<p>Congratulations,BandMom to you and your son in making the decision!</p>
<p>Best of luck, OP. Phew, I well remember that it does feel good to have decisions made!</p>
<p>I was being a bit sarcastic with the WandM/tea party bit (actually, I think my daughter was born with a contrarian spirit so, whatever school she ends up in, she will probably seek out political and social groups that we find obnoxious just to challenge our views a bit and differentiate herself from ma and pa)…</p>
<p>and, like everyone on the forum, we have limited data and observations from each school (our experience, experience with our own kid, neighbor’s kid, etc.) to provide our perspective. Thus, all of our comments are based on limited, distorted and biased information. It seems that OP and S are very savy…read the comments, decided if they were relevant to their experience and expectations for the school but kept in mind that each comment is just an opinion, not a truth.</p>
<p>I am sure all of these schools have artsy/intellectual/save the world kids and are happy at their school. It really does come down to where a kid feels he/she will thrive. The point is to succeed at college (loosely defined as…discovering a lot about yourself, growing intellectually and socially into a young and thoughtful adult, and finishing with a bachelor’s in a reasonable time span)…how they will succeed depends as much on the kid/environment fit as any other. My sense, but only my sense, is that some kids in some schools don’t get c hallenged and don’t grow very much…like how the OP feels about Pittsburgh…just doesn’t seem to be a place where her S will really have the chance to be intellectually and socially challenged. Other kid at Pitt would do very, very well in terms of my definition of success. WandM sounds like a good choice for her kid ATC (all things considered). Good luck OP and S! Start working on the drawl and get some yellow and green into your wardrobe!</p>
<p>A little late to the party so I’ll be brief. My thoughts are up close and personal having one child who graduated from W & M (OOS) and one from Pitt (also OOS but full tuition scholarship.) The actual school does not matter as much as the student. Period. He or she charts the path as to how challenging/supportive/social/artistic/political the environment is. The one thing they can’t change is the physical. W & M clearly has the edge for the traditional campus and the history behind it. On the other hand Pittsburgh/Oakland is a very fun and accessible place for students without being overwhelming.</p>