<p>My daughter applied to 7 schools and although she has 3 left to hear from, in her mind it's really down to Macalester and Earlham as her two top options. We visited Earlham 2 weeks ago and she absolutely loved it, to the point that she said "that's it, I'm done looking", and we cancelled out a second visit on our trip and headed home. The only school that she said she'd like to re-visit would be Macalester, if she was accepted. Two days ago she received an early-write acceptance from Macalester so now plans on visiting there during one of their accepted students' days in early April.</p>
<p>We had visited Mac in April of her junior year and she really liked it, but she definitely wants to return now that she's a senior and has a lot more to compare it with. At Earlham she loved the strong sense of engaged, socially aware students, their Peace and Global Studies major, the Quaker vibe, and the large percentage of international students. At Macalester she loved the location of the school, the friendly students, the large percentage of international students, the International Studies major, and the awesome food in Cafe Mac. Both schools offer tremendous opportunity for study abroad experiences.</p>
<p>I'd be curious to hear from any parents of students and/or students at these schools for your thoughts and insight. Ultimately it will be her decision, and I'm sure she'll have stronger leanings once she visits again in April, but I'm wondering how this will all play out! One other note is that we've received the financial aid award letter from Earlham, which looks doable, but haven't yet received the award letter from Macalester, so that might factor into the equation as well. Thanks -</p>