Colleges, Cars and Choices

For a lot of families, this fall has been about back to school, apple picking, even unexpected snowfalls.  For our family, it's been about college.  Our youngest daughter is a high school senior this year and our fall has been all
about applying to college - SATs, college essays and, of course, college tours. 

Even though she'll probably end up within an hour of Berkshire County, it's going to be hard to let her go and it's even
harder to believe it's time.  You know that Subaru commercial where one minute the dad's looking at his little girl in the car
and the next, his little girl is all grown up and driving off in their Subaru?  That commercial gets me every time - 

especially because they're a real family - the two girls are sisters and the father is their actual father.  One minute my little girl is getting on the school bus for the first day of kindergarten and the next she's trying to figure out what college is best for her - how did it happen so fast? My daughter would prefer to stay close to home but is having a hard time figuring out what college will be the right choice for her.  Luckily, we live in New England, an area that has more colleges than trees (ok, a slight exaggeration).

Right here in the Berkshires we have MCLA and Berkshire Community College.  But the Five College Consortium, in nearby Hampshire County, just might be the solution for her.  This family of schools includes Amherst, Hampshire, Mt
Holyoke, Smith and U Mass Amherst.  Like Haddad Subaru's family of vehicles - Forester, Impreza, Legacy, Outback
and Tribecca - the Five College Consortium offers a range of choices, each with a consistent standard of quality and
reliability.