<p>My son has been on three “diversity weekend” visits to colleges this fall – Macalester, Amherst and Oberlin (in that chronological order). He had a great time at Mac and Oberlin, and was expecting to also like Amherst, but surprisingly, didn’t enjoy the Amherst visit as much. The other two visits allowed the kids lots of free time to explore, get to know current students, etc., but the Amherst weekend consisted mainly of locking the visiting kids in a room for 7 or 8 hours straight, and talking AT them. It seems it was one long info session, with speeches by admin, financial aid, profs, current students, etc. He said he got the point that Amherst is a great school, but didn’t have much fun or get much of a feel for the place. He also felt he didn’t get acquainted with many current students – for instance, he and several other visitors slept on the floor of an RA’s room, but the RA wasn’t around much, so he ended up interacting mostly with the other visiting students. There was no time to walk into town, take more than one class, or otherwise get a good feel for the place. He went to one party of some sort, and said a group of kids there from Hampshire seemed friendlier to the visitors than the Amherst students were. We were disappointed, as Amherst seems on paper like it would be a good fit for him, and Amherst’s financial aid is tops. Has anyone had a similar or opposite experience with the DIVOH weekend, or have any insights that would persuade DS that going to Amherst would be a far better experience than his first impression would imply?</p>
<p>I went to an Amherst DIVOH this year and had a very different experience from your son. Granted, I hadn't/have not attended any other diversity programs, but I thought Amherst's weekend was great. While I will second your son's assertion that there were a lot of info sessions, I found them helpful, especially since we got to meet and chat with the people who will decide admissions. The finaid seminar was slightly long, but again helpful. As far as free time goes, we had our evenings completely free. On one night a lot of student groups set up meetings we could go to and of course there were parties going on. My host offered to take me around, but I chose to hang out with some other pre-frosh. We wandered around a bit, explored the library, had dinner, and attended a few parties where I found all the students very welcoming. The second night, two freshmen invited us to check out their dorm room, so we went in and chatted with them about their experience, the pros the cons. On Monday, the number of classes you could take varied with your departure time. I purposely had booked a later flight, so I took two classes and walked into town with another pre-frosh. Basically I suppose what I'm saying is that the opportunities were there, one just had to take them. I ended up loving the experience.</p>
<p>One thing you could tell your son is that first impressions aren't always accurate. As a sophomore I went to visit some schools (Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Dartmouth), and ranked Amherst at the bottom of my list. Today, I'm an ED applicant.</p>
<p>I attended DivOH this year in September and as much fun as it was, I also didn't get a great first impression of Amherst. I chose to spend time around the other prefrosh because my hosts and the other students weren't very welcoming. I was rather disappointed by Amherst. However, the classes I sat in on were really intriguing. I just wasn't very fond of the students.</p>
<p>Well...that's interesting. I sent one kid to Amherst and the other to Oberlin, although Diversity Weekends weren't theirs. And each kid also visited and applied to the other campus. While I can't possibly comment on the difference in weekend programming, here are a few possible differences to consider if you want to project a person attending each place. (I don't know Macalaster at all, sorry).</p>
<p>The Town of Oberlin is integrated with the campus, by original design. You can't help but "go into town" when you visit Oberlin, since Tappan Square is both the center of the campus and the town green. The two blocks of "Main Street" literally border the campus.</p>
<p>At Amherst, although it's in very easy walking distance, the Town of Amherst is perhaps a quarter mile from the campus greens. Once a person is a student there, it'd be normal to go daily to the town center, but if the programming was tight, it could be those extra l0 minutes that caused him to miss experiencing the Town of Amherst, which is equally lovely as the small town streets of Oberlin. (A friend described Main St. in Amherst: "bookstore, bookstore, cafe, bookstore.) If he liked one, presume he'd like the other for they are extremely similar in tone.</p>
<p>That said, my D (who went to Oberlin) never quite got into her Amherst visit because she detected a slight difference in sense of humor. Her brother's friends at Amherst had a chill, wry, subtle wit...but the Oberlin kids really threw back their heads and laughed more. She found them "hotter" and more engaged.</p>
<p>Speaking up for the students at both places, from a mom's point-of-view, their friends were ALL brilliant, sharp, kind, funny, honest and wonderful. So each did find great, great friends. For life, it seems; since after graduation they still claim their college friends are their closest people, each now several years into the workforce. They still seek each other out, visit city-to-city on weekends, and stay very close. So evidently, each found their own great group of friends, but maybe not the first weekend, obviously. </p>
<p>Now, for my son, who went to Amherst, Oberlin (which took him, but he declined it) was too engaged and dynamic for his tastes. He is a bit more shy/reserved/cautious than she, and Amherst was the right place for him, as Oberlin was for her. He leads from
his intellect and she from her heart (although both are smart and kind), but each place resonated differently with them. And they could actually feel it when they got to each campus. </p>
<p>When he actually attended Amherst, he easily and immediately met warm, deep, caring, intelligent friends who continue their close friendships many years after graduation into their working lives. His education was top-shelf. And yet, Amherst just isn't as "hot" or dynamic when you visit as Oberlin can be. I wonder if your child felt that. It's an intuitive response.</p>
<p>I want to emphasize that both LOVED their college experiences and were equally well educated in personal, humane ways. But my D wouldn't have been happy at Amherst (too calm, logical and serious for her wackiness) and my S would have felt a bit wrong at Oberlin (too dynamic and unpredictable for him).</p>
<p>Another difference is the relationship to the East Coast. For my son, he wanted to know people and be able to travel up and down the East Coast, and would take weekends into Boston or NYC once each semester with other students. My D, well, she can just live in a bubble and not care where she is, as she makes her own world around her. So the middle of Ohio is just fine, thank you. My S really wanted to graduate knowing people who'd live up and down that East Coast, and indeed that happened. Obviously many come from the East Coast to Oberlin, too, but you don't feel that geographic contact DURING the college years as you do in Amherst. </p>
<p>Sometimes it's just bad luck as to how the weekend plays out, including if the skies are gray on the day you visit (either place).</p>
<p>Can you consider a re-visit if he's accepted both places, to decide? Or is it an ED situation?</p>
<p>I can't address the Diversity Open House topic but I can speak from the point of view of a parent of a Macalester first year student. Fabulous school, very affirming of diverse life styles, embodies a spirit of global awareness and citizenship. The Twin Cities provide amazing opportunities and are easily accessible to students 24/7. My daughter attended high school on the east coast and intended to remain there for college, but feels she has gotten the best of everything at Mac in terms of challenging academics, interesting and caring friends from all over, and a stimulating environment in every sense of the word. Keep Macalester on your short list!</p>