@Agentninetynine I would plot your trip on Google Maps and see what you think about the drive times. Here was a version I did for our trip (not sure if it’s current, but I saved it):
Then, you can play with the order of the cities you are going to, if it’s not a straight line. NO to anywhere is a 6-8 hour drive, I think. So that’s a chunk of time. You’ll just have think it through.
Thanks @dcplanner, that’s what I figured about the scores…
Major celebrating! Gold and best overall non-heritage speaker! She had a judge come up to her afterward and tell her that she first started scoring her as a level 4or 5 heritage speaker until one of her topics made her realize that dd was in a completely different category! 
@Agentninetynine are you planning on driving or flying from Spokane to Seattle if you do UW? The quad is stunning right now at UW, cherry trees are in full bloom so a beautiful time to visit. If you are considering driving, plan accordingly. It is still ski season in the mountains and traffic even not on the weekend over the pass can be backed up so give yourself an extra hour (or 2). I’d also check the forecast to make sure there isn’t snow on the way in the mountains. I don’t think there is but it’s been crazy wet this year which, while it’s made for an amazing ski season, has been horrid for traffic and traveling over the pass.
Local kids started getting their gold envelopes this week so I’d expect the UW to be a busy happy place right now.
Congrats @Mom2aphysicsgeek! That’s awesome! My daughter’s been taking Mandarin for 12 years, and I’m sure she’s nowhere near that level! Is your graduation present to her a trip to Moscow?
@Mom2aphysicsgeek congrats on your daughter! That’s wonderful news
Congrats @Mom2aphysicsgeek outstanding work! Celebrate! You must be so proud that is just wonderful.
Go party with the cows!
What do ya’ll think about leaving tours/visits early if your child isn’t feeling the school at all?
@itsgettingreal17 – do it! You will all be much happier. Just slip out inconspicuously…
@itsgettingreal17 if you’re not feeling it, leave! Who cares what they think at that point if you don’t apply
@itsgettingreal17 …D hopped in the car after her faculty meeting at one university and basically said “let’s get out of here!” Didn’t even make it to the tour or info session. So yes…I would say definitely get out of there if it is a horrible fit.
Thanks for the congrats! Dd is super happy with herself and it was a huge confidence booster.
@2muchquan Ummm, she got this trip and a big ice cream sundae from Baskin Robbins. 
Moscow will have to wait for study abroad. And now it will have to be horses, not cows, bc we are in Lexington (much bigger city!)
@itsgettingreal17 Definitely leave early if you know it’s a bust. The only time I wouldn’t is if there was a scheduled appt with a professor or a dean. Then just make it as quick as possible. Our oldest dd said no to one school as soon as we pulled onto the campus. She wouldn’t even get out of the car!
Congratulations @Mom2aphysicsgeek !!
I thought of a tidbit of info that was shared yesterday that some students might be interested in knowing. The speaker stated that the number 1 major for recruiting for analyst for the gov’t was foreign language literature major. (I found it completely ironic after the KY governor’s comment in the article I linked earlier in this thread. In that article he stated that French literature majors should not be subsidized by the gov’t, only stem majors.)
He said that the same was true for many corporations. He stated that the businesses have found that students who can analyze literature in a foreign language are prime for training what they need them to do bc they are trained analytical thinkers who can understand what is being implied vs what is being said.
Dd talked to him after his talk bc she has been feeling uneasy about not making her major international studies or relations instead of Russian and French with a focus on literature! She loves anything and everything connected to language. Probably only one of a few teens whose idea of fun reading is epic poetry.
Lots for her to think about.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek That sounds really interesting to me, and another focus I would consider if I were to do it all over again. Boy, college sounds like fun. More so than when I went.
Re: Spring trips, I think I know the answer after a few quick searches, but does anyone have experience with your kid and rental cars? I think they can’t drive unless they are on the contract. But, is this just if you’re using the rental car insurance? Or is it a blanket rule. My D is 16, so I don’t believe I can add her to the contract at any rental company yet, it seems like 18-25 is a range I saw. It would be nice to get a little highway driving in for her, especially in the mountains. IL is not known for those. Frankly, it’s not known for much.
@2muchquan I’m curious about the car rental too!
@Agentninetynine wrtoe
Oh my goodness that’s a lot of driving, some of it through very rural areas.
So Tulane is your location odd man out.
I’d fly into DC, do Georgetown and American (because DC has good flights in and out of both airports), then drive to Jamestown, then to UNC, then to SC, then if you haven’t all murdered each other by so much road tripping, go to Vanderbilt OR Tulane and fly home from there. THe flights will be expensive because you’re coming and going from two different cities.
If you wanted to fly into Atlanta and starburst the trips, you could do that and cut out virginia and dc, and fly back out of atlanta.
Still an egregious amount of driving, and we are HUGE road trippers. IF it were me, I’d break it into two trips, and have one fly out of and into Atlanta, and one into and out of DC.
We’d leave as soon as she was ready to leave. Why waste time? It’s the same when H and I look at houses to buy-the minute we see something that’s a dealbreaker, we leave. Because we know down the line it’d drive us crazy.
RE: rental cars. I’ve read on a few contracts that under 25 can’t rent. Plus, when I get a loaner from the place we take our cars to be repaired, both places (ford and mercedes) clearly state the loaner car can’t be used by anyone under 25.
When the girls’ vehicle needed new tires and brakes (and rotors, thanks kids for not knowing how to coast or go around corners slowly >:| , they couldn’t drive the loaner vehicle.
Both daughters were at UGA this weekend for the TSA state championships. Both girls said that it solidified their desire to go to a college that was walkable and had fun stuff around it vs. cornfields. Neither actually want to go to UGA, but they did like that “type” of campus. Older D has spent summers at Duke, and she said it was the same sort of feel, lots of walking but lots to do. Younger D spent summers at Tech and said it was easier to walk around UGA because it was a little more “relaxed”.
My Midwest D is only considering colleges in the Seattle /Portland area ideally about 15,000 undergrad. We’re visiting Seattle University, University of Washington, University of Portland, Portland State University and Western Washington this week.
We did leave another visit after an hour due to too much sports culture, too close to home, too much winter etc. No point in lingering if she hates it.