<p>It’s a unique job as they are part gatekeeper, part used car salesman, part cheerleader and part den mother/father. It’s definitely recommended reading as you don’t want your kid’s essay or your interaction to end up on Admissions Problems.</p>
<p>Few parents or students stop to consider that these schools we are clamoring to give our money to, are businesses. Most are non-profit, but they do follow a business model. That blog has reminded me to look and examine more closely.</p>
<p>@fogfog, I thought you meant he gets paid for the blog. I sure hope he gets paid by the university he works for… LOL I don’t think that anyone would do that job for free. Or would they?</p>
<p>Love the bingo idea! We’ve only been on 3 tours so far, but I’m sure we could bingo! ;)</p>
<p>I’ll be thinking about all those catch phrases as we tour our spring break schools!</p>
<p>We were talking about the Rochester schools yesterday and I commented that DS received the RIT mailing yesterday. The UR mailing came today (with another letter from RIT!). </p>
<p>I think today has been the busiest mail day for DS so far - 5 whole pieces! We’ve decided based on other comments that the schools don’t try hard to recruit from our state! DS gets what I originally thought was a lot of mail until I heard some of you say that you were getting a dozen pieces at a time.</p>
<p>Someone also mentioned John Brown University. I just looked up at the ad on this page and guess who it was … JBU?!? It’s kind of spooky how “big brother” like the internet is sometimes! I haven’t even googled JBU and the ad came up! BTW, if any of you read “The Choice” blog, the girl from Springdale, AR is considering that school and you can read some comments on her posts.</p>
<p>: Our unique orientation/freshman advising system really makes it easy for kids to adjust and bond with each other.</p>
<p>I also met a CC mom at D11’s school. Unfortunately D11 did not “stick” there but at least we are still FB friends. Maybe I’ll meet someone local for coffee sometime, right Kees?</p>
<p>On a more serious note, 80% male is NOT A GOOD RATIO for males OR females. That is why schools try to hard to balance it out. Your Ds might think they would like it, but it really breaks all kind of casual interactions. I attended a college with that ratio and had several unpleasant incidents develop with guys I thought I was just friends with; no “normal” girl friendships for a long time because the other women were all busy being chased or getting into protective relationships. If you have a child that is considering going to a school with a very unbalanced male-female ratio, make sure they talk to someone who has lived through it.</p>
<p>college tour bingo </p>
<p>Ivy league tour guide: “so you pick up this emergency phone (pointing) and someone is on the other end that you can speak with”. Thats when people started bailing on our tour.</p>
<p>^very funny</p>
<p>my fav tour moments were those parental hovering questions, while their kids did major eye roll while walking away rapidly from said parent. like, what is the partying scene like on campus? or is it safe here?</p>
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<p>Actually, that one was quite true for DS-2011 last year as a freshman. His college dean had 5 or 6 dinners for students and the invites were posted online and emailed to the students so they could RSVP. He said the dinners were casual buffet’s and limited to 20 students which meant a lot of one-on-one with the Dean and other key staff in attendance.</p>
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<p>I agree except for Dr. Gordon Gee at Ohio State. He is always on campus and involved with the students. He is more of a “big kid” than a University President!</p>
<p>The Bingo game should be easy for all to win. Of course, the reason everyone says those things is because they are (usually) true for each college (except the TA one at many larger schools). I could do well with the game each time a student returns to high school to talk about their school. Unless they end up with a ton of debt or didn’t match themselves well (academic-wise and fit) they all invariably LOVE where they end up. That’s one thing that makes me a little less worried about the eventual choice. It’s important for fit, but usually, many schools can fit.</p>
<p>Instead of Frisbee, you might hear Quidditch though. ;)</p>
<p>John Brown ended up not working for my guy. He looked at the school briefly, but they don’t offer Botany. He really wants a combo of Bio and Botany. The only Christian school in the south we’ve seen so far that sort of has it is Palm Beach Atlantic (concentration in Botany). Not many at that school major in Bio, so it does make me wonder how in depth their program is. However, all I know about the school is what I see on their website. Does anyone have any personal knowledge about it? Or any grads from there? They’re a pretty “new” college having only started in the '60s.</p>
<p>And for ads… we’re getting ads for Tahiti. I’d absolutely love to go, but with two kids in college, one thinking about getting married (oldest), and one more to go to college, the best I can do is look at the ads wistfully.</p>
<p>Wait, does Tahiti have any colleges? They ought to have Tropical Bio/Botany… College trip!!! 
