<p>I can tell you that my friend whose son is in MT, would NOT have been happy in a small rural school, even if it had an amazing MT program. He is so into MT that he wanted to be in a big city that had lots of other schools doing productions, where broadway shows came through, and where he could audition or work behind the scenes and get some real world experience, so yes, having a school with his major was uber important, but location, other programs, the city, the rest of the school, dorms, etc also mattered. he would have been miserable in a small school.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I have a friend whose daughter really wanted a school with a very outdoorsy feel and choice Lewis and Clark. Could she have survived Reed, no. Similar locations, similar size, but totally different vibe.</p>
<p>And a sense a whole lot of justification going on for long lists of schools</p>
<p>And maybe you know a kid who would be equally happy in Montana as Manhattan, if the school were equal.</p>
<p>And it isn’t about precision tailoring. You are trying to say that my Ds were all fussy and picky. They weren’t, they just were pretty honest with themselves.</p>
<p>I still would love to see the list of those 19 schools. </p>
<p>And you can all deny deny deny that those things I listed matter to lots of kids, but after a year, they will matter. If you go to a school, MT or not, that has a large Greek presence, like it or not, that is felt in every bone of that school.</p>
<p>If you go to a school that is a suitcase school. MT major or not, and the school feels empty, it will matter.</p>
<p>If you are a kid that likes museums, or concerts, and you go to a school where its difficult to get there, MT major or not, you will get bored.</p>
<p>MT aren’t the only kids that live and breath their major. Far from it. </p>
<p>I just get a sense that some applicants are looking at the trees and not the forest, or the forest and not the trees, while you need to really look and see both.</p>
<p>My Ds knew that certain things in a school, no matter the major, location etc that would not make it work. And to say, well, so long as they have this major, location, size, etc are not important is really being naive.</p>
<p>Its is like saying, well, I will date a guy who plays guitar, cause I LOVE guitar players, but, eh, the rest doesn’t matter. Is that how you want your daughter to look at colleges?</p>
<p>And yes, dating and the college hunt are very similar. </p>
<p>GO ahead, apply to 15, 19 schools. It doesn’t matter to me one bit. My kids are in the process anymore. I just lived through it. And watched the process.</p>
<p>I just don’t think its prodcutve to have a thread that all about apply anywhere you want, go for all the schools you want, 19 is a great number!! Don’t “limit” yourselves! Don’t let anyone tell you what to do! Be free!! Be wild!!</p>
<p>I think that as parents, we need to open our kids eyes to the WHOLE college experience, remind our kids that they are WHOLE human beings, not just MT majors. (on that note, what if the MT majors don’t get the parts? and they won’t- is the rest of the school okay- back to my friend whose son in a MT major, as time went on, he is a junior now, it got tougher to get the good parts, etc, his friends were not so gong how on the program because it was harder, they were not the stars like they were used to, and sure, it was fun being part of the program, but a certain weeding out process was happening, and if you didn’t like that school, and the rest of the kids and the classes, well). </p>
<p>Its like the kid who gets into a school to play soccer. Say the soccer program is AWESOME, it is fantasy camp every day. Say you get hurt. Then what. If the school itself isn’t a good match, a relatively good fit, you wil not succeed.</p>
<p>Same with a MT major, you can be in one amazing program, but if oyu don’t make the cut down the road, or the rest of the classes and teachers, and dorms, and campus aren’t good, you won’t last.</p>
<p>You have to look at a school with the assumption the kid will change their major, wash out of their major, discover a whole knew major. You have to look at a school and see that there are thousands of other people there, not just the ones in the science department.</p>
<p>If my kid was in MT, I would make sure that the rest of the school- location, etc was a good match, just in case MT didn’t work out. Cause it may well not.</p>
<p>You can say some of the things I listed are trivial, silly, etc., but, look at your own lives, your own friends, your own adult choices.</p>
<p>Also, I don’t know many adults who would say, sure, same job, put me in Texas who would also say, put me in Boston. Neither is bad nor good, but most adults I know really have a preference and see the world beyond their jobs. They see community, housing, transportation, and narrow down their lists hoping to get 75% of what they need or want.</p>
<p>I just don’t know any kids who seem to care so little about their college choices that one of 19 schools is fine, that location doesn’t matter, that size doesn’t matter, that amenities don’t matter, that transporation doesn’t matter, that having some nice restraurants to eat at once in a while doesn’t matter, that having friendships outside of one’s major doesn’t matter, that having housing doens’t matter.</p>
<p>To most adults, those things matter, and matter alot because they see beyond their little pond. And see that they will be someplace for 4 years, and being able to get to a hill and hike, while at this moment of filling out an application may seem silly and trivial, it will matter.</p>
<p>My Ds did their applications looking at their wholeselves, not not one aspect of who they are. They looked at the future, not just the young adult they are now. They looked to expand their worlds, the types of people they hang out with, not just who wants to study the same thing.</p>
<p>but, hey thats the “tailored” way of looking at colleges I guess.</p>