<p>If you like SB I would try to convince the folks that it is what you really want. Seems like you might get some got aid and SB is very beautiful and safe for women. The riding program is outstanding.</p>
<p>Well, I got curious and went to the Sweet Briar website. Looks like they have an honors program with a summer research option, study abroads and a beautiful campus. <a href="http://www.sbc.edu/honors/%5B/url%5D">http://www.sbc.edu/honors/</a> They also have an overnight visit program. That would be sweet opportunity you don't want to miss!</p>
<p>My family is acquainted with several SBC grads and undergrads. The graduates have all done well in life. Some went to work in their field of study directly after college. Others got a MA/MS/JD directly after college. My D knows two girls who are attending there as undergrads. They both are very happy there. </p>
<p>Think Pink!</p>
<p>Drosselmeier, </p>
<p>Thank you for your post #9. Wonderful post.</p>
<p>I tried to stay out of my kid's selections of schools. We did the visits with them and tried to help point out positives and negatives of each institution, but for the final decision--they are the one living with it. Maybe I am a wimp, but I didn't want to push a school and them have them say they were unhappy there and why did I push it on them. First son went to a school where he fit in about the average, youngest son is on the lower end of accepted SATs, D. chose a school where she is way above the average accepted student. Two of the three were/are very happy and for the one that isn't---well it was his decision. I would follow the advice of some of the posters and do some accepted students visits in order to get another look/feel, then tell your parents why exactly the school that you choose is the one you want.</p>
<p>My daughter will be attending Sweet Briar next year...she applied ED...her older sibling is a sophomore at Northwestern...obviously vastly different places....there are times I wish my oldest was at Sweet Briar..but he is a young man so that was never a serious possibility....I'm hoping perhaps he can meet some of my daughter's classmates someday...when we went to one of Sweet Briar's Open House weekends we were very impressed with all we saw and felt.</p>
<p>Take everyone's advise and spend some time at the accepted students events. Have your parents visited Sweet Briar with you? I'm the type of person who would go stir crazy there but once I spent some time on campus and met students, faculty and staff I knew that it was a perfect place for my daughter.</p>
<p>My daughter is the type of student who should respond well to the small class size....she said it felt like home....which it will be for four years...she feels she would get lost at a larger university...she chose Sweet Briar despite the fact it was an all womens college not because it was.</p>
<p>Even though she is ED my daughter is still planning on attending one of the spring events...</p>
<p>Good luck and congrats on your college search process...you obviously did an outstanding job.</p>
<p>This is from a site for horse folks - SB is known for that as well as the academics. Some interesting answers. I went looking for it again to doublecheck..they see the boys from Hampton-Sidney and VMI, so they aren't totally in isolation. (g)
There are 2 pages of comments, with a few long ones from SB girls. I didn't know that for the riding programs your HORSE has to be accepted separately from you! (I do hope they let you ride one of their horses if your horse isn't good enough)
<a href="http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?p=1797722#post1797722%5B/url%5D">http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?p=1797722#post1797722</a></p>
<p>Sweet Briar is the most beautiful (and relaxing) campus that I have ever seen. I attended W&L in the early 70's and dated many women from Sweet Briar and found them all wonderful companions. One difference between SBC and some of the other colleges on the OP's list is that SBC did not appear to me (30 years ago) to be a very competitive college. The ladies certainly studied, but I never noticed any of them being stressed out over classes (and some were quite frankly there for their MRS degree). That (not the MRS) may be what appeals to the OP over BC or W&M, etc. Reading between the lines, it seems the OP is the "star" of the family, but she may be a little unsure of herself (self-described as "average") in the competitive environment of the other schools. She seems to be capable of the work at these other schools or presumably they would not have accepted her. Therefore, I suspect that her parents may be trying to convince her of that fact.</p>
<p>I would not be too concerned about the "remote" location of the school. By recollection its about twenty minutes north of Lynchburg and about 30 minutes to an hour from Lexington to the west. (There's another college about an hour or so north which will remain unmentioned.) If the OP likes the school and the women she has met, then I don't think the relatively small size should be a problem either. She will probably end up knowing everyone in the school (and that's not necessarily a bad thing).</p>
<p>I believe there should be a fit between the individual kid and the college with the kid having most of the input and the final decision. Both my W and I had a lot of academic experience so we did help with the initial selection process. Some of our help was no more than travel help for college visits. Most of the rest of the help was simply pointing out some options. My D was in charge of the selection and application and we provided the logistics support.</p>
