<p>That’s why I like this thread, swimchica - people aren’t ashamed to post funny reasons for not liking a school! If you don’t like purple, it WOULD be a pain to be surrounded by it for four years! My husband’s high school colors were purple and gold. Their nickname was the Purgolders!! How awful.</p>
<p>My D did not want to go to Penn. When she visited with her basketball team, she did not like the way, the coaching staff (not the coach) talked to them.
She also did not want to visit any college in Boston because “no self respecting Yankee fan, will want to spend that much time in a place, with the most rabid fans in the world”. </p>
<p>My friend S did not like Brown because “it has too many wood paneled walls”.</p>
<p>I <em>do</em> respect others reasons for their rejections/appreciations of schools but I feel like I need to give a shout out to Harlem. It’s a pretty cool place.</p>
<p>D went to Barnard and had a fabulous internship there (no, not working for Bill Clinton, alas, but one wonders how safe she’d be there – just kidding – lifelong Democrat) and she and friends had their favorite restaurant there – Dinosaur B-B-Que, I think it was called.</p>
<p>We never worried.</p>
<p>So, yes, maybe Columbia’s urban scene is not for everyone, but I hate Harlem singled out. Sounds racist, though I am sure the poster did not mean it that way. Sorry, not suggesting you did.</p>
<p>Actually, Harlem is the up and coming place for just-out-of-college middle class New Yorkers to look for apartments!</p>
<p>So true. At Williamsburg, Brooklyn where I visited my grandparents every Sunday of my childhood.</p>
<p>Reading this thread is fun, so I’ll chime in:</p>
<p>CROSSED OFF LIST:</p>
<p>Cornell - creepy gothic buildings. Creepy gorges. Overcast (and apparently that’s common). Creepy little town. </p>
<p>Ithaca - same, except not as academically rigorous, so why?</p>
<p>William and Mary - beautiful campus, beautiful weather, but Williamsburg is just too darn small and quiet. And got a kind of preppy/uptight (in a sense that girls like to wear dresses and skirts and pearls A LOT) vibe from the students.</p>
<p>SO-SO Visits</p>
<p>Syracuse - underwhelmed by how the campus looked (I was expecting it to blow the state public out of the water, since it was the first “private” I had visited, but it was just the same as the state public…and even smaller/more depressing/outdated aside from 1 or 2 select buildings) BUT pleasantly surprised by friendly, down to earth student body</p>
<p>UVA - AMAZING campus. I was seriously in awe. But got a jock/preppy vibe from students, and though the town felt less stifling than Williamsburg, it still wasn’t big enough for my tastes.</p>
<p>UMD - Prettier campus than expected. Liked how it was close to DC, town better than expected, students average Joe Shmoes (like myself I guess haha) and didn’t give off any particular vibe.</p>
<p>GOOD Visits</p>
<p>Well, I never got to visit a single college I actually wanted to attend, so…maybe that’s why I was so negative! Cornell, Ithaca and Syracuse were because I tagged along with a friend visiting schools, W&M was a parent’s alma mater (and we stopped by UVa while “in town”), and UMD was the other parent’s alma mater!</p>
<p>Yes, Williamsburg is where it’s at as well. Astoria too. Who would’ve thought?</p>
<p>We’ve only managed to visit most schools that were near regattas and a few others but that resulted in many not making the list. We figure the rest will have to be visited after getting accepted and can already imagine a crazy April in the midst of crew season!</p>
<p>Daughter is planning on majoring in engineering and we are in Northern VA but not enamored with our state schools:</p>
<p>VATech - hated the location and distance from home with car the only option for getting there. Also didn’t like the size of the school.
VCU - didn’t even need to get out of the car. Hated it on sight.<br>
UVA - drove through in the rain but stays on list as the one in-state school on the list. She did like the campus though she hasn’t been crazy about some of the presentations we’ve seen. On list.
GWU - didn’t like the vibe or campus.
Princeton - liked the campus and the buildings although hated that the engineering building was one of the ugly ones. Not sold on the location or town (or lack of). On list.
Penn State - didn’t like the location and the stadium and cultish nature of the the town turned her off, and she felt like it was too much of a party town. She was bummed because she found her #1 favorite vegan pizza in State College.
MIT - loved the presentaion they had locally, expected to love it more on sight but did like a lot of what she saw, still likes it but not 100% sold that it’s for her. We’ll know soon enough if it’s an option. Loves Boston. On list, top.
Northeastern - loved it from the second she stepped on campus. Loved the location, the proximity in Boston, liked the vibe and sees value in the co-op program. Was the first time I saw her face light up at a school. Stays on list, near top.
