I was scanning posts for Dickinson and Kenyon and this came up - my son had his final choice between the two of them, as well. The financial aid packages for the two were similar, so we were comfortable with either one. We were somewhat surprised that he got into Kenyon - his scores are high, but his gpa is in the lower range for Kenyon. I think we were all a little intimidated by some of the kids that he met there (especially in the bio dept) - they seemed super smart and enthusiastic about their studies.
But when he really thought about it, my son decided that he would rather not be at the bottom of the class at Kenyon, and chose to attend Dickinson. He is no longer certain of his career path, and they seem to have more options as far as majors are concerned. He would still like to do research and study abroad, and the opportunities are there, as well. Although he loves the idea of a rural campus, being in a small town close to other cities is appealing, as well. I hope we donât regret turning down the opportunity to attend such a great school like Kenyon, but as of right now, he is happy with his decision.
OhMomof2 - why was your child unhappy with Dickinson?
@jjplus3 , interesting. I am sorry to say we have no decison yet from D. She is determined to let my ulcer fester for as long as possible:-) I will share this with her.
Someone posted a link this morning and now I canât find it â but basically it was an opinion piece by someone in college admissions offering advice on how to make your final selection. In a nutshell it said, donât get caught up with names, donât pick the âbestâ school, pick the right school.
i just chuckled reading the title of this thread. I bet many people think they are cool and so is the college they attend. I think the most important thing is to grow into someone who accepts and interacts a wide variety of âcool peopleâ to have the most interesting life. And I would let your student decide what is cool to them, otherwise, their choice, (if they donât find it cool), will fall on your shoulders.
EDIT: I now see that this post is almost two years old. I wonder what college was the coolest? Maybe the OP will let us know.
Ha - we told my son we were NOT waiting until the weekend for his decision, just in case something went wrong with the online payment/confirmation of attendance.
I donât know if this might help your daughter, but my son spoke to a bunch of friends and a trusted teacher, and in the end the teacher told him it sounded like he already knew which one felt like a better fit, and that it sounded like he was working hard to justify the merits of the other school. After that, he felt more comfortable with committing to one without feeling guilty about turning down the more competitive college. Theyâre both great schools that have a lot to offer, and it will be up to him (and her) to make the most out of his time there.
The whole goal of our familyâs college search was to make sure that our son had his choice of affordable, good quality schools. Weâve met that goal, and hopefully he wonât stress any more about making a wrong decision because there is no wrong decision at this point. Either one will work out just fine. Hope your daughter makes her decision today so that she can relax over the weekend!
Oh by the way, when my son filled out the accepted students form, we did not receive a confirmation email (although we did receive confirmation of payment of the deposit). We called to check to make sure that they had him as attending, and everything was fine. Another reason not to wait until Sunday night to respondâŠ
I had a major in psychology, a minor in english and fwiw, it would be a pretty easy choice for me given kenyonâs reputation as a writerâs college. But maybe that means she should pick dickinson
with great fanfare, my S1 announced his decision the day before it was due⊠Later that day he announced a changed of mind. and that night, he changed his mind again. Iâm sure with another day or two, heâd have decided to take a gap year.
LOL, it was one year ago today that D and I visited her college (it was my 1st visit, her 2nd). I stood in front of the bookstore and said "Buy the Damn Sweatshirt!. I know she wanted to but man, make a decision already. If I hadnât given her that little push, I think sheâd be at the local community college.
Iâm on the edge of my seat! But tell me, with all the talk about yield-protection these days, if you notified a school on May 2nd that you would like to attend, would they say: âsorry! Too late!â? Is the accept date as strongly adhered to as the app date?
When it came down to a decision between 2 things, my mom always advised me to flip a coin. If the outcome immediately made me think âokay, make it best 2 out of 3â, I probably wanted the other one.
Best of luck to your D whatever she decides @Lindagaf - as someone just beginning this journey with my D, Iâve really enjoyed and learned a lot from your familyâs experiences.
The coin flip works. Our D did that last year when she had it down to 2 at the end of April. It was fascinating to watch the emotions play out as she flipped and flipped again. She struggled and whined about maybe flipping a 3rd time but it was so obvious to us which one it was just by observing. When we told her what we saw, she knew. She just needed someone to tell her it was ok to let the âmore prestigiousâ one go. She is a very happy freshman today.
She is not one to rush decisions. I will look for the article, might help her.