Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Surely you’ve visited some colleges before now? Which other ones appealed to her? What does the college counselor recommend for her stats and interests?

We've been to a few campuses. She hated Yale and Harvard with a passion and seemed miserable during the tour. She was ambivalent about Georgetown-liked the campus but can't stomach being close to home. Really the only campus we toured that she had a positive experience with was seeing her cousin over at Occidental, but she more enjoyed being with family is my guess. Her counselor was the first to suggest Yale and Vassar, since she seems to like tight knit, humanities-based environments. She still has an interest in Vassar.

NP, not being a smarta$$, but I get the idea of a "normal" state school is of no interest?

I had bizarre ideas about colleges too OP - like I was considering University of Alaska Fairbanks. My parents left me alone and I picked a good college I could afford in a place with normal seasons. Just let her figure it out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Surely you’ve visited some colleges before now? Which other ones appealed to her? What does the college counselor recommend for her stats and interests?

We've been to a few campuses. She hated Yale and Harvard with a passion and seemed miserable during the tour. She was ambivalent about Georgetown-liked the campus but can't stomach being close to home. Really the only campus we toured that she had a positive experience with was seeing her cousin over at Occidental, but she more enjoyed being with family is my guess. Her counselor was the first to suggest Yale and Vassar, since she seems to like tight knit, humanities-based environments. She still has an interest in Vassar.

Oh. Well then. I'm sure she'll do just fine in life, no matter what she chooses.

If she liked Vassar I’d try to build from there. What about Brown or Wesleyan? Like Vassar, those have open curriculums.

Have her visit Mount Holyoke also.

It is a very international student body. They teach women to be leaders.

Show her the dual BA programs at Columbia (Trinity Dublin, Sciences Po [various campuses in France -- don't have to speak French]), Cal (Sciences Po again) -- two years at each place, get a degree from both. There are quite a few others but those are just the ones where my kid applied.

Anonymous wrote:Surely you’ve visited some colleges before now? Which other ones appealed to her? What does the college counselor recommend for her stats and interests?

We've been to a few campuses. She hated Yale and Harvard with a passion and seemed miserable during the tour. She was ambivalent about Georgetown-liked the campus but can't stomach being close to home. Really the only campus we toured that she had a positive experience with was seeing her cousin over at Occidental, but she more enjoyed being with family is my guess. Her counselor was the first to suggest Yale and Vassar, since she seems to like tight knit, humanities-based environments. She still has an interest in Vassar.

Would she live at home while attending online classes? Is that what she really wants or might the full college experience appeal to her?

I would try to schedule some visits of actual college campuses (maybe even just casually wander through some that are near you). Alternatively, could you sign her up for a precollege summer program that may be of interest? They usually get to stay in dorms and get a taste of campus life.

I’ve never heard of Minerva and would be concerned too. Sounds like an untraditional path that may be right for some students with a certain profile. I’m surprised her school’s college counseling office doesn’t have her aiming much higher if she’s first in her class. That is indeed odd and I might look for a few sessions with a private counselor if they aren’t directing her appropriately.

Surely you’ve visited some colleges before now? Which other ones appealed to her? What does the college counselor recommend for her stats and interests?

Anonymous wrote:I find this hard to believe.

I didn't ask. Some people in this thread actually have helpful comments. Maybe you got your degree from Minerva.

I find this hard to believe.

She could also apply to universities in other countries (St. Andrews, McGill, etc.) and to ones with co-ops (Northeastern, Temple) to have a more varied experience. Yale also has a 2-year program abroad in China, but obviously nobody's odds are good at getting into it. Agree to let her apply but let her know what you're contributing financially and how many other schools she needs to find to get excited about. 2-3 each of reach, middle, and safety seems reasonable.

Anonymous wrote:What does she like about Minerva? Maybe some of the things that she finds attractive - travel/study abroad, international cohort, etc - could be found at other, more traditional institutions. Some students address the downsides in YouTube videos (though a lot of them have a positive spin).

It's the mix of online (i won't deny that she thrived during covid lockdown) and the travel (she's always loved intercultural experiences). I'm hoping that touring schools with good study abroad or campuses abroad will appease her.

What does she like about Minerva? Maybe some of the things that she finds attractive - travel/study abroad, international cohort, etc - could be found at other, more traditional institutions. Some students address the downsides in YouTube videos (though a lot of them have a positive spin).

Also what is this "college talk"? You need to ease your kid into it over multiple years. There's a lot of strategy for developing brains to figure out, and it needs to seep in gradually, otherwise you're going to overwhelm them and they get grumpy from stress.