<p>Well, the good news is that the family has jumped in whole hog. As a stay-at-home mom, when it was time for my S to start looking I was an addict to this site and my stack of college choices books. The ‘prestige’ word is so annoying- Read Loren Pope’s book re Colleges That Change Lives to get a more balanced view on what you should be looking for. It became ever so clear that what I considered a “dream” school was registering no reaction to my S (My choices were in midwest/east and S wouldn’t leave CA). When we took a tour in Southern CA I kept my mouth shut (very hard but I did it). After each school tour I asked him to take a few moments to write down a pro/con list- this tended to result in a questions-to-address-later list. After a day at Occidental and the Claremonts we came to University of Redlands. Large campus, green everywhere, new buildings for math/science depts (his interest), easy-going campus tour guide. My son met with an admissions person, and said the magic words: “I can see myself here”. It’s been perfect for him. My D is now in process as a senior and she wants nothing to do with his school (“Too hot, too small, not close enough to a beach”). Embrace your child’s opinions, many are intuitive and that’s to be trusted.</p>