<p>I would choose Earlham over Kenyon or Oberlin in a heartbeat, but others may differ.</p>
<p>Mini, I thought the same thing when I read Earlham listed. There's a wonderful school with fine academics, in an environment whose values would cause some to absolutely blossom. These are personal choices, all the more so with schools that express personalities.</p>
<p>I see your logic regarding the highly personal LAC, but w/ limited time, money and energy, is it wiser to visit the stat reach as opposed to the match? </p>
<p>For me whether to visit a school like Oberlin is it's a purely hypothetical question. We are hoping to visit Earlham , OWU and Wooster; if we add a school it will Wittenberg, Marietta, Hiram or a similar school (and many thanks to all of you who suggested or described these schools).</p>
<p>^ It is up to you, of course. Personally, I would advise distributing the visits among a range of selectivity. Know that if you don't visit a reach LAC, it may hurt your chances of admissions. If you are willing to accept that possibility--if the reach school isn't really a perfect fit, for instance--then I would pass it up easily. But if you think your D would fit well at Oberlin (or Kenyon) and want her to have the best shot possible, visiting is a no-brainer.</p>
<p>What about Ashland, Baldwin-Wallace, Mount Union and Kenyon?</p>
<p>If OP's D has a shot at Oberlin, Kenyon is certainly worth a visit, and visiting "highly personal" LACs, even if (or precisely b/c) it is a stat-reach, is sound advice. (Either school would be a shot in the dark for my D.)</p>
<p>But while a student's college list should include a range of schools including reach schools, every individual trip need not include a visit to reach schools - - especially if visiting the reach schools means bypassing match or safety schools. These days the CC admonition, "love thy safety" is truer than ever and it's hard to fall for a school you've nerer visited. And how many threads/posts have you read re: the need to "show love" to your safety, lest the safety turn its back on the over-qualified applicant? </p>
<p>Or, maybe I'm too cautious . . .</p>
<p>(NWOhiomom, I will check out the schools you suggested; thanks.)</p>
<p>nyc, I think a good question to ask yourself is IF your DD were accepted to a reach school would you send her there? If the answer is no because of poor fit, lack of merit or good FA, not sure if she would graduate in 4 years, etc., then why bother visiting the reach school? That is the question that I asked myself.</p>
<p>Of course it makes no sense to visit schools to which you wouldn't send your child even if admitted!! But there are so many reach schools that are perfectly fine (ie: would enroll if admitted) that one has to draw the line somewhere. And a good college list shouldn't be weighted too heavily with reach schools, nor does one have to vist reach schools b/c they are there. </p>
<p>If a student is travieling to MA to visit Clark and Hampshire, and she has designated, visited and interviewed at 5 reach schools, she need not extend her trip to visit Amherst (or even Smith) just b/c it's there. And she certainly shouldn't she drop one of the match or safety schools to make room for Amherst. If, OTOH, the student hasn't designated or visited any reach schools, adding Amherst, Smith and MHC (or any combinatin) would be a wise move.</p>
<p>That said, I wouldn't add Kenyon/Oberlin to D's list b/c if admitted (unlikely, but stranger things have happened), at best, she'd struggle MIGHITLY (academ probat) to graduate in four years; the worse outcomes are endless.</p>
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That said, I wouldn't add Kenyon/Oberlin to D's list b/c if admitted (unlikely, but stranger things have happened), at best, she'd struggle MIGHITLY (academ probat) to graduate in four years; the worse outcomes are endless.
