Colleges you/child crossed off the list after visiting

Parents Forum
1421

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<p>And UofR didn’t even make any of the top “bad mascot” sites…</p>

<p>[Bofa</a> D’s Guide To Strange College Mascots](<a href=“http://www.bofads.com/stories/collegemascots.htm]Bofa”>http://www.bofads.com/stories/collegemascots.htm)</p>

<p>[10</a> Weirdest College Mascots - Oddee.com](<a href=“http://www.oddee.com/item_96800.aspx]10”>http://www.oddee.com/item_96800.aspx)</p>

<p>[Top</a> 10 Bad College Mascots | Top 10 Lists | TopTenz.net](<a href=“http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-bad-college-mascots.php]Top”>http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-bad-college-mascots.php)</p>

<p>[The</a> 10 Worst College Mascots - Mascots - Zimbio](<a href=“http://www.zimbio.com/Mascots/articles/4/The+10+Worst+College+Mascots]The”>http://www.zimbio.com/Mascots/articles/4/The+10+Worst+College+Mascots)</p>

1422

<p>Thanks for those links, GsharpM7. My life is better for having encountered the Evergreen State fight song.</p>

1423

<p>Thanks for those mascot links! So happy that my daughter wasn’t turned off by YoUDee at University of Delaware! The explanation (Revolutionary War related) actually helped (and that’s where she is going in the fall). She wasn’t swayed by school colors anywhere either. Phew.</p>

<p>I was chatting with one dad at the tennis club recently whose son spent an entire day at Northwestern (my alma mater) after he was accepted. At the end of the day, the dad asked how he liked it. The only reponse was: Their color is purple. The son is now at Michigan.</p>

1424

<p>And he deserves it.</p>

1425

<p>This isn’t really a college anyone would care about, but I visited a local state school of mine and crossed it off the list afterward. I visited it back in high school, when I thought I was going to go straight to that school in freshman year, but ended up choosing community college.</p>

<p>Why did I cross that school off?</p>

<p>It was like visiting a bigger version of my community college! It’s still not that bad of a school, especially for the price, but everything just kind of reminded me of my community college. Even the fact that both had been hit by historically terrible tornados! Even the town itself reminded me of the city my community college was near…it was all actually kind of creepy! I just decided that if I went there I probably would feel like I wasn’t really taking much of a step forward and that I would really be playing it safe.</p>

<p>Also I found a school with a way better program. That helped!</p>

1426

<p>crossing off a school due to “rumors” after a visit is quite fine IMO – </p>

<p>Got to trim those lists somehow and if a rumor is enough to sway that means your heart wasn’t really home there anyway</p>

1427

<p>On Williams: I am a rational person, turning to intuition only to break logical ties. Do I trust numerous articles, blog posts, anecdotal accounts, surveys, and stats more than one afternoon touring the beautiful campus, briefly encountering perhaps five students? (They were on break when we visited.) Absolutely.</p>

<p>mythmom, I am not saying that students like me wouldn’t be happy at Williams. My friend, who is much like me–artsy/quirky, non-drinker, unathletic though outdoorsy–will be attending Williams and I hope very much that she finds her niche. But she has made her peace with being in a subculture; I have thought about it, long and hard, and decided that I prefer otherwise.</p>

1428

<p>I was already accepted and had narrowed it down to just these two schools when I did my visits. </p>

<p>Yale:
Pros: Beautiful Gothic architecture, gorgeous residential colleges, the cozy environment of Old Campus, amazing food and tons of it, general vibe from hosts/other admits was extremely positive, always something going on even at 3 am, great libraries, lots of opportunities in the performing arts, good shopping close by, facilities (games, gym, snacks, etc) are lavish and open, really good music scene.</p>

<p>Cons: LW bathrooms are horrendous, some upperclassmen were not welcoming, panhandlers galore, can’t walk around at night alone. </p>

<p>Dartmouth:
Pros: Beautiful Georgian architecture, awesome dorms (I stayed in Choates and it seemed like a hotel to me; great bathrooms), upperclassmen SUPER FRIENDLY, great libraries, cozy atmosphere of the Green, people stop their cars to let you walk across the road, can walk around at night alone, close proximity to the river, lots of paths to run, good music scene, tons of school spirit. </p>

