Ohio trip planning...

Parents Forum
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<p>absweetmarie, snark in huge dosages have been commonplace with me, too! Can we chalk it up to March Madness for College Seniors (and their parents)?</p>

<p>HeavyLidded, you have picked some great schools for a B student. Keep them on your list! Make sure your D can write great essays and shows lots of interest (emails, interviews, visits).</p>

<p>I would recommend interviewing while on these campuses, especially if it is a long trip for you. Remember that interviews are just a way to get to know the student and the school. My son loved interviewing. Another way to interview is through Skype and local visits that these schools do in your area.</p>

<p>Also, find the emails for each of the local reps to these schools. Have your daughter write them a few times with questions and updates. Will you visit my area soon? Can I set up an interview? I just received an award…</p>

<p>Do you need financial aid or merit aid or both? Some schools are stingier than others. Make sure you know which schools give out lots of good amounts of aid. It’s an easy way to drop schools off the list, if it’s something you need.</p>

<p>This is a scary ride. Some days went by and I thought S would get in nowhere. Some days I thought he might get in just about everywhere. Now, every morning, I wait for the mail like a crazy lady. </p>

<p>S has gotten in three schools so far (rejected by none). But - he only received merit from one (Wooster!). So, I understand your fear. It is real. And it’s smart to be aware now than to be blindsided later. Just be sure to apply to many, so you have some decent choices.</p>

<p>Here are two sources of merit info. They seem to show different statistics, and I’m not sure which is more accurate. Either way, it’ll give you a start. Kiplinger gives you a ranking system for non-need and need based aid.</p>

<p>[Kiplinger.com](<a href=“Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts”>Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts)=ALL&id=none&sortby=non_nb_aid_p&sortorder=DESC</a></p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-good-merit-aid.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-good-merit-aid.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

102

<p>Hi Heavylidded,</p>

<p>Sorry, I have not gotten around to posting about the Ohio leg of our trip… </p>

<p>We visited OWU (Ohio Wesleyan) and Wooster on the same day, with time to spare. We had a scheduled tour at OWU at 10:30, which lasted about 1.5 hours. Then we ate lunch in their cafeteria which was tasty and gave us ample time to people-watch. (You can pay with cash if they don’t offer junior visitors meal tickets.) The campus was nice, students diverse and friendly, tour well-done. They have a fantastic new pool to boot - my son’s a swimmer. After the tour, we chatted with his admissions counsellor, who was very nice and made us feel at home. Overall, we really enjoyed our visit to OWU.</p>

<p>After lunch, we drove to College of Wooster, on the spur of the moment. I believe it was an hour or so away. Since out visit there was unplanned (and since we’re doubtful it will work out for our son) we just walked around on our own. It is a lovely campus with beautiful architecturally-interesting buildings - including the residence halls. We found the theatre, went inside, and were offered an impromtu tour of the building by a warm and inviting young man.</p>

<p>We also wandered around inside the student center where there were loads of friendly students hanging out. It appeared that it may have been exam-time as there were having a “De-Stress” fair, which consisted of everything from booths for various types of massage to a crayon-coloring station. We stopped into their cafe and got coffees, and chatted with the workers who told my son to: “Come to Wooster!”</p>

<p>We didn’t stay near either of these schools, so I have no advice to offer in regards to accomodations. If possible, I think it’s great to try the food in the school’s dining halls whenever possible. We were pleasantly surprised at the yummy food at all the schools we visited. :)</p>

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<p>Heavylidded- can you tell me what the anticipated drive time is between Goucher and Muhlenberg? And then between Muhlenberg and Wooster? If you post elsewhere for this thread, please come back and make a note of where so I can continue to follow this thread. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Yes, HeavyLidded, start a new thread. You will get great feedback from people who live in the area - restaurants, accommodations, directions. You have this thread for Ohio, but you can get info for the other areas. </p>

<p>While I live under an hour from Muhlenberg, I’m not familiar with the area. We never visited Susquehanna.</p>

<p>I believe there is a nice Inn in Wooster. And eat at Broken Rocks Cafe. Great food and service. :)</p>

<p>vandygrad - driving time is probably between 2 1/2 and 3 hours from Goucher to Muhlenberg. Muhlenberg and Wooster - maybe 7 hours?</p>

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<p>Heavylidded, I just got back from a trip so I have not checked in for the last few days. I can tell you that you could see Wittenberg and Earlham on the same day. We did it, BUT we did not stay for a lunch with a student at Earlham. We only toured and my son had an interview. Then we cut the visit short. BTW, Earlham is in Indiana. I believe the schools are 1.5 hours apart. We saw Earlham in the morning and we saw Wittenberg in the afternoon. The dining hall was not open (we just missed it) when we got to Wittenberg so we ate off campus at a deli right next door (you can walk there).</p>

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<p>Also, if you anyone is considering Denison, it is about 1.5 hours from Wooster according to some notes that I jotted down a few years ago (you might want to recheck to be certain).</p>

<p>As far as hotels, I don’t recall much. I do recall staying in Newark OHIO at a Marriott Courtyard the night before seeing Denison. I was able to book get it on Priceline, which is why we stayed there. All of the hotel stays we did (exception was near Allegheny where it is hard to find a hotel IMO) we booked through Priceline’s name your own price, or through Hotwire.</p>

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<p>^ I agree Newark is close enough for Denison. There are some non-chain places in Granville which are nice but can be hard to get a room during busy weekends. [Area</a> Accommodations - Denison University](<a href=“http://www.denison.edu/maps/area_accommodations.html]Area”>Denison University | A top liberal arts college located in Ohio)</p>

