Please report back about your Butler visit. Thanks!
I think that is the best college swag/present/non-financial enticement to attend that I have ever heard about. It brought tears to my eyes. Thatās an amazing testimony to what kind of school they are that they would even think of this as a marketing material. I hope finances work out for all that want to attend.
5 Likes
Will do!
2 Likes
DD23 is narrowing down her options and two that are now at the top are U of Iowa and U of Utah. We visited Utah last year and will be going to Iowa in Feb.
Anyone have any information you can share about visits or experiences with Iowa? We are hearing great things about the campus, town, school spirit and are comfortable with the academic programs sheās considering.
7 Likes
My D23 was accepted to UMaineās Honors College. 
21 Likes
Fantastic accomplishment!
2 Likes
Congrats! How was your daughter notified?
2 Likes
She got a letter in the mail. If there was anything in the portal, we missed it.
2 Likes
Postcards today from the two schools that love sending my daughter stuff every week:
1.) Central College (Pella, IA) and 2.) Linfield College (in OR suburb of Portland).
Central is probably more than once a week. She has not applied to either albeit briefly considered Linfield early in the process.
Did my D just randomly get in their list or does anyone else get lots of mail from Central?
4 Likes
I think itās weird when we get mailers at this point in the process. D23ās apps were done in November. She wants to study marketing and sending out info now seems like poor marketing.
Anyhow, spoke to her last night and her top two are Suffolk and Endicott - she really wants Boston area. Unless College of Charleston comes through. Iām not sure if I want her to go there or not. Itās 12 hours from here, so a flight. We are in NJ and most likely sheāll be job-hunting post graduation in NYC. I really loved CofC when we visited, but prior my impression was that it was more of a country club/finishing school. I think that was an outdated perception but I still worry about it. And if Iām honest - Iām more worried she would stay in SC after graduation. Worry, worry, worry - must work on that in my end.
3 Likes
Did she visit Endicott? Beautiful campus and Beverly is a cute town, but def a hike from Boston (we live very close to Endicott). D26 is actually doing a cheer clinic at Endicott in a couple weeks 
Suffolk is right in the middle of it all which is nice.
3 Likes
No, she has not been to Endicott or Quinnipiac yet. We are going to Endicott for an academic major day in Feb - and will probably swing by Q on the way there or back. I want to see it - of course all the info makes it sound like Boston is very accessible, but is itā¦she is torn between wanting to be right in the city and worrying about not having a real campus/traditional college experience. She has a car sheād bring there sophomore year and sheād be able to drive to VT to ski on weekends if Endicott turns out to be the choiceā¦good to have choices.
2 Likes
Yes she absolutely could have amazing weekends if she brings a car to Endicott. It is one of the things we love about living on the North Shore- tons of easy trips easily accessible. There is also the commuter rail that goes into Boston with a station about 3/4 mile from campus. Goes straight to TD Garden putting you in the middle of everything. It just takes some planning. And if worse comes to worse, there is always Uber. With 4 kids piled in they can split the cost and it would be cheaper than the commuter rail. Campus is def beautiful.
3 Likes
My son just received his acceptance to UMaineās Honors College. Do you know much about it?
5 Likes
Only what I know from googling. It seems like it involves a civilizations course sequence that lasts maybe two years which will cover their general ed requirements because it encompasses history, literature, art, etc.
There seems to be a āclassicā version and a āflourishā version which, if I understand it correctly, is guided by the interests of the class.
What I saw in the website gives the impression that the flourish is geared to a lot of self-reflection. Itās sounds good but when I thought about it more, I had mixed feelings. I donāt know if itās always beneficial to put a kid in a position that might force them to examine their beliefs too much if they are not ready for it, possibly if they might be potentially unsettled being far from home the first time. Sometimes that is better done gently and naturally based on the kidsā own drive. I say this because one of my kids had what she called an āexistential crisisā by taking a class that completely challenged the beliefs she grew up with, very unexpectedly. She was the most independent-thinking of my kids, not exactly rebellious, but liked to push the limits. So none of us anticipated that this class would send her into a dark hole, complicated by the pandemic and having medical problems concurrently. She was fine but the timing for something like that could have been better if it was going to happen at all. Iām probably projecting too much, but it was like, wow that sounds amazingā¦but wait, I might think it would be amazing for me, but would it be amazing for her, right nowā¦?
I wouldnāt mind someone else checking out the website and telling me I read way too much into it.
Thereās a thesis requirement with honors.
The perks I saw were housing and the honors building/lounge. And the outdoorsy trips.
My D22 seems interested in exploring by taking a variety of courses so she seemed less interested. Our only personal experience with honors is Rowan Honors and they had a really interesting variety of courses. UMaine is set up very differently.
1 Like
Thoughts pls -
Accepted-
Michigan State
ASU
Xavier
WVU
Pitt - not main campus so itās a NO
Penn state - not main campus so itās a NO
Deferred to RA-
Marquette
Univ of Oregon
Waiting-
Univ of Cincinnati
Loyola Chicago
LSU
Univ of Washington (extreme reach)
1 Like
What major? What is your student looking for in a school/program? Those schools are widespread so does distance play for or against any of them?
1 Like
Xavier would be our sonās first choice but too far for him. We are in MA so about 13 hours away. I believe the airport is about 20 or so minutes from Xavier. If we could pick up the school pluck it in a 5 hour radius, he would be going there.
2 Likes
So. Weāve heard from what we think will be our D23ās top choices minus UW seattle and Udel which are RD.
After all that waiting for EA decisions we are now trying to figure out our next steps regarding possible admitted student visits and also trying to negotiate more money.
For the money, Iām thinking we need to wait until closer till May 1st. Her top choice is currently too pricey but other students did receive higher merit offers so I think there might be room to negotiate. But if we arenāt able to get the cost down by at least a little then I donāt think we can justify the cost. There are also a couple of good options within our budget too luckily. We wonāt qualify for anything via FAFSA. There is one private school that might possibly give us an institutional grant - they required a CSS profile and we do have some unique expenses they might consider.
For now, I guess we will forward her perfect first semester grades to all her schools and think some more about next steps.
These are my musings this evening. I feel like we are at a bit of a standstill but hope for wisdom to develop and prevail over the next month or two.
3 Likes
Thought this might be of interest!
4 Likes