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jocelynDAD
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Posted: Sun Mar 30th, 2008 04:43 am |
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Outwest:
Bryn Mawr (and Haverford - they share classes, professors and even dorm space with a shuttle system for a quick 10 minute trip from one campus to the other) is a lovely school, quite challenging, beautiful buildings, D2 was wairlisted but one of her good friends is finishing her 2nd year and loves the school.
Dickinson is my nephew's school. He graduated in 1989. I recommended the school to him (my sister asked for my help) and he loved it from the first sight. It is a very good school.
These two choices are different BM is a short train ride from downtown Philly, is mostly woman (boys from Haverford and Swarthmore are in classes - mostly Haverford) and are on campus so it is a Woman's college with some men. The Haverford woman (it is Coed) have some issues with the BM woman, but it is what it is.
Dickinson is in a suburb of Harrisburg and it's campus is one of the few 'flat' campus in the eastern PA area. It is located inside of the town of Carlisle and is very pleasant IMO.
Since you are familiar with Scripps and the Claremont schools, BM and Haverford IMO come as close to the Claremont 5 in the sharing of everything while maintaining a separate identity as possible.
BTW last year a good number of schools found themselves with a higher yield then expected or desired. In a fair number of cases, it was the second year of 'over' enrollment for the schools. To compensate, they are accepted fewer in anticipation of a similar 'yield' problem. Ergo the waitlist (which was not used much in the last year or two at quite a few schools) just might be used to reach the desired number of enroled students.
Yield is a very unscientific measure, it has been based on the performance of past years and that 'formula' has proven uncertain for the classes of 2010 and 2011.
Schools are erring on the side of caution this year. This is not an attempt to excuse Oberlin's poor actions, it is just a tough year all around including the adcom's
Frankly, I am willing to assert that your D will find BM to be beautiful, challenging and a great place to spend four years. This is not to say anything negative about her other choices, I just personaly love BM campus (even the walk up the hill from the Gym!!!!)! BM means great hill (Welsh). 
Unfortunately, what happened with Oberlin is a disgrace, but hopefully your D's energy and interest will focus on these two great schools BM and Dickinson.
Good luck
Last edited on Sun Mar 30th, 2008 04:44 am by jocelynDAD
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peabodie
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Posted: Sun Mar 30th, 2008 06:22 am |
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NCEph: I can't remember the town right now, but I think the Vassar letter was addressed to a male-sounding name in Virginia. I can check the actual town in the morning.
D is at a sleepover tonight, which is probably a good way to take her rejection off her mind. She appears to be handling it quite well. She really wants to make her decision soon, but the Haverford letter is holding that up. Plus, she really should revisit Connecticut College. I think her decision will probably come down to it, Dickinson and Haverford, if she gets in there.
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outwest
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Posted: Sun Mar 30th, 2008 08:05 am |
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Thanks, JocelynDad. The reason Bryn Mawr was on my Ds radar at all is because it seemed so similar to Scripps (which she loves, but is a spit from our house ) . I still think Dickinson looks nice, but I wonder what my D will think once she gets there. We have received mixed reviews from people.
We spent all day making travel arrangements to visit all four of her schools. As she had them spread out in front of her she said, "Look, I am going to college!" She isn't going on Oberlin's waitlist. Grinnell she is going to fill out the card and send it in, but not worry about it (she says).
I wish Bryn Mawr and Dickinson weren't on the other side of the world, though. They are SOOOO FAAAAAR AWAAAAY!
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NCEph
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Posted: Sun Mar 30th, 2008 02:23 pm |
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Thanks, Peabodie. We're not in VA, so that means it wasn't my S's. Doesn't mean he won't get a rejection Monday, of course.
Outwest, I know what you mean about having a child at a school on the other side of the country. Two years ago I let my D decide between an east coast and west coast school and was relieved when she chose the east coast school, because we're on the east coast, and it meant the distance was driveable in the case of an airline strike or other problem.
On the other hand, if your D attends school on the opposite coast in a location that is easily accessible from an airport, that helps a lot. I consider Bryn Mawr easily accessible in that way (I don't know anything about Dickinson's accessibility.) For my D, visiting her final choices of schools on her own after she was accepted helped her figure out how comfortable she was with tackling the travel issue. (And who knows, she may have ended up in school in California, had her luggage not been lost when she went to the admitted students' days there.) Lots to consider, but isn't it nice to have choices.
