Smart kid. College is about more than the learning you do in class.
My older D wants access to really great food. If there arent great restaurants within 30 minutes of campus, it’s out.
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My S line in the sand is that it had to be a big city. So he only visited schools in New York, Boston, and LA.
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My 25 year old had white hair as a child, has had three very long term girlfriends, who all had/have long dark hair, are around 5’2” (he’s 6’1”), and slender. His current girlfriend is the same age as his 22 year old sister, has the same first and middle name (she is 5’2”, long dark hair and slender, it did creep her out at first🤣, but they along well).
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I have a neighbor with 7 kids. Three of her 4 boys are dating/married to girls that all have the same first name.
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Both sons: - no schools in the South. We have family there and they had seen quite enough.
- preference to be one Southwest flight from home (no transfers, and two free bags)
- easy access to public transit (neither had cars, and one still doesn’t drive)
S1: low emphasis on sports, wanted high geekiness quotient
S2: good food en route to the college and nearby campus
My line in the sand was that my STEM son could not apply to Georgia Tech. Knew too many people who crashed and burned in heartbreaking ways there (including one of my brothers).
Down to the wire…putting it off until the final moment. Child presented with their first adult decision. Likes 2 schools out of 3 for final selection. One ruled out because free T-shirt had small hole in it. Dark horse school that child only visited because I made them is in because we got into football stadium and were able to take pictures on 50 yard line with logo facing giant tv screen. Other school in contention has a TIGER, and tiger cam, which is very important.
Child can choose tiger school and then have to pay for any graduate school, or child can choose other school that they liked, and have money leftover for grad school or whatever.
I feel like I am running an adolescent psychology lab. And to top it off child has friends going to both schools who are trying to persuade them to choose their school
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Seems like if he did not want to go to any school in the South, he would not want to apply to Georgia Tech anyway. Or does his definition of “South” not include Georgia?
My son only wanted west coast, refused Midwest, Northeast, South. Got into Newhouse at Syracuse and went, even though he did not like school mascot, or colors (a recurring theme in my family). Changed majors but still loved school. They are very weird at that age.
Applied to Syracuse because it was a reach and never thought he would get in, and when he did, he felt he had to go. Went and loved it
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GaTech had specific appeal in his academic interests and would have been a logical school to have on his list. He felt it wasn’t a good cultural fit for him, and with lots of family in the area, he had some up-close experience. FWIW: he applied in 2007, so this was not an opinion formed by recent events.
I had a line in the sand about GATech (and not just because I attended UGA…). I was glad he didn’t include it among his options.
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As @ucbalumnus said, you said he didn’t want to go to any school in the “south” anyway. So, no Georgia Tech even based on that.
Just parent’s individual wish coincided with kid’s own. Perfect!
My son applied to schools all over the country and will be moving to Louisiana. The place had to have a music scene and just feel right.
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In the end it had to be affordable, but from the start it had to be in a state with no anti-transgender legislation (or proposed legislation supported by the state’s governor). We basically ruled out everything below the Mason-Dixon line as well as some above it.
If it had a Chik-Fil-A on campus, that probably would’ve eliminated it too.
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While my daughter refers to her brothers, her true preference is increased diversity. Growing up one of few kids of color in a mostly white community has her drawn to other cultures.
We had the conversation this week of what max percentage of white students would be her line in the sand. Sounds like 80% or less is her current choice. She is hispanic but is open to other cultures and races being represented. My ultimate goal is that she feels comfortable.
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I drew my personal line in the sand about GT well before S1 had made his list and stated his preferences. Let’s move on.
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This makes me nervous, have a close family member denied at most schools he applied to. Got into Pitt, and got an offer from GT for a 2024 fall transfer. He’s bright (top test scores), did much better in honors/AP classes vs. regular, but average gpa. He’s adhd, forgetful, executive function issues and not driven academically unless he’s very interested. I’m hoping he stays at Pitt unless things change.
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Among colleges mentioned here that may attract significant numbers of out-of-area students, some of those that have a reputation of being “less diverse” do meet that <=80% criterion. For example, WLU 74%, South Carolina 74%, Alabama 76%, Mississippi 77%, Clemson 78%. Those that barely miss include University of the South 82%, Maine 82%, Vermont 83%, New Hampshire 84%.
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My kid applied to U of Memphis, which is about half white students. I don’t know anything about their non-music programs, though, or whether Tennessee is acceptable. Just a thought. We did not visit, because he made his choice before we got to.
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No small colleges (less than 10,000)
No remote locations
Must have football/tailgating
Must have lots of school spirit
Nothing north of Virginia (too cold)
I laugh at the last one because she ended up in Virginia and was genuinely surprised by the snowy/windy winters. 
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D18. Her line in the sand was - no guys. All female campus. Worked out great for her!
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