<p>yes, I have those memories of 30 yr old shoes...but funnier still dh looked at shoes bought for dd last summer before she started school upstate NY and said, "Didn't you have those exact shoes when we were dating?"</p>
<p>^^ LOL memphismom!
My shoes were navy blue and tan. I took them with me backpacking to Europe summer of '73 (somehow that made sense in some alternative universe where walking around for hours in platform cork shoes was reasonable...) anyway, I met a perfectly charming frenchman who told me my shoes looked like clown shoes, and kept saying "chausseures Mickey Mouse, chausseures Micky Mouse". The must have been a sight. </p>
<p>Is is jsut me or are all the polka dot and paisley looking things on the racks remarkably like all our old vintage 70s stuff?</p>
<p>OK, as long as this thread has already been totally hijacked ... Here's the 30+ year old Colby version of your stroll to the bakery, jym -- we used to go to downtown Waterville to see the donuts being made at the Dunkin Donuts. (As I put in an earlier post, not that much going on in Waterville!)</p>
<p>oops, CBBBlinker. Didn't mean to hijack the thread! Me bad. Actually, we are discussing the wonderful extracurricular activities available in these dynamic college towns. Right up there with watching paint dry :)</p>
<p>You guys crack me up!</p>
<p>Fwiw, we've now visited Wes and it didn't make the decision one bit easier! Very nice kids-- open, nonjudgemental, no push to conform. $ is best at Wes and worst at Bowdoin with Hamilton and Vassar in between (and honestly, not a huge difference from top to bottom). </p>
<p>She probably fits in best at Bowdoin and they have the best town and good food.... but Wes has an awesome 5 yr BA/MA in Chem that's really making her stop and think (although we think all the chem labs are in a basement) -- and it's not too far from NYC. Really, I don't know how to compare Chem depts, but I think they're all solid-enough schools that they would be all be ok-- or am I being naive?</p>
<p>No, you are not being naive. Wes is known for its science initiatives and grants, but I think the school where you D is happiest will give her the best opportunities.</p>
<p>These are all excellent schools.</p>
<p>Wes has a lot of appeal, it's about two and a half hours from home, the perfect distance IMO, but S placed it lower on his list once he saw the practice rooms in the music building. They were carpeted with mildewed carpet. He knew he'd be spending a lot of time there and not want to go.</p>
<p>At his school it is cold and snowy, but he loves his schools and braved the elements every day once he was in the dorm to go out and practice. He just liked being in the music building.</p>
<p>It wouldn't matter how brilliant the Wes teachers were, if he didn't want to practice in their facilities I know he wouldn't.</p>
<p>This might not be the case with a more responsible daughter, but I think you can feel safe choosing by what she likes best. I really do think that's where people get the best results.</p>
<p>I came down on the side of Bowdoin because I could tell by your post that that was where he heart was leaning.</p>
<p>Bring the other packages to the attention of the school that's her first choice (if it's not Wesleyan.) It's quite likely the other financial aid office will move to meet the package.</p>
<p>"Really, I don't know how to compare Chem depts, but I think they're all solid-enough schools that they would be all be ok-- or am I being naive?"</p>
<p>They would all be ok. She should go where she'd feel both comfortable and challenged, and do well. (She still sounds like Wesleyan/Vassar to me.)</p>