We will be in Madrid! Ackk!! She is talking with the college advisor we used right now. She knows both schools really well.
Bates can easily call you in Madrid. I promise theyāll wait and call if you decide on a time.
Wow, maybe this could be the basis of a screenplay. So much suspense!
One thing to consider, while your daughter is on the quiet side and prefers small interactions, she may evolve in confidence in college and there is the (probably slight) risk that she might outgrow Kenyon and Gambier.
That said, they are both great schools and she will thrive in either place. Idyllic in their separate ways.
Congrats!
Does she want to stay in State or live in another state?
Is it as cold in Ohio? Or does weather not matter?
Where do the college-based study abroad programs take place exactly?
My daughter visited both schools, with official tours. She liked them both, but settled quite happily on Kenyon ED2. Recently she found she was able to enter the Bates Facebook page (apparently it is not a private group). After reading through multiple posts she told me she was even more happy with her choice of Kenyon. She believes she has found her āfitā with the Kenyon kids. She is very similar to your daughter, Linda, in terms of personality and interests.
Re# 363, weather could be factor for a student who prefers a slightly warmer environment:
Avg Jan Low
Gambier: 16Ā°
Lewiston: 12Ā°
(Sperlingās.)
omg - I had to come in from lurking. This has to be one of the biggest nail-biters on CC. Mind you, I have just read through all 25 pages of this for the first time (I might have popped in for a page or two somewhere along the line, but I had the impression that @Lindagaf 's D was in Dickinson ā that will show you how behind the times I am!).
Best of luck with whatever she decides (truth be told, Kenyon sounds like a better fit for her, imho)
@apple23: For those reading through with interests in similar schools, had your daughter considered an ED1 app anywhere?
@NEPatsGirl and @porcupine98 - Iād tell them that if they wanted to let my kid attend on a full ride for one year as a trial, sheād be more than happy to accept. Otherwise, thanks, but no thanks.
@merc81 She fell in love with Hamilton and applied ED1 there. She was deferred. After the deferral she researched English departments at several other LACs. Based on her research, she decided to apply to Bates, Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr, Grinnell, Kenyon, Middlebury, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, Skidmore, Union and Wesleyan. We were able to visit all but Bryn Mawr, Grinnell, Union and Skidmore. In January we flew to Ohio for tours and interviews at Kenyon and Oberlin. She loved them both, and could see herself at either. In the end, the Kenyon campus, English department and opportunity to intern at the Kenyon Review won her over. It was extremely difficult for her to let go of Hamilton, and Iām not sure which she would have chosen had she gotten into both in the RD round. With an intent to avoid uncertainty, she chose to switch her Kenyon application to ED2, got her acceptance in early February, quickly withdrew all her other applications and hasnāt looked back. She is thrilled with her choice and cannot wait to get to Kenyon in August.
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my advice is not to let them push her into a quick decision. ask for a week to think it over.
Just to play devilās advocate: I remember your daughter not wanting Greek life. Kenyon has it, and Bates does not. I donāt know if Kenyonās Greek life is big enough to make a difference.
This is exciting! I vote for Kenyon. I know two women who went thereāour veterinarian and a writing teacher. They are both creative and quiet yet friendly (and incredible at their jobs!). However, Iām from the midwest, so Iām biased. Maybe it would help to lurk on each collegeās Facebook page to see what seems to be highlighted? You might get a better idea of what the focus is there. Or you may not, depending on who is in charge of the posting. Best of luck. I hope you have an international plan on your cell phone.
I donāt think Bates should make her hurry for a decision because sheād have to be at least psychologically committed to another school by this point; hopefully they know theyāve thrown you all for a loop.
Read the school papers!
(Because you have nothing else to do while preparing for an overseas trip.)
@Lindagaf Good luck with the decision, keep us posted!
Good luck with the decision! This is really exciting. I vote for Bates (keep in mind Iāve no experience with either college besides this thread). Gotta admit, Iām a little jealous of your daughter for having such a helpful, engaged (right word?) parent and a college counselor to boot.
Faithful Reader,
You may remember a few moons ago I waxed lyrical about sparrows and cornfields. Compare the delicate sparrow to the mighty eagle, both beautiful and perfect in their own ways. Contrast the humble cornstalk with the towering pine. Both sustain life; neither is more worthy than the other. The rippling waves of corn in Ohio are not lesser than the crashing waves of Maine. The prose herein could be dragged out by adjectives and similes aplenty, but I cannot sustain your attention forever.
The teenage girl remains the same, committed to her belief that fate will guide her. Indeed it has. Although I scolded and pleaded with her to remove her name from the waitlist at a certain college in yet another cold part of the world, would she listen to me? Nay, she would not! So, fate has intervened and the teenage girl has made yet another decision which may alter the course of her life.
I ask you, Reader, is this folly? The girl cares not a whit for lobster or skiing. She is not interested in sport or beer. Yet, as we speak, she busily completes the required enrollment form for a certain Northeastern college tucked away in the modest town of Lewiston. Although a sensible girl, she canāt totally explain her choice, anymore than she can explain why yesterday those shoes were cool and today they are not. āI like it betterā is the deciding factor.
It is my hope that you are still in possession of a glass. Fill it once again, and raise it if you please in a toast to Miss Lindgafās D. May she live long and prosper at Bates College, Maine! Though ranked #13 in Princeton Reviewās Lotsa Beer list, it is my understanding that while students sport red Solo cups aplenty, they succeed in their studies nonetheless. At least I certainly hope so. And with that, my friends, this saga seems to have run its course. (Shame really, I was having a LOT of fun:-)
Warmest regards,
Lindagaf
P.S. Anyone need a plane ticket from Columbus to New York?
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congrats to your D! I played competitive chess through college and there was a dynamic where if the person that was behind in the game, through much thought and energy, was eventually able to achieve a small winning advantage and then was offered a draw by his opponent, the draw would be accepted because the player was mentally unable to adjust to the the fact that he had a winning position. It seems to me your D, possessing a quick and flexible mind, did well to avoid that trap.
is this really the end? so sad, I almost hope weāll be reading about a transfer to brown next year 8-}
oops.