<p>My comments about all above schools meant to be flattering. These are all things I like about those school.</p>
<p>LAC bubble is great. It's wonderful that these options exist. And some of the kids at Williams actually wish it didn't have the road through it! DS is not one of them. His mother's son, he likes it too.</p>
<p>As I've said before on this thread, I love all these schools. Hey, it's where kids are learning!</p>
<p>The only school I didn't like was New Paltz, but that's because the part of it I saw was the plant management section! How crazy! And the first time we saw Vassar we thought it was all Main until we saw Wonderland behind it.</p>
<p>Oh, and I loved the woman in admissions at Amherst. Every school should have her. DS liked Williams better; I think I would have preferred Amherst (Star Bucks right by school); I also like the philosophy.</p>
<p>DS felt, "This is it," when he walked on Williams' campus. However, should admissions decisions worked out differently, I'm sure he could have cheered for the Lord Jeffs.</p>
<p>Haha, admissions does have a hand in destiny, but bizarrely enough, we did find that both kids were admitted at best fits and less at others. I can't understand how schools' process could lead to this outcome, and I know two is a teeny-tiny sample, but that was our experience.</p>
<p>Our daughter is a junior at Grinnell. She chose it over Carleton -- which she found to be too "East Coast" -- and has no regrets. She is getting a great education and has made good friends. But there are definitely downsides to Grinnell that are well worth mentioning.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It cannot seriously be said that Grinnell is no more isolated than Northfield. Of course it is. It is also less of a college-friendly town. The local folks, especially the younger set, do not always take kindly to Grinnellians. Our daughter and her friends have had more than one off-campus run-in with the local drunks and think twice before leaving campus. </p></li>
<li><p>Grinnell students are very quirky, and not always in a good way. Stress and depression are rampant on campus. Our daughter jokes that Grinnell is like the "island for misfit toys." The campus gets small very quickly.</p></li>
<li><p>While it still awards substantial merit aid, Grinnell is not the bargain that it once was. Our daughter only pays about two-thirds of what she would have paid had she gone to Carleton, but since enrolling Grinnell has raised tuition to be on par with Carleton, Macalester, and Oberlin while at the same time reducing merit scholarships. Many students worry that these moves will hurt the unique character of the school. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Just thought folks should have the full story.</p>
<p>I'm just curious, where are you getting your Carleton information for comparison purposes (more isolated)? Still trying to figure this "isolation" issue out.</p>
<p>I've never been to Carleton but my wife and daughter visited more than once before my daughter settled on Grinnell. My wife says Northfield has a much bigger feel to it and is without question a quicker trip to the Twin Cities than Grinnell is to Des Moines. Neither is exactly a mecca of activity, of course.</p>
<p>'rent of 2,
And I thought that my S#1 was slightly nuts when he announced that he didn't care for Route 2 running through the Williams campus. "I don't want to have to cross a state road to get to a science building!" :eek: Cars even stop when they see you trying to cross the road. Very friendly. It was, however, a total turn-off to him, and he wouldn't apply. He ended up applying early to Swarthmore ("THIS is what a campus should look like.") and enrolling there.</p>
<p>It's great these kids can have these options, even if these kids are all a little bit crazy. (Well, I am, too.)</p>
<p>They can parse the difference between Swarthmore, Williams, Amherst, Vassar, Wesleyan. Personally, I think they're all fabulous, and I'd trade trekking to my CC to teach for one of them any day. Lucky, lucky children.</p>
<p>I did have sympathy for D when she INSISTED on Barnard. Her mantra? NYC, NYC, NYC. Well yes, wasn't much I could say to that. Thank goodness, they liked her too.</p>
<p>Strangely, she loves NYC because, according to her, "It's so homey, and I can't get lost." Although we don't live there, she'd been visiting all her life and NYC felt more cozy than the small LAC's to her, which she pronounced, "scary." Well, maybe she's a little crazy, too.</p>
<p>Rentof2 said:
He really liked all of them, but was a little less interested in Lewis & Clark at first sight. He said it looked too much like a wildlife reserve for his tastes. ??? (weird kid)</p>
<p>LOL That is exactly what my D loved about Lewis and Clark. It is gorgeous there. She got in EA with $ and it is remaining on the list. She just applied to 5 others and we will see where the cards fall in April. Her only concern with L and C is the level of the student body, although they seem to be rising fast. The programs and facilities and location are wonderful. Their outdoor program is one of the best in the country as is their study abroad opportunities. It's a real contender. </p>
<p>Her other schools are:
Occidental
Grinnell
Oberlin
Smith
Bryn Mawr
Dickinson</p>
<p>She loved Grinnell and Occidental, too. I think LACs just have to be visited to figure out if they are right. If I could suggest anything it would be to try and whittle schools down on paper so that you don't end up visiting a bunch that aren't right at all. She visited probably ten-twelve LACs and only three of the original ones were left on the list. The other four we did not visit (Oberlin, Bryn Mawr, Smith and Dickinson). If she gets in and they are financially doable we will visit then. Research heavily before hand and visit close by schools to get a feeling for size, etc. She ultimately came up with a great list of safeties and matches. A couple could be called financial reaches (Smith/Oberlin). I just hope she has a choice.
