<p>We visited U of Maryland College Park just because it was in state and affordable. We didn’t expect to like it, but wound up really impressed on the first visit, and it’s the only school my daughter can really picture herself at. Each time we visited we discovered more to love in their academic programs, honors college, music offerings and study abroad programs.</p>
<p>We only allowed ourselves time for very brief visits to U Pitt and Case Western because we thought they were unlikely choices. We liked both very much and wished we had scheduled more time. We’re returning to Case Western for a longer visit and music audition.</p>
<p>We loved Oberlin, another surprise, but found it to be too far from city life, which D really wants to be close to. They also didn’t have the science offerings my D was looking for. But of all the schools we visited that one resonated the most on a strictly intuitive level.</p>
<p>Another bit of love for Northeastern. It was the last school we visited and by far the largest on the list. My D wants to be in a “cool” city so we’ve applied to schools in Seattle, San Francisco, DC and New Orleans. She also didn’t want it to be any colder than NYC. Because Boston does fit the description of “cool” in other respects, we encouraged her to find a school to look at there. BC, our alma mater, was out because they’ve become too selective (who knew way back when?). D also thought of Boston as her parents’ college town (and therefore no thanks). Ideally we wanted something under 10,000 students with small class sizes.</p>
<p>I was shocked when NEU went to the top of the list by the end of our visit. She likes the idea of breaking up the academic calendar with the coop program. And she had to admit that Boston is a pretty good college town. She said that the “kids seemed happy”.</p>
<p>All that being said, it’s her reachiest school and it’s not a done-deal. Still she has 3 acceptances in “cool” cities so far, so I think things will work out. I can see the coop program working for her because she learns best, hands-on</p>
<p>On the other hand, after 4 days of sub-freezing weather here, I wonder if Tulane won’t move into #1.</p>
<p>Lawrence was on the list, but shot up to be a real contender after a physics weekend. Strong science and music along the Fox River. It never beat his first choice, but stayed in consideration until the FA packages came in (and they were quite generous as well).</p>
<p>University of South Carolina. We only went there because we were visiting friends in Columbia. It went from no go to number 2 choice. If DD had not gotten accepted at #1 choice, she would have gone there. She was accepted before Thanksgiving, got a huge scholarship and instate tuition. Everyone was terrific. When she couldn’t attend their scholarship weekend, they did one for her when she could attend. Campus is beautiful and it had much of what she wanted in a college.</p>
<p>Smith was an add-on visit for D to see what a women’s college offered. </p>
<p>She had a great overnight visit and after being accepted with great aid, it became her first choice. She’s now a senior at Smith and we’ve all appreciated the opportunities and support that it has offered her. We look forward to connecting to their great alumni network in the years ahead.</p>
<p>Catria, obviously 10,000 students thrive in the urban environment of GWU, my D included. They are kids who want to city of DC to be their campus. She HATED Bucknell, because it was in the middle of nowhere and all the buildings looked the same. I would not have come on here to say that because this is a thread for U’s people loved on sight, but somehow these threads always come down to GWU bashing. It is not for everyone, but plenty of kids do like it.</p>
<p>mamabear -B.U. gets similar bashing. The BU grads I know LOVED being in the middle of the city, with the streetcar line running right down the middle of campus. “My campus is the city” is what they say.
City-loving kids should consider GWU and BU.
