<p>After visting a couple of dozen colleges during the past year, I have come up with the following observations.</p>
<p>Best Dorm Room View: Loyola of Chicago's Mertz Hall 12th floor corner room had a stunning view of the Lake Michigan and the Chicago Sklyline. </p>
<p>Best Parents Program:SMU did a tremendous job getting parents to feel very comfortable with their school. However, D did not like it because she felt the students were not friendly. </p>
<p>Most Nurturing Environment for Students; Stonehill College made every effort to communicate to parents that they watch out for your kids in every way possible. </p>
<p>Coolest/Hippest College Neighborhood: DePaul wins this hands down, as the Lincoln Park area of Chicago is truly special. DePaul was D's #1 for a long time.</p>
<p>Most Homeless People at or around Campus: St. Louis University has an absolutely beautiful campus set in a marginal neighborhood. </p>
<p>Presidential Involvement Award: Tulane President Scott Cowan was the only college CEO who attended a student/parent presentation. We saw him twice and this was one of quite a few factors why D decided to attend there. </p>
<p>Nastiest Dorm Rooms: Texas A&M's rooms wre tiny, dingy and poorly furnished. University of Nebraska's rooms were not much better. </p>
<p>Best admission communication method: Creighton University and Loyola Chicago both texted D on her cell phone that she was accepted. She thought that was very cool. </p>
<p>Snootiest parent/student presentations: Boston University and Northwestern University tied for this honor. D was so annoyed by her perceived arrogance of these school's presenters that she declined to apply. An off campus presentation by NYU was also perceived by D as very pretentious. </p>
<p>Funniest Tour guides: UC Irvine's dual tour guides parodied nerdy behavior in an attempt to negate the school's bookish image. They were hilarious and very effective. </p>
<p>Cleanest and Best Maintained Campus: Texas Christian University's grounds and buildings were absolutely spotless and in state of the art condition. TCU also had the best campus landscaping. </p>
<p>Best Dormitory: DePaul University's Clifton/Fullerton Hall was a gorgeous building in a great location with really nice suites. </p>
<p>Best Collateral Materials: University of Nebraska sends great direct mail pieces and emails (complete with hilarious videos) to thier prospective students. No wonder their yield is so high. </p>
<p>Most Clique-ish Students: SMU students were so unfriendly to D while on an overnight visit that she decided not to attend there, even though she was offered the Honors Program and a nice scholarship. </p>
<p>Highly Rated University That Does Not Take Itself Too Seriously: Tulane students and faculty are smart, but also very friendly, fun loving and laid back. I'm sure the New Orleans location has something to do with this. One professor talked about how he sometimes lends his car to students. </p>
<p>Campuses Too Big For Their Own Good: UIUC and Kansas were both so large and spread out that D felt intimidated by them, thinking she'd have to walk miles in between classes. She also did not like the steep hills at KU. However, in all fairness, it was 103 degrees during our visit to Lawrence. </p>
<p>Ugliest Campus: University of Dallas is in a great location, but it's buildings were older and looked like they were designed by the Texas Department of Public Works. </p>
<p>College that Showed the Least Interest: Boston College sent out zero direct meal pieces and no e-mails. The letters they sent were in black and white letterhead and had the tone that they were doing D a big favor by communicating with her. They really stood out (negatively) among the many schools that D applied to or inquired about. </p>
<p>Most Intimidating Campus: Boston University's Campus stretches out for approximately a mile on both sides of the trolley tracks in a very urban area. </p>
<p>Most Visitor-Friendly Campuses: Creighton University and Tulane (twice) offered the family a very decent, complimentary meal during our visits. The entire staffs at these schools also stood out for their friendliness. </p>
<p>Overall Most Beautiful Campus; We all thought that Baylor's campus was absolutely beautiful with some really cool architecture. Loyola Marymount was a close second. </p>
<p>College I Would Most Like to Attend: TCU, in my opinion, had the best combination of academics, student life, friendly environment, beautiful campus, the right size, solid athletic programs and all-around positive feel to it. </p>
<p>Best Prop: The streetcars rumbling down St. Charles Avenue outside of the Tulane campus definitely contribute to the overall atmosphere. </p>
<p>Overall, I am happy with D's decision to attend Tulane and am really glad that our college visit Odyssey has ended.
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