<p>icefoxrocks, I am glad to hear you will apply to Eckerd! </p>
<p>I am keeping my fingers crossed for you!</p>
<p>^^am keeping finger, toes, arms, legs crossed for you[ ouch, gotta unwind myself now] ! Glad you are feeling so much better! Come back and let us know how it all works out for you!</p>
<p>I do not believe there is something wrong with your application because three of the finest liberal arts colleges in the USA put you on their wait lists because they thought you could “do the work” and be a good member of their communities. Colby and Grinnell are two of the best schools in the USA…the problem is that you missed out on some of the other great colleges that likely would have admitted you just from not having realistic awareness of things.</p>
<p>Your rejections were from schools where you were very unlikely to be admitted from the get go. I know how this feels (see my first post), having opened an envelope sans any actual facts about Wm and Mary myself as an OOS girl barely midrange test scores and an A average and second in my class. I had no idea how “things worked” and that any OOS girl had to be in the top quartile or be a recruit of some kind (I had no rare contribution or talent or gap to fill.)</p>
<p>with the nice fellow in the NYTs today…who worked so hard all through high school and had a great record to show for it…I also see a boy applying to schools with mega sports programs (Duke, Stanford, UNCCH) rather than looking at schools that also have fun sports programs but they just are seldom scene on TV (Wake Forest, Furman, Univ of Richmond)…I have a sporty son and I know how that works…, still you hate to hear of anyone who is excited about college and worked hard and did applications getting this disappointed </p>
<p>hang in there…you don’t have to be “over it” yet! It is OK to be frazzled by this experience and we all hope you will find a happy August move in date in your near future…</p>
<p>some of the best advice i ever got was from a woman who interviewed me for my first job out of college. not only did she break ranks to let me know that it was ok to try to negotiate a little on my salary offer (at that tender age, i didn’t realize such things were possible), but, insightfully sensing that my heart wasn’t entirely in it (perhaps as yours isn’t for SUNY-Geneseo), she told me that i could always accept the offer (it was a good offer, and the only one i had (!), but, like you, i thought i wanted something glossier), and if i didn’t like it, i could always change my mind. </p>
<p>of course i knew that, at some level, but i think i had invested the idea of the First Job with the weight of some sort of Final Destiny to such an extent that until she said those words, i thought whatever decision i made would determine my fate. </p>
<p>as it turned out, the job was great (it ended up being a lot more stimulating than i had anticipated, opened many unexpected doors, and, what’s more, put food on the table while my H went to grad school; when he finished, i went on to grad school myself.) </p>
<p>although my career and my life went in a very different direction, i have never regretted that decision and having had that experience. (and i speak to you as a second guesser).
but paradoxically, what made it all possible for me was the realization that this was not an irreversible act that would somehow write out the rest of my story. </p>
<p>so…long story to say that i think you should give consider giving SUNY Geneseo a try. i think, for a number of reasons, college --the decisions surrounding what colleges to apply to and what college to attend-- has taken on for kids of your generation that same air of the transcendent that i had (unfairly) put on my decision (some 20+ years ago, now) of my first job. </p>
<p>we could speculate about the many reasons for this (for me me it has something to do with the way in which the idea of “fit” --which should serve as a great corrective and palliative to the intense prestige-game that college admissions have become-- is instead often made to propagate the myth that there is only a handful of colleges at which each student can be happy (fulfilled, intellectually stimulated, socially engaged, etc.) and that it is the quest of junior and senior year to search those out in some sort of holy-grail-esque manner. (wow, what a run-on…sorry, sorry).</p>
<p>i suspect any student can be happy at a hundred different colleges, probably many more…and i suspect that you will be very happy at SUNE-Geneseo. but if the “worst” happens, and you absolutely detest it, remember you can always change your mind…and that the stars won’t tumble out of the sky, the spheres misalign, or the day turn into night.<br>
either way, it will all work out, you’ll see.</p>
<p>Thanks for the good luck! And especially the advice, mom111. That really helped. It’s taken me a long time, but now I can begin to see that none of the choices I make have to be dead ends. Before, I thought that I would get stuck somewhere. But I can change things if I don’t like it… I don’t have to settle anymore. My SUNY Geneseo overnight is tomorrow. I am looking forward to it, a lot. I visited there and I did like the campus. It’s just exciting to get at least one normal part of the college process :)</p>
<p>I’m also thinking of applying to Charleston College. Another school with strong marine bio, plus I love that area. Anyone know anything about it? I noticed it when I saw that Eckerd College offers credit for the SEA Semester, which Charleston College does as well.</p>
<p>Is that Charleston College or College of Charleston?</p>
<p>My d visited, applied and was accepted to College of Charleston.</p>
<p>It has a very different feel from Eckerd.</p>
<p>Whoops, typo, it’s the College of Charleston. How is the feel different? Could you tell me about your d’s experience with the college?</p>
<p>My daughter stayed overnight at College of Charleston with an acquaintance from high school. </p>
<p>This person transferred after her freshman year to Northeastern to be closer to home (we are in Massachusetts).</p>
<p>College of Charleston is a state school as well as a liberal arts college. It has an arty vibe but is also very Southern.</p>
<p>Many people from the North settle in just fine in the South, but my daughter, as well as her acquaintance, found the cultural differences signify enough that they preferred to return North.</p>
<p>Eckerd, on the other hand, is private and, in my view, does not have the “southern” feeling of schools like College of Charleston, Clemson or University of South Carolina (from which my daughter is transferring).</p>
<p>The campus of College of Charleston is lovely in a somewhat shabby way. It is part of Charleston, so integrated into a city in a way that Eckerd is not. (Charleston is one of my favorite cities to visit and I love the proximity to the beach.)</p>
