Narrowing the College List

College Search & Selection
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I don’t know that this logic holds up from post #57. Student in the northeast generally DO visit colleges in the northeast. Thus they “show interest” for the colleges that want that, and thus are also possibly more likely to get in. However, these colleges also like geographic diversity… so a kid from Iowa who has managed to “show interest” for colleges that care about actually may have an edge over an NJ/NY/CT student.

You can show interest in ways other than visiting (although for your own sake I still recommend visits when possible). Sign up early emails on the admissions site. Keep track of when the colleges might be at career fairs or having events within a couple of hours of your house, and try to go. If you go to a place where a rep is, engage and talk to them, AND be sure to sign in on the sheet they have so there is a record of your discussion. If your high school is large enough so reps come there, go to their presentations (and sign in!), or at least stop by if you can. If you can’t meet your regional rep any other way, email them and introduce yourself. Say you won’t be able to visit the college, but are very interested in it and plan to apply. If they offer Skype or alumni interviews, try to sign up for one (assume you are a reasonably decent interviewer).

Now… this only matters for schools that care about student interest. You can tell by Googling " Common Data Set", and there is a section where they check off what is important in admissions. Some schools say it is not considered, so then it isn’t as important. But if it is considered, do as many of the above items as possible even if you can’t visit.

62

OP, you should visit a couple of LACs close to you – Luther and Grinnell would be good candidates. Just to get a flavor for LACs in general. You can probably do that on your own. Do you have spring break coming up? Look online now and try to sign up for a tour and info session. If they are in session, ask to sit in on a class.

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“I think I may have convinced my dad to let me visit before applying, so that’s a plus.”

Great! Now, not incidentally, consider that it is best to visit while the colleges while they are fully open. Visits at other times are more like architectural tours, and are much less intructive.

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correction: “to visit the colleges while they are fully open.”

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@merc81‌ maybe in September I could visit?

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@intparent‌ I am going to Washington D.C. during our spring break with the rest of my class. Maybe I could visit Luther and Grinnell sometime next month, however, as we do have some random days off.

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“maybe in September I could visit?”

Perfect.

68

The Ohio Colleges Tour is a good way to see a number of great schools quickly. In the past it has taken place during the first week in August. You register for the tour, and then attend half-day sessions at as many of the participating colleges as you wish. Two years ago Denison, Wooster, Kenyon, Oberlin, OWU and Wittenberg participated. (As a plus, some of these schools are quite good on merit aid.)

The tour occurs during the summer, a downside insofar as no classes are available, but each one had students and faculty present to meet with prospective students, campus tours, student panels, lunch, etc. OWU, for example, had an hour-long session devoted to study abroad opportunities. At Wooster, the Vice President for Enrollment sat down with D and I out of the blue and had lunch with us. Probably the most valuable 3 days we spent during D’s college search.

The single best program we attended was a day-long session called Admissions 101 at Sewanee. They had small-group mock adcom sessions where students and parents reviewed fictional prospective applicant files, including in-depth discussions of ECs, essays, etc. Very enlightening, and very useful to D when she did her common app in Aug & Sept.

I’m one of those parents who strongly encouraged D to visit each school that she wanted to apply to. We visited 20 over an 18-month period, which was doable by batching them together (as in Ohio), and combining them with family visits, etc. She applied to 8, plus her large State U. Now, with 7 weeks until her decision deadline, she’ll visit her top two again over spring break, and then decide.

The biggest surprise to me as a parent in this process was that some of the Net Price Calculators were spot on, and others were very far off. I suspect the NPC mismatch may be because a few of the schools experienced significant increases in applications in the last year or two. The LACs she applied to looked somewhat similar on paper, but cost of attendance has ended up varying by about $15,000+ per year between the highest and lowest. That’s the kind of thing you don’t know for sure until you apply and get your aid award.

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PLEASE HELP: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1749525-chances-at-texas-a-m-university-of-central-florida-maryland-rutgers-ohio-state.html?new=1

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Regarding your interest in the extent of these colleges’ respective sports cultures, you can quickly research a few indicators. The presence of intercollegiate football and hockey programs, including women’s hockey, is one. Another may be facilities. Haverford, for example, does not have its own pool (but shares the one at Bryn Mawr).

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@merc81 Thanks for the suggestion! While I could live without out it, I was kind of raised on Friday night football games. Also, do you know if, generally, LAC’s have nice gyms? A pool is very appealing too!

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@mithuun15, why are you hijacking this thread? Keep your chances post in the chances forum…

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Re pools, it depends on the LAC. Denison’s new pool is stunning. You can google it for photos.

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Wooster has a huge new gym. A number of the LACs have been upgrading their athletic facilities.

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Thanks @Midwestdad3 Denison’s pool does look really nice. I also just google Wooster’s gym and it is gigantic! Even though it obviously isn’t a huge deal if a college doesn’t have a good gym–it would be a nice add in! :smiley:

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Denison is a DIII swimming powerhouse if I remember correctly.

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LACs can have great gyms! Often you will find, in addition to exercise equipment and other usual accoutrements: an indoor track and tennis courts, a hockey/skating rink, pool, squash courts, climbing wall. If you are lucky, your college will also have an outdoor pond/skating rink, x-country ski trails, and high ropes course. You will be further supported by the supplies of an outing club. And since these are small colleges, you will have ample access to all facilities.

Sadly, however, I must inform you, the traditional time for college football is Saturday afternoon.

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@merc81 Haha I really don’t know much about football–I just like to watch, get dressed up in school colors and cheer! Even if the LAC I end up going to doesn’t have a lot of school spirt, I’d probably still come and cheer :slight_smile: Anyway, I love the idea of having a variety of things to do!

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“get dressed up in school colors and cheer!”

Then I hope you attend a college with school colors you love. And don’t forget the face paint!

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Don’t worry @merc81 I won’t forget the face paint. :wink: