ahhhhh! this is making me sad! hearing all of the college tours for your sophomores. My D23 is my baby. youngest of 4; and youngest in her class at school. . . . it’s hard to face reality. Good job to you for looking at this all with college tours.
we are really budget focused for undergrad after having now paid for 10 yrs of college for our older kids (and upcoming prof. grad school; trying to help out). Our focus now is 1)getting her ACT higher and then 2) finding schools that offer merit besides our state schools. we are flyover midwest; our state has a built in unwritten policy to offer free tuition to anyone with a 31/32 + ACT to keep these kids here.
I do look forward to hearing your tour thoughts though!
@dfbdfb **in 2017 we saw Hamilton in Chicago. Lafayette/Jefferson was played by a Belmont student. We were completely impressed!! I’ve been interested in Belmont ever since.
Yeah no one ever says “U Penn” they always say Penn. “I work at Penn…I go to Penn…it’s close to Penn” but I always type UPenn here to help people that might confuse it with Penn State.
I’ve just started researching because I didn’t want to start anything until the summer. Figured my D needs to focus on AP exams and finishing out the school year. She told me she downloaded an app that asks questions every day so I’ll have to ask her which one it was. She loves duolingo so I figured this was an easy way to get her started. I’ve heard Khan is good but I haven’t looked into it. My oldest did online, self directed course through prepscholar (I believe) and she was able to raise her math score over 100 points which she needed. These things just get pricey and I need to figure out the right balance.
Has anyone done a Oberlin, Kenyon, Denison trip with their child? Thinking that might be something we look into since my D appears to want small LAC in a location that has seasons. Just wondering if anyone had any feedback or tips.
Yes, we’ve done that trip. Kenyon and Denison are only about 30-40 minutes apart, and Oberlin is about an hour and a half from Kenyon. Easy driving, no traffic. If you’re interested in those 3 you might want to add College of Wooster into the mix. I’ve heard some great things. There is a summer visit program with those 4, plus Ohio Wesleyan and Wittenberg. You can visit as many or as few of them as you want: http://www.ohiosixcollegetours.com. Of course you can do individual college visits at each place if you’d prefer.
ETA: I don’t know what this program will look like for summer of 2021, but it does give good information about distance between schools, etc.
Yes - we’ve been to Kenyon once and Oberlin twice. Oberlin is running small campus tours, but you cannot going into buildings. Still very informative and you get the feel for the school.
Dang it. My youngest just rolled her ankle at practice. And its recital weekend. Shes devastated. It was to be the last time her dance team was dancing together. I hate that this happened and that I can’t make her feel better. Shes never been injured before. This sucks.
I haven’t found available tours at any of the schools I’d like D23 to look at, mainly LACs in the Mid-Atlantic. I guess we’ll be trying to fit in weekend tours during junior year. At least she’ll get to see Susquehanna this summer because she’s doing a pre-college program there.
What schools in mid-Atlantic are you considering? Maryland and Virginia are basically opening everything back up by the end of May so I imagine colleges that haven’t yet resumed tours most likely will start offering them again this summer.
St Mary’s College of Maryland (that one I see has just opened up for tours), several LACs in Pennsylvania like Juniata, Allegheny, Gettysburg, Susquehanna, Muhlenberg. A few farther north which at this point will likely be the junior year spring break trip – SUNY ESF, Mt. Holyoke.
She’s already seen the big VA State schools when we toured with S21 but thinks she’d prefer a small school. In state will likely apply to W&M and Mary Washington.
I was surprised to read these places weren’t offering tours, so I quickly checked. Juniata and Gettysburg are starting in-person tours in June. Allegheny, Susquehanna and Muhlenberg are doing them already. You just have to register in advance, and some have limitations (student plus one guest, for example). If you know the dates you’re planning to go, you can register now.
all right - summer starts for my sophomore next week. for her it’s full of lifeguarding, colorado hiking, weight lifting, dance camp, camp with her youth group, and . . . . . PSAT practice studying. Yes, PSAT is at the bottom of her list, but honestly after last summer i can understand her social focus. kids are only teens for a few short years; we are adults for 60+ years.
however, i am going to try to ask her to fit in PSAT studying. You guys know of anything good? Any plans? (I do have a question out on the test prep thread as well. ) i guess specifically i’m wondering if studying SAT tests helps with PSATs. . . . .? or perhaps there’s special PSAT study guides?
My D23 will be doing SAT prep to take it for the first time in late August so I’d hope that would also help her do well on the PSAT. She could just do Khan Academy but I know she will not be great about keeping up with it without outside accountability so she’ll be working with a tutor. My son did a Princeton Review class and that was helpful for him. Unfortunately a class doesn’t work with her summer schedule.
I’m not sure what your D is interested in, but if you do come to Maryland to see St. Mary’s (great rep here in MD!), you may also consider Washington College and McDaniel. I think McDaniel is in the CTCL book. Washington College is on the Eastern Shore while McDaniel is northwest of Baltimore. Washington College might be $$ but McDaniel, from what I hear, is pretty generous with merit aid, even for students who apply test optional w/o sending any scores.
I really wish my kid would be interested in college tours. But admittedly, I just want to travel and see some new places. I’m sick of being around the house for the past year.
@dfbdfb My son’s college audition coach just had an hour long talk from (I think) the head of musical theater at Belmont for his clients. It would be GREAT for music tech. And I walked away (figuratively) thinking that my kid would be very loved and cared for there (despite the fact that he is not Christian). But she did say they are of the mindset of small scholarships to many.
We are planning a week long tour as well. Not sure what is actually open for tours yet. But the plan is Shenandoah, James Madison, Penn State, U Arts, Rider, Temple, and a couple of others that I have forgotten in the same areas.