<p>Hi everyone. Well, I'm really starting to look into colleges, and I have been to a few campuses so far (for camps, sporting events, etc.). I know that many of you parents have seen many different university campuses, and I need some advice. I have noticed that many of the prestigious universities, such as Georgetown, Princeton, Harvard, etc. all have a bricky and Hagwarts like look to them. On the other hand, schools like Penn State and UVA have a more sunny and open and grassy feeling to them. Like at Penn State, there were sporting fields on almost every block. I was wondering if any of the top tier schools shared this appearance. I am not really the type of student that likes the brick scene at Georgetown, etc. Does anyone know of any top tier schools that have a similar resemblance to Penn State and UVA? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Well, they call them the, “Ivy League” for a reason - many of the buildings are old and ivy-covered. Maybe you should check out Stanford if you want a more open feel. Even then, they still have a significant number of older buildings.</p>
<p>One friend fell in love with Tufts because of how it looked – but I don’t know what that is!
You might try the websites of colleges that have the major that you like. </p>
<p>How you feel on campus is important --but I would like to hope that you can look beyond both the bricks and the “Ivy” designation. We see too many here (students and parents) that get hung up on the “prestigious” aspect. It is . . . rather off putting. Could you please set your sites on “challenging”? </p>
<p>If you want challenging and open you might look at Deep Springs!</p>
<p>Some colleges are well known for their architecture. Whether it’s “your style” you decide. Might want to look at each college’s website too.</p>
<p>Colgate University (some call it the most beautiful campus)</p>
<p>Does anyone have any thoughts about Stanford???</p>
<p>Stanford is as challenging to enter as any East Coast school. People rave about the weather (not so Boston . . . ).</p>
<p>Bumpppp… any other thoughts on stanford?</p>
<p>please? what… do I smell or something???</p>
<p>BUMP</p>
<p>Sweetie, you are asking others to do your leg work. You can go to the Stanford web site and poke around. Almost certainly they have photos of campus – and they probably have video tours of different buildings/programs. </p>
<p>You don’t smell – but names like FutureIvy are . . . a bit smug. My mother used to say “Don’t brag about yourself. Let your friends and colleagues speak your praises.” Wise guidance! Furthermore, that XXX usually suggests nasty sex. </p>
<p>So, the impression of smug, lazy, and sexually aggressive is . . . perhaps not putting your best foot forward. You might do better posting on the College Search or STanford sections than the parent section.</p>
<p>Are you asking this because you want easy access to athletic fields or just open spaces to throw a ball, have a touch football game, play frisbee, etc.? If this is an important part of your lifestyle, you are right to consider it. However, if you currently travel to a park to play, it would not be a change in your lifestyle to have to travel a short distance to participate in these activities. I do know that at UPenn, the shortage of field space does make intramural scheduling challenging and the schedules may even be shortened, but that they are developing more fields.
I agree that at certain colleges, like Penn State or UVA, you find students who are really into fitness and working out, and students are jogging everywhere, or working out in the gym, or just playing in the open areas. Penn State has PE classes in everything that you could imagine.
But sometimes, even when there aren’t open areas that are that huge, students are still playing. One of my favorite things is to walk through CMU in the spring to see students playing cricket in the quads!
Penn State’s Schreyer Honors College would compete with any “top tier” school in terms of the students who are admitted and who attend, AND the honors dorms have a great location, so you might want to consider that.
I would also say that you could check out Northwestern. It has somewhat of an “open” feeling (maybe too open when that winter wind whips off the lake!)
And, UC Berkeley.</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch!!! That really helped. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know anything about the Penn State Honor’s Program??? I can’t seem to find very much on this.</p>
<p>[Schreyer</a> Honors College](<a href=“http://www.shc.psu.edu/]Schreyer”>http://www.shc.psu.edu/)</p>