Help me plan my college road trip, please!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Starting in New York:
Bard to
Hamilton to
Dickinson to
Kenyon to
Oberlin to
Earlham to
Carleton to
Macalester to
Grinnell to
Hendrix to
Guilford to
Davidson to
William & Mary to
Haverford and Swarthmore.</p>

<p>And Davidson was on my list before the basketball thing but even though I'm happy for them, I'm thinking a big surge in applications by the sporting types might count against that school as a good choice for me (definitely not an athelete). William & Mary too might not be a good choice because i will definitely need some aid and I would be an out of state student.</p>

<p>Any comments?</p>

2

<p>MapQuest:</a> Maps, Directions, Gas Prices & Business Directory is a good start.</p>

3

<p>Make sure you take notes and photos...that's a lot of schools you're visiting.</p>

4

<p>Yeah. I'd cut it down a bit. Seeing too many schools at once makes the decision harder, not easier. Just visit maybe 6 of your favorites for now. </p>

<p>But, even though I would suggest cutting down, I will mention Goucher (especially if you're looking for good aid).</p>

5

<p>I agree it's a lot although I could have added more--Whitman, Pamona, Claremont McKenna--if I had more time. I guess that's my problem--I know pretty generally what I want (LAC) and right now I don't particularly care about rural or urban or east or west. So I need some way to cut down my list of schools to apply to (I am a HS junior). I just found these forums and am starting to realize how big of a deal financial aid will be so I will definitely be looking into which of these schools is best for that. But otherwise, how should I decide which schools to take off the list? </p>

<p>Thanks to those who reply--I'm the oldest and right now parents aren't really up to speed on the whole college thing, and most of my friends are not either, so I really appreicate you people out in cyberspace helping me.</p>

6

<p>oh hey, you're just like me last year as a junior. I only knew I wanted to go to an LAC, but my parents were not very knowledgeable and my guidance counselor only found me colleges by flipping through a book, which I could've done myself. So it was basically up to myself. I ended up with a giant list like you too. I could only visit colleges in the New England area and California due to time/cost/density of number of colleges, but even then I must have visited like 15 colleges. At the end I just wanted to get out of there. So I agree with world changer, maybe go through a Fiske's Guide and just pick out 6 colleges that you feel you might like the most.</p>

<p>What do you intend to major in? Are there any quirky qualities you might have that you want to find in colleges? Do you like frat/sororities? I didn't want them at all, so that eliminated a lot of colleges for me.</p>

<p>For example, Carleton College on your list is majorly into frisbee. It's part of the reason why I applied - everyone there loves frisbee. Fiske's also listed them as very strong in sciences, which I definitely needed; although I wanted to attend a LAC I wanted one that was strong in sciences and math.</p>

7

<p>Oh my gosh Apathy we really do sound a lot alike. A definite no to the greeks, which is why Hendrix (in Arkansas!) is on the list, even though I probably should take them off because they do not offer official classes in Chinese. Which I want to continue studying (I did an intensive summer school program in Chinese last summer and am planning to do it again this summer). So languages are important (I've also studied French and Latin, but I think every college offers those). I think I eventually want to do some kind of work in international affairs. But I am really into the liberal arts learn-how-to-learn thing so I don't necessarily need an international affairs major. So where did you end up applying (other than Carleton)?</p>

8

<p>Some ways to narrow it down...</p>

<p>Do you prefer a liberal, moderate, or conservative environment?
Is being close to an airport/other city amenities important?
Do you prefer a cold, moderate, or warm climate?</p>

9

<p>WOW lol you guys are describing me almost exactly. I don't want to leave California, and I really want to go to a LAC with little Frat/sororities, and I want one that still has a strong science department. I'm still a junior but this whole college thing is stressing me out, especially the "how the HECK am I going to pay for this?!" part, lol. </p>

<p>So far my #1 choice is Pepperdine (it does have greek life, but they are only clubs because of the fact no alcohol is allowed on campus), but I really need to increase my list of colleges, including safeties, because it is SO expensive to go there. </p>

