Even though she was later accepted at Brown and Yale, she turned them down for Williams, because staff and alumni there recruited her intensely. She like the smaller, more friendly atmosphere at Williams and felt that it would be a less competitive atmosphere and allow for closer connections to professors than she would find at some of the larger schools. She is a junior at Williams now and has not regretted her decision for a minute. Our son, on the other hand, was turned down at two of his first choice schools and decided on Wesleyan, even though he was concerned that the student body might be too liberal politically for his tastes. After a year there, he loved the diversity in the student body and would now say that was one of the reasons he enjoyed his four years there so much, while also getting an excellent education.
Many students talk about their campus visits as being critical to their choices.
For nearly every one with whom I have spoken, one or two colleges or universities just seemed like a good fit for their interests and personality. That is often a critical factor in making a college choice, because the academic programs are so good at so many schools. Therefore, I advise you to take your son's lead on this one. Talk with him about his aspirations, his feelings about distance from home, size of school, athletic and other extracurricular interests and his impressions of each of the schools that have accepted or wait-listed him. You may even decide to make another round of campus visits before coming to a final decision.