Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 01:22     Subject: It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My daughter chose Williams over Harvard, Princeton, JHU and Columbia. She fell overwhelmed at all the other colleges due to their size and her anxiety kicked in.


Alex, I'll take things that never happened for $1000.


Copy cat ahole.
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 01:21     Subject: It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
Anonymous wrote:Let's just say picking suxs


Let’s just say it sux. Suxs isn’t even a word.
Anonymous
Post 05/03/2026 21:34     Subject: It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
Anonymous wrote:My daughter chose Williams over Harvard, Princeton, JHU and Columbia. She fell overwhelmed at all the other colleges due to their size and her anxiety kicked in.


Alex, I'll take things that never happened for $1000.
Anonymous
Post 05/03/2026 17:16     Subject: Re:It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
Fit. (Though other considerations included merit aid package, courses of interest, transportation options, guaranteed campus housing for four years, traditional campus, no Greek life).
Anonymous
Post 05/03/2026 16:49     Subject: It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
Anonymous wrote:My DC went with their heart. It was a little more expensive than the other choices, but absolutely the best fit. They’re beyond excited to join this school community. They found a roommate, and was admitted to a very selective program at school. Things are shaping up!


Nine out of ten times, the kid picks the more expensive one..maybe there is a link to research out there?
Anonymous
Post 05/03/2026 13:00     Subject: It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Narrowed it down to 3 quickly (one regret: should have had her log onto portals immediately to officially decline the others - we hadn't really realized how things work.)

Did official admit visit day for 1 and class-visit / self arranged visits for the other 2. Had 1 that was the likely lead candidate, and after visits it was. Committed a few hours after leaving last visit this week then declined all other spots.

The visits as an admitted student were particularly helpful, especially the option to sit in on classes. But really the final distinction came down to location and vibes, as they were all SLACs.


Why in the quick refusal important?


Just from a helping the process globally position. She had 7 admits, 4 that she knew weren’t in the running once she had all the decisions, some that had offered scholar/merit awards. If we had realized there was the decline button we would have had her do it right away to enable the college to more quickly pivot to other students / the waitlist.
Anonymous
Post 05/03/2026 12:55     Subject: It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My daughter chose Williams over Harvard, Princeton, JHU and Columbia. She fell overwhelmed at all the other colleges due to their size and her anxiety kicked in.


Princeton is barely bigger than Williams!


Princeton is *markedly* bigger than Williams with a different feel and vibe.
Anonymous
Post 05/03/2026 12:54     Subject: It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
My kid was down to the wire between UCLA vs Michigan and chose UCLA. Very tough choice as we all really liked both schools.
Anonymous
Post 05/03/2026 12:46     Subject: It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
My DC went with their heart. It was a little more expensive than the other choices, but absolutely the best fit. They’re beyond excited to join this school community. They found a roommate, and was admitted to a very selective program at school. Things are shaping up!
Anonymous
Post 05/03/2026 12:39     Subject: It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The day is here


And just as stressful as 'Is it Cake?' 1 or 2, no wait #3, or #4???? Which one which one, lock it in, it's 11:59pm May 1st.


+1 if fortunate to get multiple offers
Anonymous
Post 05/03/2026 12:37     Subject: Re:It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Admitted student visits. I could see it in his face and the way he carried himself. I knew which one he would pick from those visits. He was alive and paying attention and had excitement vs the one I originally thought he’d pick where he was eyeballing and going through the motions and ready to leave as soon as he could.

The final two choices were distinctly different. Urban vs suburban/rural. Mid-size vs large. Private vs public.


Same for both of my kids. Admitted day was critical.


It really is. Go for tours, visits again if you can make it work, and if kid gets in, definitely visit on admit day.

Anonymous
Post 05/03/2026 12:35     Subject: It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
It's after May 1. Breathe. ptsd kicks in.
Anonymous
Post 05/03/2026 11:36     Subject: It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
Anonymous wrote:My daughter chose Williams over Harvard, Princeton, JHU and Columbia. She fell overwhelmed at all the other colleges due to their size and her anxiety kicked in.


Princeton is barely bigger than Williams!
Anonymous
Post 05/03/2026 11:34     Subject: It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:warm sunny days and great parties


I can tell you the life outcomes for people who have those priorities for college, but you probably don’t want to know…


Most seem fine. But a part of it was also choosing the right parents (and parents bank account).
Anonymous
Post 05/03/2026 11:32     Subject: It's May 1st. How and why did your kid decide on that college/university?
Anonymous wrote:Narrowed it down to 3 quickly (one regret: should have had her log onto portals immediately to officially decline the others - we hadn't really realized how things work.)

Did official admit visit day for 1 and class-visit / self arranged visits for the other 2. Had 1 that was the likely lead candidate, and after visits it was. Committed a few hours after leaving last visit this week then declined all other spots.

The visits as an admitted student were particularly helpful, especially the option to sit in on classes. But really the final distinction came down to location and vibes, as they were all SLACs.


Why in the quick refusal important?