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mominva
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Posted: Sun Mar 30th, 2008 02:31 pm |
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Outwest,
At least if your D comes east you will have the benefit of the time difference on your side. You can call after dinner and know she will still be awake and not in class.
My DD is in San Diego, and often when I want to/can talk to her she's still sleeping or in class.
By the time she's available to chat, I've gone to bed.
But we see her just slightly less than we saw our older two who were 4-5 hours driving distance away on the same coast (and her location has attracted sibling visits, as well. Gotta love FF miles!) And our travel time is about the same with a direct flight.
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outwest
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Posted: Sun Mar 30th, 2008 04:02 pm |
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The travel there was an easy arrangement actually, so that is a plus. The Mom side of me worries she will stay over there after graduation because it is a nice place to be. Do you worry about your D staying in San Diego? San Diego is pretty nice! One thing I liked about Oberlin and Grinnell is that they were in places it would be unlikely for her to stay. My oldest went to school in the Bay Area and stayed. My middle is in school here and isn't planning on leaving the Low Angeles area. My D loves California. She might come back?
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mackinaw
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Posted: Sun Mar 30th, 2008 04:17 pm |
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OW, while I share your sentiment about wishing the kids had settled closer to home after graduation (and one ended up 200 miles from here and another 650 miles), in the end we figured that they would benefit from living in a different kind of place during college and would be better off following their interests and career opportunities after that, not bound by region as such.
Yeah, from a parent's standpoint, there's something to be said for going to school at a small college in the countryside: there are no graduate schools there, and few career opportunities there, and so the kids may well come home after college (unless, of course, you live in a small town or in the woods).
But there's also this migratory urge among many kids these days. Both of my kids wanted to live in a big city (a 'real city' was the term my daughter used). So now they live in Chicago and New York. And we live in a modest sized midwestern college town. It happens that some 20% of my daughter's high school graduating class now lives in NYC! Now that is an amazing figure to me. (Some of them are now wandering away, based on career developments, e.g., my daughter will probably be earning her MBA in Ann Arbor.) But it's a lifestyle choice at that point in life, and with the developing economy I would let them make that choice, including living abroad.
Last edited on Sun Mar 30th, 2008 04:19 pm by mackinaw
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mominva
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Posted: Sun Mar 30th, 2008 06:55 pm |
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Outwest,
Since climate was a driving force in my D's college list, I am concerned that she might want to stay in SD after college (worry is too strong a word, SD is still more expensive than here).
My older 2 (who are graduated, employed and back in our home  ) assure me that #3 will not be alone. They too would like to relocate to SD  !
I do not agree that college location is the main determinant in future living, though. Career opportunities will really be the driving force in relocation, theirs or their significant other's. H and I relocated from the NY area because his job prospects were here.
My older two came home because of the opportunities in our area. Both are trying to save to buy, rather than rent, their own places. Both went to school hours away and both have some college friends living in this area, renting, away from their families.
Last edited on Sun Mar 30th, 2008 06:57 pm by mominva
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Sun Mar 30th, 2008 07:10 pm |
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There's no guarantee they'll come home even if they are in a small podunk town. My daughter swings between heading to Madison, Wisconsin, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon after she graduates. I do think she'd like to come home to San Diego but she is realistic about entry level job opportunities here (you can find entry level jobs, you just can't afford to live IN San Diego if you have one) and SDSU is phasing out their art education credential program, so if she goes that route, other parts of the map are likely to be at least her first stopping point.
As for my son, I fully expect that once he heads off the Reed he will never return to San Diego to live. I don't see him staying in Portland, however. I figure he will end up where ever his PhD program is right after college, and then where ever he can find teaching opportunities after that. Yep, it makes me really sad,
Of course, I moved 3,500 miles from home after marrying my husband, so I am used to the downside of being far from family. Life works out the way it works out, I suppose.
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outwest
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Posted: Sun Mar 30th, 2008 07:11 pm |
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yes, mominva, SD is more expensive then Virginia, but the wages are a lot higher, too. Minimum wage is $8.25 an hour, for example. I know as an RN, that the RNs in VA make less then half what I make. I do hope your D comes home, though! And if she doesn't, San Diego is a nice place for a vacation for you. One of my nieces is in San Diego right now. My brother married a girl from Connecticut and she grew up there, but at 24 she says she will never go back. He is so sad. He misses it out here, but loves Connecticut, too. I hope my D loves Occidental. [oh, I am evil]. Actually, we will support whereever she chooses.
