@inthegarden when S19 was a sophomore, I told him we were visiting Ohio for Kenyon and Oberlin and Denison and he said and I quote, “No way I’m going to school in Ohio. I’m going to Duke.” Lol!!
Ended up he thought both Kenyon and Denison were beautiful.
That’s funny @homerdog. He ended up in another cute town, though!
I doubt Kenyon will be for her. We’re mostly going because it’s on the way. A little reachy, probably, and I don’t think she’ll want to be in a place with NO town, even if it’s beautiful. And if she gets in, the “life of the mind” vibe I anticipate at Kenyon may be a little too much of a good thing for her tastes. Some push in that direction would be great but she’s probably a little more mainstream, though not heavy party mainstream, either. This is so difficult!!!
Complicating this, I think she and her boyfriend are sort of plotting to go to school together or at least to nearby schools (didn’t I mention this already?) I have not wanted to start a war by prohibiting it, but she knows I don’t want her to go to a school that is otherwise not her preference or best fit because of a SO. I think college is a time to start with a clean slate in terms of relationships, friendship, everything (and to come back to the old relationships later if they’re meant to be) but I’m not going to start a polarizing war over it. Fortunately, if it all comes to pass, he’s a fine young man who also wants a small school and is very academic (got an 800 in math first try, no prep! Much lower on ERW so he and D are like near-matching mirror-image bookends! Too bad they can’t combine their scores). Since males often have better results in LAC admissions and he has strong ECs my fear is that they will apply to all the same places and he will get in but she won’t. I mean, how many students from this little-known high school will any given school admit?
@homerdog LOL, my older child thought the same about Ohio before visiting. To me, small towns in Ohio don’t look all that different from towns in the mid Atlantic. Granville is very cute and the Denison campus is beautiful. In fact, I liked every school in Ohio that we visited.
I’m enjoying the discussion on the Ohio schools. Our spring break trip will likely include at lease 2 of the Ohio 5. Provided I can get our son to narrow them down. Probably choosing between Oberlin, Wooster, and Denison, but those my preferences, not his. I’m envious of those with schedules locked down already; our son still doesn’t seem ready to consider it yet. Meanwhile, time keeps ticking…
S21 will not consider schools in Ohio. He really dislikes the State of Ohio for some unknown reason.
@homerdog Wooster had a cocktail hour something like that for parents at an Open House Event we went to in November - we were able to talk to several different people at the school that way (deans, professors, admissions officers, etc.) and had some wonderful conversations.
I have read recommendations for doing visits that aren’t during open houses/events, but I was glad to have the extra experiences we had at Wooster as a result of being there for a 2 day event. We did Denison just as an individual visit and, unfortunately on a weekend so no class visit, and we all liked the school but just didn’t feel we got to know it as well as we did Wooster.
S21 had no issues with Ohio. 
But then he is looking for something in cold weather, and my husband is originally from western PA, so I think the feel of the towns on our Ohio college visits seemed familiar due to many visits to rural/small town areas in western PA to visit family over the years.
Our trip to Ohio with S19 was really eye-opening when it came to Ohio. Why do these kids not like Ohio? S19 had no good reason. And, I’m telling you, it was so pretty. The drive from Denison to Kenyon is gorgeous and, shhhh, we had so much fun doing just a little speeding and flying over the hills out to Kenyon. We envisioned Ohio as flat but it was not. Looked more like what I think of when I think of Kentucky. Lots of rolling hills at least in southern Ohio.
Maybe it’s the “middle of the country” thing for OOS kids and Ohio. Ohio just doesn’t sound like a place that would be interesting to go to school. These schools aren’t in big cities, not in warm-weather, not near an ocean or a mountain. A town in the middle of Ohio just doesn’t sound appealing until you get there! It’s not like the corn fields of Iowa. No matter how much we liked Grinnell, that was really the middle of nowhere. The Ohio LACs feel much more wooded and lush compared to Iowa.
@nichols51 I agree. I like the bigger events. The kids get to meet other students who are considering the school. It’s very helpful for them to meet other kids their age and talk about what they like or don’t like about a school. Many times they also talk about where else they are applying. It’s just a good thing. Then they can also see if they could picture themselves going to school with those kids. Any time you can visit a place where they separate the kids and the parents, you learn so much more.
@Aguadecoco I posted this thought some time ago on the “Stupidest Reasons Kid Won’t Consider Schools” thread, but my DC18 wouldn’t apply to any Ohio schools because Lebron James was born, raised and played for the Cavaliers (at the time). Obviously, a big local sports fan here in the SF Bay Area.
Looks like DC21 will follow along with the same program.
@homerdog I agree with you! I had never visited Ohio before I toured colleges and it was a pleasant surprise. I also recollect some fun driving on those rural roads between Kenyon and Wooster. I liked Minnesota too, but then again, none of these trips took place in the dead of winter.
We were never able to fit any of those admitted students weekends into my older kid’s busy schedule. They sound like fun, especially if there are cocktail parties arranged for the parents.
