Interesting article. I liked the questions from the Kenyon AO…and will use them with my daughter during our trip. I also think the guy from MIT was saying one thing in the article, but probably practices something different in his job. If not, then maybe D has a chance at MIT :))
Thanks for posting @CA1543
@CA1543 Our family has never followed that sort of path and I refuse to ever go down it. My kids tend to forge a unique path of their own that fulfills their personal goals.
In the scheme of the big picture, there are really only a handful of schools where that sort of list matters. Most schools only care about GPA, test scores, and core classes completed. (And a whole bunch don’t even have application essays. 
)
Of course, that is where the definition of “good” comes in. 
@4beardolls - my son is applying to 4 selective summer programs and one scholarship with 3 of them due dates this week. Each one of them need multiple essays. If he doesn’t get any, he will try local university labs. He applied two last year, but didn’t get in. I see big improvement in essay writing.
My kids have for the most part been encouraged to take the classes they want not the classes they think colleges want to see. So neither took APUSH after both hated APWORLD but both took extra AP math classes for fun Even the really competitive schools seem like they want kids to do stuff that they care about. It’s just hard to make an impression when kids tend to do the same types of things. Many of the supplement essays were related to what did you do during the summer, what are your passions, and why our school. So some essays were able to be re-used multiple times and others were not at all. Some schools had many many essays that were all unique like UChicago, MIT, Princeton, and Stanford so you really had to care about the school to be willing to put forth the extra time.
Thanks for the article @CA1543.
I just had DS answer the questions from the Kenyon College adcom, which seemed really useful. Unfortunately for shortening his list, his answer was basically “I’ll take the middle ground” for all questions other than the first one. He’s an “I want to be surrounded by really smart kids” person for sure. But, no real insights on lots of majors vs. only STEM, large vs. small, near vs. far. He leaned collaborative, but was OK with competition.
I just looked up some older UChicago essay prompts, from a couple years ago:
Essay Option 1.
What’s so odd about odd numbers?
Essay Option 2.
In French, there is no difference between “conscience” and “consciousness”. In Japanese, there is a word that specifically refers to the splittable wooden chopsticks you get at restaurants. The German word “fremdschämen” encapsulates the feeling you get when you’re embarrassed on behalf of someone else. All of these require explanation in order to properly communicate their meaning, and are, to varying degrees, untranslatable. Choose a word, tell us what it means, and then explain why it cannot (or should not) be translated from its original language.
Essay Option 3.
Little pigs, french hens, a family of bears. Blind mice, musketeers, the Fates. Parts of an atom, laws of thought, a guideline for composition. Omne trium perfectum? Create your own group of threes, and describe why and how they fit together.
Essay Option 4.
Were pH an expression of personality, what would be your pH and why? (Feel free to respond acidly! Do not be neutral, for that is base!)
Essay Option 5.
A neon installation by the artist Jeppe Hein in UChicago’s Charles M. Harper Center asks this question for us: “Why are you here and not somewhere else?” (There are many potential values of “here”, but we already know you’re “here” to apply to the University of Chicago; pick any “here” besides that one).
@2muchquan … Those make my head spin.
It’s been a while since I said hello here.
I have recently come back from the college tour in NY and New England.
Having spent most of his life in CA, DS is reluctant to going to college in the East, which is understandable.
We visited schools in New York (both in the City and Upstate), Boston and some in Maine (Bates and Colby)
At Bates and Colby, DS had an interview with a senior student admission staff. Bates seems especially keen on having an interview even in a Junior year, stressing the role of an interview in their holistic approach. DS was not 100% prepared for an interview and I believe it might be a little too premature to do so. But he has done it anyway and said it went well. I hope the interviewers will understand that a junior who is visiting the school for the first time may not have the deepest knowledge about the school at this stage.
