@snoozn Sorry about the waitlists. Her overall results were awesome, though! I feel like one year recently Smith took a bunch of kids off the waitlist, so if she’s interested she should stay on. Not sure about WPI. What is her list looking like as far as preferences go?
My daughter goes to an ‘Alumni Grant’ school. The students receive grant aid from a named alum, and has to write a thank you letter to the alum (or family) before receiving the money. I like it because the alums get to know who is directly benefiting from the donation to the school, and the student realizes that someone actually gave the money to the school, that it is not just an endless source of money.
@eandesmom - so sorry about the drama with E1 - I think it’s fascinating that he’s able to talk to friend’s Mom at the concert. Too bad friend was a transfer - is that the student who left Lafayette to go back to West Coast? I had been studying those Lafayette threads for a while, cause on paper it would have been a match, but I think that the fraternities there are a bigger influence than appears at first glance.
Ugh - fingers crossed that 3Q grades hold up - have you considered having E1 take an ACT or SAT again? If you hired a 1-to-1 tutor, even for just 2-3 sessions, his score might go up?
This was so eloquently put! I think most of us are struggling with this issue! I hope the Colorado visit sheds some clarity!
@klinska - yay for overnight visits, even though that drags out the process - I think it helps our kids try to find the “happy” factor. I will be very interested in your D’S take on her LACs in comparison to her other choices.
@tacocat333 - I don’t think you need to worry about hoarding slots - the colleges expect that many, many of the offers they make will be turned down, which is why they offer way more acceptances than actual freshmen slots. I hear you about not wanting to push “decline” too soon!
@kt1969 - sorry for your D about the rejection from Smith, but like Klinska, I hope you’re a little relieved if that avoids any drama from ex pushing prestige over fit. Congrats on 11/12!!!
@Snoozn - bummer about the wait listing at both Smith and especially WPI - I could see WPI joining RIT and Clarkson on her short list. Hugs - but then, 10 acceptances, 3 wait lists and no rejections is really a great result! Fingers crossed on RIT merit review.
I personally am hoping that CoyoteSon will be happy to remove the wait list schools from contention, because we’ve moved from “cast a wide net” stage into “you can only pick one” stage!
That is a well-put quote from @curiositycat333 and why D will probably end up at a slightly above budget school even though she has good in budget choices. In the end, I want her to go to her best fit school since we can afford it if she is willing to take the max federal loans.
@kt1969, actually, we’d already tabled the WL schools, knowing that there was almost no chance they’d be affordable even if she were admitted. She’s down to choosing between RIT and Clarkson and we’re waiting to hear if RIT will bump merit.
@twoinanddone, the alumni grant sounds like a cool idea – I’ve never heard of a system like that before.
Hi all -
Whew - visiting Juniata as an accepted student was a worthwhile trip. Weird contrast though, because CoyoteSon had bubbled over with enthusiasm at Beloit, including detailed texts from the dorm - here, I got the one brutally brief text the next morning telling me where to meet him. In the car, he gave a thoughtful side by side comparison. At first, he thought they were tied, but different (and he did mention that J was closest to home as an advantage - so I’m really glad we went for that reason, so it won’t be something he wonders about - dear hubby and I were really ready to take J off the list based on the accepted students reception we attended here in our local area) - but as he kept talking, he decided Beloit is probably a bit better. (Btw - his first comment was that the professors are great at both schools).
And now our real drama begins - I was up late last night, cause I figured out a low tech way for CoyoteSon to find out all six remaining schools in whichever order he chooses to “open” without having to log into portals or email, which he finds so cumbersome that he would wait for snail mail instead, and I want to get started making spring break travel plans - I put each school’s logo on the front of an index card, and the answer on the back. He’s sleeping very late, a given because he didn’t get much “sleep” on the floor in the dorm last night.
So here’s the news in the order it came in: Carleton - accepted
Brandeis - accepted
Haverford - rejected
William and Mary - wait list
Hamilton - wait list
Connecticut College - accepted, $20K/year merit!