<p>Good luck with your road trip KatieApplies, I don't know anything about the East Coast, but I bet I can be of assistance when it comes to the West Coast :)</p>

10

<p>pinkpanther - look at Santa Clara. They banned Greek life from campus, so it's barely existant.</p>

11

<p>If you want international affairs, stick to colleges within a 2 hour train ride of Wash, DC where you could apply for internships. </p>

<p>Also, why not consider Johns Hopkins - one of the best International programs around.</p>

12

<p>This is my final college list:</p>

<p>Smith College
Wesleyan University
Wellesley College
Harvey Mudd College
Carleton College
University of Chicago
Williams College
Stanford University
Princeton University</p>

<p>Princeton and Stanford were because my parents forced me to apply. I actually liked Princeton, but I really disliked Stanford.</p>

<p>pinkpanther, you should consider the Claremont consortium. Harvey Mudd is tops for science and math, and Pomona is no slouch in nearly anything. although they won't be safeties, and they probably won't be cheap.</p>

<p>katieapps, my interviewer for Carleton studied Chinese there, and she said it was a fantastic program.</p>

13

<p>KatieApplies,
I visited Macalester when I did my own college odyssey last spring break (although mine was just three schools long, haha). I ended up not applying, because they don't have much of a music program there, but from what you've said it sounds like it'd be a great school for you. They have a huge international bent, tons of foreign students, terrific grad school placement in IR programs, and it all-around just seemed like a nice place to go to school.</p>

<p>If you're already seeing Carelton, I'd not neglect its cross-town neighbor St. Olaf. It's a lesser-known LAC, but they're quickly making a name for themselves (two Rhodes Scholars this year, admission rate dropping 22% in one year, etc.). Aside from that, three reasons you might like them is they have a huge number of students study abroad every year, the Asian Conversations program, which is an interdisciplinary program that lets students earn a big portion of their required credits while focussing specifically on topics related to East Asia, and the complete absence of frats/sororities.</p>

<p>Also, if you've got the stats, Middlebury's language programs are reputedly wonderful. It's in Vermont, too.</p>

<p>So, if I were you, I'd make sure I hit:
Macalester
Carleton
St. Olaf (these three are real close together)
Oberlin (another with no Greeks, and top-notch programs)</p>

<p>There ought to be something you'll love about each of those.</p>

14

<p>Be sure to allow plenty of time at each stop. My daughter and I recently spent 9 days visiting colleges in the northeast. We found that we needed a whole day for each school in order to go on the tour, listen to the admissions officer talk, sit in on a class, and eat on campus to try out the food. We also walked around campus on our own and visited departments my daughter was interested in. My D also contacted people she knew at schools and met up with them. Then there is also checking out the surrounding area of the town to see if you like that part also. Be sure to take lots of pictures. It helped us keep the campuses straight plus all of our friends and relatives want to see what the campuses look like also.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all of the help. As for D.C. schools, I do think the internship suggestion is good but from what I can tell now I will need at least a master's degree after college to get a good job in international affairs. So I'm looking at the top unversities maybe later on for grad school but a liberal arts college for now. And no worries a bout the pictures--my Mom has a fancy new digital camera and she will be more than happy to document the whole thing. St. Olaf sounds interesting. I will definitely do some more research.</p>

<p>I probably should have explained in the first post that this will be a summer trip. With my Mom's work schedule there is no way to go during the school year. I know this will mean I miss out on some things--sitting in on a class, talking to a range of students, maybe eating in the dining hall--but it can't be helped. I am hoping that there will still be some students around and that maybe the admissions office could ask some professors for a reading list or syllabus so I could get an idea of what classes are like. I haven't really thought this last idea through so if anyone has ever done anything similar please tell me what happened.</p>

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<p>Oh--and Carleton is seeming more and more like an ideal place for me. Right now, just going on grades and extras (I take the ACT in two weeks) I think it would be something between a match and a reach. But I would definitely need financial aid and so I'm also looking at schools that give merit aid.</p>

