<p>D and I visited Open Day at SLC on Saturday. SLC was towards the bottom of her list of colleges she was interested in, mainly because she wants to major in Botany, and they don't have a specific botany program, and alternatively because she wants to work in the sciences and she was concerned about whether the unique SLC program would be rigorous enough for her future plans. </p>
<p>Both of these issues were addressed at least in part because of the exchange program available with schools like Columbia - if she felt she required something less self-directed, more traditionally rigorous, she could always exchange for a semester. </p>
<p>The reason SLC made her list in the first place is because of the strong focus on writing, regardless of which discipline you are concentrating in. Writing is a weakness of hers - she is a coherent writer, but she lacks a voice of her own. </p>
<p>The staff was very friendly and helpful, and the fruit at the breakfast was fantastic. We enjoyed all the speakers, and felt the student on the panel about life at SLC was particularly impressive - confident, articulate, passionate. The students and parents split up for part of the program. For the parents part, there was definitely some concern expressed about whether SLC adequately prepares students for life after graduation. It's a concern, although if SLC chooses their student body carefully, they should be selecting students who have the self-motivation and drive to pursue a path of their choosing, regardless of the traditional path to success. </p>
<p>D said that she sensed a lot of tension during the student portion, although she couldn't really articulate what that tension was. She thought they chose the students for her panel poorly, that at least one of the students on the panel had a bad attitude disguised as being an iconoclast. </p>
<p>The campus itself is beautiful, although I saw lots of little infrastructure issues that could be addressed. D was a little distressed to see that there is no wireless network in the dorms (how can she play WOW in her room with no wireless!) - but felt a little better to know that students have access to computer labs 24 hours a day. We didn't get to see inside the dorms, although the student tour guide raved about most of the dorms. </p>
<p>I broke off from the tour at one point (I'm disabled, the hills were getting to be a bit much) and sat outside the Siegel Center (not sure about the name of the building), eavesdropping on the conversations of students. I heard some discussion of the security staff being way too controlling and harsh on parties...lots of talk about going into the city, and speculation about how exactly the men on campus were going to dress for the 1920's drag ball that evening. </p>
<p>D said that SLC has moved up the list after the tour. She is incredibly self-motivated and I think the program at SLC would give her the ability to advance as far as she wants in the area where she intends to have a career while still allowing her the freedom to pursue other disciplines she's interested in. I'm concerned about SLC mainly from a financial perspective - it's annual tuition + room & board is not too much less than what my husband and I make combined. Aside from getting aid, I am concerned that she would be limited by budget when it comes to her social life - even if she got a free ride at SLC (which we are <em>not</em> anticipating), the money to go into the city, see shows, go to clubs, etc., etc. simply won't be there. </p>
<p>Well, she's applying, but we'll see what happens.</p>