<p>Every day of my college trip (except the day I left Philly) was GORGEOUS... unimaginably gorgeous... way more sun than I would ever expect from home. I thought all the campuses were beautiful... </p>
<p>Well... I guess I wasn't so impressed by Williams. It wasn't because of the weather, though. It was a crisp, blue-skied day in early October. I didn't much like the architecture--I thought it was ugly, some buildings too grandiose and others just cold-looking--but mainly I imagined myself in the middle of winter up there in the "mountains" (I don't know how accurate the term was, but it seemed like I could feel the altitude in the air) trying to get from point A to point B on icy paths and having to cross roads... blech. (Yes, that will be a problem everywhere but Stanford. But I thought of it when I was at Williams, and the idea seemed particularly distasteful when put in the context of Williamstown.) And there weren't really any places to sit down. And I didn't much like the town.
I was a little doubtful of how "at home" I would feel there in the first place; I had heard that Williams is really into sports, and when I talked to some students there they emphatically agreed. It seemed like if you yourself weren't an athlete, then you were out in the stands doing the whole "Rah, rah, go team" bit, and I'm not into that so much. </p>
<p>Brown was off mainly because it was such a horror getting into and around Providence. Also, someone there mentioned to me that "Brown is the place to go if you want to be a doctor, a lawyer or a politician." I do NOT want to be a doctor, a lawyer or a politician. And I just didn't feel very comfortable walking around campus. </p>
<p>But the fact of the matter is, I visited Williams and Brown because my mother wanted me to. She thought they sounded good because of a few interesting programs they offer, and she liked that Brown has no core curriculum. Other than in those few details, Brown and Williams didn't appeal to me much.</p>
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<p>Another consideration (which I've overlooked in the cases of some of these schools, just because I like the school so much and figured I could find a way to get around inconveniences) is that I should be able to travel fairly easily. My family will be living in Ecuador during the first year or so of my college career, and there are some areas of the country from which it is easier to get to Ecuador than other areas. </p>
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<p>I looked at Pomona a couple years ago and hated the town. I'm not the biggest California fan in general, anyway; Stanford is on my list because it offers SO MUCH (even studying Quechua is a possibility! --and many other languages) and because one of my friends and his sister both go there and LOVE it. He is a physics major (which isn't what I'm going to be... unless something new hits me), and his sister is a human biology major; she was more into the things I'm into when she was in high school, and she's just a really nice, unpretentious (and incredibly smart) person. So, people that I admire love Stanford. </p>
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<p>I actually have doubts about Mt. Holyoke. It sounds like a really nice school with an attitude I like (minimal partying). However, I had an interview there and my interviewer really emphasized how coming to a women's college will be the first time so many women will have the same opportunities that men always have... and I frankly don't feel that way. I think girls are doing fine. Maybe they're not elsewhere, but god, at my school girls outnumber the boys on the honor roll three to one. In the yearbook when they picture the "top 10 academic" and "top 10 outstanding" students in the senior class, there will be like 8 or 9 girls versus 1 or 2 boys. In AP classes, other than calculus and physics, there are far more girls than guys--like Lit last year, where there were 14 girls and 2 guys in my class. In my experience, girls are not disadvantaged, and for the vastly greater part accomplish more (academically) than guys. </p>
<p>I liked Bryn Mawr, though; I didn't get the same feeling about it as I did about MHC. It was after-hours when I got there, but a tour guide who was just leaving the admissions office took me and my dad to dinner in one of the dining halls and showed us all around campus, including a couple dorm rooms, and I was really, really impressed. The tour guide was an absolute blast. (I thought especially highly of Amherst in part because the tour guide was engaging and well-spoken... which I guess I take to be representative of the student body. I hope I'm right. :p)
Another reason I like Bryn Mawr is its proximity to Haverford. Swarthmore isn't so close, and I've read that Swatties drive themselves into the ground with studying more than students at the other two colleges. Anyway... I don't know... I just haven't read as appealing things about Swarthmore as I have about HC and BMC.</p>
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<p>Trust me, I've done my homework, and have been doing it since tenth grade. :p When I noticed recurring themes in various descriptions of a college, I took note, and some of the themes are ones that I found distasteful--or at least, not as nice as what I found in descriptions of another college. Every college on my list has drawbacks, and I'm resigned to that; but every college also has many attributes that I find very attractive. They're not always the same attributes; one college offers something I like that another college doesn't. The positives have far outweighed the negatives in each of the colleges on my list, and that is my final list. I don't really want to have to pay any more application fees than I will already have to, either. As I said, my family is far from financially comfortable... but not low-income enough to qualify for waivers. My school district's policy is that couselors only write letters requesting a waiver if the student's family is on the free/reduced lunch list, and mine isn't... although, by the end of the college application process, all the fees--just for standardized tests and applications--will have added up to about half a month's living expenses. :(</p>
<p>I appreciate your suggestions, though. :) Any more "chances" opinions would be welcome, too.</p>