If you like Negronis and/or Manhattans, Boulevardiers are at least worth trying. I think some people find them a little sweet, but sometimes I am all about taking the bittersweet to 11.
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I also like to study What We Look For pages. Since S24 is now applying to Penn, I was just going back over theirs (including the subpages). To me a couple things leap out. Generally, Penn really hits the service to community theme. In contrast, there is relatively little about achievement, and their activity subpage really seems to be emphasizing NOT think about activities in that way. Arts and Sciences in particular then also picks up an exploratory/interdisciplinary theme.
None of this is unique, but I personally agree the emphasis can be pretty different from college to college. Like, to me, Princetonās reads as way more achievement focused. That sort of thing.
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If you ever start selling those bitters, PM me. My husband loves figs and Boulevardiers.
You should change your CC handle to NiceParticularMixologist 
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Oh yeah more for me to go down the rabbit hole! Do you mean the pages on the official college websites?
I sometimes dream of a retirement hobby of selling bitters at farmers markets and such. Weāll see.
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Yes, it is a generic name, like Why Us essays, although if you Google the college name and āwhat we look forā it will often get you there. Sometimes it is a page, sometimes multiple pages, sometimes part of a FAQ, but at least most selective holistic review colleges seem to try to have something like this available.
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This is funny to me since the kids who get accepted to Penn from our school are usually stronger (strictly by the numbers) and more career focused (lots of STEM), while the Princeton ones are still top but more spread out, and often pretty involved in the school community. More well rounded than pointy.
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Jumping on the alcohol discussion bandwagon. Anyone else telling themselves āOnce this is all over, I will reduce/quit drinking. I deserve this right now!ā?
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Strangely enough, I always seem to be deserving in some way . . . just a wonderful guy, I guess.
(The truth is I long ago adopted a vacations-and-weekends-only policy, understanding the weekend starts Friday evening, which I would like to believe is sustainable. But I am not kidding about the mason jars of bitters, so I am not skipping a lot of weekends.)
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Hi there, I am joining this group mostly for a moral support. My S24 is applying. He is my youngest and I am feeling both excitement and sadness. We are in FL, so I want him to stay in state for my selfish reasons ( I can jump to the car and drive to see him any weekend I want). Of course he is applying everywhere and wants to live in a cold place 
I read most of 7k replies here and I know I am not alone.
S24 sent a couple of EA applications in FL and Boston. Has some reach schools for RD but he is realistic about his chances. We are an immigrant family so the whole college process is overwhelming for us to say the least.
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You are not alone, and as an immigrant family you should already feel great about getting your kid to this stage. As usual, such successes as a parent can also be very bittersweet when it means our kids then launch into their own lives, but weāre pretty much all going through some version of that.
Hence sharing drink suggestions . . . .
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As @NiceUnparticularMan noted, and consistent with my comment that these differences were nuanced, themes emerge from these pages. Some schools focus on community (could be service oriented, participation oriented, etc), others achievement (could be academic, could be otherwise), others on leadership, etc.
Also, I agree with what you wrote about researching specialty programs or specific fields of interest at a given school. Definitely important to help understand a place and how you may fit there. Though, Iād add that simply saying something like āIām interested in Native American studiesā or āpoliticsā on your Dartmouth application without being able to show that in some way may come across as pandering. Like, have you participated in student government? Volunteered on a campaign? That sort of thing.
Yup years ago I more or less stopped drinking both in favor of Boulevardiers. Itās funny too how things have changed wrt the latter. I remember ordering a Boulevardier and often being told āwe donāt have that.ā And then having to walk through the ingredients to discover that lo and behold they do āhave that!ā Or just telling them how to make it. At like 10 my kids knew to say āItās a Negroni, just substitute bourbon (or rye) for the gin, and go a little heavier on the bourbon.ā Proud and horrifying at the same time.
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A good friend has a D24 who has loved making cocktails for years. In the recent era we would be doing a Zoom catch-up, and she would come in with a Manhattan for him.
My kids? For Fatherās Day I am allowed to take them to one of their favorite restaurants.
Anyway, we did some cruises back in the day where I brought my bitters, and I would just order a Manhattan and an Aperol and then make my own. Beats trying to explain it in another language . . . .
Atlanta is āin GAā in āname onlyā 
And in many ways, might actually be more diverse that many NE cities.
My daughter had serious reservations before moving from undergraduate in Manhattan (the island!) to grad school in ATL and has been more than pleasantly surprised.
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Just a note to add about Atlanta. Iāve lived here more than a decade. I love this city, but I wouldnāt advise anyone non-Southern to move here without visiting and checking the place out for a few days. It is much more āSouthernā than California or Manhattan, in ways that can require a significant adjustment. I was going to say some more specific things, but they have to do with the painful, specific history of racism here, and this is not the Politics Forum.
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My S24 had a second interview with Harvard AO. First interview was with an alum. AO emailed him and asked him for a second interview. Not sure what does it mean. It is very nerve wrecking right now!
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S24 just got accepted into his safety yesterday (we actually got something in the mail - I guess the kid needs to be better about checking portals). Iām actually surprised by how relieved I feel given that its his safety so we expected him to get in! Just nice to know that heāll definitely be going somewhere next year!
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I agree ATL is a wonderful city. My cousins left Manhattan to settle in ATL. My other cousins left DC for ATL. They. are loving it and we love visiting. If S24 ends up at Bama or Auburn it will be so nice having them close by.
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One may love Atlanta but @Snowball2 isnāt wrong - it aināt Manhattan. Not close in culture, speed, general vibe.
But it does not lack racial diversity but itās not as accepting either.
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I get the different history, but in practical terms, that also exists subtly (or not so subtle ) in affluent NYC suburbs.
No question! Thatās always solid advice.
Nothing really is.
Biggest adjustment has been, how super-crazy fast people cruise through Atlanta city streets. And I donāt mean Manhattan-cab-crazy, I mean āLe Mansā crazy!
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