Haha my D26 did 6 years of All Star Cheer and competitive dance and is doing neither this year and I feel like I won the lottery 
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Youâre right. It canât feel good for anyone. 
Depending on your level of involvement, maybe you can make that point?? Luckily, my son realized this was the situation at one of his top schools and just removed himself, otherwise I would have been in a pickle about whether to discuss it with him and give my input.
My plan if that happened was to ask him to speak with multiple current students to find out what the experience is actually like. It didnât come to that.
We are back from Vermont!
Vermont is like another country. They use different words like âcreamee,â and every other person is eating ice cream on the street. 
The campus vibe is hippie, earnest, creative, happy, and outdoorsy andâfor someâanti-car.
The airport lines took no time, and there is a HOUSE across the street from the airport.
I am from DC where miles of land surround the main airports, and we have threeânot one. You usually have to arrive THREE hours beforehand and expect to be yelled at by TSA to take your shoes off.
Vermont offered culture shock for me in a good way.
The UVM admitted student day didnât compare to the little SLAC one we attended. I think UVM just doesnât have to try as hard.
23 is feeling the pressure. Since 23 is stressed, we parents decided not to ask for their feedback on UVM for a day so they can process.
The info session for their major was lackluster. They only had one student there to talk of their experience and that wasnât enough. Made me wonder if there are not many students in the major. Meanwhile, the SLAC had numerous students in the major talk about their studies in detail, including many stories of job placement and details about what set their program apart. I would have appreciated a wider range of experiences to be shared.
The general presentation for the entire college in the university was great. They had a musical performance. Excellent job.
They let us wander in the afternoon. We didnât bother seeing a dorm room. Iâm not sure if that was lack of interest on 23âs part or if 23 was eager to get to the Ben and Jerryâs factory tour.
We had fun in Burlington, ate some good Thai and Nepalese food, enjoyed crepes, took the B&J factory tour and ate ice cream (of course!!), and Iâm glad we went.
We might be down to two schools, but 23 could surprise me.
23 said they liked Burlington more than the school. I guess that doesnât rule out UVM yet also doesnât seem great.
If anyone can take a look into a crystal ball and let me know what my kid will decide, please tell me.
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Ah, I guess if I were to count sports and music, it would add up to around 8k for us. Unfortunately, we arenât getting that low of a COA. 
But it really is astounding to think about how much money will not be spent next year.
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Well⊠I think he is able to see these pros and cons. These schools are very different in that regard, but he needs to make the choice for himself. Some kids are energized by the idea of being in a high competition environment. I am trying to communicate to him that I am confident he can succeed at any of these schools, I know that he has what it takes, I will support the decision that he makes and it is up to him where he wants to spend his college years.
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Yes, he was planning to use the money towards books and supplies needed for school. Definitely sound more like prizes to us too and he will be writing his thank you notes soon 
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Right there with you on that one!!! I would love to start moving on to things like housing and travel arrangements 
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Thatâs so good of you, and such a great way to state it. 
Youâre right, our kids understand the pros and cons of the schools theyâre considering. They know what they want. I think, or I hope, my H and I communicated that we were confident in our sonâs abilities. I hope he knows that even though he had to give up some schools, it was solely for financial reasons and not because he wouldnât do great there.
I probably gave him too much general advice, like talking to current students or doing XYZ to find out more. 
Iâm pretty sure heâs rolling his eyes and chalking it up to me being sad that heâs moving away.
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I couldnât believe how much money I had when my daughter finished her dance career
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We went to Philadelphia to attend admitted students day at Penn. the evening before we stayed near campus, ate dinner locally, and walked around. It was nice weather so there were many students and others out. Our DC stopped to talk to students and everyone said they really like it there. Weâd been on prior visits but not beyond the main quad really, so this was a different perspective seeing more of the city around the university.
The Quaker Days event was done well with performances, student panels, museum tours, college-specific sessions, and a resource fair. Lunch was at the Palestra, which was a nice venue. There was a parents group who seemed very involved and informative. I was glad to talk to them and get some questions answered and hear their experiences. There were storms in the forecast but only a little rain fell and that was for a short time. One of DCâs friends from HS was there and they met the admissions rep that came to their HS. The rep sent a nice note after acceptance to DC so it was great for them to meet in person again.
No crystal ball, but I predict Iâll be making many more trips to Philly.
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Yes! Classical ballet for one here, with summer intensives and private coaching, and one of the other kids had a horse. It all added up for each of them to definitely be a chunk towards college.
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I am still paying off last yearâs Summer Intensive!
Today hubby and D23 visited Colgate accepted student tour. The feedback I got from the husband was that the campus was pretty, but rather stark, and isolated feeling. D23 said she could see herself there, but after the tour when he asked if she wanted to see anything else she said no. Then they drove to Hamilton and walked all over. Both preferred the campus and the âvibeâ. I am taking her for the official tour next weekend but I think I know which she will pick. And coincidentally, she had a package today from Hamilton. A pair of funky striped socks with a card about how they hope Hamilton will knock her socks off.
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My D is a competitive Irish dancer and empathize with you!
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We made it. After an intense audition season and 10 music school acceptances, my kid committed to Loyola University New Orleans for jazz studies. 
It does feel like a break up to let some of these schools go. He was offered spots at so many amazing schoolsâŠU of Miami, USC, CU Denver, The New School, Berklee, University of Memphis and others. He is thrilled about Loyola, and heâll be in an amazing jazz city.
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Yay congrats itâs been a pleasure to follow your story !
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When I was in elementary school I remember an assembly with Dizzy Gillespie. Hopefully you have another Dizzy on your hands!
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Bravo to your kiddo for making that final decision. What an exciting step! 
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You will most definitely have the best parent visits. Congrats to your son â and a big congrats to you for making it through!!
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Congrats! So excited for you!! LoyNo is one of the schools it will be hard to let go of. My son really looked alive and happy there.
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Posting an update on CS twin (Econ twin is close to a decision). CS twin is the classic story of I will never attend this state school ending in Wow who knew (everyone) this is a great school for me. CS twin will be attending UMD-honors.
Final decision was between Hamilton and UMD, after another visited to Hamilton he realized Hamilton was a great school in a wonderful setting but he couldnât pass up the CS department at UMD. The new honors dorms, gym and cafeteria along with Metro access to DC sealed the deal. During the pandemic I drove both boys around UMD, CS twin said when we left âHe had no emotions, UMD sucked them all outâ. The same boy couldnât stop smiling at Accepted Studentâs Day. They really do change a lot during senior year.
Admitted
UMD Honors Small Merit ($750 for 2 semesters) Attending
Hamilton
U Mass Merit No Honors
UMBC Honors and Merit
Pitt Honors no Merit
GA Tech Sophomore Transfer
Waitlisted
Harvard Deferred EA
Rice
Denied
MIT
Yale
Brown
Williams
Swarthmore
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