<p>SMU
My daughter had dismissed it because she saw pictures of girls wearing dresses to football games. Thought that seemed absurd. But, at the 11th hour, finishing the Common Ap, she checked the Southern Methodist box, and got in! They offered a strong financial package, so we went to the Accepted Students event.
Wow - the surrounding neighborhood - so beautiful and safe. The campus is immaculate, people are so friendly, the men are so polite, they have all the majors you want, and there was so much enthusiasm. I met other mothers right away, and we had a group to go off campus for dinner. The students come from all over, not just Texas, and Dallas is so cosmopolitan, with wonderful restaurants, pro sports teams and lots of jobs.
She ended up enrolling and it has been a perfect fit for her. Many opportunities to be involved, sharp kids that are career oriented, and, she learned that dresses at football games is a Southern tradition and she loves it!</p>
<p>I visited a lot of colleges with both sons. My elder was interested in theater programs, and so DePaul came onto our radar. I think people from outside of the greater Chicago area overlook it, unless they are auditioning for its renowned Theatre School, but students who are attracted to urban colleges should consider it. With my younger son, I was pleasantly surprised by how attractive both the campus and town were when we visited UC Davis. I hadnāt expected to like it much at all. My son preferred it to UC Santa Barbara or Santa Cruz. We both fell in love with the Claremont colleges. I had lived in LA back in the '80s, and always thought that Claremont would be hot, dusty, and smog-filled, but itās a nice college town set in the San Gabriel foothills, and there is now train service to downtown LA and LA Internatāl Airport (LAX). I also liked UNC-Chapel Hill more than I had expected to, and got a very positive āvibeā from the student body when we visited. Finally, my husband, son, and I could not have had a more magical experience than we had on our first visit to New College of Florida. With a few minutes to kill before the information session, we strolled out to the waterfront behind the main administration building. A dolphin was frolicking directly offshore. My son is going to NCF.</p>
<p>Definitely Fordham. We almost didnāt even visit because we were concerned about the schoolsā Bronx location. But when we arrived we saw a gorgeous, safe campus and an impressive school. My S ended up attending Fordham and had an absolutely wonderful experience.</p>
<p>Haverford. Penn and Swarthmore were more on the radar but dropped down after we visited. </p>
<p>DS loved the Haverford campus and the accessible, warm, smart tour guide. Admissions staff were very helpful. The honor code was also very appealing and he liked the dorm we saw.</p>
<p>He would have applied there he hadnāt gotten into Columbia EA, his top choice.</p>
<p>And, yes, Columbia are very different, but somehow he loved it and Haverford!</p>
<p>Both DD and I liked Penn. Had expected more of an urban campus but it was peaceful and serene. She loved all the different colored buildings and I loved the treeāed walkway (the name escapes me at the moment). Great mix of urban and greenspace just down the street from downtown Philly.</p>
<p>^^^ Locust Walk</p>
<p>There was a post here by @JustOneBruinā where they presented an opinion as to whether college visits are really useful at all. I moved that to <a href=āValue of College Visits - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forumsā>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/1665268/value-of-college-visits</a> since it really isnāt the direct topic of this thread and an argument/discussion of that takes this thread down a rabbit hole.</p>
<p>Iāll also second Hamilton. We took our final trip to see Colgate and Hamilton. I felt no stress as I thought this college would never measure up to some of the others including Colgate. One minute into the info session, I realized I was wrong and that this school was thinking outside the box. They were funny and unique and their passion came through. Two seniors talked to us in an informal Question and Answer session before we left to take the tour. Everyone in the family loved the school and itās representatives and my son attended and graduated last year. </p>
<p>My daughter flew to my parents this winter to visit schools in the Quaker consortium (Haverford, Swarthmore, UPenn, Bryn Mawr) and also Drexel. On paper, I thought she might like Swat but she came home raving about Bryn Mawr and how friendly the students were. 
We made a second visit this summer and itās clearly a front runner.</p>
<p>@Aussiemom - I hear nothing but positive things about Bryn Mawr. Other than the odd name of course I hope it all works out well for you and your D.</p>
<p>Thanks @fallenchemist. Weāre not trying to put all of our eggs in one basket so sheās coming up with a few others that where sheād be happy just in case. BTW - I did suggest Tulane to her but she thought it would be too muggy, as in temperature not crime. </p>
<p>Odd name? Itās Welsh for ābig hill.ā Many of the towns and streets in the Greater Philadelphia area have Welsh names!</p>
<p>@Aussiemom - well, it is a tradeoff. New Orleans is quite warm and humid for the first 6 weeks or so of classes, although of course everything is well air conditioned inside. It doesnāt get really warm again until either at the very end of classes 2nd semester, or like this year not until after exams are over. Even graduation was actually quite pleasant in mid-May, but that is unusual I have to admit. But in between you have some really nice temperatures while Philly and parts north are shoveling snow. There were a number of days in January and February when it would be in the 60ās and 70ās F. There are also days in the 40ās or even upper 30ās, but that still beats 15 or lower in Philly. What I am saying is with the US school schedule, most of the time in residence is not the extreme hot and muggy weather. Just so she knows.</p>
<p>@fallenchemist - Thanks for sharing and Iāll pass it on to her. Weāre from the Carolinas so these Northern schools will be a little of a shock to her if she decides to go there. </p>
<p>@LucieTheLakieā - Well, it is still odd to most Americans. But of course I was being tongue-in-cheek.</p>
<p>Bowdoin</p>
<p>@Aussiemom - While this past winter was a terrible one, Philadelphia doesnāt usually have as bad winters as further north.</p>
<p>Philadelphia average daily highs in December to February are 46, 41, and 45, while, for example, Charlotte, NC are 53, 51, and 55. Not as much of a difference as one might think.</p>
<p><a href=āAshburn, VA Monthly Weather Forecast - weather.comā>Ashburn, VA Monthly Weather Forecast - weather.com;
<p><a href=āAshburn, VA Monthly Weather Forecast - weather.comā>Ashburn, VA Monthly Weather Forecast - weather.com;
<p>As a BMC grad ā many local place names are Welsh because of the role of Welsh immigrants in building the railroad (I donāt know if thatās true, but that is what we heard). So names like Llanberis, Llanerch, Llandrillo, Bala Cynwyd, Bryn Mawr, etc were common place. For people used to explaining how to pronounce words like Schuykill and Wissahickon, it wasnāt a big deal!</p>
<p>And their role in mining too.</p>
<p>William Penn donated 40,000 acres to Welsh Quakers in the 17th century that became known as the Welsh Barony/Tract. Everything else stems from that!</p>
<p><a href=āhttp://www.lowermerionhistory.org/texts/325_for_web_small.pdfā>http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/texts/325_for_web_small.pdf</a></p>
<p>Iconic BMC grads: Katharine Hepburn (real life) and Betty Draper Francis (fiction)! :-D</p>
<p><a href=āhttp://admissions.blogs.brynmawr.edu/2012/07/03/why-a-womens-college-famous-fictional-mawrters/ā>Blogs at Bryn Mawr College;