6 applications submitted in the past 24 hours. All letter of recommendation have been requested, transcripts and scores sent to all schools. Just waiting on September 1 for LSU, Auburn, U of Washington - Seattle and Florida State to open. Then we wait and wait and wait.
I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to explain C’s in math. Not just 1 year but 9th, 10th & 11th. There’s no particular excuse, it’s just my S worst subject and he did his best, but it is lower than all his other grades. He is asked to explain any grade below a B in a supplemental essay. Thanks.
Glad I didn’t have to explain the D’s and F’s I made in math.
@CB04 - I think you just did explain it, lol. I would simply own it and say Math is not my best subject, I did my best and in this instance my best was a C. There is nothing wrong with a C, a C is average, it is not failing, it is not below average. Explain any particular things that he may have done to improve his grade, extra studying, going in for help with the teacher or a tutor. We cannot all excel at every subject and there is nothing wrong with that.I would point out that he has consistently gotten a C in Math, consistency it important.
“I’d like to get a BA from you…”
So we’re done with touring for the summer so I thought I’d share: 7 schools on three occasions, (two of them were just walks through the campus, one of which we’re not applying to) no negative reactions to any of them… (perhaps he just really wants to get out of the house). [I only attended some of these with my S so the other schools’ reports are second-hand. And more importantly, these are merely impressions from wide-eyed education tourists!]
Occidental - (self guided tour on summer weekend): Very nice campus, unfortunately we did not get to go into any of the buildings. Located between Pasadena and Glendale, it’s closer to the Rose Bowl than UCLA. Short drive to burger/pizza joints, Korea/Chinatown, Caltech, Griffith Park, Hollywood sign, and Dodger Stadium (if that is your thing). Being that numerous movies and tv shows have been filmed at Oxy, it felt quite familiar as a “campus in california”. Some of the buildings were set on the hills a bit which added to the look and feel. The immediate area is actually residential; a stones throw beyond that are the main drags of Eagle Rock and York Blvds. There are shops of interest (to a college student) here and there along these streets, with interesting clumps here and there as well; further down York is the Highland Park cluster of shops. So when they call it urban, it’s not like George Washington in DC, but more like most of LA, a short bike or drive away can get one to a lot of different foods and goods. S liked it, but we need to go back for a clearer picture of the students and culture.
Wooster - (info session + tour): Liked the campus and thought the students were nice, friendly and happy. Presentation stressed the IS program and how the Wooster experience guides students to be able to produce a meaningful and high quality senior project. Left with a sense that the school was solid, stood out due to IS, and the other aspects felt in-line with other schools we visited. Students felt a tad more free-spirited(+quirky?). The town has a small mall and a number of shops; Cleveland is pretty close though for more specific needs.
Denison - (info session + tour): Campus was beautiful and students/tour guides were stylistically mainstream (but clean cut). Investment is evident in their facilities. The general feel was that sports were a bit more emphasized as was a sense of school unity/spirit. Academics look solid and they are continuing to increase appeal for strong students; academic/general support is readily available when needed. Interesting mix of an increasingly diverse student body that still maintains a tad more preppy/sporty feel vs a school like Wooster. Access to Columbus is good and easy (shuttles, etc); S was impressed with some cool shops/stores/areas there.
Kenyon - (info session + tour): Campus was beautiful (yes, summer in the midwest is pretty nice). Institutional traditions and history were emphasized and left a positive impression. Geographical diversity is high (I believe only 12% are from Ohio, their most represented state), but students mostly seemed to have upper middle class backgrounds (just a hunch). Their high regard for / emphasis of good writing and communication was noted. It also felt as if students were encouraged to be self-advocates to a greater extent than at some of the other schools. The students on the panel seemed to have made most of their experience there and were happy about it. Gambier is… well, it’s more effective to think of Mt Vernon as the nearest town, and there are plenty of shuttles.
Carleton - (just walked through): I took my S on a quick jaunt through campus as we had a sunday afternoon to burn. It really was a great day and the campus showed itself well. Their chapel was quite pretty, as was the Bald Spot and their two lakes. There was a bit of construction (seemed more like renovation) but it did not detract from the overall feel. The location is closer to the center of Northfield than its neighbor St Olaf and the campus feels like it blends into the surrounding neighborhood. Reputation is a quirky/smart student body and speaking with the locals, it seems to have a lot of their respect. Not a match for my S but I’d be happy if it were. S merely shrugged his shoulders 
St Olaf - (info session + tour): Very nice campus (the dorms were good not great) that is slightly set apart from the center of Northfield (but lots of easy ways to get around town). We liked the families of other prospective students that we met, and that friendliness showed itself throughout the school as well. Our tour went all over but felt a little disjointed so we didn’t see all we wanted to see. However the facilities are nice and the food is good as advertised. The guides/students were great and had a range of personalities, albeit more often than not a “clean-cut” vibe; we should have come when school is in session to check out diversity, but our feel was that St Olaf had more of a “traditional” LAC mix of students in that regard. Northfield’s restaurants are good at what they do, but presently the types of international cuisine is slightly underwhelming. But the ones there are good and Minneapolis/St Paul is not too far away.
