Wouldn't it be wonderful if this forum had a screening test, so the people who want to share and learn from each other could be let on and the people who fancy themselves superior, and in a position to judge others could be prevented from posting. Sigh

Anonymous wrote:I love this thread, except for the annoying rankings person.

I have a kid looking at Oberlin, Kenyon, Wooster, Grinnell, Macalaster. Plus WM, which he will be accepted to based on Naviance. Basically SLACs with merit money (donut hole family).

If you have a kid at one of these schools and they love it or hate it, why? What is a sketch of the type of kid who does well. I have a brilliant but quirky and socially awkward kid with drama and music interests. Small groups, not large crowds. Has a 504 for ADHD and may need some supports in executive functioning. Is that the sort of kid who would do well?

Also, if your kid looked at these schools but ended up somewhere else, where and why?

I don’t want to hijack, but I love hearing that kids are doing well at Oberlin, Grinnell and Juanita. It would be great to know what type of kid succeeds at these schools and why. .

You’re over involved in and overthinking your child’s college selection. Plus this isn’t your thread.

^^ I’d also like some ideas for other schools. Davidson is an option. DC didn’t like Denison based on “feel”. But impressive place to people sending DCs there.

I love this thread, except for the annoying rankings person.

I have a kid looking at Oberlin, Kenyon, Wooster, Grinnell, Macalaster. Plus WM, which he will be accepted to based on Naviance. Basically SLACs with merit money (donut hole family).

If you have a kid at one of these schools and they love it or hate it, why? What is a sketch of the type of kid who does well. I have a brilliant but quirky and socially awkward kid with drama and music interests. Small groups, not large crowds. Has a 504 for ADHD and may need some supports in executive functioning. Is that the sort of kid who would do well?

Also, if your kid looked at these schools but ended up somewhere else, where and why?

I don’t want to hijack, but I love hearing that kids are doing well at Oberlin, Grinnell and Juanita. It would be great to know what type of kid succeeds at these schools and why. .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, college has been in session a couple of weeks now. Did your college meet/exceed your expectations or is it not what it seemed?

My daughter choose Colby in Maine over a number of schools. She's super happy there. Kids are nice and smart; classes challenging. The new Davidson Center is already setting up an internship for her. Having a fabulous time.

Others?

Colby dropped from #12 to #18 in US News. Quite a drop.

BIG drop.

NP. GO AWAY.

Totally agree with 23:50. For the most part, most kids would love any college they go to. No parents, no curfew, complete freedom. What's not to like? There are always exceptions, especially with bad roommate situations. That is the advice I gave my daughter: You are going to have a blast wherever you go. Took some of the pressure off when deciding where to go to school.

Anonymous wrote:How do you match a school with the child's personality? How do you decide that this setting is better for him or her?

You help identify the important questions they need to answer for themselves. And some of those questions/answers are pretty nebulous, but you help them identify what "feels" right for them by listening to them hash it out.

I had lots of conversations during junior and senior year with DS (now a freshman at a SLAC) about what sort of environment he liked. After a couple of visits it was clear he liked smaller places with a strong sense of community. He realized that he liked discussion based classes much better than lectures -- that also steered him toward smaller schools. He didn't want a super rah-rah school, or a serious frat scene. He didn't want a core curriculum or lots of distribution requirements.

I guess my point is that I didn't make this decision for him by any stretch, but I did help him figure out what mattered to him. And, to get back to the point of the thread, I think he made a good choice and he's having a great time so far.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you match a school with the child's personality? How do you decide that this setting is better for him or her?

You don't decide...your child does.

No, no, no. In the DCUM world, parents decide. Never the child. But they say "we".

It’s your first (potentially high-stakes) test re being the parent of an adult. Their life, their choice but you hope to have a relationship where they can/will turn to you (and, ultimately, where you can turn to them) for help with big decisions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you match a school with the child's personality? How do you decide that this setting is better for him or her?

You don't decide...your child does.