<p>That being said, I am 100% on the side of your parents. The reason is financial. A $35k COA would be a large sacrifice for us and there is no way I would pay that amount for a mediocre college. In fact, I would not pay private college costs for colleges which are even substantially more demanding then Sweet Briar. I would not pay high costs for horseback riding and a nice campus. To justify the high costs, the academic offerings would need to be extensive and challenging. If my D had wanted to go to the equivalent of SB, she would have needed very substantial financial aid from the college. In that case, I would try to keep my disappointment to myself and let her make her own choice.</p>
<p>I chose to go to a Canadian University similar to our state university rather than the ivy I was accepted at. My parents reaction was similar to yours. It is hard to live with parent disapproval of one of the most important decisions that most 18 year olds are being asked to make at this point in their lives. Thankfully, while my expressed their opinion, they didn't interfere with my decision. One of the issues that you will surely be dealing with in your life is that everybody (and especially your parents) will not always like or agree with your decisions. Being able to listen to disagreement, and consider it (as you are doing) is an important skill. At the same time, being able to support yourself emotionally in the face of disapproval, is an equally important skill. It is ok to disagree--especially if your choice is well thought out, and feels right to you.</p>
<p>Right now as a parent, I am struggling with the other side of your situation. My son strongly believes that he wants to go to a small college, and while I like the schools that he is considering, I also have reservations. Everything comes with its positives and negatives. </p>
<p>I see a couple of negatives to a small college. The biggest is the limited size of the faculty. In a small school, a department can have only 3 faculty members teaching the major. If you don't like 1-2 of them, you are really stuck--especially for required courses. Along the same lines, we found that in the non specialty schools, small schools tended to have fewer courses offerings in a major, and they aren't always offered. If you are really serious about Sweet Briar, I'd suggest that you take time to look at their class schedule and check how many of the classes listed in the catalog are actually being offered. Visit again, and make arrangements to sit in on a class in your anticipated major. Talk to other students in that major and see what they like and don't like about the professors and the department.</p>
<p>While some people really hate the social life in a small college, others really like knowing everybody. If you count yourself among the latter, size is probably less of a social issue.</p>
<p>I agree with one of the earlier posters. Do this with several schools. If you do your homework, and Sweet Briar still comes up number 1 then you will know that you are making the right decision for you.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Good point about when classes are offered. My daughter is an education and sociology/anthropology major at a tiny college. There is not alot of leeway with the ed majors class schedule to begin with - the state dictates what schools need to have for the school to be certified and there is no leeway there. Her college mandates core classes for graduation including four quarters of phys ed. She can't take more then 3 1/4 classes a quarter. Ed majors at her school must double major. So, that means she can take a max of 9 3/4 classes a year and has to fit in all the requirements for two majors in 4 years. She realized the first year that she could not do theater as her second major (ed was a given) because of the time committment nor could she do Spanish because she would have had to take at least two more classes then she could fit in. When she did her study abroad she had to also take two classes on line to make up for the ones she didn't need when doing the abroad. (The abroad was scheduled after she had the classes it was covering) She has had to be a master planner to get everything to fit at the time she needed it. </p>
<p>At some of the state schools kids have problems with scheduling also (I know a few ed majors that are on the 5 year plan) but since it's quite a bit cheaper that doesn't seem to be as big a deal. I think one of the reasons that many privates have a better four year graduation rate is that the school scholarships end after four years - good motivation.</p>
<p>[sorry, long-winded again]</p>
<p>In comparison to other students at my high school, I am indeed quite average. Most of my peers are looking at some sort of Ivy. However, I will be honest that I am slightly 'hooked' (I guess that's the right phrase?) - I am a competitive violinist and the captain of a highly ranked team in Forensics/Debate and as an individual competitor I have won several states awards and attended numerous national competitions (although I've never placed, hopefully this year will be it).</p>
<p>If truth be told, the latter is probably the main reason I was accepted into Boston College EA. My SATs were 1460 on the old scale, 2220 on the new one -- but I know a classmate that was deferred with an almost perfect SAT and a slightly higher rank. </p>
<p>I did an overnight at Sweet Briar on my original visit and attended two chemistry classes. They were both well taught and the students seemed quite intelligent and articulate.</p>
<p>I do not see Sweet Briar as a mediocre school. It has a solid academic record according to the research I have done (and naturally the information the college puts out says it does), and I do not feel that I would be sacrificing anything if I were to go there.</p>
