Kenyon is just as good as Oberlin and it seems like a better fit for your daughter. 
@MYOS1634 , I think Kenyon is definitely better than Oberlin, especially for her. Thatās what counts. Will be very interested though to see what she does if she gets off WL at one of the others. She says there is no point taking her self off because her mantra has always been she will end up where she is supposed to.
We are big game players. This has been the ultimate real life game, complete with strategies and twists. I think she likes the added element of suspense. We are actually enjoying letting the game play out. Though the practical side of us is fully embracing Kenyon. (T shirt arrived yesterday.)
@Lindagaf, we were in a similar spot a year ago, essentially with two good choices but four of her top 10 schools waitlisted her. Because the decisions were so difficult to make, I talked D out of waiting for any of the schoolsā¦honestly, neither of us had the stamina to wait what could have been months to get waitlist decisions and finaid packages and I made it clear that I didnāt want to drag it out. Iām glad your Dās waitlist option came so quickly though.
Your daughter sounds a bit like my daughter, who is going to Smith. https://www.google.com/
@nonya , thanks, Smith appeared in this thread a few times. My D will be going to Kenyon:-) the original thread was started nearly two years ago.
Such a great thread! My D1 is very happy at Oberlin- was wait listed at Carlton and Colby. My son is a HS junior and is looking at Kenyon and Bates! We did not use a college counselor with D1, but wish we had- were just overwhelmed with information and the process. She put a an art portfolio together which we think could have used an expert eye and would like to find such a person for our son. Would appreciate any thoughts regarding āpackagingā a creative, smart kid. And thanks again for all the posts on this thread
My D submitted an art portfolio as part of her applications. Her advisor (at boarding school) who happens to be Art Chair, gave advice (suggestions as to what to include) and took some photos. I also gave advice, edited some photos, and took some shots of things that were at home rather than at school. Somewhere in there we did some scans of pencil drawings and I played with some settings to make them actually show up.
D does not plan to major in art but itās a big part of her life and she spends a lot of time on it rather than other possible ECs, so I encouraged doing the portfolio since her ECs were somewhat lacking. Her advisor recommended a portfolio based on where she was applying. We went back and forth on doing/not doing a portfolio several times, as the college list changed, as we looked into what the schools wanted, etc., so it ended up being an intensive fall-of-senior-year project.
@Redoak (Iām assuming you are talking about an outside college consultant) Seems like now you have more expertise to do it on your own. But I guess if you can afford it and have access to a good professional counselor, go for it.
Thanks, alooknac. Sounds like you got some great feedback from the advisor/art chair. Iāll need to find that person. Iām curious- was the portfolio she submitted different based on the colleges in terms of content?
The primary difference was format. Some schools accepted a pdf, some you had to create it in their portal. She created the original in Google Pages (not sure if thatās the right name, part of Google docs suite) and had the jpegs on her laptop. Then she tweaked as needed for various submissions. Sometimes we had to guesstimate date or size of a piece of artwork (her advisor already had some photos of pieces that were not handy).
The only content hassle was Skidmore. They require 4 drawings from life, which D is actually quite good at, but she didnāt have anything recent, handy, scannable, etc., and in the busy fall she couldnāt just suddenly do 2 submission-worthy drawings (she had 2 already) for just one school (maybe if it had been her first choice). Pencil drawings are the worst to get images of, so she had some drawings that we just couldnāt reproduce in good enough quality, either by photo or scan.
Even though a lot of advice is that the portfolio should show depth in one medium, Dās showed a wide range of media.
Doesnāt your son have a special teacher in his area of creativity who would be available to give feedback, even if not quite as actively involved as Dās advisor?
@Redoak , if youāre looking for a name of a college counselor, feel free to PM me and Iāll direct you to her website. I donāt think her expertise is on the art side (although I know sheās worked with theater kids), but she is very good and flexible in terms of working on specific parts of the process (although I think most people hire her in their junior year to go through the whole process ā through 3 months after graduation.)
NO WAY! Bates just offered her a place off the waitlist! She got an email two days ago, but just saw it. I canāt believe it. She has phoned the person who emailed, and left a message, but we leave for vacation in two days. No idea how this will turn out now.
@Lindagaf Where did Bates fall initially for your daughter in terms of interest? It is closer to home, correct?
I must admit a preference for the Maine location myself. I know several current Bates students who all seem very happy.
Oh, wow. Thatās an unexpected monkey wrench. A good one, for sure, but how stressful!
For a long time, Bates was right at the top tied with Carleton, apart from the dream schools. For obvious reasons, she lost interest because she got into Kenyon, literally and figuratively. Certainly the location is better for us. Itās a drive, instead of plane tickets. The suspense is even killing me!
Carleton notified students that they wonāt be taking anyone off the waitlist this year, as they over-enrolled apparently.
āBeauty is truth, truth beauty,āthat is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.ā
ā John Keats
Kenyon.
I think that itād be hard to move from Kenyon that far into the process - I assume sheās started to look into orientation, class registration, roommates, dormsā¦
At Kenyon, orientation and course registration doesnāt happen until a few days beforethe start of classes. I believe the same is true of Bates. She hasnāt got her room mate assignment yet.
Oh my goodness!! This storyā¦ The big question is whether you have put down a sizeable deposit yet? If not, tell her to make the decision based on what school will meet her needs. She should pretend itās a do over and she got both acceptances on the same day. What would she have done if that were the case?
Keep us up to date!!!
@citymama9 , good suggestion. I just asked her that question and she said Bates, with no hesitation. But she really likes Kenyon now, and her initial reaction was that itās too late to change. It might be a moot point, because they contacted her two days ago, and itās a holiday weekend. She might have missed her chance. And no, the deposit was not large. But I did already buy her plane ticket for Tgiving break!
Wow. This is a tough one. The good news is that she canāt make a mistake. Both are wonderful choices. Thereās no downside here. Good luck:))