<p>Banjodad-enjoyed hearing your perspective on Oberlin and Grinnell. Daughter got into both. She's already visited Oberlin and is going out to Grinnell on the 17th. What a hard decision to make. She has also gotten into some other really nice schools and is struggling over the ones she will turn down. These two seem to be tugging on her quite a bit. </p>
<p>betheivt-thanks again for your info that you PM'd me. It is hard to sit back and watch D agonize over the choices.</p>
<p>Danielcarp17</p>
<p>You will adapt to the climate. My S had only seen snow a few times and he adjusted well. That's not to say there weren't rough periods. Some people have said this was one of the worst winters they have had in a long time. Whatever you do, make sure you get something that blocks out the wind, i.e. windstopper. You will need it. Just got back from there on Monday and although the day temperatures were pleasant (40's and 50's), the wind can make it tough and Grinnell gets wind.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I'm sure I'll adapt to the cold... I hope I don't get sick all the time though.</p>
<p>Where should I buy winter cloth? Should I buy them until I get there or should I buy someplace else ?</p>
<p>I really think you can wait to buy winter clothes. There will be a lot of students who are experienced with winter who can help you find stuff in local stores or online. And it won't be cold until probably November, so you have time. You'll probably want to get a Grinnell hoodie (hooded sweatshirt) and that will be all you'll need for awhile. You can get one at the campus bookstore when the air starts getting chilly.</p>
<p>About getting sick--that is less about cold weather and more about getting enough sleep and eating healthy food. My son says sometimes they have an Asian noodle bar for dinner--that's his favorite. They always have soups and a salad bar and a stir-fry station where you can choose what you want. If you've never been to campus, the student center is a treat--just a wonderful place to be--and that's where you will eat, get your mail and hang around in front of the fireplace with your new friends.</p>
<p>Andreaaaa,
You situation really haunts me. I feel you are deserving and I wish I could push the doors to Grinnell open for you.</p>
<p>My thoughts:
1. Like all of the other parents, I don't think you should go in to huge debt at L and C. If you go to college next year, I would go for one of you state universities and reapply to the LACs while making outstanding grades at the state U.</p>
<p>2, Here's another GAP year possibility: City</a> Year. Give a Year. Change the World.. I talked with a friend that has a son that recently graduated and is doing this while doing a gap year before grad school. He is very excited about this program. They do take recent HS grads, too. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>I would consider casting a wider net and include some schools that have a similar feel to Grinnell but may give more aid or be less overwhelmed with applicants. I have been looking at the following schools for my son in two years: Earlham, Beloit, Kalamzoo, College of Wooster and Lawrence. These are all great schools with good grad school and med school admits. They are also very socially conscious schools like Grinnell. D has a friend at Earlham. This young woman is academically focused, bright, socially/politically conscious and very happy there.</p></li>
<li><p>Here's the advice I always give my kids: a) do what you can to improve your current situation (you've done this-written Grinnell), b) after taking those steps, visualize putting the situation in a box marked "later" and store it on a shelf in your "personal closet" (no peeking after you've done this); c) focus on plan B and plan C and mentally reframe plans B/C in a positive way (for example think of all the money you will save by going to state U for a year, when you transfer out, you would have a freshman year for 1/3 the cost of Grinnell) , d) allow yourself to fall in love with plan B (roam the school's website, visit the school, contact clubs and faculty members, get in the honors program).</p></li>
<li><p>Accept this as a life truth: life can be very "random" (to use my son's phrase). Colleges are often looking for folks to fill certain roles (singers, dancers, athletes, musicians). Maybe Grinnell had an abundance of applicants with your particular gifts this year. In the case of my daughter, she is no more capable an applicant than you are. We live in the south and Grinnell doesn't get many applicants from the south. I think that may have simply been her edge (where your parents chose to live has nothing to do with you but can affect colleges building regional "diversity" in the class).</p></li>
<li><p>Waitlists and rejections do prepare you for the adult world. My daughter auditions for music festivals each year. She has received the "thin letter" on numerous occasions and, over the years, she has perfected the strategy I mentioned above. She was not particularly troubled by the "thin letter" fears with college because in her words, "I'm used to it from music". Music is even harder to figure out admits with because there are no objective test scores to compare. </p></li>
<li><p>Later when you apply for jobs, the application process will be a similar. I teach at a small college and have been on many faculty hiring committees. Our decisions ultimately come down to choosing an applicant that can fill a particular department need and sometimes is simply down to being better entertained by applicant A's teaching demo (even though applicant B graduated from a more prestigious college).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Take care and embrace your plan B. You have wonderful abilities and determination. Incredible adventures await you. Go after them.</p>
<p>hornet</p>
<p>This is such good advice and so heart-felt and well said. Thanks for doing a better job than I could have.</p>
<p>anreaaaaa</p>
<p>How did your talk with Jim Sumner go?</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice, hornet. I agree with you and I do feel that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I am quite good at dealing with adversity following my father's various illnesses and eventual death - I am good at bouncing back.</p>
<p>Bethievt, it went okay. We talked about the waitlist in general and what I could do to get off it - show interest, send in my (good) midyear grades, or send in new awards. He said that first of all, only about half of students accept their place, and then, the other half generally places a deposit at another school and feels comfortable there, and they therefore do not want to go to Grinnell. But this year, financial aid is even more generous, so this may change Grinnell's yield slightly and they aren't sure if they will be using the waiting list. Also, he said that waitlisted students get financial aid the same way as any other person. Then he said I could call him later if I had any questions. I think it went pretty good - he did most of the talking, thankfully, haha. Do you think I should ask him why I got waitlisted? Do colleges in general release that information? In case I don't get off the waiting list and I have to apply ED next year, I want to know what I can try to improve.</p>
<p>andreaaaa</p>
<p>I don't think he'd be able to tell you anything specific. I think he would say something like they were building a class and had more outstanding qualified applicants than they could accept. Also that they had to waitlist more because of uncertainty about yield.</p>
<p>Danielcarp17</p>
<p>We bought the items S would need (during parent's weekend in late September) at Active Endeavors in downtown Iowa City next to the University of Iowa. The staff seemed well informed and there was a 25% off sale on all merchandise when we were in town. Also, bethievt gave us a lot of guidance and information on what would be needed. Feel free to P.M. if you have any questions.</p>
<p>andreaaaaa</p>
<p>I noticed on another thread someone said a GC could do the ask about whether there were downsides to your app that you could work on.</p>
<p>okay, thanks bethie. i will ask him to do that.</p>
<p>SoCaDad, thanks for your help! I will take your kind offer and probably ask for more info in the future!</p>