Last edited on Sun Mar 30th, 2008 07:16 pm by outwest
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mominva
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Posted: Sun Mar 30th, 2008 07:21 pm |
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Yes, outwest, I do know that. I'm an RN, too, but work in higher salaried DC.
I've threatened to go work at SD Children's if the kids all end up in SD !
Maybe your niece will get your brother and SIL to go 'outwest'.
Last edited on Sun Mar 30th, 2008 07:23 pm by mominva
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leftcoast
Member
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Posted: Sun Mar 30th, 2008 10:25 pm |
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LOL, I consider myself lucky when I am the same continent as my globe-trotting daughter. She spent a semester abroad in Russia during high school, was off to China that summer, spent spring break this year in London & Barcelona, will spend the coming summer interning for a UN agency in Geneva & New Delhi, and plans a semester abroad in South Africa next spring. And she's hoping for a career in the foreign service.... no chance of her coming home post-graduation.
NY? I'm booking my reservations now to visit her in a few weeks -- there are dozens of flights to choose from, all around ~$300 round trip. Easy commute......
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outwest
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Posted: Mon Mar 31st, 2008 03:01 am |
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Leftcoast, My sister has been in the foreign service since she graduated from Georgetown with her Masters in foreign service. She has had an incredibly interesting life. I still hear about how Madeleine Albright was her favorite professor! The benefits of the foreign service are amazing. I mentioned my Nephew here (he is a Junior and starting his search). Until my mother got too old to travel she visited my sister whereever she was stationed. My mother has now been all over the world, too. We finally were in a position to take her up on visits, too. There are benefits to having a kid in the Foreign Service.
Good luck to your D on the Foreign Service exam. They say it is harder then the bar, but my sister said as long as you have a liberal arts undergrad it isn't that bad. My brother in law tried to pass it twice and gave up. Mind you, he has a masters also, but my sister said her liberal arts undergrad helped her pass it. I think my brother in law couldn't pass the second language fluency requirement?
Last edited on Mon Mar 31st, 2008 03:03 am by outwest
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outwest
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Posted: Mon Mar 31st, 2008 03:05 am |
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Ah, mominva. Living so close to DC has its benefits, doesn't it! Just hop over the Potomac and there you are. When my said sis was in DC she also lived in Virginia.
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Consolation
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Posted: Mon Mar 31st, 2008 06:10 pm |
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Has anyone heard RD from Williams? It seems that it will be the last one heard from around here.
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bumpyroad
Member
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Posted: Mon Mar 31st, 2008 07:02 pm |
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| My D got an "early write" acceptance to Williams a month ago. Unfortunately their FA is nil for us, so it doesn't look too likely. All I can figure is that they don't take private school for siblings into account, and they did something with the equity in our house. Too bad, it was one of her top three choices.
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peabodie
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Posted: Mon Mar 31st, 2008 07:07 pm |
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still nothing from Haverford. finally broke down and called the admissions office. was politely told they would resend it, but they wouldn't just tell us the decision over the phone 
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Consolation
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Posted: Mon Mar 31st, 2008 07:39 pm |
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bumpyroad wrote: My D got an "early write" acceptance to Williams a month ago. Unfortunately their FA is nil for us, so it doesn't look too likely. All I can figure is that they don't take private school for siblings into account, and they did something with the equity in our house. Too bad, it was one of her top three choices. Huh, I've seen FA materials from Williams--those things where they give several sample families, and show the aid--and they did take private school tuition into account. Don't recall whether it was multiple siblings, though. I don't know what their policy is vis-a-vis equity caps and the like.
Are you thinking of inquiring/appealing?
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bumpyroad
Member
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Posted: Mon Mar 31st, 2008 07:47 pm |
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She's waiting on the Dartmouth FA to appeal the Williams FA; on the other board it was mentioned that Williams and Dartmouth will sometimes match each other. It's hard to see them going from nothing to enough, however.
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peabodie
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Posted: Mon Mar 31st, 2008 11:34 pm |
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Haverford finally sent an email---waitlisted.
So, D was rejected from her top school and waitlisted from No. 2, but she is very happy with her seven acceptances, and is now trying to narrow it down.
Wish her luck on making a tough decision!!
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