@LakeWashington, fair enough. But I’ve spent a decent amount of time in the Seattle area and judging from the pictures, Rainier just seems to be right there at UPS relative to some other places I’ve been in the area (who knows, maybe they did the zoom lens trick with that photo). And my broader point stands, in that outdoor adventuring is apparently a very big deal at UPS. There’s even a freshman dorm you can elect to join that apparently has sort of an outing-club theme.
Yes, Tacoma is the closest large city to Mount Rainier. Seattle is about 65 miles further away. A bit of trivia for you; the name Tacoma is a version of the ancient tribal name for the mountain; Tahoma.
Reed is a great school, we have a good friend who is a senior there and a music major (piano). He loves it there. For a number of reasons, it’s not as good a fit for DD as some of the other schools she’s looking at.
Just got back from visiting Skidmore and Vassar. Lots to love about both places. Both will stay on the list for both my girls at this point. It would be lovely to have them within 4 hours of home. Looks like my girls’ swim times would make them recruitable at either school especially Skidmore. Getting into Vassar for a white girl from NY seems impossible without a strong hook. With an athletic and/or music hook, it might be possible.
Hello CC friends, I just had to come here and share the good news with you. My DD’s first college acceptance arrived in the mail today. She was accepted at The College of Wooster and offered the Dean’s Scholarship which is $96,000 over the four years. She can still audition for an additional music scholarship and we don’t know yet about need-based aid. But we’re super excited, relieved, and proud to have this offer in hand from a terrific school like The College of Wooster. Thanks for all the guidance. Today is a great day!!!
excellent!! congratulations!!
My senior is also in at Wooster, with merit – Wooster is a very impressive place, lots to love. Congrats to your daughter, it sure is a relief to have an excellent choice in hand, relieves a lot of pressure on these kids!
@Midwestmomofboys Congratulations to him and to you!
DD accepted to Earlham College and awarded the Trustee Scholarship of $30,000/year!!! Better than that though is she’s home from Ecuador. We’re so happy to have her back. With two acceptances with big merit awards under her belt, the stress level is way down around here. 
Congrats to her! What a relief, and how exciting! I loved Earlham, very impressive community. Can I ask – my son has been unable to access the Explore Earlham portal – did she receive her acceptance electronically?
Congratulations!
@Midwestmomofboys My daughter is a first year student at Earlham right now. Last year she received her admissions letter in the mail.
Big congrats! Too very cool schools, too! We’re feeling the same sense of relief, with my son having just gotten accepted EA to Trinity U. Really nice to know your worst case scenario is a very fine scenario indeed!
Oh, and I said I’d report on our Pacific Northwest visit…Whitman just didn’t quite work for him, for mostly random reasons. I still think the world of the school, but he had a real introvert for an overnight host and didn’t have a great time, and didn’t hit it off with the horn teacher, either. So I think it’s probably off the list, much as I hate to see it go.
His UPS visit, on the other hand, was a huge success. He really dug the outdoorsy, funky vibe, had a great time on his overnight, was very impressed with the CS department, and thought the music scene seemed great. We heard the wind ensemble rehearse and they were superb, and the director seemed very enthusiastic and dynamic. He also liked the horn prof, and got to meet and play with the entire horn studio. Just a super visit, overall, and UPS is now right there among the top schools on his list.
@Midwestmomofboys, DD received her letter in the mail. Big envelope with a whole packet of info. She submitted her application a couple of months ago so that may be why she get her decision so quickly. We were surprised because on their website it says EA gets a decision by 1/31.
@Earthmama68 – congrats to her! Good to know it’s hard copy, since my son seems to be permanently locked out of the portal. I had seen somewhere on the Earlham website, I think, that if an applicant’s EA application is complete before Nov 1, they will hear by Dec 31.
I loved Earlham, beautiful facilities, friendly kids, my son enjoyed the class he visited very much. I loved the swing in the middle of the “heart!”
We haven’t visited yet, I’m looking forward to it.
Beautiful new arts building, renovated athletic facility, new science and technology building (renovations on some of the older science wings on-going). Very warm feel to campus, very diverse. Lots to admire!
Oberlin is great if she likes/is good at music. Keep that for sure.
(brother’s violin teacher got a master’s in violin performance from there)
She’s definitely applying to Oberlin, but it’s not a great fit for her musically because the serious musicians are at the Oberlin Conservatory. She wants a good, fun orchestra to play in, but is not interested in pursuing music in a conservatory setting.