My d21 is more interested in mid to large schools. It will be interesting to see how they compare to the LACs that were the focus the last time around.
Ohio is pretty, but both my brothers live there and complain how gray it is in the winter. My S21 is looking at Case , so we’ll see . .
Our Spring break tour is looking to be more PA focused – Pitt, Carnegie-Mellon, Lehigh and, possibly, a trip up to WPI in MA.
He’s already visited NC State, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech and Case Western (as mentioned). The only other schools he’ll visit before applying are Clemson, NC State (again; he only did the engineering info session), UNC, and possibly Cornell. The latter is mostly to see a buddy who goes there, but he’ll tour b/c why not. It’d be a big reach, along with Carnegie Mellon, unless his ACT score really surprises us. But he wants to tour them and I don’t want to send the message that I don’t think he’d ever be able to get in, so. . .
Oh – and @homerdog - he might tour Davidson just to see his sister! 
I would be shocked if he decided to apply though – LACs are not really his scene.
Depending how these visits go, he may apply to a couple places he hasn’t visited: GT and Purdue, and then if accepted and serious contenders, he’d visit. GT is another huge reach – according to Naviance, a ton of kids at our school apply and very very few get in.
@AlmostThere2018 Oh I don’t know if Ohio is any more grey than any other midwestern state in the winter. Or Pittsburgh for that matter either! Sounds like your S is looking at a lot more cloudy/cold states than your D!
I hear you about applying some places that haven’t been visited. I mean, we can only do so much visiting. Especially if the school doesn’t track demonstrated interest or if it truly is hard to get to from here (looking at you, Colgate) then we won’t go. Honestly, if D gets her ACT/SAT up and loves Wake and/or Richmond on our trip, then I think she may not even see any other schools. After last time, I’d rather simplify things. She could maybe apply ED to one of those and ED2 to the other if need be. I mean, we could fly to Colgate or Villanova or Tulane but those are major trips to visit just one school. As for the safer schools I think she might like, I don’t think she’ll need to show much interest other than visiting with the AOs that always come to our school in the fall. She’s already signed up for mailing lists for all schools she’s even remotely considering.
I feel like we toured way too much with S19. I loved it but it was overkill. He visited eleven schools and four of those trips were via plane. I’m pleased that our NC/VA trip can hit four schools in one trip that I think she’d like.
We have looked at a few LAC, S21 loves the small size, but diversity at these schools is an issue for him.
We found Macalester to be more diverse than most LACs and the population of the Twin Cities is quite varied. Another plus was that the Minneapolis/St Paul airport is easily accessible and large enough to offer numerous flight options. It gets cold but has a lot of sunny days in winter.
Clark U (Worcester, MA) might also be worth a look. Like Mac, it has a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and globalism.
Both offer merit scholarships. Clark is test optional, including for consideration for merit scholarships, which is fairly uncommon.
Thank you @mamaedefamilia. I will have him check those out, never heard of these two schools before.
@AlmostThere2018 I wanted to take S21 to tour Case Western but couldn’t get him interested. Sounds like you’ve toured a nice mix of schools. Right now S21’s set on VT and doesn’t really want to look at anything else. I hope he doesn’t end up changing his mind in the middle of senior year!
@Aguadecoco what about Trinity University in San Antonio? You’re in TX right? Not sure about diversity. It’s small and I believe they give good merit.
@homerdog he didn’t care for Trinity when we visited, no real reason just said he didn’t like the campus.
So far he is only interested in UT and if he doesn’t get in (we don’t know yet if he will be auto admit) I don’t think he will stay in TX for school. Rice he really likes, but is a reach for everyone and also a stretch financially based on the NPC.
Just got back from our Spring Open house and College Fair night and here are my takeaways:
•my kid turns into a completely different person when I’m not around it seems (For the good…he goes into silent brooding Mr moody pants Mode when I’m in his vicinity…nice to see he’s fun and congenial and talkative with everyone else lol)
•TAMU is still the front runner
•I’m about to become really poor really fast
This is all happening so fast, gah!
@JESmom – VT might be my son’s top choice too right now. The campus is so nice, and he just got a really nice vibe there. It’s about 3.5 hour drive from us so that’s easy. And in the mountains which he loves.
He liked Case but he’d have to get some merit $$ which I think is getting harder to come by each year. It’s the smallest school he’s toured so far which has some advantages for engineering in terms of attention.
Right now I’d say his top choices are VT, NC State, and Case. I think Wisconsin would be good option, but I think the really cold winters have moved it down the list. Also, we have gotten the impression during info sessions that a lot of engineering recruiting is regional and he’d rather be East or West Coast. Don’t see him staying in the upper midwest.
@homerdog – this time seems easier to me b/c my S is more focused than my D was. She was looking at big, medium and small schools from MA to CA!
S will take his first ACT end of Feb. through school. He’s doing some tutoring now; fingers crossed.