Yep, the tour guide really blurted that out. It was unfortunate. We went to another college in Colorado and my husband struck up a conversation with the barista at the campus cafe about how he liked the school, etc. And the barista said it’s great until finals when you have to walk around stressed out bawling nursing students. Uhm, big alarm bells as our daughter was interested in studying nursing! Seriously, can’t make this stuff up. So my advice is to talk with random folks you happen to see on campus visits. You can learn some insightful info.
Pomona fell off for my D for the simple reason that she got tired of the constant refrain by the tour guide that admission to Pomona was more competitive than it was to many of the Ivy League colleges. She felt this smacked of a lack of self confidence. Her comment was, “if they are as good as the Ivies they wouldn’t need to constantly broadcast this fact”.
UCSD fell off too because there was too much concrete. Potentially amazing location but whomever designed the campus seemed to like roads and concrete.
I really liked Swats. My D didn’t. She was really bothered by the fact that they had one main dining hall. Guess she wanted more choice.
want to get this thread going again as it has been a great resource:
Up
Va Tech - beautiful campus/buildings. Great lauout with classes on one side of quad and living spaces on other.
Lafayette - Small school with surprisingly big campus for amount of students. Spread out, nice open areas.
Down
Scranton - Way too small for us. Was basically abunch of buildings around the main square…
University of South Carolina - crossed off list.
Unfortunately, DD did not like USC, at all, and has decided it is a no for her. She simply did not “connect” with the campus. She said she felt it wasn’t urban enough for an urban school and it felt closed off. I think if I pushed her to be more descriptive she might have pin pointed that the campus seemed tired and in need of some renovations. IMO the campus is nice enough.
The tour guide was friendly and the information supplied was useful and thorough. I appreciate that USC owned right up front that you would be in large 200+ classes for many of the core carolina courses (we all know that is true at large publics but, schools never seems to want to openly admit it!) and that you would just be another face to your professor unless you take the time to go in and see them during office hours, that the responsibility to make a connection rests with the student. It was honest and refreshing. All in all, there just was nothing ‘special’ about USC and nothing to compel her to choose it over any of her other school choices.
About 15 minutes into the tour DD leaned in and whispered “I don’t think I like it”. Ultimately, DD said “I really just don’t like it. I wanted too, but, I think I would just be depressed here.” Sigh, she has already submitted an application for USC, lol. So, goodbye to The University of South Carolina for us.
@exlibris97 and yet, there are small colleges where kids votes to maintain one dining hall, because they like the sense of community. I actually thinks it’s pretty uncommon for a school of uner 2000 to have more than one dining hall. Many smaller schools will have an additional small cafe though.
@Lindagaf makes an excellent point about dining halls. I have been on several LAC tours where they speak to the one dining hall as a positive, a way to build community among the classes and student groups. It’s all part of the LAC experience. But at the same time, there are usually other options in smaller cafes and on-the go options, (sometimes int he student union) to accommodate students more pressed for time.
@exlibris97 - While we didn’t like Swat either, we thought he dining hall was very nice - good layout, pretty windows, very pleasant overall.
One of the turn-offs at Amherst College was one dining hall that closed at 7 pm every night. If I remember correctly it opened up fairly late in the morning as well (maybe 8am). When I asked the tour guide what students did for meals after 7, her response was that most of the students didn’t eat in the dining hall for dinner anyways, they ordered out or went out most nights. Didn’t sound very community-building to us.
^^ That’s surprising about Amherst, because they are one of the LACs that have done the most to promote economic diversity amongst the student body - so who are all these kids ordering dinner in every night?!
@NEPatsGirl - The idea that a school with athletes closes its dining hall at 7 seemed unlikely…so I went to their website. The dining hall is open all day (minus 30 minutes) from 7:30 am to 8:30 pm.
Well, it was 2014, maybe things have changed? If not, then the tour guide misled us.
I loved Lafayette and my daughter liked a lot about it, but was so turned off by the other students on the tour that she crossed it off her list. Maybe it was because it was an early morning tour, but the other tour participants were surly and unpleasant, dressed like they rolled out of bed, and a couple were wearing shorts that were embarrassingly short. One girl had her but hanging out. We went from there to Muhlenberg, which we all thought was fantastic.
“I have been on several LAC tours where they speak to the one dining hall as a positive, a way to build community among the classes and student groups.”
I have, too. It’s a coin with two sides…sometimes it would be really nice not to see a particular person three times a day. Everybody knows your business at those one-dining-hall schools.
HMC fell of the list after the second look during admitted students visit. She felt claustrophobic on campus and pot smell from few buildings didn’t help to build a good impression. It is an outstanding LAC. Just not for her.
^^ Sounds familiar. Similar experience 
Amherst’s dining hall is open until 8:30 on weeknights as pointed out. And there are a couple of cafes on campus that take “AC dollars”. At lunch (at least), “Grab N Go” is completely covered by the meal plan, and is, as the name suggests, a place where sandwiches are “grabbed” with a drink and fruit or other side.
Sometimes a bad tour guide can really mess things up. I seriously doubt “most kids” eat dinner out, though I’m sure some do (and there are tons of inexpensive places to eat in walking distance), and most dorms have kitchens. Kids eat a ton of free restaurant takeout food too, if they attend various events, club meetings, dorm socials and such…those seem to use free food from XYZ restaurant as an incentive for people to show up
We did a drive-by visit (no formal campus tour) around Stonehill College and D wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. Since then she uses that campus as her metric for all other schools. “This school is way too much like that college off the highway encircled in trees.”
Can’t make this stuff up.
Lots of schools I expected to like I was really turned off by. Pomona gave off a super elitist and snobby vibe- yes, it is the most traditional LAC in the Claremonts but the tour guide was being borderline rude about the other colleges, and not in a fun competition, school spirited way. Also, the campus was so empty. Middlebury was also very underwhelming, and Bates gave off a weird vibe. The Bates tour guide was talking about how the college often hosts speakers or musicians, and then she said that lots of times people go to the event and do homework in the back. Just really turned me off 
I LOVED Hamilton and Colby and Bucknell, none of which I was expecting to like all that much. Can’t really explain why I liked them other than the vibe I got from just walking around campus.
It’s so interesting how colleges can be so similar but just small personal impressions draw you to certain ones/away from others.
Hamilton and Colby are fantastic schools and communities. Never saw Bucknell so can’t comment. Personally, I went to Bates for 2 years and transferred out. Didn’t care for it. But…DD#2 attends Pomona, and I have to say you may have gone on an off day. It truly is a special place where diversity of all kind thrives and curiosity rules. Can’t get a nicer tight-knight community of scholars.
Mount Holyoke is in the process in combining their over 5 dinning halls to one large one, with special rooms within the one large space. Not only to have everyone in one space, but to offer more options, hours and less waste. My daughter is a vegetarian and thinks this will expand her options and likes the idea of less waste.
For each of these colleges there will be naysayers and cheerleaders. D did not like the vibe at Hamilton and thought it was snooty, but is as happy as a clam at Bates. I just asked her if people do their homework at events and she said “People won’t go to events if they have work to do. That’s weird.” So I guess much of it really does depend on your tour guide that day, but more importantly, on what the visitng student picks up on.