<p>College is what you make of it. I know kids at Ivies who have squandered opportunity after opportunity and the fact that they went to an Ivy doesn't really matter any more, because they did not make use of the opportunity they were given. If I make a concerted effort to take advantage of every opportunity Sweet Briar, or whatever college I end up, has to offer me - I do not see how I can fail.</p>
<p>I feel like my parents are stuck on prestige - on the 'name-brand'. I was at first too, which is how I ended up at with a College list that I don't particularly love. I did not apply to Boston College because I wanted to attend - I applied because of strong alumni encouragement after a Forensics Competition and my guidance counselor said I'd be crazy not too - even though when I went on a visit I couldn't see myself there.</p>
<p>I have been pushed the whole college processes to apply to schools like this - Wake Forest, William and Mary, South Carolina - Honors, and I narrowly dodged the bullet that would have added Cornell and UVA to that list. I could not even tell you what any of the schools even have in common, because I feel like that were randomly picked from schools that spoke to my high school and inundated me with mail.</p>
<p>The only other place I would truly like to attend, other than Sweet Briar, on my list is Middlebury. And after I have watched them flat-out reject people with higher stats, including our Salutatorian, during the ED round - I have little hope that I will manage to procure an acceptance.</p>
<p>I let my guidance counselors and parents dictate my college list because I was too afraid to stand up and risk stepping on anyone’s' toes, but I am now really suffering the consequences. I am left with a wonderful list of choices, certainly, but none that I really feel passionately about other than my original safety school.</p>
<p>Maybe Sweet Briar is academically not up to par with many of my other options, but it feels like home. They have a strong Chemistry department, which is what is looking to be my intended my major, and a fledgling Engineering department that I would love to at least try to help get off the ground. </p>
<p>The possibility of going there excites me, and I feel like it's where I am supposed to go. I don't know how to describe it other than a gut instinct, and I wish my parents would take that into some kind of account. And having a conversation with them about it is nearly impossible as my father gets incredibly hostile, and my mother cries and says I'm trying to throw away my life.</p>
<p>Sweet Briar may end up not being an option either if they do not throw merit money and a good financial aid package my way. Even I, as much as I love it, cannot justify the cost of their tuition. My parents are paying a huge amount of money a year for college already - 4 of my older brothers are undergraduates now at NCSU (2 freshman, 1 junior, 1 senior) and the oldest is in his first year of graduate school. It's costing an obscene amount of money, and we are... 'Upper upper' middle class.</p>
<p>Maybe I am not giving BC and some of the other colleges a fair shake after only one visit... I may just be bitter that my parents and GC manufactured my college list. I will take the advice and do more visits and attend the accepted students programs.</p>
<p>Good luck!! You have great scores. Don't let the fact that others with higher scores are rejected/deferred discourage you. Remember they are looking for more than just great scores. Imagine how boring any college would be if it just accepted those with the highest scores. Do you plan on continuing with debate in college? Does SB even have a debate team? If they do - are they any good?
Keep an open mind and look into everything before making a decision.</p>
<p>Hard for me to understand how anyone would doubt your reasons for wanting to go to SBC after reading your (eloquent) last post. I hope eventually your parents come around.</p>
<p>Unfortunately some of us get caught up in the competition, to be able to blurt out some famous school's name when asked where our daughter goes to school. I left college choice and major up to my kids for a simple reason: I would never want them coming back to me unhappy in a year or two knowing it was my doing.</p>
<p>It's a shame your list didn't include a few more LAC's since that appears to be the type school you're attracted to. I don't think you should cross off Middlebury quite yet, you seem like a competitive applicant for any school. You may have something they're looking for, while the Sal did not. Most importantly...you're FAR from average, and no matter where you go you'll do well.</p>
<p>Promise.... Your "guts" are letting you down and clouding your judgement. You may consider SB to be more than mediocre, but when it comes to chemistry, the program is less than mediocre. The American Chemical Society accredits hundreds of undergrad chemistry programs. Some very marginal institutions are accredited, but SB does not have accreditation. For the last available year listed in IPEDS, SB had 0 graduates in chemistry. Even as an undergrad it is important to have access to labs and research. I have no idea if these are available, but there does appear to be a problem with faculty. The SB webpage shows recruitment for a chem professor.</p>
<p>If you think it would be fun to try to help the engineering program get off the ground, you really just have no idea what is needed for a degree in engineering.</p>
