Finally our Favorite College Town Boston ;Boston/Rhode Island; Providence, URI, Northeastern, Babson

We headed out to tour Providence a small Catholic/Dominican college. I have heard people say it's for kids that didn't get into BC.  I was a pretty campus, and the vibe was calm, it could have just been a summer thing, but I didn't feel a lot of energy.  Cara seemed to like it and I think she will apply, but who knows. I don't have much to say about it honestly 

We decided to look around URI.  I was really shocked to see how really pretty the campus was and the buildings especially the Pharm D were just beautiful.  We walked around, looked in buildings and listened to a pre-recorded information podcast. I think I liked it best; Mark just wasn't feeling it. It was really big and of course it will be many Rhode Island kids that already know each other.  

Off to the hotel and a strange dinner at TGIFridays the morning saw us at Matt's school Babson!  We can't help but feel good from the outset and I can't help but talk up the school to admissions and brag about Matthew.  There is something in their information session that lets you know that you are someplace special.  The tour was given by Rocky who was a quiescently Babson student, friendly, confident and charismatic. Unfortunately, Mark had to jump off the tour, he was exhausted and suffering allergies from the horrible hotel.  Michael feels disappointed he is not majoring in business so he can't go but our hopes are set on Cara following Matt into the land of the capable and preppy. 

Finally, Northeastern.  The information session was good.  At some schools the information session is completely done by an admissions counselor, some are done by both a counselor and students. Northeastern has both. In this session they had two students speak about their experience so far with emphasis on their co-op experiences. They really had compelling stories and seemed to have been able to focus in on their specific areas of interests through their coops.  That being said I have head others say them did not really want to do two co-ops at college, that all of that time away from campus dilutes the college experience of sort of being in a bubble of learning and friends.  There is also a push from Northeastern, at least as I understand to have students' study abroad their first semester. Another negative is housing is difficult to get on campus. That being said Northeastern now has a tremendous reputation and those students seem to do very well. The campus is tiny, but it is in the middle of Boston!  So, it's very urban and exciting. There are a lot of students n small space, and you need to be independent and self-advocating. I do feel that the school will definitely try to support students, but you need to reach out for what you need. Not the forte of all people students or not. 

Philadelphia! Swarthmore, University of Delaware, Haverford and Lehigh

 We set out Early on a Thursday our sights set on Haverford's 9:30 tour.  Yes, Haverford the classic New England liberal arts college, a concept that I didn't even really knew existed until, well 2020, and even then, in a shady, what can you actually do with a degree from there, kind of way.   And that knowledge was limited to maybe Vassar and Colgate which have pretty big names in the small liberal arts, east schools. I assumed that those students were already hooked up with jobs from wealthy family connections and even now I am not positive that that isn't the truth.  I was told by Matt, who seems to understand their value, that big companies search for these kids. He reminds me that even Steve is learning languages on the job still and that the value in liberal arts schools is their interdisciplinary approach and teaching intellectual problem-solving skill. 

 We make it to the parking lot at an impressive 9:23. Stumble around campus which is beautiful and big for a mere 1400 students. There is absolutely no signs or maps to direct us to admissions, which of course is not called admissions.  We find our way.  There is not information session just a tour.  The student showing us around is Australian, She vibes calm happiness. She is a rising sophomore and the only representative we see so the amount of information is questionable. Another problem is that we are between summer and fall sessions and campus is very quiet. 

It goes without saying that the school is rigorous with a 17% acceptance rate. It seemed quiet and intellectual but of course the empty campus made it very hard to evaluate. 

Next that day was U of D, the school of Joe and Jill Biden. It had a state school feel, meaning big, happy and diverse in academic achievement and goals. Our tour guide was a rising senior and pretty knowledgeable. We ran into "dorm Dad".  From the start he wanted to know when we would see dorms and made it clear he was only there to see the dorms. We arrived at the dorms he immediately accused the tour guide of only showing the best dorm, which turned out to be true. Then he left, I wish I had had the chance to tell him that Haverford has great dorms and 70% are single rooms, but alas he left in a hurry. Michael was a fan; the vibe was laid back and upbeat.  