Wow - So 9 acceptances, 2 wait lists, one rejection. Better than sheer numbers - as my thinking evolved, I think Carleton is a much better fit than Haverford. In fact, it was both Hamilton and Conn College where I am still worried about whether he’ll find the video-gaming geeks among all the well dressed, preppy crowd - so yay that we don’t have to visit both!
I can’t believe I was able to keep his decision at Carleton a secret for a few days - so glad I did though, since I would have revealed my huge preference (which is definitely colored by prestige bias, though I hope reflects accurate “Mom instinct” about fit too!) - and this way, I can dance around the room in front of him because he has great choices, and I won’t be revealing or pressuring for any 1 choice. I am a happy, happy camper today, though now the harder work of winnowing sets in!
@CoyoteMom are you waiting for you son to wake up so you can give him the great news? I am laughing at the thought (as my own son dozes on…)
People who are doing, or have done, overnight visits–do you have a view over whether “accepted student days” are more instructive than just scheduling a visit on a random day? I am wondering whether you get lost in the crowd on the big days and maybe get a less accurate picture of what it’s really like, but on the other hand seems like it would be nice for S to get a look at (potential) classmates. Really I have no idea. Would love to hear what you and your kids thought. Thanks.
@93pilots - yes - am on list right now cause CoyoteSon is still snoozing away! I will definitely be advising him to avoid 8am, and even 9am classes! But he needs the sleep, he has a friend coming over to see a comedy show and sleep over tonight, and will have a lot of homework to catch up on Sunday.
Ok - we’ve been to both an accepted students overnight and a make-your own overnight. I think there is a lot of excitement and the red carpet is rolled out - at the two LACs, I did not get the lost in the crowd feel - more like everyone is on best behavior feel, but it felt fun and welcoming. At Mason, the accepted students day for Honors College did make me feel lost in a huge crowd, but that may indeed be representative!
For the college search stage, I think the “open house” days were much more fun and exciting - but as an accepted student, I think an overnight on a regular day might provide a more realistic snapshot.
@93pilots
I tend to agree that it sometimes seems like visiting without the crowds (not to mention the heavy-duty marketing!) makes sense.
However, my niece suggested to us that the benefit of “accepted student days” are that you get to see and meet other students who are seriously considering that school. It made a big difference to her, for example, when she visited UVA and saw how preppy the kids were (“way too many crew neck sweaters draped around the shoulders” or something like that). She left early and never went back! She just didn’t see her ‘peeps’ there, and it didn’t feel like a place where she would comfortably fit in.
@CoyoteMom , I love the index card system! I can’t wait to hear his reaction.
TacoSon just received a swag package from one of the schools deemed too expensive, a Tervis filled with candy (along with a cute note about how he’s on a [tootsie] roll, etc.; very Pinterest). And I just had a call on behalf of one of his schools – from a PARENT, asking to speak with ME. Usually we get the calls from students asking to speak to TacoSon (using his formal name so you know they’re working off a list) and droning about congratulations and let them know if he has any questions, etc. Having a parent-to-parent call was a real breath of fresh air and helped me get answers to a few things I’d been wondering about – and I have to say, it puts this particular school back on the map when I had been subtly pushing it off for being too small.
Yay! CoyoteSon finally got up - made sure he was really awake - first, he was surprised the decisions were all in - we thought some would go right up to March 31.
He liked the index cards - laid out on alphabetical order - although he picked them up in his own order ( I think starting) with those he liked least - so William & Mary elicited a neutral - “huh” - Haverford’s No was greeted with “Good, I didn’t want to go here”, then I lost track - but Brandeis, ConnCollege, and Carleton got very, very big smiles!
He left the dining room with a huge smile - and after about 2 minutes, walked back into the room and sorted the cards into those he’s still interested in - in less than 1 minute, we have his final list:
Beloit and Juniata stay on the list (two index cards in top row)
(And in second row, left to right)
Wheaton College MA
Carleton
Conn. College
I think the one I’m most sad to lose is Brandeis; but he attended an open house there, which included a “mock class” and sat in on two real classes the next day. He’s decided it’s too big; I’m also sad UVM didn’t even get a chance, despite the new Honors College news, but he can only attend one, and he wants an LAC.