Macalester - (info session + tour): We liked the campus although it has a different appeal than most of the others. This one is an enclave, but parts of the city’s amenities really do come up to its borders. (Not the typical urban grittiness; but all the buildings do require cardkeys). Dorms were nice but felt older (actually dorms at most schools we looked at seemed to be the last thing renovated) The guides/students were well selected and quite good (they had an independent vibe yet spoke of the various groups they’re in often). They felt like PNW students I’ve met in the past: laid-back but capable of “bringing it”. Perhaps that is the norm for Minn/St Paul. They split up the parent/student tours which was nice. Prospective students came from all over; very geographically diverse, in fact MN is not the top state represented in the student body… I found that interesting, but it does align with their international/global vision. They have what felt like a calm, progressive nature. One of the local parents did mention that amongst the MN private schools we looked at, this one was the one with the most colored hair (Carleton being second and St Olaf having the least rainbowed hairdos)
Son like them all (but didn’t care about Carleton since he’s not applying); we probably have to go over the chances of being admitted to the more selective ones with him, as well as lifting the hood a bit more on the depts at each place. As parents, our take-aways mostly affirm what many here have been saying about these schools, so we were comforted by being able to confirm what we’ve heard.
Now, we return to back-to-school prep and essays!
Oh and we also went to the CTCL fair in Santa Clara. It was crowded (I think there were ~600 people, so guessing ~400 students?) but fun and got to grip-n-grin with the reps. The introduction was fun, and I thought it made the kids relax and enjoy the experience more with their parents. We went to chat with the CTCL schools we couldn’t visit. They’re quite nice and boy they work hard.
@chippedtoof , thanks for the account of your travels. I really enjoyed it.
@MACmiracle, you are most welcome!
@chippedoof, your insights are similar to mine re: Denison, Wooster and Kenyon. I was happy to read about Carleton and Macalester. Not on this dd’s list, but was on my oldest son’s and I never got the chance to visit. Thank you!
@chippedtoof: Great post! I’m down in LA with S18 to look at Loyola Marymount (LMU) today. You got me motivated to then run over to Occidental area and take him by Hollywood, etc. too (though it is Friday so traffic may dictate otherwise.) We did spend some time yesterday in Santa Barbara to get LA’s best foot forward to him. I’m bummed we missed the Santa Clara event you referenced as it would have been 2 birds…
@lisabees It’s my pleasure I’m just relieved to hear alignment on impressions… it makes it feel more real vs just being in our heads.
@rwmannesq I hope you have fun at LMU, and yes Occidental might be doable on the way back as it’s just off of I5 to 10 and then 1 or 2 exits away.
We’re hoping to squeeze in a PNW trip soon, but we may never be able to hit Boston or Pennsylvania. Did anyone visit Clark (Worcester) and Muhlenberg recently?
@chippedtoof thanks for the post. Always looking for these things
@chippedtoof We visited Muhlenberg a few month’s ago. My son and I both had positive reactions and he is going back for an interview. While Denison didn’t resonate with him (think it was the hill lol), Wooster did which came has a surprise to him. It will be an interesting year for many!
What a day in LA traffic. Actually not as bad as Hwy 4 in Bay Area…traffic at least moves and people let each other in! Didn’t get done w/ the LMU tour until after 3 pm, so afterwards went directly to Hollywood for some fun and sushi.
LMU made S18’s list. Kind of similar to Univ. of San Diego though a little more spread out. Beautiful campus and gorgeous day. 80 degrees w/ cool breeze coming up from the ocean. Perfectly manicured lush grounds in the quintessentially Southern Cal manner. AND WHAT AN INCREDIBLE VIEW OF LA AND THE BEACH!!! Wholly crud, wow!
So in Tier 1 we have UW-Seattle, though it’s a reach school. Tier 2 we have LMU, USD, and Univ of San Francisco. S18 agrees that if he somehow gets accepted to all 3 T2 then we go w/ who gives any/most FA (won’t be need based for sure.) Still need to visit Santa Clara Univ. and Univ. of Portland, both of which I anticipate making Tier 2. Would like him to see Gonzaga as well.
Tuesday, we check out Sonoma State (CSU Sonoma.) Already saw UC Merced and still need to visit UC Santa Cruz though we’ve been to Santa Cruz Beach frequently over the years. Man, the cost savings if he could somehow get interested in the state schools :-?
He’s tutoring for his last SAT attempt 8/26 and school starts a week from Monday. I am waiting to see if the school is good for doing the essay first thing like they claimed. Might regret this decision later but I think there’s time still. Will have him work on the Common App then too. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts…
@rwmannesq sounds like your family’s plan/admission strategy in coming together nicely! I am interested to hear about Santa Cruz it has been a dark horse on my list for over a year. DD decided to cut CA all together, but I am still interested to hear what you think.
DD was accepted to Ole Miss yesterday.
@labegg: Accepted already? Exciting and Congrats! Must be quite the relief.
I don’t think any of the schools we’re looking at are even accepting apps yet nor do any provide notice of acceptance until December at the earliest. S18 heard about EA yesterday and wants to do that so he can hear earlier. I guess he is interested…
@labegg: already? Congratulations!
Phew! Had to duck out of the Regular CC posts and get back here to the normals. I made the mistake of posting something in the general forum which I thought was, you know, like a regular question/comment. All these intense types start storming the gate with Ivy this, and nobody has to do that. Someone please remind me there’s still hope for our kids? :)>-
^^They’re going to be more than fine