<p>I get it too. I think people can "get it" even if their opinions may differ.</p>
<p>I agree with Liz. Humor is in the eye of the beholder.</p>
<p>In light of the season, I found this article to be a lot more humorus and just as appropriate as this thread. <a href="http://slate.msn.com/id/2114937/%5B/url%5D">http://slate.msn.com/id/2114937/</a></p>
<p>On no, maybe not. Look who is the number one school that gets bashed.......</p>
<p>Smith is the one college I wish I liked better. Don't get me wrong, my D is quite happy there. It's just so parent-unfriendly. Guilford was the most parent friendly of schools we visited. They offered some great sessions for parents while the students were busy elsewhere during accepted students weekend.</p>
<p>Momofthree,
Feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>I love hearing about the "Do I have to get out of the car?" schools. I didn't realize so many people had kids as quirky as mine.</p>
<p>I also love hearing the occasional wacky reason for feeling comfortable at a school.</p>
<p>The first time my daughter spent an entire day at Columbia I did not go. Mid-afternoon I received a phone call from her where she excitedly whispered into the phone, "O.M.G., they have a coffee bar in the library. I have found my people."</p>
<p>this is a great thread!</p>
<p>Elleneast: that's a great story. S decided Columbia was his school when the adcom said "We're looking for people who like to argue..."</p>
<p>Boy was he right for that!</p>
<p>I've really been enjoying this thread, too. I have a daughter who didn't want to, but who did get out of the car (mainly because it was a taxi), but then who took one look up and refused to even walk through those oversized wrought-iron gates at Columbia. We made her walk through the campus anyway, since we were there, but her mind was already made up. Something about those gates.... I loved it.</p>
<p>Well, here's a different side of this question: Have any of you not liked a school that your child simply loved? If so, what do you think you saw that your child didn't --- or vice versa. And, how did you react or handle the situation?</p>
<p>My daughter absolutely LOVED Lewis & Clark when we visited. She thought the student body was ecclectric and exciting. It's high on her list. I thought the campus was pretty but just couldn't picture her there = I thought the student body was a little TOO ecclectric for my personal tastes and the way I picture my daughter in my mind. But, most of the schools on her list are very similiar in feel so I am hoping I will be able to stop picturing her in a convent and support her decisions.
:)</p>
<p>On the other hand, I personally liked Willamette U in Oregon a lot. Daughter took an extreme dislike to it as soon as we got out of the car. She refused to talk or ask any questions throughout the tour, even though we were the only ones on the tour. She had an interview scheduled with the admissions counselor after the tour and simply refused to go (of course, she left me to explain to the adcom why she didn't want to interview.) Two major things turned her off: the tour guide was boring because he said he wanted to be a dentist AND she spotted several girls looking us over when we walked through the cafeterial. That was all it took for her to say "nope, not going here."</p>
<p>Meanwhile, I thought it was a nice solid school with a pretty campus and happy looking kids. I know other parents on CC whose kids LOVED Willamette when they visited --- it's just that it didn't "click" for my daughter.</p>
<p>carolyn, you are not going to be a grandma if your daughter ends up in a convent. :)</p>
<p>Yes, and I suppose she would cause quite a stir in any convent that would have her. :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
But, most of the schools on her list are very similiar in feel so I am hoping I will be able to stop picturing her in a convent...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>LOL, Carolyn!!! Will you be starting a companion website, "Convent Confidential"?</p>
<p>I was interested to read your impressions of Willamette, since you had suggested it for my daughter several months ago. It's still on her list...barely...because she likes what she reads but is afraid that it may be just too far for her. And to think that I was the one who originally wanted her closer to home, in case of emergencies, and just because there's less travel hassle to deal with. Over the past few months, I've become less concerned about distance issues, but it appears that my daughter is becoming more concerned. I haven't quite figured out why, because I find it hard to believe that she's actually listened to me!</p>
<p>sokkermom -- I loved the article, though my team was number 1. Any list with Duke and UNC on it is at least an equal opportunity flamer. Though I think it's overstatement to claim that J.J. Riddick elevates whininess to an art form -- my all-time favorite player cornered that market years ago -- Bobby Hurley.</p>
<p>Wellllll, I initially thought that Columbia was a ridiculous choice for someone who had never lived in a city before and had spent 13 years at a little suburban private school where everyone patted her on the head and said that she was great. My fear was that my daughter was trying to prove something in her college choice rather than really thinking about how she learns best. At first I only saw lecture halls and my girl getting lost in it all. I love NYC but I just didn't give my kid any credit to be able to handle it. The second or third time that I suggested she really think about this she told me to trust her and to back off. </p>
<p>My D had confidence that she could create her own world there and she has. I only saw my little girl and not a young woman that wanted an academic challenge and a life challenge as well. She is extremely happy and feels that she won't only come out with an excellent undergrad education but she will also have developed life skills that will serve her for a lifetime.</p>
<p>(I still think that she would have enjoyed a school like Williams if she just let herself.....but Columbia really was the best choice for her.)</p>
<p>Mezzomom, I too am wondering about the distance issues. Daughter hasn't found a single college with in driving distance that she is willing to consider. I keep pushing her to find at least one just in case she decides at the last minute she doesn't want to go so far from home.</p>
<p>Ellen, Thanks for the post about your daughter and Columbia. You have touched upon something very important: we have to trust our kids to make the choice that is right for them, even if it seems scary to US.</p>
<p>lderochi,</p>
<p>My daughter has even joined the Duke bashers. She has on her Carolina Sweatshirt as we speak. Good thing her brother is not home.
I had to go with Duke in the finals for the office pool (no money - just loser buys lunch). Wow... Maybe I have turned in to an over-obsessed biased blue devil troll parent after all. (Nah.........) </p>
<p>I don't know anything about basketball, but picked my teams based on the team mascots, etc.* I have 3 teams in the final 4 hailing from NC.</p>
<p>*Looks to me like that's how some people pick colleges too. just kidding.</p>
<p>I don't get allthe hype about March Madness from office types.
Ya I like basketball sometimes and I attended the state championships for my daughters school- but even though the local U is in the playoffs and D high school has several alums on the team- I just can't get excited- after all it is BASEBALL season !</p>
<p>But emeraldkity4, that's what makes this the best time of the year -- the basketball tournament is a great end and spring training is a great beginning. Dreams finally come crashing down in one (except for one team), and hope springs eternal for even the lowliest (i.e. Devil Rays) in the other. And for me it's also time for the NCAA Wrestling Championships (Go Pokes!) which nobody, not even ESPN late night, cares about.</p>
<p>Getting the thread back on track, and speaking as someone who hasn't started the visits yet (S is only a Sophomore, but he actually wants to get a few early trips in, so we're hitting the road over spring break) I've found this thread to be good. I haven't taken it too seriously, it's just nice to see peoples casual (VERY casual) impressions. Hardly anyone has "bashed" -- if anything, I did way back in the beginning. I think the insights have been helpful, even though very few of the schools are currently on my S' list.</p>
<p>Carolyn, you have the patience of a saint; no wonder you want your D at a convent. ;) </p>
<p>I am not a saint! I would really be ***<em>ed if my kid refused to do the interview for such sketchy reasons, and on top of that made me apologize for her. I mean, I wouldn't force her to *go</em> to a school she didn't like, but I would want her to complete the interview if only for the practice-- and in case her mind was to change about the school later...</p>
<p>Parents deserve some ground rules on the kids giving it a fair try when we've schlepped them on airplanes to be there.</p>
<p>BTW have you noticed how much dud tour guides factor? Why don't the colleges work harder to screen these guides?</p>