Went on a couple of real-life college tours yesterday with my son, first ones since February! It was nice to get out even if they weren’t exactly normalcy.
First up we went to Colgate which is doing guided outdoor only tours. It was cold, windy, and snowing, but still quite nice. The academic and frosh/soph residential quads are pretty compact which is nice since the university is on a giant hill. But the distance to upperclassman housing and the athletics complex make it feel like a big school, despite only 3000 students. Don’t get me wrong, it’s no Penn State, but it didn’t feel small. Our only similar sized college visit was to Lafayette and Colgate feels bigger. Colgate is certainly far from anything, however. Chipwich given to all on the tour was a nice touch…apparently chipwhiches are a Colgate tradition. Student interest plays no part in admissions at Colgate, and the admissions officer pretty clearly stated the only way to show interest is by applying ED, which we aren’t doing, so I’d say odds of admission are pretty slim particularly since his stats are right in their target range. Maybe his essay will stand out.
However, the main reason for making the drive up from Philly was to visit Hamilton. Their tours are self guided but you do check in at admissions so it shows interest. He’s already interviewed and attended virtual sessions as well. I personally loved Hamilton. Wonderful campus, students “looked” more quirky than those a Colgate which I think is a good fit for our son. I know, hard to judge by looks, particularly on a snowy day, but certainly had more of a vibe to it than Colgate. It’s one of his top choices. Unfortunately, building are all off limits to visitors due to COVID, but the science building is enormous which is nice as he’s going for Physics. Most other campus buildings are what I’d call right sized. Not tiny, but no huge hulking masses. He doesn’t give much feedback on campus looks and feel but he seemed happy with Hamilton and it remains high on the list.
@sccaflagger74 How exciting to actually visit campuses! Good friend and classmate of S’s (since pre-K) is choosing between applying to Hamilton or Bowdoin ED. He hasn’t been able to visit either in person, but he is definitely on the “quirky” side (as is S) so Hamilton sounds promising, and probably a better ED target.
S applied EA to UDel for engineering at the last minute. I don’t think it will be S’s vibe (again, he is most definitely quirky), but they do have a well-respected engineering school and it’s only an hour from Philly, so it’s worth consideration. We figure we will be able to drive around Newark, DE and see the town at least. I wanted S to look at Lehigh or Lafayette but he’s not interested in what he considers “small schools,” nor schools big on Greek life, nor schools “in the middle of nowhere.” At this point it’s really about what S doesn’t like. Makes things easier I guess!
@eb23282 Yeah, you’re right, I probably helped a little too much on that one but it wasn’t much more than if I sat with her and made suggestions. I just tried to tighten it up for her, I didn’t write a new essay or anything. But yes, I would help edit when she was in college if she asked. Then again I can almost guarantee she won’t ask, she is very independent and normally doesn’t like when we give suggestions.
@sccaflagger74 Nice that you go too do some tours! We only got to do one (Elon) and even though we could only go in one building it was nice to have a bit of normalcy during this process.
@momandslp My son is a senior at UDel and he is definitely quirky! He found a terrific group of similar personalities and has really thrived there. It’s a very eclectic campus, very diverse. Because we live in DE, a lot of local kids end up there. And every year it ranges from our valedictorian to the sports star to the theater kids. They really have something for everyone.
@JanieWalker , glad your D can look at her midterm. It doesn’t sound like her English professor is assigning papers (or if he is, she is already doing well on them). But if that’s not the case, I had a suggestion. My D19 did not do well on her first paper in a philosophy class. For the second one, she asked the professor whether he’d be willing to look at an outline, and then a rough draft to see if she was on the right track. The professor said yes. He marked up her outline and then marked up her draft, making all kinds of suggestions for her thesis, what books she could use to make her point, etc. It was very helpful.
@tellis6653 Thanks for that info on UDel! Glad to hear about your son’s experience there - I think one of the many advantages of a larger school is that you can usually find your “people.” In fact, one of the quirkiest students I know (and love) is about to graduate from Penn State and wants to stay there for grad school! S is a science/theater/chorus nerd, so those are his “people.” It looks like they have some interesting LLCs at UDel too.
@momandslp Well, if he ends up at UD, tell him to make sure he checks out HTAC. Its a theater company. My son wasn’t really into theater in high school but one of his roommates was and got him involved with HTAC. It is a really terrific group of talented young people. They are a close family and do lots of activities outside of rehearsals and performances too. Good luck to your S, no matter where he lands!
@tellis6653 Thank you for the info on HTAC! I will tell my son. This forum is so helpful and reassuring; there is always someone out there to answer questions and provide info. I know 3 UDel students and not one is into theater, but then…poof…you mention theater!
@eb23282 That’s not totally true. This whole process we have shared Google Docs - she writes, we edit using that suggestion feature, she rewrites, we sit down and go over it together. So she knew we were going to look at it, she didn’t come out and ask, “Can you look at this specific supplemental” but she knew we would, it’s been the same way for all of her essays. Maybe that’s overstepping and wrong to you but that’s the way we’ve been working all along.
@H0llyw00d I can only speak to UD, but I have only seen the threads for previous years. I can tell you no one has heard anything from UD yet. We are in DE and most kids at my D’s high school apply there. If they applied EA, they should hear before mid December. I can’t think of a time when it has been earlier then that.
@H0llyw00d I have been following the UDel thread on College Confidential from last year (class of 2024) and some students were admitted as early as November 5. Two people even claim their portals look different today so maybe were accepted (thread is called Class of 2025 Admissions Decisions ONLY - University of Delaware). Crickets here, but then son only finished submitting documents on 10/30. I keep checking just to distract myself from election news (while also listening to a humorous book on tape), but I don’t really expect son to hear for a while.
@tellis6653 my high stat OOS D18 got an acceptance to UDel about November 9 or 10.
@HOllywOOd UNC doesn’t announce EA decisions until Jan. 30 or so. And as @TVBingeWatcher2 stated Bama rolling. No admission threads that I am aware of.
Infrequent poster here. Mostly because I have little to add. My kid is being frustratingly independent regarding college apps. But shockingly, he did submit two EA apps to reach schools, two to safeties with rolling admissions, and will submit an EA app for a match school this week as well.
But that’s all I know. No option here to read essays. No doubt they are very authentic to him. Very few information sessions attended. Little to no concern about how schools are handling Covid. I’ve finally stopped reading that thread.
To all those other parents of stubborn, independent kids – just know that I feel your pain. This whole process has been a huge lesson for me on stepping back!
@burghdad I stand corrected. That is terrific! Maybe they changed things this year. I have not heard of anyone being accepted in our area yet. My husband is a teacher at the high school and moms of seniors are pretty active on FB regarding college admissions. Congrats to your daughter!
Had a little panic about Wake today. Didn’t realize they only take one teacher rec and the first one sent via Naviance was not the one we would have chosen if D could only chose one. She called Wake admissions and they said no biggie. Have the GC send the second in an email and they will put it in her file. Even though they said one rec and zero optional recs, they will read it.
Then, because I’m just sitting here watching election results come in and Furman has no essay and no fee, I just sent her Common App there.
