<p>Xavier University Ohio is easy to navigate. And I think we have just the right amount of green. =)</p>
<p>Regarding OPās visit to USC, the campus is beautiful, isnāt it? I went there back in 1982 and I loved the library. Iāve been back many times since then, and I still love the campus. The area around the campus is much better than it was 20 years ago, but make no mistake, your son still needs to be careful. There are certain areas that are just outside the ānice perimeterā that are very, very dangerous. There have been violent crimes within the nice area surrounding campus. It looks just fine but itās not as nice as it looks. Just tell him to be safe - donāt walk around at night alone and be alert to those around him. Good luck to him in the fall and Go Trojans!</p>
<p>thanks, momfirst and pixeljig, for the USC input! Sounds pretty, and although potentially dangerous in some areas, ādoable.ā</p>
<p>Totally doable. Great school and a lot of fun. I would just recommend acknowledging that itās not the greatest area and being smart about it. People seem to get offended when the area is described as a tad dangerous. Thereās nothing to be offended about. It is what it is. Just be safe and be smart. :-)</p>
<p>Any area these days around colleges (unless the college is in the middle of nowhere) has some level of danger, and requires students to use common sense.</p>
<p>True, but some are worse than others, and SC is one of those places. Just the way it is, but itās a beautiful campus.</p>
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<p>On the What You Wish Admissions Departments Knew thread, I said that the admissions folks should try to find their building and where to park based on the info on their website and the campus signage. Our record for trying to find the right place to park was 55 minutes, and that was after two calls to the admissions office.</p>
<p>Parking is one issue, but as far as finding the office after parking, I personally approach anyone who seems family-esque and/or lost on campus, and ask if they know where it is theyāre heading or if they need help finding anyplace. If I have nowhere to go, I will usually gladly walk them directly to the place they are going myself. I donāt know how many other students actually do this, but I know I would want someone to do it for me, so I do it!</p>
<p>"I know I would want someone to do it for me, so I do it! "</p>
<p>Some of the Jesuit concern for others is rubbing off on you.</p>
<p>I was that way before coming to XU, which is perhaps why the Jesuit community feels so comfortable for me. =)</p>
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<p>Funny you should say that, John. I visited WIU when I was in HS (35+ years ago!), and the place just depressed me. I can not say exactly what it was, but I had an immediate very strong negative reaction. I stayed for a weekend (friends and I were visiting some people we knew) and I could not wait to leave.</p>
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<p>Hillbilly-ish/gangster? What? Iām not sure where he was from, but a lot of people on the east coast talk like that, especially in NY, NJ and Eastern PA. Btw, if St. Markās means the school in Texas, Iām sure youāve heard your share of people say āfixin toā, which is much, much worse.</p>
<p>Really? I donāt hear people talk like that.</p>
<p>Early in this thread I commented that DS ruled out Berkeley and UCSB for various reasons, but wasnāt in love with the school he ended up attending, USC, after the first visit. He had a few scholarship interviews on campus, but it was the admitted studentās day that sold him (and knocked UCLA from top contender status). I wonder how much the skill (or lack thereof) of the student guides contributed to this shift.</p>
<p>Heās now entering his 2nd year at USC and couldnāt be happier.</p>
<p>diontechristmas, Iāve never heard someone on the East Coast speak like that, at least not a civlized person. And no, the St. Markās I go to is in MA.</p>
<p>XU has many lovely tour guides with a variety of accents from all over the country. [subliminal message: visit XU =P]</p>
<p>Trinity. Tour guide was awful, wearing sweatpants and smacking gum the entire time.
When we asked her about their math and science classes, she said she hadnāt taken any but was sure they had them.</p>
<p>Wowā¦even volunteer tour guides at XU are forbidden to wear sweatpants. We usually wear jeans and spiritwear, or, for bigger events, dressier clothing. We are also told to refer people in our tour group to other contacts (at loss for knowledge of department contacts, the contact referred is the admissions office) and to try to help them find the information theyāre looking for. We also have a required number of hours for every subject area. And gum is a definite no-no. As is cell phone usage past just checking time (which, when I pull my phone out to check time, I inform my tour that I am just making sure we are on track for timeā¦I tend to get chatty and go over my hour that weāre supposed to be back in if I donāt check the time).</p>
<p>Wowā¦advertise much?</p>
<p>Hey, I love my school. So sue me.</p>