We like both schools very much. They seem to have a great fit with my son and great quality of education. The only problem was they were too far. It took 2-3 hours from Boston by car. (Takes 6+ hours from NYC) 
While the visit confirmed our belief that liberal art schools have better fit with DS, I am not sure if I could send him to Maine. That was my honest feeling. But it is his choice and I will support it.
I have one question that may sound stupid. I somehow heard from those who believe they know the college admission process very well that need-blind may not be truly need-blind. Some even said that if you don’t need an FA at some need-blind school, your admission chance will increase. Is it really true? I know it sounds stupid and funny.
Been away too long!
@2muchquan – I had always heard that Chicago’s essay prompts were quirky, but I had never looked at them. I think my son would LOVE responding to those prompts, but much more so than 'what was your greatest challenge/contribution, etc. The math/coding/linguistics part of him would have no issue with those. Pity he isn’t applying to Chicago!
@jyc1230 – I do not know the answer to your question and I think it will vary by campus and the per capita endowment. I have heard that need blind schools are no longer need blind when it comes to accepting students off the WL.
RE: travel to college. As my son and I sat in Kennedy for three and a half hours waiting for our flight to CA to depart, the point was really driven home how much of a hassle it would be to travel across country to school. Older son is four hours away with bus or ‘ride with friend’ option and it is SO nice to not have to worry about logistics.
@jyc1230 Here is an article that briefly speaks to how one “need-blind” college (Yale) might use information in your admissions file to determine whether an applicant might need FA or not. It’s kind of interesting for other reasons as well. If the link doesn’t work, I will re-post:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mollyhensleyclancy/i-saw-my-admissions-files-before-yale-destroyed-them
@2muchquan, Thanks for the interesting article. So it may imply that the schools could take an educated guess that an applicant would not need FA just by looking at other things on the application.
@CT1417, yes, I did realize how hectic it is to fly between LAX and JFK. DS and I had the same opinion on that at least 
@ca1543 thanks for the article. I saw it posted as well just on the parents 2016 thread too. I asked my kids and just like @Ynotgo S, my D’s both want to be surrounded my smart kids. It helps them to be their best and feel challenged.
I agree with you @eandesmom that teens should enjoy their summer. Vacations, beach, friends, this is the last time they get to enjoy it before joining the real world.
@2muchquan I loved the U Chicago essays. Thanks for sharing
@jyc1230 I feel your pain regarding traveling. We are in Florida and I basically have restricted my kids to stay east of the Mississippi. It’s just too far and when they want to come home for breaks or just need a weekend home, its easier to be on the east coast and fly 2-2 1/2 hours direct rather than 5-6 esp. with layovers. Unless my D’s have been dreaming of going to CA their whole life, there are plenty of schools to choose from on the east coast.
Regarding need blind, I agree with @CT1417 that the WL isn’t need blind. However I have heard that LAC’s will def see if you don’t need FA and that could help with your admissions.
Hi There – thanks for all the feedback on that article - I do think some of the questions are useful to pose to our children!
I hope those going on college tours will report back - I find the experience and the various considerations (be it distance &travel hassle/cost, weather, campus vibe, or more academic or social environment things). We are not doing college tours for this break but will go see CMU in April and need to see RPI and a few others that have been recommended to us!! Seems like some visits will be pushed to summer or August when schools are in session - good thing school does not start till after Labor Day.
@jyc1230 , I hear what you’re saying about Maine feeling remote. I grew up in Eastern MA, and I only went to Maine once. Went to NH and VT all the time, but somehow Maine was just…really far away.
We are also encouraging D17 to stick to east of the Mississippi (although I’ve arbitrarily included Rice in Houston because I think it’d be a good school for her), and she is interested in MA to FL, no midwest and right now she’s saying no south (although we’ve lived in GA for 20 years and her safeties are here in the state).
But, she also changes her mind all the time. Last year it was California here I come, lol. We’ll actually be out in San Fran next month (for fun, not looking at any colleges), and it’ll be interesting to see what the girls think of it.
