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Carolyn, hope you're choosing hotels with nice spa services. While she's on those overnights, maybe you can get a massage or spend some time soaking in a hot tub somehwere
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<p>This is a GREAT idea. Facial in one college town, massage in the next...
Have a great trip Carolyn, and drive safe.</p>
<p>Sounds like a great decision. You will have so much fun with your D. Lengthy drives are great for all sorts of talks. My D and I went by ourselves and we had a great time.</p>
<p>Mom60-- in New England you would have an easy time rewarding yourself with Dunkin Donuts 6 times a day, never visiting the same store twice.... they're everywhere!</p>
<p>SBMom-my kids were fascinated by the wealth of Dunkin Donuts. They had never seen such a thing. Here you must go out of your way to even find a donut shop.</p>
<p>yeah, but not so hard finding wheatgrass juice!</p>
<p>I like this decision, Carolyn. I think the one-on-one time you have with D will be something you and your D will always remember fondly. This is a great excuse to have a vacation with the company of just one child - something parents don't get to do very often.</p>
<p>There are at least four dunkin donuts in walking distance from my house.</p>
<p>My family gets excited about Sonic and Jack in the Box! We don't have them around here but dunkin donuts? That's where we get the doggies a treat!</p>
<p>Hey, Carolyn, we'll expect those trip reports within a week of your return. Take notes!</p>
<p>In So Cal you'd have 4 Pilates or Yoga studios LOL</p>
<p>Kathiep, Will do. </p>
<p>Right now, daughter is a little disappointed with Earlham's response. She filled out their visit request form over 10 days ago and received no answer. So, she emailed the admissions office again last week. Still no answer. So she emailed them again yesterday...and finally received a reply today saying that they had no record of any visit request or emails from her. Apparently, they also do not allow junior overnights (even though it says they do on their web site), which is a BIG disappointment for her as this will be her only chance to visit before deciding whether to apply EA/ED. I do have a friend of a friend who has two daughters that are at Earlham, so maybe I can set something up with one of them. Unfortunately, I think Earlham just dropped down a notch in D's eyes as she's never had to contact a school THREE times to set up a visit before.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the requests sent the same day to Beloit and Knox were answered instantly and we've already received a nice information package with hotels, etc. for Knox and a follow up from the visit coordinator at Beloit letting us know that they are working on an overnight visit for her there. Beloit also asked her which types of classes she'd like to sit in on and if there were any particular departments that she wanted to schedule an appointment with a faculty member.</p>
<p>So, since it looks like she may not be doing the overnight at Earlham, perhaps we can squeeze in a stop at Wittenberg that morning. We're also hoping to at least drop by Lake Forest and possibly do a drive by at Augustana College in Illinois. I'll have to see how it all pans out but certainly without my son along it will make it easier to make last minute additions and changes.</p>
<p>Carolyn, I know it is aggravating when a school has handled a situation as this one has and it also lessens their image when other schools are more on the ball in this regard. However, tell your D to have an open mind and wait til she sees it and talks to kids. Sometimes this stuff will end up just being one quirk when the rest of the college is fantastic. </p>
<p>As far as overnights...many schools will only do official hosting of seniors. What we did was this as far as junior year.....we either knew someone at the school, or knew the name of someone who had graduated our High School and attended....OR knew OF someone through friend of a friend sort of thing or someone from our state or anything like that and then my D contacted whoever that was to either meet up for lunch or even an overnight. Once in the case of Yale for an overnight, it was the daughter of a colleague of my brother's in Alaska who was willing to host her. So, since you said you had a friend of a friend's daughter who attends Earlham, I would try to get that person's email and see if they are willing to host your D for the night. I know my own D, now a college freshman, is VERY willing if someone contacts her about such a thing because she wants to give back after having had others help her in this manner when she was looking at colleges. Many kids are very willing to do this. I would investigate that option you have. My D at Brown recently even met up with the kids of a mom on this forum who I made the connection for at Brown for their visit. Any Earlham parents out there??? Anyway, try the friend of a friend. It need not be the official student host. Then see about observing any classes, meeting with professors, student activity she likes, etc. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>susan is correct, it could be a new person in admission office, or someone has the flu. Try not to hold it against them. In my D's case, they were right on it when she requested stuff. Coach also an alum and very nice.</p>
<p>I will second how incredible I found the Beloit attitude to be. The coach (who also teaches history there) was wonderful. The adm officer in charge of merit awards was a doll. They are warm & personal at every step. They creat a "we know one another" vibe right away. They care and it shows. </p>
