<p>Son is in the fortunate position of being able to make a decision without regard to cost. Given that fact, April should be easy going, or at least one would think so. But here we are heading towards the end of the month and our son honestly doesn't know which school to accept. He was waitlisted at Brown, which was his first choice and a disappointment. He is staying on the waitlist there, but clearly understands that it's more important to look seriously at his other schools and make a decision.</p>
<p>Our son is considering three schools. He is now in the middle of a visit to Tufts; he saw Chicago last week. Last fall he was able to see Emory and sit in on a class during the fall semester. So often, I hear about students who pay a visit to campus and "fall in love" with a given school. This is how they make their final decision. That didn't happen to son. He can see good and bad things about all three schools. He likes some things better at one campus and some things better at the other, but there has been no parting of the curtains of heaven, no trumpets sounding to clue him in on where he should go. He had made lists of pros and cons and spoken with people who go to the schools. My guess is that he could now make a list with one school ranked a tiny bit lower and the other two tied just above.</p>
<p>Should we be concerned that son didn't bond immediately when visiting his likely schools? Is it possible to have so-so feelings when you see a campus, sit down and choose a college for reasons on paper, and then go there in the fall and have it work? Or is this a sign, he's in serious trouble? At one point in this process, he raised the question whether he had applied to the "right" schools.</p>
<p>Are there other students out there who visited campuses in April and didn't get any sense of a clear first choice? If so, how did you make your decision? </p>
<p>Son has always been an analytical kind of kid; his emotional attachments come slowly. It took almost a year for Brown to become his first choice. He's not the kind to fall head over heels in love with a person or insitution, but once he develops an attachment it is very firm. I am thinking this agonizing process is actually more a reflection on him, his way of handling decisions, rather than on any college per se. </p>
<p>Are we the only ones experiencing this, and what can we do to make this choice easier for him (and for us)?</p>
<p>P.S. I spoke with son on the phone just now, and he says we should lock him in his room without food for a number of hours, and not let him out till a decision is reached. He said this in jest, BUT......</p>