This is the one I was not looking forward to getting to, our dark horse and a Suprise: Swarthmore.  Rolling in I am thinking well another tiny liberal arts college, I will never understand.  The information session was impressive. The speaker is relatable and smart. She tells a story I repeat frequently about not getting crazy if you are denied, that in fact the school denied Barak Obama.  That it is impossible for strangers reading your apps to truly know you and they surely cannot assess your worth or potential.  The school has a focus on engineering and was the most beautiful place I have seen.  Of course, with a 7% acceptance rate.... well it becomes more like winning the lottery. 

Lehigh was the college that I really thought would be perfect. a mid-size college with a strong engineering program but not a straight up tech school. A better male/female ratio.  The campus is built on a mountain/hill, and it is steep.  The buildings were absolutely beautiful. Like you may imagine Harvard buildings to look like. The information session, well it was disappointing. Not very focused on academics, a lot of time spent on their illustrious alumni.  But pointing to 6 people that have landed in the stratosphere of success is not that compelling to me, I mean the University of Delaware graduated Biden, whether you like the guy's politics or not, he has clearly made his way.  I think that I can accept that you can have successful graduates, I am more concerned about what MOST students will be prepared for.  The presentation is all about "can't wait to get your kid out of the house, hehe" I don't know for a competitive school it seems a bit anti-intellectual. 

The tour oh the tour...I don't know if you have actually been on a campus tour, but they inevitably end with why the student chose this particular school, and our tour guide a rising senior named Morgan was not different.  She told us that she did not want to apply to Lehigh "a school she had never heard of" but her school counselor told her that it was the size and distance that she wanted. She still dragged her feet because "why bother applying to a school you never heard of?"   So, I'm thinking this story must turn around but no, "so I apply ED2 because really, I only want to do one application" She then visits and reports that she doesn't listen to the information session or pay attention on the tour.  However, she does go to the top of campus and view the entire school. She said the snow and the "dead trees" looked so pretty she decided that yea she go the Lehigh.  Ok, what?  Mike and I thought it was the funniest "why this college" story to date. 

Cornell! Its really as great as you think it is

 Well early this morning found us on the campus of the venerable Cornell college.  And really, wow, it is worth the hype.  The truth is chances here is slim, 70,000 applications and 3,500 seats.  Some must go to prodigies of all types and of course athletes.  But ahh it is such a great school to shoot for.  The vibe even on an empty weekend day was upbeat and welcoming.  

I did forget to sign us up for the tour so after the information session we were on our own which is often not so good.  We stumble around the campus and say oh look the engineering building.  But this time we ran into a senior, Bell who really gave us a pretty good overview on her walk to Collegtown.  

One of the first and foremost item in the information session was INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY.  This is another term for the now favorite idea of a passion project.   The newest buzzword. Demonstratable interests.  It is what 2015 the craze for students "giving back" where after time there were programs just built for high schoolers to go give back through building housing, educating kids in third world countries and other packaged opportunities to spend some money and put it on your college application.    The new spin is that you need to find a way to prove that after school, sports, clubs, jobs and family you don't actually just want to game with your friends or hang out getting ice cream.  No, you want to shadow a professor at Stoney Brook doing research. You want to be in Cold Spring Labs, writing a book, helping a lawyer defend the indigent, study the social interactions of primates.  You have passion for learning!  Not for flirting, gaming, swimming, hitting the beach, not you!  You have insatiable intellectual curiosity that must be fulfilled!    

Well in any case, I had never been on their campus before, and it really was great. Pretty the atmosphere was friendly and smart.  The presentation had that great mix of smart and relatable that so many lack. They gave out plenty of information on what they offer and how students can get involved on campus. The reasons that we like a school can often be intangible.  The "feel" or the "atmosphere' combined with good academics seem to be the secret sauce and being that each of our kids gets to make his or her own recipe we never know what will be appealing to them.