. 2005. (not bad for a party of 4 travelers!!). So, that has forced our hand a bit in terms of making a East Coast college visitation trip earlier than we would have liked with out twin daughters. So, I would appreciate some planning advice as we look forward to a March 2005 trip of about 8-9 days.</p>

<p>Here is a bit about each daughter (they are both sophs and we are awaitin the results of the PLAN test which was a very good indicator of where our son tested out): </p>

<p>D1: International High School, 4.0 (we do not weight grades), student gov't, started the Stand for Children chapter at school, and was first freshman selected as a paid student aid at the head start pre-school housed at the high school, and is leader in her Jewish youth group. I am expecting she will get a SAT I between 1350-1450.</p>

<p>Her ultimate goal is be a child phys. She wants either a LAC or med. size college in, or near an urban area. She is a student who loves to learn, loves discussion, and hates the fact that many kids in her classes just want to get through the material.</p>

<p>She is a hrad worker that, IMHO, can be a bit to worried about her work. She is very confident in who she is. To understand her, she let all of her friends go in 8-9th grade as they were getting into alcohol, drugs and sex. Once those friends were done with their experiments, they refound her. Thuis, although it was a very hard two years for her, she gained all of her friends respect and they are now "back" with her.</p>

<p>Schools we are thinking of looking at for her on the East Coast are: Haverford, Amherst, Brandies.</p>

<p>D2 -- Regular High school 3.6 GPA (non-weighted school), equestrian team member, interns at vet's office, rides (English) several times aweek, owns her own horse, and is a Dr. Doolittle type (animals just fall in love with her).</p>

<p>She wants the same in terms of size of school as her sister, but does not mind a more rural location. She wants to be a vet. eventually. She is not the same "focused" student as her sister, she is a bit more of a follow the herd type, and does not think the world will end if she gets a B now and again.</p>

<p>I expect her to score a 1250-1350 on the SAT I.</p>

<p>Schools we are thinking of looking at for her are: Goucher, Skidmore, Mt. Holyoke.</p>

<p>So, with all of that in mind, I would love to get input on other schools to consider, as well as a realistic visitation schedule. I am thinking that we would fly to DC drive up North and return home from Boston.</p>

<p>HELP!</p>

2

<p>Since you're visiting so early, I think you should try a larger variey of types of schools: visit American/Georgetown/GWU in DC, BU while you're in Boston, Penn while in Phila (and Bryn Mawr if you're considering Holyoke), Smith while at the Five Colleges, and Bard or Wesleyan or Sarah Lawrence on your way from Phila to western MA. My D did a school-sponsored college tour where they focused on the big picture: small LAC, Catholic school, large private U, large public U, etc... It really helped her figure out what she wanted--she'd thought, big U, big library, but ended up hating the large campuses--so make sure you check more than the smaller LACs you've listed!</p>

<p>I think it's quite reasonable to fly into DC and leave from Boston. When we did the east coast, we started in Syracuse and left from Phila, two colleges a day for a week--and strangely, that really did work.</p>

<p>We also scheduled a few interviews for the "less important" schools, since that cut down on later interview anxiety.</p>

3

<p>concerneddad
As I was reading thru D1 I was thinking Brandeis and as I was reading thru D2 I was thinking Mt. Holyoke. So we're on the same track here. Just MHO but I don't think I can see your Ds at Bard, Wesleyan or Sarah Lawrence, but I suppose they may be good for comparison's sake. I think that the six you mentioned sound perfect for what you have described to us. Definitely do Skidmore after the southern ones. If you arrived at Mt. Holyoke in the evening before your tour, you could do that and Amherst in the same day and then do Brandeis the next day. Don't try to do all three the same day. You can then easily take the Mass Pike from Brandeis to Logan Airport in less than an hour. (of course you should allow more time than that, but you can make it in 40 min under favorable conditions). My friends D, who was a horse lover, goes to Mt. Holyoke and is happy there. My only other suggestion for D1 or D2 would be Tufts; it has qualities for both. (excellent vet grad school, and good science for pre-med.)</p>

4

<p>I might consider adding Brown, Vassar, Wellesley (ditto Wesleyan) and Syracuse as safety for D1. Maybe Drew (equestrian safety?) and some of the LAC's like Clark, Wheaton for D2. Sweet Briar also has equestrian I think. Look in "Colleges That Change Lives" for science/pre-vet options that are a little easier to get in-- Juniata, etc. Maybe UC Davis too for D2?</p>

<p>I would definitely try to arrange on-campus accomodations for your D's if you can (if they aren't too young.) Much more fun & more illustrative of the real vibe at the school. Good luck & have fun!</p>

