<p>I personally know if I like a campus or not based on my inital steps on the campus. I think actually walking the campus, seeing the people, and getting a feel of the campus is very important. I love attractive schools and there are so many out there. Sometimes a school can just look okay on the internet but once you step foot on campus it can take your breath away. I think many students just "know" and get a sense of belonging at certain schools.</p>
<p>HCM--</p>
<p>I'll bet the AU you are referring to is American University, not Auburn right?</p>
<p>"Anyone coming to Madison on a warm early fall day and walking thru the always busy and charming old student union and out to the terrace, overlooking the lake dotted with sailboats, with people sitting on the brightly colored chairs and chatting under the trees will never want anything else."</p>
<p>UW-Madison is my #1 OOS and on the off-chance I get in (the admissions chart on their site has me at about a 40% chance) I'll be visiting in the spring. February is gonna be a long month waiting for my admissions decision. For all 7 of the schools I applied too.</p>
<p>S felt this way about Virginia Tech. He still loves it. When he got together with his buddies over break and listened to all of their various complaints about their respective schools, he was the only one who didn't have a "story" about how bad something was. He says he doesn't know anyone at VT who doesn't love it.</p>
<p>Sometimes kids just know what they want, find it, and are happy with their choice. And isn't that a great thing :)</p>
<p>Happened to me. The hard part now is getting in.</p>
<p>my D has fallen love with ....at least four campuses....each 'was it'.</p>
<p>Can there be 'big love' in the college search?</p>
<p>Canucker - I really liked the UBC campus! Surrounded by thick forest, it's really pretty. Vancouver as a whole is really nice, and I'd consider going to school there if there weren't equally good institutions in the east (I live in NS so it's a long ways away).</p>
<p>As for me, not having been to the US, I'd say McGill drew me in. It's right in the middle of downtown Montreal, the main gates go up a hill to a gorgeous building. It's urban but green and, I don't know, I just love it haha.</p>
<p>My son fell in love with Cornell and fortunately will attend there this fall. It is such a beautiful and diverse campus. I went there myself and am amazed at how much the campus has grown since I attended. Lots of new buildings but there are still the nice open spaces on the quads. I think it is a very lively campus.</p>
<p>My daughter loved Swarthmore, William and Mary, and Yale. We saw a lot of really nice campuses--Colgate, UVA, Duke. In CA, I think UCLA is one of the nicest campuses.</p>
<p>April of my d's junior year in h.s. we toured a campus in NY and she immediately disliked it - "kids were too much like high school." On a whim we saw a sign for Vassar and decided to take a quick look at the campus. My d immediately fell in love with the campus. She applied ED and was accepted. After a semester, and the cold Poughkeepsie winter, she still loves the campus, her classes and the friends she's made.</p>
<p>Our eldest fell in love with Harvey Mudd when he visited in the summer before HS Senior year. Put it on his list ahead of MIT and followed through after acceptances received. So far (one semester and counting), he is loving it and feels that he made the subjective right decision for undergrad.</p>
<p>"Objective," "hard" data are not everything in this area--particularly given the multitude of great educational institutions.</p>
<p>I fell in love with Brown the first time I visited. I went back, it turned into an intense affair, and I applied ED. I got deferred then rejected.
I ended up at a completely different school and couldn't be happier. "Falling in love with a campus at first sight" is a little silly. There's nothing wrong with doing it but, seriously, it's not the end of the world if you don't end up there.</p>
<p>I think you just have to keep in mind that there's a fine line between falling in love with the school (people, academics, professors, atmosphere), and falling in love with the buildings and pretty campus. </p>
<p>I mean, in the end, you're paying for the education and atmosphere, not how aesthetically pleasing the the buildings are. TOO many times, I've heard someone's main reason for going to a school is that "OH! It's so beautiful!!" ugh</p>
<p>Anyone who visits Denison (small LAC in Ohio) on a crisp fall day will fall in love with the campus. It's situated on a hill overlooking forests and the small village of Granville. They even have a cute white chapel. Perfect :)</p>
<p>I fell madly in love with two campuses at first sight, which I saw within two weeks of each other: UVa and Columbia. Needless to say, having two favorite campuses on such opposite ends of the spectrum left me a just tad confused about what kind of school I really wanted to go to.</p>
<p>it seems like these love at first sight instances happen most often with the first college you ever visited</p>
<p>^^^^
I agree and also with yousonofatree.
Both of my girls fell in love with the first schools they visited, but not because of the beauty, but of what the schools had to offer and the overall feel and environment there.
They both visited campuses that were more aesthically appealing, but that didn't impact their opinions.</p>
<p>yes UPENN!!! LOOKS REALLY NICE....ON THE WEBSITE...</p>
<p>MIT!! :) lol...</p>
<p>lol well... i think i "fell in love" with UVA when i visited campus this summer (in the same week as visiting Penn) but now i'm thrilled to "be with" Penn. can't really choose a school (...or for that matter, a person) based on looks alone. :-)</p>
<p>I knew UVA was way too big for me when I visited early in my search. The school I really fell in love with was Warren Wilson near Asheville, NC--it has a farm and a forest and is different from any other school I visited. But alas William and Mary was a better academic fit and I love it every time I walk through campus (except for the construction).</p>