So, I’m actually relieved that we have only 3 schools to visit over spring break; and they really are all fabulous LACs with great professors, small classes, opportunities for research and internships. Now CoyoteSon gets to pick based on fit. I am still a very, very happy camper!
and even though it’s Saturday, he’s working on his next big gov’t project, and asked for my help. Hopefully with a few hours of work before his friend arrives today, he won’t be up until 1am finishing it Sunday night! The calculus tutor has been amazing - CoyoteSon is still struggling with homework during the week, but with catch-up learning each weekend, he has an A- for third quarter - yay!
@tacocat333 - wow, very cool swag - gotta love the “on a (tootsie) roll” pun backed up with actual candy! (Though it does make me wonder if their marketing budget is driving up costs!)
But parent-parent phone call does sound really useful and indicative of that personal LAC touch! Whew, now that the college decisions are in, I know I’m feeling less stressed. That may be based on an illusion, but it is based on the fact that CoyoteSon gets to choose from schools that picked him. Yay!
What a great system, @CoyoteMom - you truly created a special event for him! Congrats to all the parents of th Older Kids as I continue lurking for my D19 
@CoyoteMom, if Carleton is still on the list and you have questions about it, let me know.
@CoyoteMom, I love your description of the index card decision system – felt like I was there as he turned them over! He has such great and interesting choices. I’m looking forward to following him as he makes the final decision. Conn College seems the most different from the others, at least from my limited knowledge viewpoint. Oldest D and I visited there and she found it very preppy and kind of like a small school with a big U feel if that makes sense. She also had a horrid interview (with a student intern) first thing, so perhaps she was disposed to find negatives.
@CoyoteMom and @WhataProcess thanks for the advice. That’s a funny story about UVA, and very easy to imagine. (I didn’t know anyone even did that sweater over the shoulders thing anymore. I associate it with the 1980s!)
Tomorrow is our day to start identifying the top choices and figuring out travel. I feel like we left things too last minute but nothing to do about it now. We had a bunch of places where we just said sure, give it a shot, if you get in you can visit. Lots of choices is a luxury problem for sure–I know many on this board have same thing going on and I’m impressed with everyone’s ability to narrow things down. @CoyoteMom I think I am going to try the index card thing to help him sort–too late to create a big moment like you did but it sounds like a useful tool anyway!
@tacocat333 love the Tootsie rolls and candy, that is cute. And the parent call…wow! That was a lot of work for the school to put together I bet, and really helpful.
@tacocat333 interesting on the parent call. I’ve ignored a few calls recently from locations near S17’s schools assuming that it if was anything important they’d leave a message. But now I wonder. Swag is fun no matter what, I wish some were showing up at our house.
@CoyoteMom love the index card idea. These kids who don’t check their own portals or emails kill me! LOL.
is there a significance between the 1st and second row of cards? Are those the 3 he needs to visit? What wonderful news on Calc!!! A very nice list to choose from, that’s significant progress.
@93pilots good luck narrowing down, hoping for some easy to cut ones and a drama free experience.
I like your style, @CoyoteMom! Congrats on your son, he’s got some great choices. We really enjoyed our visit to Wheaton… The campus is so charming, looks like a perfect movie location. All the students and faculty we met there were really kind and enthusiastic about the school.
@CoyoteMom forgot to respond, yes, the friends brother is the one who transferred from Lafayette. He found it to be too “preppy and snooty” in his words lol. Western is definitely the antithesis of that.
@93pilots I also meant to say for us, the biggest help has been 1:1 faculty meetings. Sitting in on classes as well. We’ve only done one admitted student event and it was an info session so less than a full admitted students “day”. He will have one of those next weekend but we are only going because it includes a 45 minute program session. They do not offer the ability for 1:1 meetings or to sit in on a class, at least not that we could find but since @snoozn managed to pull one off I could probably dig into it. He seems to think the program meeting will be enough but I’m not as sure.