5

<p>In March you might run in to some school holiday related variations in schedules. Since your girls are younger, this is not necessarily an issue, as they can always go back later if need be (maybe you'll get bumped next Thanksgiving as well!!). But, before you book flights you might just look at school schedules on their web sites in case there is a school you definitely want to see with kids in place...</p>

<p>I am not sure there are any schools I would add, but I would also second the suggestion to expand the box a bit on this round, and see at least 1-2 schools that are just slightly different than what the girls think they want now. After all, they are still sophomores!</p>

6

<p>Very good point!! </p>

<p>In fact, I had to change my whole trip with my D because there were "fall breaks" during the time I'd thought we'd go-- that meant nobody would be there. There is a good book called "Visiting College Campuses" (?or similar) that has all the schedules of vacations as well as the basic directions from the freeway to each college and the distances between colleges, organized by state.</p>

7

<p>While you're in the area, you may want to Swarthmore to the Haverford-Bryn Mawr visits. It's just around the corner...</p>

8

<p>andi already mentioned Tufts. We know a young lady there who entered as a freshman knowing she wanted to be a doctor. </p>

<p>For D2, kind of offbeat and not east coast, but Earlham boasts having the only student run equestrian center. Kids can bring their horses to school, but they have to share.</p>

9

<p>The trip is pretty easy to plan. You could fly into Washington, Baltimore, or Phila airports. </p>

<p>There is a whole collection of schools in the general Phila/Pennsylvania area. In very close proximity are Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr. All could be seen in one day. </p>

<p>Not terribly far west (near Harrisburg) are Gettysburg and Dickinson. On the way north, you could visit Lafayette. </p>

<p>From Pennsylvania, I would drive up along the Hudson River to Skidmore. Along the way are Bard and Vassar. From Saratoga, you could go East to Williamstown. A side trip 30 minutes north would take you to Bennington. From Williamstown, it's a really pretty drive across to the Amherst area - Mt. Holyoke, Amherst, Smith.</p>

<p>It's an hour and a half or so from there to Boston -- Tufts, Brandeis, and many others.</p>

<p>Since you've got two girls and a wide range of schools to look at, I would map it out by regions and stop by all the schools in each area, rather than concentrating on specific schools.</p>

10

<p>I think it is harder to do multiple colleges per day and still get a real flavor. Seeing three a day means some places you will have to do in the early am and these schools will all seem dead, boring, and unfriendly-- because at 8:00 am very few people are up & about (and those that are are sleep deprived and pouting!)</p>

<p>If you can eat in the dining halls and sit down with random students this is very helpful. One strange thing happened to my D... we sat down at a table with several students, D looked up & blurted "Hey, I know you!" One of the girls had been at summer camp with her 5 years before. Weird!</p>

<p>I would say do no more than 2 per day unless you are doing a "drive by viewing" of a school that is not a strong contender but is simply on the route. Also, try to build a little flexibility into your schedule; in case you wind up loving a place you can spend a bit more time there; in case you hate a place you can go quickly.</p>

<p>That book I mentioned also has hotels listed for each college. Some schools have places to stay on Campus-- fun to do-- Bryn Mawr & Hamilton both have this.</p>

11

<p>Concerneddad, sounds like a fun trip. We visited many of the schools on your list and really enjoyed the experience. I would second the suggestion that you use the Visiting College Campuses book that SBmom recommends. It helps to put distances in perspective (though definitely call the colleges to reconfirm dates and times). </p>

<p>Are you planning to take tours and sit in on information sessions? If yes, then I would try to limit your visits to one a day, even if this means fewer schools. What was most effective for us was to arrive the night before, have dinner and sleep near or on campus, take the tour/info session, walk around on our own, go to a museum, visit some of facilities that weren't on the tour, drive to the next stop.</p>

<p>Since your girls are sophmores you'll have a chance to visit more next year. This should be just a chance to get a feel for the types of colleges out there.</p>

<p>In that event I'd concentrate on the following 3 geographic concentrations, and maybe leave Boston and Washington for another trip.
Philadelphia: Haverford, Byrn Mawr, Swarthmore
Massachusetts/Connecticut: Amherst, Mt. Holyoke, Williams, Smith, Wesleyan, Conn College
Upper NY: Skidmore, Hamilton, Bard, Vassar</p>

<p>Well that's already 13 schools and I've left off some of the other good options. I'd say pick 8-10 at the most and enjoy yourselves. </p>

<p>After you've made your plan, come back for ideas on where to stay and eat!</p>

12

<p>When I was reading the description of your D1, I immediately thought of Tufts. I am an alum. I majored in Child Study which is now called Child Development. This department at Tufts is amazing and well known. This college meets several other criteria of your D's, as well as is a fit for her academic qualifications. </p>