(I don’t know how he’d do in a French speaking college…)</p>
<p>So many college trip plans - better get on that. We took our DS’14 on DD’12’s college tour during the summer of '11. So, he has seen a lot of schools. However, now that he has a gpa and SAT scores of his own, he is starting to narrow his scope. He did ask if he would have the opportunity to visit two small, east coast colleges. I can see how different it would be to see a college at age 14 and then again when one is applying.</p>
<p>S2 got in the car after wrestling practice yesterday and announced “The next time I schedule any classes will be for college!” The hair on the back of my neck stood up …</p>
<p>^^Oh! You have a wrestler? I love that sport. Takes so much dedication and focus.</p>
<p>Yes, in fact, state championships start today and he’s in the upper bracket in the 182 lb. weight class. In my wildest dreams, he’ll do well enough to attract some college money … he’s no great shakes academically so he won’t get anything on merit. He’s our athlete, S1 is the scholar.</p>
<p>The state champion wrestler in my d’11’s class wound up at Columbia. He was a good student, but probably got a huge admissions bump from the wrestling. Our state championships were last week. Wrestling is huge here.</p>
<p>Have to laugh because when d’14 quit gymnastics, I told her she could pick any sport she wanted, and one of her top contenders was wrestling. I get it. It’s probably the closest thing to gymnastics in terms of the focus and total fitness required, although the rush would have to come from besting the opponent, not flight. We have girls who wrestle, some have made it to the state tournament, but the boys have a really tough time with it. Some don’t want to wrestle girls–everything from religious reasons to fear of being beaten by a girl. In the end, my d decided on fencing.</p>
<p>DS’14’s English teacher stopped DS after class and offered to write a college rec for him next year. That was a little out of the blue. I guess with the seniors all finished with apps and just waiting for April 1st, the attention is shifting to our class of 2014. A little scary.</p>
<p>Your son’s school has already forecasted, Footballmom? I keep waiting to hear from D’s regular counselor about scheduling but nothing so far. Good luck to your son today, Footballmom!</p>
<p>Spring sports are beginning, just in time for the weather to get really crappy. I’m jealous of states that have warm, dry climates. Oh, to watch a game without a parka and kayak gear.</p>
<p>DD forecast yesterday for senior year. Her homeroom teacher–Negative Nellie–said she didn’t “approve” of DD’s schedule but has no power over it. To continue the track she’s been on, she has to take AP English, AP Calc and AP French. She still has Government left to take so she’ll be adding a semester of AP Gov and college-level European History. The dual-credit course offers the history of intellectual thought which will be right up her alley since she loved Ethics and Philosophy. So technically she’s going from 3 upper-levels to 4-1/2. There’s just no way around it. If she was a fledgling student, I could understand her concern, but she’s just so darn negative!</p>
<p>^^lol. Yes. Track season. Hours in the bleachers to watch 4 sprints/sprint relays. One week we can be bundled up like Nanook, two weeks later we’re slathering on sunscreen and complaining that the concession stand isn’t open because we need water. I will miss basketball season. I will not miss track. Jury is still out on softball.</p>
<p>You haven’t lived til you sat through a gymnastics meet where every girl there does the same routine, to the same music… all day long. You sit for untold hours to watch your child perform for about 3 minutes total. Did I mention you listen to the same music all day long? lol Not only that - lots of little gymnasts look the same - same little figure, ponytail, etc It could be challenging to figure out which one belonged to us. </p>
<p>D now is on the sailing team. Now that’s my kind of sport. It’s kind of like “watching” cross country - they run in the woods - disappear for most of the race then you just see them come over the finish line. </p>
<p>I enjoyed watching the outdoor sports, but at least with basektball you aren’t subject to the weather conditions.</p>