<p>I am firmly of the belief that the vast majority of students can be happy and successful at a number of different schools. Just because you don't get warm and fuzzy your first time on campus doesn't mean you wouldn't find friends and like your classes there--I am quite sure you would do both of those at most of the schools on your list. With a decision like college, which affects much more than four years, I personally feel the need to go beyond gut instinct and figure out what I like, dislike, and am nervous about with each school. </p>
<p>You do sound bitter about a lot of your college search experience; would you consider taking a gap year and reapplying to colleges in which you're actually interested? Maybe you should spend some time trying to fall in love with the other schools to which you've been accepted to make sure your dislike is based on more than the fact that 1) they're not SB and 2) you're bitter at having had to apply. I did this with my schools because I felt it was only fair to give each school an equal chance; instead of falling for one school and thinking/dreaming/reading about only that school, spend some time with the others. </p>
<p>You can certainly go to SB and take advantage of as many opportunities there as you can; my concern is that for a smart, chemistry-major like you, even their best opportunities may be found lacking.</p>
<p>Along with that excellent advice from corranged, you may want to reflect a little more on what it is about SB that you really like. Perhaps this is not just a safety but a "safe" school, meaning somewhere that will not require you to move out of your comfort zone? Many students have fears and apprehensions about college which is perfectly normal, but for some it is sometimes easier to choose someplace that feels the safest, similar to what they are already used to - rather than take a risk at someplace completely new and different (and scary). </p>
<p>As mini pointed out, the school you attend has to be more than just someplace you just feel comfortable at. Sometimes in life you need to take risks in order to grow as a person, and college is often one of those times. These don't have to be a big risks either, but realistic ones that will help you move a little out of that comfort zone and reach your potential.</p>
<p>The college experience is a major change for every student and is different for every student. And since you are the one that will be going to the school, it does need to fit YOU not your parents or GC. But that fit should include factors like academics which is what you going to college for in the first place. Many students are not quite ready for college immediately after graduating from high school and a gap year can help not only to prepare you for that major transition in your life but give you a chance to better explore your options and determine what direction you really want to take (it concerns me a little that you feel like you are making concessions not only on school choices but also on what to study, so you may benefit from taking a little longer to figure out your college plan).</p>
<p>Good luck to you no matter what choice you make!</p>
<p>Promise,
please consider edad's comments carefully, and take some time to look into his concerns. If you are really interested in chemistry (and you may change your mind once you hit campus, lol), this is an issue. Corresponding with the faculty and looking into their research will help you to determine if you should be worried or not. This is a real issue - having nothing to do with prestige or anything else. </p>
<p>I think that you've got a decent shot at Midd, and that you should be more positive about yourself and your abilities. Trust me, you've got a long way to to get anywhere near egotistic.</p>
<p>Did you look at Mt. Holyoke? Unfortunately the deadline was 1/15/07.</p>
<p>Edad has some very important concerns.</p>
<p>Promiseme.... my son made a mistake when he chose his first college. (I say his first because he dropped out after the 2nd year, worked for 3 years, and now has transferred into another college). The mistake he made -- and I made along with him-- was that he chose a small LAC that was absolutely perfect for the 18 year old high school senior that made the choice. </p>
<p>The problem was that it was not perfect for the 20 year old sophomore he became. It was simply too small to accommodate his needs as he matured. </p>
<p>Try to picture the person you think you will be at 20, and the one you want to be at 22. What will your interests be? What kind of experiences will you have had? </p>
<p>I admit it's darn near impossible to figure out -- but it is important to keep in mind that you are choosing a college for 4 years, and you will grow and change along the way. </p>
<p>I think that trusting your gut feeling IS important, and it is a factor to consider -- but you need to keep in mind that college is a time for growth & challenge, and if the fit is too comfortable it might simply be that the college will not meet your long term needs. </p>
<p>Some of the things you have said about yourself make me wonder: will a kid who is used to state & national forensic competition be satisfied with the relatively sheltered environment of a small college like Sweetbriar? What about your violin? Do you want to continue to play in college, and will the orchestra or ensembles at Sweetbriar offer you performance opportunities at the levels you are used to? </p>
<p>If in the end, after considering all factors, SB turns out to be the college you truly love and feel most comfortable with... then by all means, go there. It is your life, and maybe you will do best with a small, nurturing environment. But go there with open eyes, having fully considered the things that you may be giving up.</p>