<p>Most colleges will be open.</p>
<p>It is not much of a trip but my D will be doing overnight visit at Lake Forest College this coming weekend. She visited their Science Open house was very impressed, received great merit aid and leaning toward attending.</p>
<p>All of the UC campuses are closed on Monday, but open the rest of the week.</p>
<p>jlaur95, thanks for the good wishes.</p>
<p>We'll be visiting Occidental College in Los Angeles on Friday (sophomore D and me) just to give it a casual look since we have another year to really get going on this stuff.</p>
<p>All the colleges I've called are open on Monday, with normal tours and info sessions. I don't know if they have classes, though.</p>
<p>chevda - brandeis students are on break for presidents week. the dorms don't close, so there will be some students around, just not many.</p>
<p>
[quote]
we have made reservations for the dog
[/quote]
With you or at the kennel? We valued our dog's input on the college tours for our daughter 3 years ago---they have a sixth sense about "fit," and it's a stressful time for them as well--it's their kid that's leaving home, too. Petswelcome.com is a wonderful site, where you can find pet-friendly accomodations practically anywere...I've used it for years. We'll be trying out violin teachers for S over spring break--NEC, Yale, and Juilliard (again).
<a href="http://petswelcome.com/%5B/url%5D">http://petswelcome.com/</a></p>
<p>I can imagine that a dog's negative review of a school could be, well, a little smelly.</p>
<p>Dog is staying with a local family, and will not be joining us on the college tours. :( There really is no point in bringing her, because her major area of interest has already been thoroghly reasearched!! ==>> <a href="http://www.gottshall.com/squirrels/campsq.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.gottshall.com/squirrels/campsq.htm</a></p>
<p>The U Texas was known for their white squirrels. We found some near our home in Lynchburg, VA too. Not albino--just white.</p>
<p>ChevdaIll put in another vote for a Vassar trip report (please). How about Skidmore as well?</p>
<p>Here is quiltgurus fantastic write- up from last year (thanks again quilt)
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=87082&highlight=vassar%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=87082&highlight=vassar</a></p>
<p>Quilt also had many other great trip reports, Wesleyan & others. Just go to advanced search & type quiltguru in the username box, and any other key words youd like.</p>
<p>NJres - here is a link to my trip report of Dickinson last summer:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=89612%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=89612</a>
Loyola is a great place too...I live a mile or 2 away. I can attest that Loyola has the deepest babysitter depth of any of the local colleges! Big NJ & NY draw....never could quite figure out why.</p>
<p>S & I are off to Davidson for junior days and Penn this weekend. Ill try to at least put a report together on Davidson.</p>
<p>And, they're off! </p>
<p>I am very, very frustrated sitting here while S and DW are on the college hunt. Well, good bonding with my 7-year old. In addition to college reviews, by Monday I should be able to post a review of Curious George. </p>
<p>Elon visit yesterday apparently went well. S sounded as enthusiastic as I've heard him. Beautiful day, beautiful campus. The fire station is nearby and very actively accepts student volunteers. Grandma lives in Greensboro and tagged along to provide additional helpful comments (LOL!) A review will be forthcoming when they return and I debrief them. </p>
<p>Furman today. Still good weather. Currently DW's favorite (on paper at least). I like it too, but may be more of a low reach than a target. The Wofford drive-by was a victim of the need for sleep. </p>
<p>Presbyterian tomorrow will probably suffer from comparison -- cold front moving in, rainy. </p>
<p>Winthrop will get the real short end of the stick on Monday. Freezing rain, high of 38! Ackk. But that's okay, since he has a relative on the faculty and has heard a lot about the school to begin with. A tour in lousy weather won't be as much of a problem as it might be at a school he knows little about. Besides, the relative is going to take them to a basketball game on Saturday and do an informal walkaround before Monday. </p>
<p>More to come. PapaChicken, hope the weather holds out for Davidson.</p>
<p>And I'll do my best with the reviews (I'll include Brandeis, too). Although I'm not sure I'll live up to quiltguru's legacy!</p>
<p>lderochi-- just returned from a long one-day trip to Davidson..weather held...sunny & cold. Penn on Friday was blustery as well. Both good trips. More later; hope you are getting positive reports back from your family.....PC</p>
<p>lderochi--looking forward to your interpretation of Furman's visit. It is on #3's consideration list.
Back in 2003, with #2 we did Elon and Winthrop--can't wait to see your take on these. #2 is at Elon, liked it then, loves it now.</p>
<p>PC, glad the weather held. From talking to my DW, it appears that the recent forecasts from weather.com have been more dire than the reality. </p>
<p>Reports so far: Elon VERY good. Furman rallied from a difficult start to finish strong (I think the S is watching too much sports -- and I have NO idea what this means, only that he and DW will give me details when they return), Presbyterian off the list (mainly due to Clinton, SC -- school itself seemed fine). Winthrop tomorrow (formally), the (informal) trip to watch the basketball game was a double overtime win for the home team with the stands packed. Since S wants a school with some spirit, that was a plus.</p>
<p>EDIT: mominva, we crossed posts! I might send you a PM re Elon. I'm really not having a good time getting the Reader's Digest versions of these trips. I told my DW tonight -- "you know, I've got some trip reports to make so I hope you've taken some good notes". She thinks I'm clearly insane, but she also knows I can find out the answer to just about any question she has on this process from my cc friends.</p>
<p>You're a hoot, lderochi! Can't wait til you post about schools on our short list.</p>
<p>OK, I'm back for a quick update - no internet until this AM.</p>
<p>Brandeis - As noted above, Brandeis is on break this week, so many buildings were closed. Monday was also the coldest day of this winter, so everyone really just wanted to get inside! That showed on the tour; the guide was less than enthusiastic, although he did seem to like the school a lot. It was nice to have a tour by someone who grew up outside New England - he was from Minnesota, I believe. Biggest dislike - that the library closed early (about 1 AM), but did say that everyone seemed to have sufficient time on weekends to play. D liked the info session, and liked what she heard about the academics. She loved the flexibility of the curriculum, even with its distribution requirements. And the fact that only calculus had sections taught by TAs (and she has no intention of taking calculus in college!). Loved the calm, residential feel of the campus, particularly the Castle which houses sophomores. They have a housing lottery, so you have to have a really high number to get the Castle. </p>
<p>She loved the fact that Boston was so nearby and easy to get to. I promised her that we wouldn't drop in unannounced, which took the sting out of going to school so close to home. (Also that we could bring her winter clothes later and take other stuff home so her room wouldn't get so cramped!) She wants to take another tour when classes are in session.</p>
<p>I'll be back tomorrow for updates on Skidmore and Vassar; got to go wake the kid so we don't miss the tour!</p>
<p>I can't wait to read more trip reports, folks!!! (Hint Hint)</p>
<p>I know, I know. My intrepid travelers have been home since Monday night, but I've been on the run so much that I haven't even had a chance to de-brief S and DW enough to write a decent report. Hopefully this weekend I can actually talk to them about how it all went.</p>