My son and I visited U. of Delaware this week during his spring break. He thought it was just ok, it really didn’t appeal to him that much, which surprised me. The campus seemed kind of bland to him, and not vibrant. We toured the engineering department and met with a student, and he did like the department and their emphasis on hands on engineering. So he says it is staying on the list for now, because the department is more important than the campus as a whole.
Right now he says he likes Temple better than Delaware, and since the scholarships at Temple are automatic and the ones at Delaware are competitive I wouldn’t be surprised if Delaware ends up off his final list. Four months ago he would have told you he would much prefer a college town school like Delaware to an urban one like Temple, so it seems like he is starting to figure out what he really likes.
@caroldanvers What did you think of Delaware? It’s on my D’s list. I’ve been a little unsure though about whether it meets my D’s requirement of “rah rah” type school. We won’t be able to visit.
@CA1543, if you visit in April, check CMU’s academic calendar. I don’t think classes are in session 4/14-16.
I liked the school more than my son did. I thought it was pretty, and I liked all the green space and brick architecture, he thought it all looked the same. I also think he picked up on a kind of “preppy country club” vibe, which might not be accurate. They also indicated that most freshman (even in honors housing) are in triples, which he was not thrilled with. At all. He didn’t hate it or anything, he just didn’t love it. In terms of rah rah I didn’t get the impression sports were that important on campus.
I agreed with him that the engineering department seems quite good, and it was clear they are putting money into the department and expanding it. I think someone this thread lives right by U. Delaware, maybe she can speak to whether or not my son’s impressions are accurate.
Got in last night from our college tour! Such a fun and exhausting week. Here are our notes for those interested. This is long, sorry ! Feel free to skip. For some background,
Background on D:
-High class rank, full IB Diploma candidate, .large public high school in Tx; wants to get OUT of Texas. This will only happen if she can get merit aid that will at least cut it down to what UT or A&M would be. We’ve had the budget talk so many times she can quote it! She is auto admit to UT and Texas A&M with her stats and those will be her back up schools that we can afford and she would somewhat happily attend. She is currently prepping on her own to raise her ACT (it is high enough for admission, needs to be higher for merit aid). Moderate ECs: camp counselor; regional and state awards for photography and language; she uses her photography to serve in multiple aspects in the community; has a small side business (photography) ; works 8-15 hrs a week at a local restaurant. Just this year she has decided she wants to do bioengineering/biomedical engineering. We have read on CC about this field and understand the pros and cons. She does love math and science, has always loved to create. She has zero competitive summer research/internships. She is just a kid in the summers…working, seeing family, vacations and catching up on reading for pleasure. She wants a school with a somewhat urban feel, good engineering department, more liberal lean and good diversity with kids who are smart and enjoy learning but not in a cut -throat environment. We are total rookies at this process but do have nieces and nephews so we know a tiny bit.
I snagged 80.00 one way tickets on SW to DC so we planned the visit around those tickets (flew back from Indianapolis)
Schools visited:
Johns Hopkins University
-total reach in every way, not really on her list but I’m a medical geek and she had always read about it and we were both curious. We were in the area and needed this visit to excuse her absence for one of the days of our trip.
-this was the day JHU was dismissing for spring break so kids were happy walking around campus and were out in droves! Loved the front “beach area” of campus with students sunning, tossing football, playing music, etc.
-liked the campus, felt serene; campus tour guides were down to earth; loved the library; lots of open study spaces for groups
-admissions process rep emphasized spelling the school correctly “it’s JohnS HopkinS U” lol!
-did not get a departmental tour because of pending break
-had lunch at Boz’s Burgers a block from campus - GREAT! and then almost overdosed on an ice cream cookie from “Insomnia” cookie (apparently they deliver til 3 am to the dorms??)