We had the same reaction to Bucknell, too remote. I did think it was beautiful though.</p>
<p>Fordham. Beautiful, peaceful campus very convenient to Manhattan, small classes, really nice people. The campus just exuded a warm, caring feeling.</p>
<p>We also were surprised at how much we liked U Delaware. It also has a beautiful campus and we loved how Main Street with cute shops and restaurants ran right through the campus. The students all looked happy.</p>
<p>We have liked almost every campus we have visited - which is not helpful! Waiting for AU and GW, Macalester and Connecticut, accepted at Tulane and U - MN (TC). The fact that my kid likes large urban and small LAC, in both cold and warm climates is giving me pause. This week’s arctic temps have put both MN schools at a disadvantage though. Have any of your kids come to regret their choice based solely on the weather?</p>
No - just the opposite for my D. I think one of the things she loves best about her college (Elon, in North Carolina) is the mild weather. They have seasons, but it’s so much warmer there than where we live in New England, she thinks its heaven. It does snow a little bit in the winter - just enough to be fun and pretty and then it melts. D admits it makes it harder to study in the spring though, when the beautiful warm weather starts in NC in March/April and she’s not used to it really being nice out until May.</p>
<p>UC Santa Cruz. We tacked it on because we were already in California to tour colleges and had decided to fly out of San Francisco to get home. We weren’t expecting much, were we ever surprised. We both thought the entire place was magical and it shot up near the top of my child’s list as a relative safety she would be more than happy to attend.</p>
<p>USC. Like everybody else we had heard terrible things about the neighborhood and were pretty surprised by the relative cleanliness and normalcy of the immediate area around campus. The campus itself we found stunningly lush and lovely. Was accepted and is now a Trojan.</p>
<p>Another vote for Mizzou, was safety school for my daughter, but we were so impressed with the campus and Journalism school there that nothing else could match up. She is now a very happy Sophomore and could not imagine being anywhere else.</p>
<p>One school I didn’t expect to like as much as I did was Franklin and Marshall. Nice campus, nice housing, very engaging tour guide. The parts of town right alongside campus seemed very nice too.</p>
<p>Another one I liked now, as an adult, was Penn. I never thought I’d enjoy an urban setting, and I didn’t want one as an undergrad. But now as a parent, it seemed like a really cool and alive campus.</p>
<p>After a long while, actually I am now able to identify a school I surprisingly loved </p>
<p>Denison university in Ohio.
Before, we visited Kalamazoo and Ohio Wesleyan which were good, but not “love”. Then we went to Granville, and I was enchanted. The village is lovely and quaint; Denison is nestled upon a hill and the chapel is visible from everywhere in town.
The campus is perfect. Literally, everything I always wanted. Everything was airy, bright, updated and not far apart. The faculty was super nice; I was spontaneously invited to talk to a professor who told us why he loved Denison. The career services and research opportunities are excellent. Our tour guide was nice (and preppy), but he told us great things. The only unfortunate part is that they don’t have a neuroscience major, just a concentration. Unfortunately, there weren’t any students yet, but I will definitely apply.</p>
<p>I thought it would be too big and too…jock-y, Greek-y, parochial. Instead, I was impressed with the quality of the students and professors I met, and bowled over by the city of Austin. Too big? Within a few minutes of being in one of science buildings, S had a high school friend who was a UT soph come up to him and invite S to a departmental social event. A little later, S met another friend from high school. We had dinner with yet another friend who took us to Austin’s Chinatown. Yeah, the place is huge, but in his science niche, S will find his group.</p>
<p>For us it was St Lawrence University.My S applied last minute after being deferred from is ED school. It was similar enough to his ED school, so he went with it. He was ultimately denied from the ED school but accepted with a huge merit scholarship at SLU. He flew the 3000 miles away to go to accepted students day. He came back wanting me to write the deposit check that instant. Fast forward a year and a half( DS took a gap year), and here I am in Canton, NY dropping him off. This is the first time I have seen the school. It has WAY surpassed any of my expectations. Absolutely stunning campus…and I have seen a lot of them, happy, happy kids, almost ridiculously amazing student center, dining hall and food get rave reviews from food lover DS,dorm rooms that are so spacious I had to text friends with a picture of the HUGE closet that is completely wasted on DS. This place is magical and my S took to it like a fish to water…</p>
<p>Texas A&M. Similar to the above post on UT. We were looking at smaller schools and thought that was what she wanted. The professors in the Engineering department and the friendliness on campus and well…just the Aggies won her over.</p>
<p>Funny, we just got back, today, from A and M. We are not aggies…in fact we (both families) have a dozen or more degrees from A and M’s biggest rival. But, ds…after many aggie jokes about the surroundings…and urged to keep an open mind…we BOTH really liked it. Not a pretty campus, but nice people and looks like it is now in our top three! The hunt continues, but yes, we were surprised!</p>
</p>