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<p>Also, after visiting Denison, you might want to stop at Whit’s for frozen custard. It is just downhill from campus in Granville. My kids still talk about it and we stopped in about 2 years ago!</p>

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<p>Heavylidded, regarding making the most of campus visits, my d usually enjoys lunch at the school to sample the food and check out how the students interact with one another (are they social, are some working while they eat). She has gotten up the courage to sit with students to ask them what they like about their schools… open ended questions will let you know if the students have interest in conversation and answering questions.</p>

<p>Additionally, we always go to the student union to experience the vibe. Take lots of pictures and try to pick an outgoing tour guide with a similar college major and get up towards the front so you can ask questions along the way.</p>

<p>Look up the parking for each campus and maybe even print out the campus maps from the websites to save time.</p>

<p>One of our frustrations on many campuses is that the dorms are not always included on the tours. I’ve always wanted to ask a student if they will show us their dorm but we’ve never felt strongly enough to try and do that.</p>

<p>It is very wise to visit when schools are in session esp. the smaller LACs that sometimes have nothing on campus in the summer. We hope you thoroughly enjoy your trip!</p>

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<p>I enjoyed the Black Squirrel Inn in Wooster. Reasonable rates, close to the campus. Some people don’t like the b&b feel; I like it a lot and find that the proprietors and other guests often have things to say about the campus (anecdotal and “take it for what it’s worth” things to say, but helps to form a picture, IMO).</p>

111

<p>We are planning spring break visits to Ohio and Penn. and are bringing along 7 yr twins. Our plan was to go to Dension then Kenyon then Case Western and finally U of Pitt and Carnegie Mellon. We had wanted to take the twins to Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky so they would have some fun on the trip, but it turned out to be farther out of our way then we thought. So Denison accomadation recommended Fort Rapids Water Park. I made reservations last night and thought everything was great until I checked trip advisor (should have done that first). Lots of unhappy visitors and talk of roaches and bed bugs. Has any one stayed at Fort Rapids? Is it that bad? Any other suggestions of places to stay with 7 year olds, we are driving from Maryland. We may just leave on parent home or meet up in Pittsburgh.</p>

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<p>I have heard that Wooster is a great place, interesting town, good campus. I have never been, I have just heard from people I respect.</p>

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<p>Mom24boys,</p>

<p>Definitely bail on Fort Rapids…it’s gross and has a lot of problems / police calls.
Your younger children might like to visit the Wilds, a nature preserve with a lot of exotic animals. The Columbus Zoo is great…think Jack Hanna</p>

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<p>Kalahari/Great Wolf in Sandusky is only two hours from Denison. From Sandusky to Case would be another hour tops. (My DD goes to John Carroll about 10 min from Case so I make the turnpike trek often from NW Ohio). I like Kalahari better the Great Wolf-but if your twins are young-Great Wolf would be great choice. When I google mapped it, shooting towards Sandusky only added about 30-40 min to the drive. That sounds about right from my travels in that area. If you go the Columbus route, the Zoo is great. Cleveland also has a neat zoo. Has been years since I’ve been there though so you may want to check it our on tripadvisor.</p>

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<p>There is a hands on science museum in Columbus called COSI. They have reciprocal memberships with other museums. There is a very cool unicycle several stories high as long as your kids meet the height requirement. </p>

<p>There is a bedbug registry to check on recent hotel complaints. Just google it.</p>

<p>I second the suggestion to visit the Wilds. It is really wonderful.</p>

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<p>Cancelled Fort Rapids, thanks for the save. I am thinking about staying in Columbus and maybe renting a car. That way one parent can drive older boys to colleges and another drive twins to zoo and science center.</p>

<p>The problem with Sandusky is I would be driving the older two boys to Denison and Kenyon and back to Sandusky each day, we don’t have time to add a day just for water parks so the plan was for one parent to stay with the little ones and another to take the older ones to visit schools.</p>

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<p>Fort Rapids gets funky reviews, it seems like it never really got off the ground. But **COCO KEY **at the Cherry Valley Lodge is only 10 minutes from Denison and very nice, especially for smaller kids (only one bigger waterslide). We live in Granville so if I can help with anything let me know. My S has visited Wooster, Wittenberg, DePauw, Denison and Earlham, and we’ve been to OWU for sports stuff. Kenyon is very close, maybe 40 minutes from here.</p>

<p>Coco Key: <a href=“http://www.cherryvalleylodge.com/coco-key/[/url]”>http://www.cherryvalleylodge.com/coco-key/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>If anyone stays in Granville, I would highly recommend the Fraley House B&B. We had a great experience. And I brought my 8 year old on the trip. She was welcomed by all schools and she had a blast meeting all of the new people (and animals)! ;)</p>

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<p>Very near Ohio Wesleyan is Somewhere in Time B and B. They have a room with twin beds as well as regular rooms. The Innkeeper Nancy works at Ohio Wesleyan for her day job. There are peacocks. And miniature horses of some sort. DH and I stayed there once. If this happens to fit into your itinerary, I would recommend it. It is pretty darn awesome. [Somewhere</a> In Time Bed & Breakfast – Location, Map and Area Attractions](<a href=“http://www.ohiobandb.com/location.html]Somewhere”>Somewhere In Time Bed & Breakfast -- Location, Map and Area Attractions)</p>

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<p>We found going through Ohio and western Pennsylvania to be a really lovely drive, especially for cityfolk. There was lots of farmland, quaint churches, and the occasional spotting of Amish/Mennonite buggies. For us, this was an opportune time to have a chat about modern-day technology and our preoccupation with it. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, we did see a lot of animals on our drive… in the form of roadkill, including several deer. :(</p>