-a big shout out to the mom at the information session who HAD to name drop “…um, yes I have a question. Can we sit in on a class? Because when we were at MIT they let us sit in on a class.” @-)
The next two days were two days of FUN in DC (neither of us had ever been to DC)
-we did a Segway tour around the national mall. Best memory = D riding in front of me on her Segway down the middle of Pennsylvania avenue!
-National Cemetery, watched the changing of the guard
-a bit of the Smithsonian
-Museum Hack tour (purchased on Groupon) — SO fun! Small group tour with a leader who has a fun and personable understanding of some of the main pieces plus a few fun games. There were three teenagers in the group and ALL of them had a fantastic time.
-Holocaust museum
-I made D do ALL of our Metro line navigating and she did great. We were horrified to read just one day later that the Metro lines shut down completely for 30 hrs!
Monday was a driving day. Small detour to Hershey, PA…had to tour the Hersheys factory. We geeked out and did the “make your own candy bar” thing; then drove to Pittsburgh.
University of Pittsburgh
-stayed at the Quality Inn. Don’t do that! loud, grubby hotel at the bottom of the hill. It did have a Panerra bread restaurant in it which was a plus but otherwise I would not stay there again.
-Pitt: campus is laid out so it is IN the city but not OF the city…it clearly has separate boundaries. Nice buildings with character and not all the same. Highlight is the Cathedral of Learning which is very much actively used by the students and faculty. We went around after the tour looking in all the rooms but most were occupied by recitation groups
-dorm - we saw one of the newer dorms, seemed pretty standard as far as dorms go.Nothing to write home about but not horrible
-Engineering tour - GREAT! According to tour guide, this building had a major remodel recently; all classrooms based on collaborative learning with smaller groups of tables; small group lecture rooms and small labs with students we could see working on projects.
-got to meet with an engineering advisor afterwards to clarify Ds course selection for next year.
-had lunch at The Porch which is on campus but kind of the gateway to the Schenley park area that opens up at the bottom of the campus.
-went to the Phipps garden special exhibition (recreated garden scenes from famous artists like Monet, etc)
-walked around campus some more. Very walkable campus…it’s like the campus IS the city in that portion. So hard to explain. Students walking around in small groups, lots of diversity
-finished up the evening in the cathedral with “Puppy Therapy Night” in the cathedral of learning. At least 15 dogs and their owners just line up and the students plop down and pet and love on the therapy dogs. It was PACKED!
-Pitt will be high on Ds list but only if she can make the merit aid happen and she knows this. Unfortunately, I picked up a school newspaper while we there and Pitt is in the middle of a possible 170 million budget shortfall from the state, so it doesn’t sound like much merit aid will be given out???
-big push on co-op and internship opportunities
-Carnegie Mellon and Pitt almost blend together…so it’s kind of like CMUP ha!
Miami U
-I posted a few pages back about this school. This was a school I added to the list. She didn’t know much about it. They graciously offered a 1:1 meeting with the department chair and D said that meeting went well, she got to meet two students and chat about their research
-campus is in the middle of nowhere. Cows on one side of the campus, tons of Greek houses on campus and zero diversity that we could see after sitting for an hour and watching kids go to and from class. Oh wait, we did see two Asian males. All of the buildings look the same which was pretty and I will admit it is a nice campus…but just in a weird way to both of us. We exited campus the opposite direction and did find like two half streets with shops and restaurants and that disappeared quickly into the farms and cows. D said “let’s get OUT.” So we did.
Purdue
-on spring break
-gorgeous campus…classic looking buildings that don’t all look the same
-new engineering building/library in construction right now. Sounds like it will be amazing
-engineering department tour: led by two females in the IE program; very informative, huge push to be engaged in collaborative projects, co-ops, etc. (is this all schools now? so different from my husbands engineering education back in the day.); got to see the EPIC lab where engineering students are engaged in projects which benefit the community
-D liked the campus, the engineering program and building and felt she could see herself here. Even though the chool was on break, there were quite a few students walking around…good diversity, good area around campus with things to do, etc.