He did like both schools. I think because he met great kids and professors on both campuses. I do agree that they are very different places. But I see why both appeal to him. We have family connection to Maine and he has lived in TN, VA, CA and MD.
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Bowdoin is full ride using the GI Bill. W&L is full ride with a scholarship. You are right that they offer different experiences but I think he finds both appealing. To me you are right they are very different schools but having gone on both visits both offer a unique experience
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I guess my point was that Iâm surprised he didnât lean towards one or the other since the experiences are pretty different. I understand that he could like something about each but no gut feeling as to where he belonged more? What experience he would prefer? Maybe more digging needs to be done about what life is like on each campus socially. I agree that the academics are likely a wash.
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Makes sense and I donât disagree that many kids would have a fairly immediate preference. I have one of those kids who could see herself at some pretty different schools (both Oberlin and W&L were on her list at one point⊠that raised some eyebrows on CC! Haha) But in our case, and I think this could be applied to many kids, it came down to her life experience. She is a liberal kid from a Southern city. Her mom is Southern, her dad European and she spent a significant amount of time with both extended families. She grew up fairly well-traveled and exposed to wildly different viewpoints and cultures and was comfortable with that. I donât know the OPs kid, but from what has been shared perhaps exposure due to living in many different places dilutes his perceptions of what other students/parents may view as extreme differences. Just my guess based on our experience.
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I think this is a good point and what I was trying to say. I do not think these places seems as different to him as they do to others. We will get a decision by tonight. He still hasnât committed.
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This made me laugh, and, while I am generally one who defends having interests in very different things, schools included, I have to agree; those are typically very different applicant pools.
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LOL yeah, my D was almost one of those kids. She didnât end up applying to Oberlin, but Vassar and W&L were in her top three at decision time.
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My D had one of those: Wellelsley. For the life of me, I could not (and still canât) understand her out of hand rejection of the school. She went for an official recruiting visit, everyone seemed to like her, the coach was head over heels, the weather was stunning, the campus showed well, etc. etc.; but there was something about it that threw her off, and she was 100% sure it was a ânoâ. If you knew her and understood who she was, youâd think sheâd fit hand in glove at Wellesley. But thatâs not where she saw herself after high school and that was that.
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100%. DD had both schools on the list initially. After visiting Oberlin for 30 minutes she asked to move on 
.
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Decision?
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What was the final decision?
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I know itâs up to the original poster to share but I hate when we donât know the ending! They should tell us at the start that they donât plan on finishing the story!
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You are expressing this far more charitably (and within the bounds of the TOS) than I could, so thank you for that!
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I can imagine why the decision hasnât been shared. Many of the posts here have been judgmental or critical, especially of W&L. Many of the critical posters offered opinions based on hearsay, or anecdotal experiences, or even the schoolâs decision to maintain its name. Few have offered genuine comparisons. I can.
My child is a graduating Johnson Scholar who had the same choices presented to this posterâs student. I have another child that actively considered W&L but chose a Bowdoin peer (that is, another school of similar size in the NESCAC conference). I have had eight years of experience on these campuses and I can assure you the schools are far more similar than they are different. All schools listed by the poster are fine schools and the opportunity to choose just one of those is rare.
I can only imagine the scorn some may rain on this poster if W&L was announced as the choice. I doubt many, if any, of those who may be critical have spent the time, thought and effort expended by the poster and the posterâs student comparing these schools to reach this decision.
I wish this poster well, and I wish the posterâs student a phenomenal four years. If the poster has any questions about my studentâs choices or experiences, I would gladly answer them off this thread.
The poster does not owe us a decision. The poster owes simply what all of us owe this community - respect, tolerance and courtesy.
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I agree that the OP does not owe us a decision.
I disagree that the information provided on W&L has been unfair, inaccurate or inappropriate in a thread where OP asked for feedback on the various options. No single school is for everyone, and when an OP expresses the viewpoint their their child found W&L to be âtoo greek; too southern,â then it seems like the types of concerns that are being raised might be of interest and relevance.
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Iâve deleted 13 posts that were nothing but a rehash of the Washington and Lee thread that was closed. Letâs consider the topic of statues, effigies, flags, renaming,etc. dead for this thread.
I am temporarily closing this thread so the users who are currently typing will be unable to post and wonât be able to later claim they did not see my note.
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This topic was automatically opened after 51 minutes.
I guess Iâd just like to know in advance if we will know the end of the story. I just donât like reading long threads and then not knowing what happened. Threads like this make me less likely to comment. So just tell us up front if youâre going to ghost the thread in the end!
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Iâm curious, how do we know the OPâs (any OPâs) intent at the start of the thread?
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