Hey everyone -
Thanks for letting me share my index card story, and so much kind feedback (this is such a supportive group! I wouldn’t be surprised if some people just rolled their eyes at a kid who thinks it is too much work to check his own emails and portals!)
@eandesmom - yes, the two rows of index cards were because he's already finished up accepted student visits for Beloit and Juniata. The second row of index cards are the three we'll visit over spring break. Also thanks for confirming - I have to say that I visited Lafayette - and despite one down-to-earth CC Mom who is clearly satisfied for her D, I definitely picked up "preppy" and I'll call it privileged instead of "snooty". Your chipping in with his experience was reassuring for my judgement for my kiddo. (Somehow I squeezed in a visit to Lafayette when I had time off but CoyoteSon was busy, so it was really nice to read another student's perspective).
@snoozn - Oh yes, I totally am expecting that Connecticut College is an outlier - we visited in person over the summer - only met two students leading the tours that day - so on paper, Conn College is a match - only LAC that showed us a classroom for robotics along with their comp sci classes. Love the honor code, which allows students to self schedule their finals. Just liked it more than we expected - so I am hoping for his sake that the spring break visit will show the many many preppy kids, (perhaps with the sweaters draped over their shoulders - loved that image @WhataProcess). The question for CoyoteSon will be if he thinks there is a big enough group of t-shirt wearing, video game geeks for him to ignore the majority. That’s why the overnight visit + sitting in on a class has been key for him to assess fit - so far, all the professors have been great. The reason ConnCollege might be better than Lafayette is that there are no fraternities on campus, which is a plus for CoyoteSon - so, we’ll see!
@rosered55 - I will PM you - Carleton is amazing! I am a little worried about the trimesters - but very interested in any anecdotal info you can share!
Hi, everyone -
The news is still rolling in and it’s so interesting to see how others deal with it.
Techson17 is still at the diversity weekend. He WAS accepted to the program at his interview, so now the school is a top contender. All he will say, however, by text is that it is “fine.” He texted H and said I got into the program, tell mom, NO PRAISE. Then, he texted me to say that he made an appointment for me to call the FA director today (there’s a problem, apparently, with how our FAFSA uploaded) and in it, he said to tell the FA guy that he is the kid who just got accepted into the theater tech program. When I responded, I said I’d call and didn’t mention his acceptance. It killed me but I guess he has to get used to not being “praised for breathing,” which he claims I do! He arrives back in the city about 6 PM. Maybe he will spill some news when he gets home.
SUNY Purchase is off the list, much to H’s dismay because it’s closer to home. H is still planning to go into local school #1 and meet with the FA people personally, but I just don’t see it happening. His grades and scores aren’t good enough for a full tuition ride and even if they do bump him up one merit level (he meets the ACT but not the GPA level), it’s still more than $5K difference per year. As I told H, we could fly him to and from the nearest airport at the upstate school once a month for that difference.
I wasn’t sure if we could do an overnight visit, but last night, H and I had dinner with friends whose son is considering the same school. He and Techson17 have known each other since K but aren’t close friends. However, the boy said he is planning to fly up (news to his dad, from the look on his face!) during April break. I asked if he would mind if my son went up with him. My son has never flown so I was planning to take vacation time and go with him, which would also entail paying for my flight and booking a hotel room. The cost was getting prohibitive. Now, if my son still wants to go, he has a traveling companion who has flown several times before. I will ask him when he gets home.
I don’t know much about many of the schools being discussed but @snoozn, as I think I have mentioned before - every kid I know who went to Clarkson transferred out (only 2 but they were kids for whom the school was the first choice) but every one who went to RIT loved it (about 6 or so, spread over from HS grads in 2007 through 2014). Also, the boy I just mentioned also applied to SUNY Potsdam, which is in the same town as Clarkson. He and his parents (and sister) ALL said the town was awful, vile and boring when we discussed it last night.