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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Things that swayed my kids one way or another...

Variety of housing options
Quality  and variety of the food
Extracurricular activities -- could they continue specific ECs, how competitive is it to join clubs
Rec centers - does it have good equipment, how crowded is it (can you actually get in to use it when you want to)
Extended visits where they could meet with several students and get a sense of the "vibe"
Surrounding area - does it have places they want to go, how hard is it to get around
Academically - how many required general ed classes are there, how flexible is the curriculum, what kind of supporting research centers or other facilities do they have to support experiential learning.
[/quote]

Vibe is a key factor for my kids.  As you walk campus, talk to students and tour guides, does your kid "feel at home" and see themselves fitting in.  Some campuses, my kid really saw it, others it helped them to see, while the academics are great and it's an amazing school, they will do better at the other choices[/quote]

+1 DD had a clear take on the "vibe" at schools that to me seemed pretty darn similar. In the end she picked the place where she felt at home. IMO, you don't argue with the vibe assessment.[/quote]

At the school my kid ultimately picked, they just felt at home from the first tour.  Ironically, each tour we did (2) they had multiple guides and you could pick one.  So they had an engineering major (STEM), a premed (but humanities major), humanities/social sciences (not premed), etc.   Well my kid picked the engineering major both times, and got not just an engineering major, but a Chem E major (my kid's chosen major) both times.    So it really helped to see that the tour guides were interesting, engaging kids that are similar to my "non geeky" engineering kid.

[b]Then the school my kid chose has a unique "core curriculum" where you take courses in all 3 areas: STEM, Humanities and Social Sciences.  Your major covers one, and then you take 12 credits in each of the others in the SAME discipline.  They want you to focus in depth on something you love.  [/b]That really appeals to my dancer kid.  They will be taking 12 credits of dance and 12 credits of Psychology and their freshman writing course.  That is it---no history, no theology, no philosophy, no literature, etc.  Instead they do their history with the history of dance along with actual dancing.    [b]They don't have to take courses they don't like/don't want to take to just check boxes.  [/b]

Really from the moment they set foot on campus first time, I could see something different in my kid about the campus.  At first I thought it was because the previous day had been two campuses they absolutely did NOT like (Troy NY is not a nice town).  They had immediately found the place they really loved and was a Target school (so achievable and not single digit acceptance rates. Thankfully it all worked out[/quote]

This approach to a core curriculum sounds fantastic.  We're new to the process (DC is only a sophomore.)  Would you be willing to share the name of the school? Thanks![/quote]

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