<p>Sorry about all those typos. WM</p>
<p>@SchmaltzâI agree, it is odd that son was okay with Indiana in winter, but not Santa Cruz weatherâŠI think by âcoldâ he may have meant âabsence of hot daysââŠwith Santa Cruz being a beachfront town, he felt it should have more hot, beach-going weather. </p>
<p>âThe coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco.â
- This quote has been attributed to Mark Twain, but until the attribution can be verified, the quote should not be regarded as authentic.</p>
<p>Just read the last few pages of this thread so perhaps this sentiment is quite common.</p>
<p>Son loved UChicago but hated Northwestern. </p>
<p>Also loved MIT but hated Harvard.</p>
<p>Loved Princeton but hated Columbia.</p>
<p>I really canât find a pattern in these but he was pretty strong on his feelings.</p>
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<p>Weâre just going to have to agree to disagree.</p>
<p>There is a traditional quad area. Attached to one of the buildings on the quad is a huge parking building. Itâs attached to the student center of all things, right in front of the dorm area and the admissions building. Thereâs a building sitting catty corner behind the library, which felt awkward. There are oddly matched buildings on either side; neither of which seemed to fall in line with the rest of the campus, regardless of the architecture. I was also disappointed with the buildings that seemed to have been down the hill (?) or on it, like the communications building.</p>
<p>Itâs definitely a school you need to visit before making any decisions.</p>
<p>The only one we walked out after info. session was Vassar - couldnât stand the adcom person who presented, really seemed to take pleasure in putting down every type of school except âVassar peersâ. Couldnât stand the attitude. Beautiful campus though.</p>
<p>My kid hated Haverford âway too smallâ (1200 kids) but LOVED Swarthmore (1500 kids). </p>
<p>He loved William and Mary and U of Richmondâbeautiful campuses.
Despised UVA for some reason, though it is also beautiful. Insisted that every class was gigantic. Found Washington and Lee fascinating but too alien (super Southern). Loved Virginia, hated North Carolina, which to him was a completely different place. Did you know that itâs hot and humid in NC, as opposed to the perfect weatehr of Virginia? Would not even look out the window at UNC. No interest in Duke. </p>
<p>Drove for hours to see Brown. He would barely get out of the car. After many dirty looks, he acceded, but tour guide was unbelievably pretentiousâbasic attitude was âof course youâd love to get in here, but you probably wonât.â Didnât like the looks of UMass, Amherst was okay. </p>
<p>Kids are annoying.</p>
<p>Chicago- the only school on my daughterâs junior year spring tour with her dad that she didnât care for. She thought that seeing the library packed with students studying on Easter Sunday (the day they had to visit due to schedule) was a bit intimidating. Do they have to study 24/7???<br>
I think it was when she finally went to her college herself that she realized that the kids were probably in there because they had socialized on Friday and Saturday and finally had to get some work done!</p>
<p>U Mass </p>
<p>We joined a tour on Saturday, and were visiting dorms set along a road that runs through campus. Multiple times cars full of kids drove by honking and screaming. Then just to enforce the impression, a couple boys walked by our touring group and yelled âwe only take hotties!!â and pointed out the girls they liked.</p>
<p>Endicott â everything youâre describing is the reason that I get business taking kids on college visits. Kids save all their attitude for mom and dad. If mom admires the trees and grass on campus, the kid says, âIâm not going to college in some stupid garden!â If dad likes the Gothic architecture, the kid says, âHow fake. Itâs like a movie set.â Then the kid visits a green Gothic campus without Mom & Dad and loves it.</p>
<p>Applicanot, regarding American, I donât care for the road that goes through the middle of campus and under the student center/gym, but I canât figure out what parking building you are talking about. I donât love the AU architectural style (to much like DC downtown), but the campus is nicely landscaped and compact and the surrounding area is great. There were enough green quads (and a very pretty green amphitheater) so my son was happy.</p>
<p>Eric, thereâs a reason that U/Mass is known as âZoo Mass.â</p>
<p>The coldest winter I ever found was a summer spent on Puget Sound.</p>
<p>Mathmom, applicannot was talking about the parking garage behind the Mary Graydon Center, I think. Itâs not in the center of the quad or anything like that, but off the road that you mentioned. I donât have a problem with it either. And the Admissions office is actually across Mass Ave in the Katzen Arts Center, not in Mary Graydon. Thereâs also a parking lot there - but I think thatâs a benefit, not a problem.</p>
<p>How would you all describe the campus at George Washington U? Pluses and minuses about the school in general? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>We thought the campus at George Washington U. was really cool, but a lot of people wouldnât like it. Itâs really not like a campus at all. More like a fairly upscale urban neighborhood with a university kind of permeating itâthe area is dominated by GWU buildings but there are plenty of non-GWU buildings scattered among them. We only saw one place that looked âcampus-likeâ with a quad etc., and it was pretty small. So if youâre looking for that classic brick-buildings-around-the-green-lawn thing, it wonât float your boat. But itâs impressive and nice in its own way.</p>
<p>Pluses: very nice facilities. Dorms, classrooms, offices, everything we saw looked classy and well-maintained. Lots to do in the neighborhood, and youâre amazingly close to the Mall, the White House, etc., not to mention the river. Off-the-scale internship opportunities, at least to hear them tell it.</p>
<p>Minuses: about as expensive as they come, so if you donât qualify for need-based FA you are in for one whopping bill. Student body seemed a little homogeneous to us. I donât necessarily mean ethnicallyâeven the URM kids seemed cut from the same cloth, very MOR, wholesome, clean-cut etc. (I know, I know, I say that like itâs a bad thing. ;))</p>
<p>Iâd echo what nightchef said. My son was one of those who hated the GW campus. It looks like the rest of Washington downtown, low rise modern office buildings. Even a lot of the landscaping looks that way. Lots of paving, benches, formal plantings. There was only one small quad with grass that we saw. My son was supposed to have lunch with a student and see the second satellite campus (which is very much like a traditional campus), but he bailed. Iâd also agree the student body seemed rather clean cut - lots of khaki and button up shirts. (My son is neat and tidy, but has very long hair and doesnât own a pair of khakis.) It also bugged me that you had to pay $16 to park!</p>
<p>My daughterâs bf was acceptd at Bentley, GWU and a few other schools. I think the choice will come down to these two colleges. No financial aid at either. He is planning to major in business. Iâve seen the Bentley campus, but have not really explored the GWU campus. I canât think of two more disparate college environments than these two. Which one would you pick? I know this question would probably be better served on another thread, but what the heck. Your responses are appreciated.</p>
<p>Donât know Bentley well, but sâs f is having a good experience at Babson, which I would imagine is similar. </p>
<p>I would encourage my S to go to GW in case he bailed on business, there would be broader options.</p>
<p>Bentley vs GWU - from my perch not far from Waltham, I would choose GWU in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>Thatâs an insanely expensive business degree right thereâŠ</p>