<p>When I read about your D2, before I got to your list of possible schools, my mind said, Skidmore, immediately....both in terms of her criteria and her qualifications. She definitely could ride there. My hubby grew up in that town and my in-laws still live there. In fact, I was just there two days ago. </p>

<p>There are many other suitable schools for your girls but those were my immediate reactions based on your snapshots.
Susan</p>

13

<p>Hi, I second what momrath said. We did almost exactly the same routine on our college trips. We arrived the night before, stayed nearby, went on the tour and info session and then we had lunch in the school cafeteria. We enjoyed these lunches because it gave us a feeling for the students that went there. Also, at several schools, my S's sat in on a couple of classes and we walked thru some of the departments that weren't shown on the official tour eg the music department.
It's very difficult to learn much about a school if you just zoom thru the visit. We found it rather tiring to do these visits and were happy limit the number of tours we did on a given trip.</p>

14

<p>Your Ds will have plenty of time to change their minds between sophomore and senior years. This initial recce would be most helpful in drawing up a list of possible colleges (and eliminating others) for return trips later on. For that reason, a range of colleges/universities of different sizes and locations would be ideal.</p>

<p>If the tickets do not have to be used up before Thanksgiving, you might consider doing the trip in summer when your Ds will have more time to travel without missing school. While they will not meet students, they will be able to get a sense of the different sizes and locations. In March, there's the possibility that the students will be on Spring break. And of course, one has to contend with the possibility of bad weather curtailing travel. My S found that in a one-week period, he could only do 2-3 campus visits before everything began to blur together. It is also as he began to think seriously about college that he learned what to look for and what questions to ask of students.</p>

15

<p>Thank you all for your suggestions, it is very helpful. And anyone else reading this thread, please continue to add to it -- we have until late March to finalize the list.</p>

<p>A couple of additional points: for those who do not know, we live in a college town (Eugene, Or) so my daughters know what a large campus looks and feels like. Also, there will be a Mid-West trip later that will hit Carleton, Mac, Wash. U. and others. And then there are the easy West Coast trips (Claremont schools, Whitman, etc)</p>

<p>It is interesting to see how many times Tufts comes up -- looks like that has to be a definite stop.</p>

<p>Finally, although neither daughter is interested in any of the NYC schools, they do want to spend a night or two in the city to catch a play, shop, etc., so I have to factor that in as well.</p>

<p>Keep the ideas coming and thanks!!</p>

16

<p>I went there back in the day, and my two daughters went elsewhere (BU & Yale respectively) so I have perspective, and in my opinion it's a great choice for Daughter No. 1. It's a stunningly beautiful campus right next to a pretty, walkable suburban town center, yet very easily accessible to Boston/Cambridge. The academics are beyond compare, and the students purposeful and motivated like your daughter. In addition, Wellesley is fantastically wealthy, which translates into (a) incredible physical facilities and (b) incredible resources for students, like research grants and travel internships. Student for student, I think it has more resources than Yale. You might assume that as a women's college it's kind of girly, but it has long had one of the nation's strongest economics departments and really excellent science offeriings as well.</p>

17

<p>My daughter also rides and we threw Goucher in as a last minute thought on our trip back east last summer. She loved it. It's a great location - right outside of Baltimore with lots to do right off of campus, but the campus itself is green and feels secluded. Their equestrian facility was a capper for my daughter.</p>

18

<p>Just an FYI: If you decide to visit Tufts, the Amerisuites in Medford offers a "Tufts rate." Be sure to ask for it, it's $99 vs. $179/night!<br>
My son is a Tufts freshman and sounds so much like your D1! His plan right now is to apply to Tufts' med school after sophomore year via their early med school application program. With a lot of luck and great grades, he can possibly bypass the entire MCAT/Med school application process and know he'll be going to one of the most prestigious med schools in the county.</p>

19

<p>Thanks for the hint on where to stay jjsmom. Carolyn, thanks for your input on Goucher . My son has a friend who is a freshman this year at Goucher and loves it. I am glad to hear that the equestrian facility is up to par, as I know that will be a big draw for my daughter (D2). She was down your way this past Summer riding at a barn in Del Mar and got very energized about riding in college.</p>

20

<p>For your d1 (and maybe d2), you should consider Smith. It is less isolated than most of the other LACs, and larger. They have a program in child development, operate their own school, and conduct research. Some of the STRIDE research positions (paid research for first and second year students) this year were in projects related to child development and child study - they even have a well-known social work graduate school with special emphasis on child welfare. That, combined with heavy stress in the sciences, would make it ideal for a future child phys.</p>

<p>My d. lives across the street from the kosher kitchen. She goes over and helps cook on Friday, and they eat and sing til around 11:30 every Friday night. </p>

<p>Both Smith and Mount Holyoke have big-time equestrian teams.</p>