No, no, no. In the DCUM world, parents decide. Never the child. But they say "we".

Anonymous wrote:My DS did not get into his dream school and got wait listed from his second choice. The school he ended up attending is one I thought would be the best fit for him and strongly urged him to apply to. He did make the final decision to attend this school on his own. He absolutely LOVES it there. He was very nervous when we dropped him off and he even cried. But three weeks in, he told me he LOVES it. He admitted to me that he wasn't really excited about the school three weeks ago. But once he got there and started meeting people, and going to classes, he said he realized that this is where he belongs.

I always chuckle when parents say the whole DC was rejected from x and y, but is absolutely THRIVING at z! I don't mean to sound harsh, but how are parents shocked their kid loves a backup college? Freedom, sex, alcohol, thousands of attractive peers with raging hormones. Where ever they are, it's a 4 year long spring break with some lectures mixed in.

The only time prestige (or lack thereof) will maybe be noticed is during junior yr recruiting or when they're applying to grad schools. But happy during freshman year? Um, obviously.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UChicago.

Not really. But GPA, while okay, is too low to transfer anywhere better, so it is what it is.

uchicago sounds like it is a mirage in the desert - looks great, but when you get there - it turns into a quicksand trap (it's hard, you get depressed, your gpa's nuked and then you get stuck there forever).

Not my kid’s experience. Looked challenging but worth it. Turned out to be incredibly supportive. Faculty are very accessible; DC had multiple mentors by the end of 2nd year. Students are friendly and kinda communal (pass on off-campus apartments, books, pets, offer advice about labs, help each other out with homework). Lots of work, but always something fun/interesting to do when you want to take a break. GPA’s fine, kid’s happy, and will leave college well-prepared for adulting.

Anonymous wrote:My DS did not get into his dream school and got wait listed from his second choice. The school he ended up attending is one I thought would be the best fit for him and strongly urged him to apply to. He did make the final decision to attend this school on his own. He absolutely LOVES it there. He was very nervous when we dropped him off and he even cried. But three weeks in, he told me he LOVES it. He admitted to me that he wasn't really excited about the school three weeks ago. But once he got there and started meeting people, and going to classes, he said he realized that this is where he belongs.

Mine had the same experience. Was WL at 4(!) top choices. At summer freshman orientation at #5 choice expressed concern about the college and we talked about transfer options. 2 days later was totally sold and has loved every minute of it.

Anonymous wrote:UChicago.

Not really. But GPA, while okay, is too low to transfer anywhere better, so it is what it is.

uchicago sounds like it is a mirage in the desert - looks great, but when you get there - it turns into a quicksand trap (it's hard, you get depressed, your gpa's nuked and then you get stuck there forever).

Anonymous wrote:My DS did not get into his dream school and got wait listed from his second choice. The school he ended up attending is one I thought would be the best fit for him and strongly urged him to apply to. He did make the final decision to attend this school on his own. He absolutely LOVES it there. He was very nervous when we dropped him off and he even cried. But three weeks in, he told me he LOVES it. He admitted to me that he wasn't really excited about the school three weeks ago. But once he got there and started meeting people, and going to classes, he said he realized that this is where he belongs.

that's great! it turned out like that.

people need to make sure their back-ups are reasonable. I hated my safety before attending and my opinion never changed. Though i know that I wouldn't have liked my top choices either - what i would've liked most are schools i didn't even think about.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, college has been in session a couple of weeks now. Did your college meet/exceed your expectations or is it not what it seemed?

My daughter choose Colby in Maine over a number of schools. She's super happy there. Kids are nice and smart; classes challenging. The new Davidson Center is already setting up an internship for her. Having a fabulous time.

Others?

Colby dropped from #12 to #18 in US News. Quite a drop.

solely due to accepting PP's daughter.

JK JK. no one cares about the ranking. pp's dd will do well at colby and probably to a top ivy for grad school and ball out (or find a strong provider).