Have a good time looking!</p>
<p>Citursbelt, I agree! I tought Lewis&Clark was one of the prettiest places I've ever been. When S said it looked too much like a wildlife reserve, I thought "How can anywhere look TOO MUCH like a wildlife reserve???" I mean, that's a good thing, right? LOL.</p>
<p>We also visited Occidental, and my son who repeatedly said he didn't want to be in or near a big city, still quite liked it there. I did too. And the way it's cozied up on the hillside, you don't get the urban feel on campus much. I think he looked at Amherst and Williams as reachy schools, and Occidental and L&C as matchy schools. Funny that the kid that thought L&C was too wild, is the same kid who didn't want to live in a city or have a public road running through campus. There's a Goldilocks story in there somewhere. ;D</p>
<p>He applied to ED to Amherst, got in, and is now eagerly looking forward to next fall. Good luck to your daughter on her wonderful list of wonderful schools!</p>
<p>Yes, I echo good luck! Your daughter has a a good list of schools - you pretty much feel compelled to give them all a visit and then hope that several emerge as top candidates. </p>
<p>My D's list was very similar to your D's. I liked some schools on that list far better than my D did, but was nonetheless glad that, for whatever reason (the admissions officer just did not click that day, the logistics of getting there were just too stressful that day, the visit fell in the wrong place, sequentially, on the itinerary, whatever), some of those were removed from the ultimate list - if only because it pared the list to something manageable. </p>
<p>You might be tempted to worry that, given a second chance, a wonderful 'fit' school might re-emerge from the lot of discarded schools, but if the original list is composed of basically good fit schools, as your daughter's appears to be, whichever emerge as keepers, for whatever reasons, tangible or otherwise, are all going to provided an excellent education. </p>
<p>I am sure she will be excited about a few of them and feel as if some of the visits were a waste of time - but the contrast helps clarify the choices, so all visits will be worthwhile. Hope your family enjoys the trip!</p>
<p>Mythmom, my daughter would agree wholeheartedly with your daughter. She would choose a school in NYC or some other brilliantly metropolitan place if she had the option. In a second!</p>
<p>In reality, she will probably end up staying in-state at the honor's college of the flagship state univ. for financial reasons, but she swears she's going to Columbia for grad school. ;)</p>
<p>'rentof2: Congratulations on your son's acceptance to Amherst ED. You'll find pretty quickly we can't talk to each other anymore. (Williams/Amherst rivalry is really intense!) But of course, I'm just kidding.</p>
<p>I'm sure your daughter will blossom at state U. and love Columbia!</p>
<p>Now D has talked me into considering moving to NYC so she doesn't have to pay rent when she's in law school! Can't keep my comfortable house and swing a NYC apartment; have two over a year to think about it, but it is tempting.</p>
<p>It may not make sense to us (!); their attempts to explain their reactions may be feeble, while their reactions are real to them. They really don't have a lot of experience to draw on. Nor do they have a large library of references to use.</p>
<p>So bless them. Those who have put themselves or find themselves in positions to winnow their options, well, they may not have as much pertinent self knowledge as we might wish.</p>
<p>I am sure that many of S's options would have worked out fine, as his "dream school" has been both wonderful and fraught with issues he could not have anticipated.</p>
<p>But it is "good," as they say, and it will be fine.</p>