The quest begins ...

2007-04-09 - 3:02 p.m.

Ack!

I'm completely overwhelmed. Got back Saturday night. The trip was really fun. We saw a million colleges, and I think the "small liberal arts college" idea is a good one. Unfortunately, it does seem like everyone else in the country has the same idea. Further unfortunately, I'm a little worried about N's grades.

I do think the trip was a good idea. I think she didn't really realize until this trip what the difference is between a college that you do want to go to (interesting classes, interesting people) and one that you don't so much (fewer interesting people, fewer interesting classes) and that it's actually worth working really hard because it means that you can go to a college that you really want to go to. For instance, we accidentally drove through Cambridge, and N said, "Now I see why people would want to go to H." Because C. would be a great place to live -- I think living out here, she's never seen that. She hasn't really seen the point of working hard, because the people who do seem to be doing it only for the grades. She'd never even understood why anyone would want to go to H.

Also, we sat in on a few classes, and also got a few course catalogs, and it all seemed very interesting -- she spent hours poring over the catalogs.

So from that angle, I think it was a success.

Also, it was just really fun. My mother was not in town, so we took her car. Really, what could be better than driving around New England? I mean, each day we had to be somewhere at some time, but it wasn't hard. It was actually interesting, and then we'd get back in the car and drive someplace else. Three hours and you're in a new state! And it was winter, and it snowed. I do love winter. I can't really explain how much I miss it. We stayed in a few funky motels, a b and b, and a fancy hotel, but then also with various friends and relations and it was just really really fun.

So, all in all, a success.

Although, I do kind of wonder if she will get into any schools at all. It seems entirely possible to me that she won't, to tell the truth. Her grades are okay, but not stellar. According to all the statistics, it's getting harder and harder to get in anywhere at all. So I think we need to have a reasonable back-up plan in place. Maybe she could go do research with K's brother in Pittsburgh. Maybe she could go to Spain. Maybe she could work for a while to save up some money. I honestly think we'd better be prepared with something that will be appealing to her, and also likely to make her a better candidate the next time around.

And there you have it -- real life to resume soon ...

out of print - new releases

find me! - 2008-02-12
where I've gone - 2008-02-07
Where I've gone - 2008-02-05
where I've gone - 2008-02-01
New - 2008-02-01

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