<p>It was hard to withdraw from Beloit. After my D left a message with the coach re her ED acceptance, he called back and he and I had a 20 minute talk because she was not home by then. He was excited for her like a friend would be, and very encouraging. Based on the sample of Beloit we got I would have felt great about my D going there.</p>
<p>Carolyn,
We visited Knox 2 years ago with our older son and had a very personable visit, they totally catered to his areas of interests. They also followed up throughout the year with personal phone calls. It was by far the individual attention of any of the 12 colleges he visited, but he found the midwest too cold and is at UCSD. His younger brother is a HS senior this year and has Earlham as his likely first choice. They have also lavished personal attention with details such as a handwritten notes and a Christmas card from the his admissions officer. The missed emails is not at all indicative of what we have experienced. I can understand your D's disappointment with no overnight stay, but with so many students visiting, it does seem like many colleges are limiting them to seniors to maximize availability for seniors and minimize the disruption to the college students.</p>
<p>FYI. I really liked Wittenberg as a choice for my daughter. It's about a 1/2 hour from Dayton in a pretty typical bland Midwestern town (springfield) but there's enough to do that it's not really rural. They gave her good merit money and she has several friends that go there that are incredibly happy. It's a small, pretty campus and I always got a good feeling about the place - cared about the students, etc.</p>
<p>When in Dayton, if you'd like the best steak you've ever eaten, try The Pine Club just south of downtown near the Univ of Dayton. Wright Pat AFB is an interesting place to visit as well if your S does decide to tag along. You have a virual trove of schools in the area with Wittenberg, Antioch (18 miles),Otterbein (near Columbus) and Miami of Ohio all within short drives. Kenyon is about 2-2 1/2 hours north and Oberlin just a little farther. Weather can be pretty unpredictable in Ohio in March. Southern Ohio/Indiana can be in the 50's, 60's or 70s and it may also be snowing. Check the forecast before you go but you are always safe having the ability to layer.</p>
<p>I'd like to visit Kenyon and Oberlin but they both seem like they will be out of reach for my daughter with her GPA, probably SAT scores and limited extracurriculars. Beloit may even be a long shot for her. I'm a little down today about the whole college thing - don't know why exactly, but I'm starting to worry that D. and I are putting in all of this time and effort for nothing and that she's going to end up choosing a school that is not even on our radar at this point. Maybe it's just college burn out. :)</p>
<p>Carolyn, you're making me depressed! You shouldn't be worried. You know more about colleges than anyone I know (or "know"). I am sure that your D will end up with great options!</p>
<p>My wife and I were totally charmed by the friendliness of everyone we met at Earlham, whether it was the admissions staff, professors, administration, tour guide - EVERYONE!! My son, on the other hand, found the extreme friendliness "cultlike" - so you can't please everyone. For a student with a horse I think it would be heaven-on-earth! </p>
<p>Back to the original topic - Not so coincidentally we just got home (hours ago) from a 5 day roadtrip. I guess our 15 yr old S is a real trooper, even tho he accompanied us under extreme protest. We made a similar trip same time last year and a midwest tour last summer. This week was the final one for S#1. I am not in a position to criticize any younger siblings' behavior, and any technique for managing that behavior, be it threats bribes or physical restraint is fine with me! We reminisced about roadtrips from years ago when I would routinely turn around while driving and scream, "DO I HAVE TO STOP THIS CAR???" Now they just plug in to their respective music sources. Maybe they have matured. </p>
<p>I think S#2 was pleased to learn that Halo2 is an important part of college life, and he would give us the countdown every night - "Only 3 more days of helltrip" but during the day he was actually very cooperative.</p>
<p>carolyn,</p>
<p>You never know how much this visit will spark more motivation and effort that will in turn lead to better GPA or SAT...</p>
<p>It is not a waste of time. You are seeing realistic schools. Deep breaths! :)</p>
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but I'm starting to worry that D. and I are putting in all of this time and effort for nothing and that she's going to end up choosing a school that is not even on our radar at this point.
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<p>I bet that is a very common feeling. I know we went through that also... hmmm and could probably do it again if pressed. You start out with this universe of four hundred and thirty five thousand colleges and universities (or whatever the number is) and very scientifically develop a set of criteria and carefully narrow the choices down, eliminating the ones that "don't fit" and you end up with a nice group of safeties, matches and reaches just like the books tell you to... but then when you get it down to about five schools you start to wonder about some of those fifty thousand that you discarded... maybe you were too hasty? maybe the perfect school somehow slipped by without proper scrutiny? Somebody mentions a school and you can't remember why that one was bumped off your list (2 years ago).. You can torture yourself endlessly!! :)</p>
<p>Thanks, SBmom and NJres. Some days it is hard to believe that it is all going to work out OK in the end.</p>