<p>Reed College, took one look at the freshman reading list and bolted for the door</p>
<p>Cornell, great school but their accepted students day was a huge disappointment.</p>
<p>Washington & Lee
The tour group encountered a Civil War Reenactment (Stonewall Jackson Day) right in the middle of campus. Then saw a large Confederate flag hanging in a residence hall window.</p>
<p>
The problem you described above has made Q & Aās at the end of Information Sessions and to an extent, Information Sessions in general, completely useless.</p>
<p>Whatās the big deal with a crucifix in a classroom at a CATHOLIC college? When I was at Boston College, the crucifixes were there, but they were maybe 8" high, and I never heard a student or professor even mention them. They were just sort of a subtle and silent reminder of the group that was making the whole school possible. Likewise, every Catholic college and church Iāve been to in the U.S. has an American flag (usually a large one, and prominently displayed) which seems to serve the same purpose.</p>
<p>[News:</a> Crucifixes in the Classroom - Inside Higher Ed](<a href=āhttp://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/02/11/bostoncollege]News:ā>http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/02/11/bostoncollege)</p>
<p>Iām just the messengerā¦hereās the discussionā¦Google is an amazing inventionā¦</p>
<p>Another school we crossed off was Rutgers. Did notlike the idea of having to take bus to class from one campus toanother. Busch campus looked completely desolate- no trees, stores or signs of life. For the Garden State there was a distinct lack of landscaping or anything else; New Brunswick campus looked sketchy and crime could be a problem-tipoff was bailbondsmen storefronts. A shame because the student student guides were among the best we encountered on the tours we look last year. I think the layout of the RU campus really weakens what otherwise should be a very strong flagship.</p>
<p>Rodney, thank you for sharing that article. DS liked BC (location, size, campus, intelligent student body) but did not want a religious campus. He did not apply, but still sometimes thinks back on why he didnāt. Iāll forward this article and heāll never look back again!</p>
<p>BU went off our list after we toured it. DS didnāt think it was too bad, but I had a very visceral rx against the place. DS now is very glad he did not attend - no real campus and friends take the Transit to get to classes since the campus is so spread out. Great school but not for him.</p>
<p>We werenāt crazy about the crucifixes in Georgetownās classrooms, but certainly thought they had the right to be there. What bothered both of us much more were the banners and plaques in various places exhorting us with platitudes. And what really bothered my son was the fact that the bulletin boards were all so tidy. Everything lined up horizontally and vertically. (His favorite thing about the campus he is attending is their liberal use of chalk on the sidewalks to advertise any and all events.) Georgetown was way too buttoned up for chalk.</p>
<p>"Everything lined up horizontally and vertically:ā¦hahaā¦must be great for those with OCD tendenciesā¦</p>
<p>Older son took Wake Forest off. I was really surprisedā¦he just didnāt like the vibe at all.</p>
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<p>This looks like chalk to me: <a href=āhttp://www.share-elsalvador.org/romero/georgetown2.JPG[/url]ā>http://www.share-elsalvador.org/romero/georgetown2.JPG</a> . For good measure, this looks like a pro-choice group, with hand-made signs no less: <a href=āhttp://blog.georgetownvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/IMG_1674.jpg[/url]ā>http://blog.georgetownvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/IMG_1674.jpg</a></p>
![http://www.share-elsalvador.org/romero/georgetown2.JPG[/url]](http://www.share-elsalvador.org/romero/georgetown2.JPG%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
![http://blog.georgetownvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/IMG_1674.jpg[/url]](http://blog.georgetownvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/IMG_1674.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
<p>Hugcheck, the amount of forced religious indoctrination at BC is zero. And I mean ZERO. The amount of liberal ideology indoctriation at BC and nearly every other decent college is through the roof.</p>
<p>coase, glad to know that Georgetown doesnāt always look as tidy as it did the day we were there! My son applied anyway, and since he didnāt get in, he didnāt have to decide whether it was not the place for him.</p>
<p>Well, if there are crucifixes on the walls then thereās some percentage right there. And agree re/ liberal ideology. And we knew that going in and factored it into the decision. My point was simply that DS would be interested in the article referenced.</p>
<p>Now Iāll add my story from back in the stone age. My folks took me on the tour. I hated 'em all. I applied to and attended U.Michigan based on the program having never visited. When we arrived to move me in, guess what. I hated it. LOL! Now, looking back and knowing myself a bit better, I have learned that I am very sensitive to architecture and my physical surroundings and am very very very picky and (oy, itās true) cranky about it. So. I had some idealized picture in my head of the perfect college campus. It didnāt exist. I had a fine education and am glad I attended and then life happened. When it came time for my boys to pick schools, we focused on the concept of ābloom where youāre planted.ā We stressed this. We never ever took a formal tour since we did not want to be influenced one way or another by tour guides. We didnāt want any flavor of being āsold.ā So weād just wander around, eat some food, find the right building, look at the kids, finagle our way into a dorm. Weād study the online info re/ programs. We considered, heavily, the surrounding area and the travel issues. And both boyos picked imperfect schools where they planned to find their niche which they did nicely. Perfectitis - a dreaded disease. I know, Iāve had it.</p>
<p>I was surprised to learn during the BC crucifix controversy that 70% of the student body is Catholic - a much higher percentage than I would have expected.</p>
<p>(This statistic was included in a Boston Globe article at the time.)</p>
<p>I left high school a year early because of a very bad dust up with my fathers (the sixties, you know.) I didnāt want a gap year because I didnāt have the money to rent an apartment, but I did want to get out of the house. All classes were filled at colleges (it was already July 1st) but I had very good hs credentials.</p>
<p>I was able to enroll at Stony Brook, which was only 4 years old at the time, at least in its permanent location. There was so much construction going on that the campus was a solid morass of mud when it rained and grit when it didnāt.</p>
<p>It was ugly beyond belief.</p>
<p>But I was in paradise ā no parents, wonderful courses, kids, on my own and an SDS chapter. I had seen Princeton (which wasnāt coed at the time) so I knew what a college campus was supposed to look like, but I didnāt care at all.</p>
<p>I met a mentor in my field who has been a lifelong inspiration who gave me the courage to go on into college teaching and had a fabulous time there with no frills and no choice and lots of mud (and political upheaval which was part of the fun.)</p>
<p>Fast forward to my kids who each found the perfect fit, perfect college for themselves. And they were admitted. Still college didnāt come alive until each found mentors. College is really the people.</p>
<p>
The answer to the trivia question, āWhy is college like Soylent Green?ā :D</p>
<p>I agree 100%, mythmom.</p>
<p>wonderful post mythmom.</p>
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<p>I understand that. But mentally, being surprised at a religious atmosphere at a religious school is identical to being surprised that, say, Wellesley has no male students. <em>gasp</em></p>
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<p>See, to me that would be a more understandable turn-off.</p>
<p>I visited St. Johnās College near Sante Fe (one of their two campuses). As mythmom said, college is the people ā and I realized that there was no way I would fit in there. Off the list.</p>