Bucknell - hated it on sight, mainly due to location and nothing nearby. Just didn’t feel like anything about it could change her mind and it didn’t.</p>
<p>From the visits though she’s learned she doesn’t want a huge school but she does want an urban one. We also check the vegan friendliness of every location - while you can survive on most campuses, if you want to leave campus you want to know you have options. We joke now though if we hate the school we’ll love the pizza (VCU was near the 2nd favorite vegan pizza).</p>
<p>I have learned though I want to start this process of visiting sooner with 2nd daughter who is a freshman this year. She isn’t as into rowing though so summers won’t revolve around regattas and practice and make visiting harder.</p>
<p>Thought I’d share my experiences as a student visiting with my Dad. Were from Southern Cal and took a trip to the midwest.</p>
<p>DePaul: LOVED! The Lincoln Park and loop campus both had great locations. Lincoln Park is an up-scale North Chicago neighborhood. Beautiful brownstone homes, etc. The Loop is downtown Chicago. Personally, I loved the Loop, you’re right in the heart of the city. The tour and information session were both terrific and Chicago is one of the best cities in the world for anyone, especially a college student. The facilities were no more than 10 years old, and the fitness center was terrific. Overall, great experience.</p>
<p>Northwestern: Gothic style buildings, right on the shore of Lake Michigan. The campus, although very nice, is very isolated from what Chicago has to offer. Does not offer an Unlimited Transportation pass like DePaul. Evanston is a pretty gloomy area.</p>
<p>Notre Dame: Best campus I’ve ever seen. Buildings and housing are top-notch. The students were friendly as were any strangers we asked for help. Very nice, calming atmosphere. South Bend is very isolated though. Overall, a great place to learn. Dream school, but I don’t think I’ll get in.</p>
<p>Purdue: West Lafyette is terrible. Nothing to do in or around the city. Campus is very nice though. Many brick structures and the well maintained. People seemed very friendly. However, the town is completely isolated from civilization.</p>
<p>Indiana U: Campus was beautiful. Great buildings and school spirit. The campus is very open and huge. Has a Berkeley-ish feel to it, students having a lot of fun, but also studying very hard. Bloomington is in the middle of nowhere. I mean really, there is nothing near this city. But, this is the college town of all college towns: great food, small shops, lots of students, etc. </p>
<p>I would cross Purdue and Northwestern off my list. Also, being from California, I have not been in colder weather in my life. Ever. That would be the one common drawback for all of these schools.
Rank: DePaul, Notre Dame, IU, Northwestern, Purdue
My dad felt the same way I did.</p>
<p>You must have been in the wrong Evanston. Gloomy?? E is one of the richer sities in Chicago and has a very vibrant downtown of its own. Very isolated?? It’s just a short train of L ride away. Guess you folks kids are not used to public transit and a city with buildings over 20 years old.</p>
<p>halopower I’m glad to see you loved DePaul – it was a very impressive visit, but son decided it was not the school for him, but he said that with some regret. Overall with two kids we have seen about 30 schools, and DePaul campus visit was far and away the best one we have seen.</p>
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<p>Most wrongest assessment of a college EVER. Are you sure you weren’t in Evansville? 'Cuz Evanston is in no way isolated from Chicago. You can get into the city limits on foot, and by train you’re downtown in ten minutes. Wrigley Field in five.</p>
<p>As a prior long term resident of ‘Heavenston’ I have to say you really missed the mark on your assessment of Evanston halopower. Vibrant, cool town - great restaurants, shops, easy transportation to Chicago, the lakefront, the whole thing (yea I miss it!). Very possible to not get a feel of the community by just touring the campus though :)</p>
<p>halopower: Since you checked out a big school like Purdue, why didn’t you visit the U of Michigan. Ann Arbor is the best college town in the country. They do have winter there too, but it is a great school!!! GO BLUE</p>
<p>I lived in Evanston for several years and attended Evanston High for 9th-11th and have been back several times. Agree with everyone else…it’s far from gloomy or isolated. The NU campus just a bit of a walk to the north of the downtown area. </p>
<p>Getting to Chicago via El is simple…just hop on the El at, what, the Church Street station and change at Howard Street (Chicago border)?</p>
<p>I think there are el stops at Church, Foster and Noyes - south campus, mid campus and north campus.</p>
<p>I’m not a fan of Northwestern, and the purpose of this thread isn’t to argue with first impressions, but I must say that I generally agree with the pro-Evanston posters immediately preceding me! It’s definitely not gloomy. Access to Chicago proper is good, if not absolutely great.</p>
<p>My daughter felt that Brown could not have tried less hard to woo her and that the two student guides were disingenuous and overly-polished. She did not like that the admissions person (new to admissions, had a cold, and was bumbling) could not answer her question about attending a non-Brown study abroad program or how her two transcripts from two major universities would impact her application and that the guides kept repeating the same mantra: we’re on Princeton Review’s top 10 list of happiest students, we’re home to the “Open Curriculum” (get over it, already, Brown, 7/8ths of the colleges and universities in the country allow you to craft your own major), and that they were Ivy League. As well, my daughter made the astute observation that a lot of the already-Brown students talked a lot about their exoduses up to Boston.</p>
<p>Enter Tufts: she loved it–the energy, the fantastic and informed and warm Admissions staff, the campus, the access to Boston, the incredibly happy students (who felt that their school, too, deserved to be on the Princeton Review’s list), the fact that Tufts is the only school in the country to have 100% full profs teaching their undergrad classes, the riches of the foreign language dept and study abroad programs, the political-ness of the posters on campus, and that she can apply to Tufts medical school (WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE THE MCATS!!), non-binding, after sophomore year, for after senior year graduation. She loved the view from atop Tisch library, but she is not silly enough to pick a school for such a view, frankly. And, she is yet to meet a current Tufts student who is not thrilled with Tufts–ergo, the high Freshmen retention rate. And she talked to and e-mailed a lot of current and graduated Tufts students.</p>
<p>Hope that answers your question. Oh, yes, she just got in ED to Tufts–a happy camper, sure of her decision!!</p>
<p>When I visited Northwestern, it was the weekend after Thanksgiving, it was raining, and no one was in sight. Compare that to DePaul at Lincoln Park and The Loop, where people were always visible, I thought that Evanston and the campus in general were pretty “gloomy”. I’m sure the school/town are both great when the school is open, but it wasn’t the day I went. </p>
<p>The reason I felt it was isolated because it took us 40 minutes from downtown to Evanston by car, not the El. I’m sure the train is faster, but we had a car. </p>
<p>When I say “isolated”, im referring to downtown Chicago. But, with public transportation, I’m sure it is very convenient to get there.</p>
<p>Littlefalls: we just werent go in that direction. I’ve heard great things of ann arbor though.</p>
<p>I still find your description somewhat odd- there’s only one Gothic building on campus to my recollection.</p>