<p>College of Charleston has about 10,000 students, Eckerd has 1,800. </p>
<p>I would expect you would get much more individual attention from professors at Eckerd, and I think it would be easier to get involved in scholarly projects there.</p>
<p>Tuition at College of Charleston is EXTREMELY reasonable, even for out-of-state students.</p>
<p>I hope that you like Geneseo. </p>
<p>There is a list that comes out around the second week of May that lists colleges still taking applications, and whether they still have FinAid left. Stay tuned and I or someone else will post a link. </p>
<p>Here is a previous post that had a similar topic
<a href=“Late application/deadline colleges?? Help!!! - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums”>Late application/deadline colleges?? Help!!! - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums;
<p>Some of the usual suspects have been St Olaf, Gustavus Adolphus, and College Wooster. </p>
<p>Also, how much CAN you afford, there are some pretty good public liberal arts colleges in Missouri, Minnesota or Canada that may work for you should you decide that Geneseo just won’t work. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Hey, read this: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html</a></p>
<p>I think it can’t hurt to look at other colleges (put a deposit on Geneseo, though!). Here’s the thing: if you’re worried about your parents’ finances, and you sound like a very sensitive person who would be under the circumstances, the best thing you can do for them is to do what it takes to be an independent adult as soon as possible. If there were something really incredible and unique that couldn’t wait that made you want to take a gapyear, that would be one thing. But since that really isn’t the case, dive in there and take control of your life. Make this year an incredible year, not just one where you’re treading water. You may find you have made great growth in your freshman year, as my child did. I would have to say the difference in his self-confidence and awareness and sense of direction is amazing, and it would definitely not have happened if he hadn’t just taken a deep breath and gone off to college.</p>
<p>I only know about the marine science program at Coastal Carolina because my D was accepted to the school and we found all the great info about their Marine and Wetland Studies program when we were reviewing their materials. I am pretty sure they are also still accepting applications. We are headed to campus next week and really looking forward to it. Everyone we have dealt with from the school so far has been very helpful and very welcoming. Good luck with whatever path you choose!
[Department</a> of Marine Science, Coastal Carolina University](<a href=“Marine Science - Coastal Carolina University”>Marine Science - Coastal Carolina University)</p>
<p>Good luck with whatever path you choose!</p>
<p>Check out post #336 in this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/771938-class-2014-results-celebrate-discuss-support-here-23.html#post1064591512[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/771938-class-2014-results-celebrate-discuss-support-here-23.html#post1064591512</a>
for results of taking a gap year (last year) and reapplying.</p>
<p>Hey everyone, I’ll post something longer tonight, but just wanted to let you guys know that I really liked Geneseo. I can totally see myself there. :)</p>
<p>Great! You would make any parent proud. So open minded and willing to try things. After you have been there a while please check back and tell us how it is going.</p>
<p>Ohh…that is great news. You will be someone the faculty there is going to love. Glad the visit was very positive.</p>
<p>Geneseo has something else going for it – you mentioned you are aiming at a PhD. You will be paying for college in some way for quite a while. Geneseo is a state school & you will leave with much lower debt if any. </p>
<p>We have visited the town though not the school. I think it’s a lovely place. Bring your warm clothes though! (We get thick wool sox at the sports dept of Walmart in autumn when they put out the hunting season stuff)</p>
<p>Good. I’m happy you are off to college in the fall! It’s time.</p>
<p>Now, make some plans to deal with some of your social anxiety over the summer, if possible and to put together some strategies for socializing, some plans. As crazy as this sounds, a life coach can help you with this without too much expense or too much time. </p>
<p>Again, good luck. Please report back and let us know how you are doing in this process.</p>
<p>I think Geneseo will be a great place for me. I have some other choices still up in the air, 3 schools to hear from and 3 waitlists. But if nothing else happens, I would be happy going to Geneseo. The more I thought about it, the more I realized what a good decision it might be. I can graduate early, or use the extra time to double major/double minor. And I will graduate with very minimal debt. Right now, my plan only includes $5,000 of loans each semester, which is quite good. And since I want to continue on to get my PhD, this is going to be very helpful. It still hurts a little when I think of the beautiful Middlebury campus, but I honest believe that I didn’t get in there for a reason. I will meet the right people and take the right classes at Geneseo. I was nervous that it was close to home, but it doesn’t actually feel like it. Geneseo is quite cute as a town. It’s a good area. I was also nervous about the lack of diversity, but I didn’t mind too much. Everyone knew Wegmans! (: And there were a lot of kids from the NYC area as well. I’m just glad that I found somewhere I can go. It’s not a set decision at this point, but I will very likely be putting down a deposit at Geneseo. And if I ended up there, I would be fine. And I would probably stick there.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who gave me advice! I was really depressed and I just wanted to get away, so I thought a gap year would be good, but hearing from everyone on CC helped a lot. It helped me realize that I really want to be at college, and that Geneseo is a really good school. Some of my other options aren’t even as academically strong. Geneseo is just a great place.</p>
<p>You deserve some TLC and support. I hope you take your ambitious nature and that you will be a “first rate version of yourself” and never a second-rate version of someone else. That is what I told my college freshman when he left home. He is from a small town and can be a little bit shy and first year at college can be a time when your “identity” feels very “diffuse” and up on the air. So…wherever you begin, know that uncertainty usually is a prerequisite to discovery…and be ready to tolerate both elements of joy, loneliness and some insecurities before you find some of your future college friends, mentors and pathways. All part of the process.</p>