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<p>Do a little research on each school before you visit. Go on their website, request a viewbook, ask friends what they think of those schools. And then cut it down to about six or seven school. My dad and I took a trip last summer and looked at eight schools in six days; it was hectic. Stick with one school per day. You might be able to squeeze in two, but you probably won't be able to see everything you want to see. </p>

<p>Take lots of pictures of each school that you visit, and keep a log. Write about your initial reaction, the campus feel, if you felt you connected with the tour guide and other people on your tour (just because those are most likely the types of people who will be applying... if you hated everyone on your tour, uh oh). Make sure you talk to people!! If you're comfortable with doing this, walk around campus and ask random students what they like and dislike about the campus. </p>

<p>Because this is a summer trip, there won't be very many people on campus, but there are usually summer classes/research jobs that keep students on campus. For sitting in on classes, I'm not really sure what to do. The only classes I've sat in on were during the school year. Maybe after this first trip, you could pick a few of the schools you really liked and try to set up overnight visits during the school year.</p>

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<p>I probably will end up applying to more than a typical amount of colleges because I don't think I will be able to attend the kind of school I want without aid, and I don't think I will get a lot of need-based aid. From what I have been seeing here even just in the past couple of days, even schools that would seem very similar (Grinnell and Carleton, for example) have given people very different financial aid packages. I hate to say it, but a lot if it will probably come down to $. The good thing is that I think many of these schools are very similar and it might even be easier just to apply to a lot of them and see what happens rather than try to come up with one or two (or even five or six) that are my tops.</p>

<p>Thanks again for the info, all.</p>

19

<p>Summmer visits are limited and can only give you an impression of the possibilities.</p>

<p>Go on the websites of each school, look up the departments that you are interested in studying (Chinese, etc). </p>

<p>Use the website contacts to write your admission Counselor (for your state) and if you are certain about any future subject (major/minor) contact that departmentfor specific information.</p>

<p>Summer visits are easily done on a two a day schedule.</p>

<p>Grinnell has an excellent Chinese program, as does Carleton and St Olaf. My D is at St Olaf and is in their Asian Conversation Program, she was in China and Japan this past January for 4 weeks.</p>

<p>Depending on where you are starting from I would suggest that you visit Grinnell in the am and then drive staight north to Northfield, Minn, then visit St Olaf and Carleton in the morning.early pm (easy to do they are less than a mile from each other) and then drive to St Paul in the later pm to visit Macalester.</p>

<p>However, as helpful as a summer looksee is, nothing IMO beats visiting when the school is in session, it is the students and the faculty that will give you the 'feel' and guide you to finding your 'fit'.</p>

<p>FA - Grinnell is good, Macalester and Carleton less so and St Olaf is great. It is difficult on this site to measure how much (if any Merit aid or grants etc) that would be available to you. While most posters give you a straight view, when it comes to FA, you should not rely on posters data, it is so individualistic - both as to your family's situation and the policy/needs/etc of each school.</p>

<p>FA is the last information given (some students with acceptances are still waiting for FA data on March 31). It can make for a very trying time as you and your family measure the FA packages in a tight time situation.</p>

<p>Anyhow, gather information, contact the colleges, get on their mailing lists, ask questions of the school, review their materials, in the summer visit, get catalogs and other data from the admissions offices (most have the data on racks for your access), more is better than less when it comes to data, don't be shy about your inquiries - the admissions people and the faculty would normally be very pleased to assist you.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

20

<p>jimjohnjoe: I'm assuming that your daughter is happy with the Asian Conversation program? If it's not too nosy to ask, what does she plan to do after graduation?</p>

<p>And I know you (and others) are right about a campus visit. My ideal situation would be to visit those schools that I know I could afford to attend but since financial aid is the last info we get I don't know if that will work. The whole thing is as you say so individual. I know that my parents can't afford what our estimated EFC is, but as my Mom was saying last night we have a lot of medical expenses that maybe a college would factor into its decision. I know my parents want me to go where I will be happiest but with one of them having a chronic illness and both of them in their fifties I think their options are limited (a thirty year loan is not really an option).</p>