<p>Cons: Amount of drinking is not exaggerated (official events talked about pong and students were getting their exams scheduled around Green Key), food was extremely expensive and nowhere except the Hop seemed to serve breakfast, performing arts (with the exception of soul scribes) seemed weak, lots of thieves. </p>

<p>I had a great time at both campuses. I think that everyone’s view of the schools would be different depending on fit; however, these were the pros/cons as I saw them.</p>

1429

<p>I’m always amazed when people think that a college being in the sort of neighborhood where being outside alone after dark is almost a capital offense is just another bullet point in the “con” column, about as serious as the JV lacrosse team’s practice field having a dandelion problem.</p>

1430

<p>Well, for one thing, because the risks are often highly exaggerated–“can’t walk around at night alone” usually translates in reality to something more like “walking around at night alone is somewhat riskier here than it would be in the suburbs, though it’s actually quite unlikely that any serious harm would ever come to you.”</p>

1431

<p>I see your point, Nightchef. There are a few colleges where the off-campus safety is up for debate, like Columbia, Chicago, and Southen California. From what I hear from people who’ve gone to Yale in recent years, its dangers are not as much up for debate.</p>

1432

<p>Columbia, in Morningside Heights, is in a very safe neighborhood, the second safest in NYC. Many years ago there was a problem there, but there hasn’t been for over 20 years.</p>

<p>DD felt perfectly safe on Broadway at 3 a.m. Her mama would rather have not known about it, but here you are.</p>

1433

<p>Keilexandra, a belated apology for my fightin’ words. (Post 1415.) I don’t know what I was thinking. Might have come off better said orally.</p>

1434

<p>Personal freedom actually was quite a serious matter for consideration for me, since I come from a place where there is a 0% chance that you will be hit by a car, mugged, or lost while taking a midnight stroll. </p>

<p>However, in the end I decided that there are inherent dangers to walking around alone as a young woman practically everywhere, even if they present in different forms (after all, assault by frat boys, bear attacks, or a fall into the Connecticut river are all possible, however unlikely.)</p>

<p>I know there were a lot of people that were frightened by New Haven and decided not to attend Yale, but in the end I’m willing to constrict my after-dark ramblings to the campus proper, or partake of them in groups.</p>

1435

<p>Studies show that rapes are much more common on secluded, rural campuses, especially those that are spread out.</p>

<p>Good luck at Yale.</p>

1436

<p>Mythmom: Re Columbia’s neghborhood – I have lived in Manhattan, NYC for 50+ years (not too far from Columbia), minus 7 years for college and law school. There is NO PLACE in Manhattan where I would feel safe at 3AM. Especially in crowds. I also spent 1.5 years at Columbia, and ditto. If your D was out on B’Way alone @ Columbia at 3AM and was not concerned, she had her head in the sand (or elsewhere). Even groups are not invulnerable, and even on campus.</p>

1437

<p>Wow ConCerndDad - I’ve lived in Manhattan, NYC for 50+ years (all over), minus 4 years for college and there are few places I DON’T feel safe at 3AM! It doesn’t mean I’m stupid or unaware of my surroundings but still, I often feel safer in NYC than the burbs or country! Guess it’s just personal feelings.</p>

1438

<p>My D was fine. She feels scared on a country road. There was never a time that there weren’t many students milling around with her around Columbia and Barnard and that’s the only section of Broadway I was talking about. Should have been more specific.</p>

<p>BTW: I am a native New Yorker myself – oh, and by that, yes, I do mean Manhattan.</p>

1439

<p>I’m just finishing up Jr year in HS (I’m snooping through the parents forum, I know :wink: ), but I’ve done 3 visits and the only one I have crossed off so far is RPI. I really didn’t like it at all!</p>

1440

<p>Bumping this thread because I enjoy it…a friend of mine (who is religious) crossed off Messiah right after visiting because her host student (it was an overnight) ditched my friend to hang out with her boyfriend. Then my friend got food poisoning from the food, and had to go home in the middle of the night. Pretty much your nightmare college visit :)</p>

<p>Another person I knew did an overnight at Vassar…with a student who was transferring. Oops.</p>