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<p>So that is the answer, and that is the what helped us to decide which schools we would visit and which we would skip.</p>
<p>That's why I said the Oberlin/Kenyon question was hypothetical for me. My post above was about visiting more generally.</p>
<p>(Also, re: your post #30, yesterday it was 40 below in either ME or VT - - and below 0 here, too.)</p>
<p>Given the part of #48 that was highlighted at #49, it doesn't make sense to apply to Kenyon or Oberlin. Why set someone up for academic stress.</p>
<p>My only suggestion about visiting would be if a school is on the way, you might consider stopping just for lunch. Eg. If one were traveling from Cleveland to Wooster, as I recall Oberlin is on the way. One could stop for lunch & maybe see the college's art museum as a break from the nitty-gritty college tours.</p>
<p>To reply to the original question of this thread...I would strongly encourage a visit to Hiram. It feels quaint, but is within three miles of shopping, pizza, etc (there is a pizza shop in Hiram itself). Marietta will probably be harder to get to from out of state. Kenyon is more isolated than Hiram. Wooster is not isolated. Wittenberg has a good mix all the way around. I would not put Oberlin in the same category as the other schools mentioned other than maybe Kenyon. I would encourage a visit to it just to get a feel for it. I will add Heidelberg. My D1 was accepted at Grinnell, St. Olaf, among others. Got their highest scholarship offers. Wanted music. She is a freshman there now and loves it. Is in the honors program. Had a weighted 4.2, a 32 on ACT, and 2090 on SAT. It costs less than the others. She went in with 26 AP credits and will be a jr by the end of her first year. Helps in considering grad school costs!</p>
<p>I went to Hanover in Indiana and it is isolated but has a large population from out of state. Beautiful campus, great academic reputation. Earlham is quirky. Sort of the way I think Oberlin is quirky. Both good schools, but I think you should visit to find out if it fits for you.</p>
<p><a href="Also,%20re:%20your%20post%20#30,%20yesterday%20it%20was%2040%20below%20in%20either%20ME%20or%20VT%20-%20-%20and%20below%200%20here,%20too.">quote</a>
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<p>I've lived in Maine for 13 years, about 30 minutes from Bates and Bowdoin, and to my knowledge it has never been 40 below here in all that time. Maybe on a mountaintop somewhere in the northwestern part of the state...in the middle of the night, counting windchill. That said, I think we may be in the single digits here today, but bright and sunny. As they say, Blame Canada! :)</p>
<p>deloar, do you know if Hiram offers a shuttle bus, or if there is public transportation from the school into the town, or for that matter anywhere?</p>
<p>"I would strongly encourage a visit to Hiram. It feels quaint, but is within three miles of shopping, pizza, etc (there is a pizza shop in Hiram itself). Marietta will probably be harder to get to from out of state. "</p>
<p>My concern is not only (or even primarily) with out of state access; D will not have a car and I don't want her to be or feel "stuck" because there is nothing in walking distance. A shuttle to shopping would be a plus, but it's also nice to be able to stroll into town for pizza, a movie or shampoo. Anyway, I think we've pretty much narrowed it down to Wooster, Earlham, Ohio Wesleyan and possibly Witt. The "walkability" score/map was a big factor.</p>
<p>foolishpleasure, my son and I agree with you. Still, my son would settle for some type of public transit, or a shuttle bus. Walking half of a mile when it is snowing or pouring is not fun either.</p>
<p>Half a mile would certainly be D's limit - - three miles is out of the question. (And thanks for the link to the "walability" guide.)</p>
<p>foolishpleasure,
I am a current student at Earlham and I love it. I do not have a car and don't even know how to drive but I have friends that have cars and they are always willing to help out. Case in point I am going to visit family for a 4 day break and the school does not run shuttles then and my friend offered to drive me to Dayton and back . Of course I will help pay for gas money. Also there is a shuttle that runs into town on Saturday nights from 6-12. It goes to the mall. both movie theatres, walmart, some resturants, krogers</p>
<p>DefyingGravity, It is so good to hear from you! I was wondering how you were doing. I am so glad that you are happy at Earlham!</p>
<p>foolishpleasure, your welcome. I discovered the walkability site through CC!</p>
<p>I agree Earlham is a wonderful school. I think it is a mistake to rule out Denison because you think it is too preppy or Greek. My son is there now, and we have not found it that way at all--they have indeed managed to reduce the Greeks to a very small presence on campus. Also, the financial aid at Denison is great--and I believe over 90% get some kind of merit aid in addition to the need based aid. My son got 17K per year in merit aid and it really makes a difference, I can tell you. It's a beautiful campus and town and a very good school. It's not as competitive as Oberlin or Kenyon, but getting better students every year because of their financial aid, from what I understand.</p>