Suddenly doubting her list of colleges to apply to...

Thank you @4Gulls , that is super helpful to know. I am still finding the whole financial aspect a real mystery.

Often as students work through applications, they continue to accumulate more information about various schools from the internet and their friends, and their opinions evolve. It can’t hurt to send in a few more applications, investigate the schools, and keep more options open longer. She may be very glad she did.

Here’s how my son is approaching it:

I came up with a preliminary list-- as a Junior last year he had no idea of how to begin the process, and hated the idea of all the “shopping” involved. He hates shopping. So I shopped. I took what he said he wanted and came up with a list of schools.

We’ve visited 7 schools since last autumn, one at a time. He loved 5, and hated 2. We still have a few schools on our list we want to get to.

But of those top 5: All are “reasonably” affordable… if such a thing exists. All are within 4 hours of home. All are the small schools he prefers. All have his major, and have a good track record with internships. All seem to be friendly places where he thinks he can feel comfortable. All but one are academic matches/ safeties-- the last is a bit of a reach. If any of those factors had not been present, the school would not still be on the list. (“Too big” is what eliminated a bunch of schools after one visit.)

He doesn’t have --or at least didn’t the last time we talked about it-- one “favorite” school. He has a list he’s happy with. He’s absolutely a “bloom where he’s planted” kind of kid.

In short, his odds are pretty good at acceptances from at least 4 schools he would be happy to attend. We’ll try to get to the remaining schools over the coming months, and see where he ends up in the spring when we get the numbers.

My D is second-guessing as well… After visiting a few small LACs, she insisted she did not want such a small environment, so we did not visit any more this past summer, when we could have toured a few that were on her list…
Well, now she’s reconsidering… She’s going to go ahead and apply to 2 or 3 of them now, and visit if she is accepted.

I was the one steering her to the small LACs. But she preferred bigger schools - and after thinking about it myself, I have realized that the bigger schools she chose would probably be a better social fit for her.

I’m glad she’s reconsidering her options, as it means she’s actually thinking about this, and considering “fit”, which I do think is important to an extent (although not necessary).

A lot of the small LAC apps are free, btw, so OP’s D could go ahead and apply and see what happens. She doesn’t have to accept because she applies. She still has until May to decide…

OP, I do think the financial part can at times take a leap of faith. I told my kids to go ahead and apply to schools that could be out of reach financially but that when all the offers are in we’ll make a decision. They knew that just because they got into a school that it still wouldn’t be a possibility if the money wasn’t there.

My D is struggling with geography. The schools that have the program she’s interested in (for the most part) are Big Ten schools in states that she has never considered setting foot in, much less residing in for at least four years. To date, we’ve worked college visits into family vacations, and, well, we haven’t vacationed in Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, etc. At this point, visits will have to wait until if/when she is accepted. But I hate seeing her less than excited with the schools she’s applying to. If only the universe would smack down the program/specialization she wants in the middle of Portland, OR, she would be good to go. She is interested in Minnesota, but she also puts on a sweatshirt when it’s 70 degrees, so…

I suggested that she identify a second potential area of interest and apply to schools in more desirable (to her) locations that have that major. It’s unclear whether this will actually happen. I know that most students change their major - I’m just trying to avoid a situation where she ends up at a school that doesn’t have what she ultimately settles on.

@eh1234 , don’t know which schools in Indiana or Illinois, but I will tell you that both states have better weather, overall, in the regions that are NOT near Lake Michigan. NW corner of Indiana and northern edge of Illinois, specifically, are much colder…
In Indiana, the closer you get to Indianapolis and going east, the better the winter weather, as far as cold temps and amount of snow.

My D is the opposite. We’re in the Chicago area, and she hates hot, humid weather, and finds even autumn south of Springfield IL or Indianapolis to be too warm.

My D initially was adamant that she wanted easy access to a city. However, as she began her research, the first requirement to go was geography. Why? Because she has realized, from many college visits, that in reality, most kids spend 95% of their time on campus anyway. I think a lot of students have idealized notions of zipping into the city all the time, but in truth, at least at the rigorous schools my D is applying to, between homework and all the great activities on campus, there isn’t a lot of incentive to go into the city regularly, expect for specifics like concerts, etc…
At any rate, a few days have passed now, and after reexamining why she chose her list of schools, she seems to be happy that she does have a reasonable balance. Her one big wobble came about because of U of Chicago. She just loves their clever and intriguing mailings, and I have to say, of all the mountains of unsolicited college mailings, theirs are the best. So she started researching U of Chicago, and has decided that while they have excellent mailings, and excellent everything, it sounds too serious and intellectual for her. So she is sticking with her list as is.

Have we figured out where the “cool kids” go, yet?

I’m wondering if that doesn’t change over time, even from year to year?

My D originally insisted on a city location. That didn’t last long. Especially after visiting nice campuses in small college towns, or suburban towns, she realized she’d definitely have plenty to keep her busy on campus or nearby…

@JustOneDad , haha, good memory! In fact, I just posted an update today with her pretty much final college list. Here is the link: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18805642/#Comment_18805642

Hey, OP, if it is any consolation, my son kept changing his list put until the end. And then when the acceptances came in, he still had a hard time picking. Heck, this fall he was still wondering what if about one place.

Now school has started and he is happy.