I think this is just another instance of different kids liking different things, right?
My nieces and nephews in their 20s still love all things Harry Potter. The current high schoolers I know aren’t as enthusiastic. S19 read the first three books in grade school and then lost interest. D21 never picked one up. I do think that’s a little weird since it wasn’t such big phenomenon.
In some communities, baseball is big. Or football. I have a feeling that Quiddich might have taken off where lacrosse is popular. The Midwest is definitely not known for its lacrosse. High school age kids here probably just started playing in middle school. I know that, out east, kids start much younger. Our teams always get beat big time when they play in tournaments out east. Honestly, I had no idea that Quidditch was really a thing as no one talks about it or plays where we live. Sounds like it’s pretty fun though!
Maybe schools do know what they are doing when they talk about Harry Potter after all. I’ll try to remember that when school tours include the cafeteria that looks like Hogwarts. I always like the gothic buildings that are Hogwart-like. They certainly scream “college” as I have an idea in my head that college campuses should have gothic architecture for some reason.
I’m sure kids have scratched schools off of their lists because they don’t like the buildings. Anyone have an example of that?
@homerdog yes, to the architecture thing. Unfortunately (and short sightedly, IMO, lol) both of mine crossed University of Delaware off their list after a visit because they did not like the red brick buildings.
Speaking or reactions to architecture, my son and I were on a Williams tour a few years ago and the tour guide pointed to a post modern all-concrete building (which is not my son’s taste) and asked if anyone knew what award it had won. No one had the slightest idea or interest in guessing but she seemed to remember my son’s name so she singled him out and asked him to guess. He hates being put on the spot and wasn’t trying to be sarcastic so much as honest when he replied, “Ugliest Building Award?” Guide to her credit didn’t miss a beat or react, just said, “Best Use of Concrete” and moved on. We saw the new library shortly after and that made up for the ugly building in my son’s eyes…
@EyeVeee , lol!! I have a colleague whose son only liked (in colleague’s opinion), “really utilitarian, ugly, buildings. Nothing architecturally interesting or ivy-covered”. He would have been happy "in soviet era construction ". Windows optional.
My daughter wanted buildings to be uniformed. Didn’t really care about the architecture, but wanted uniformity. Didn’t like Smith at all, loved the US Air Force Academy. Elon was good, Duke not so much.
@gardenstategal - Other D really…REALLY liked the “dark side” of Hamilton (former Kirkland campus). It was actually a really interesting mix of styles, which she really liked.
@circuitrider - I would suggest that Hogwarts is a muggled mix of Gothic, Revival and Romanesque.
My D20 went on a three-day tour of colleges with her school and this is what she had to say about them.
Brandeis - Loved, loved, loved it. The only school she texted me about to say how much she liked it. Just the right size, tons of clubs she would be interested in joining, and she loved the campus (despite what everyone else seems to say about it). She especially liked the Jewish influences (she self-identifies as Jewish, so it’s a good fit) and how the chapels don’t “overshadow” each other. Great study abroad opportunities, which she is very interested in.
University of New Hampshire - Too big. We can’t afford an OOS public college anyway.
Colby-Sawyer - She liked the library and the campus. Might want to apply.
Dartmouth - Beautiful school, has a lot of opportunities - especially for study abroad - but felt it was out of reach.
Clark - Thought it was too small. Ironically, she attends a teeny tiny high school - and says she wants something different for college.
St. Anselm - Liked it, but thought it was too small and too religious for her tastes.
LOL - my junior still will re-read Harry Potter. He started reading them at 5.
We toured Macalaster and he didn’t like it. Maybe perhaps because there is nothing Hogwarts like about it?! (And as an aside, I loved it!)
I do get the feeling that many schools are trying a little too hard in their marketing to be hip and and identifiable.
One that went up on our list recently - St. Olaf. Thought that would be a no way because boy is athiest and it’s rural. But the religion piece seems non-dogmatic, we know plenty of non-Lutherans (including LBGTQ) that were thrilled with their experience there. Boy wants to do music and the music program there seems excellent and more flexible than we were expecting. Plus, it does look a little like Hogwarts in places.
We visited Union College (NY) which was a happy surprise. D was very impressed by the lovely campus and the school’s strength in science/engineering. We visited Union as an afterthought (we made the trip primarily to see Skidmore which she deemed too artsy for her) and it shot way up on her list. And on our tour we were shown a wand from a Harry Potter movie displayed in the library (sorry, it is not still there) – apparently the head of Warner studios is a Union alum. Anyway my D was impressed. Union turned out to be an unexpectedly strong contender but in the end D went elsewhere.
LOTR manuscripts at Marquette University were also a big sell for my MU Quidditch player (DD2016). You never know what is going to strike a kids fancy that will cause a move up or down a list.
An August visit to Loyola Chicago for DD2018 was going well, beautiful campus, just the right amount of “urban”, friendly students and then she stepped in a dorm room and said she felt that the ceiling is “too low” and spent the rest of the day saying that dorms are the make or break it for her. I think Loyola redeemed itself somehow and it remained in the same spot on her list!
@MusakParent - St. Olaf is on our far-maybe list to explore further. We will no way make it there for a visit from PA. But if you had any more details about the campus visit, I’d love to hear them!
@Gatormama I have a junior and have not too long ago started some college touring. At, St. Olaf we just did the info session, the campus tour, and went for lunch in Buntrock Commons on our own. The campus is gorgeous up on a hill, the facilities are beautiful, everyone was super welcoming and helpful, no one cared we weren’t Lutheran, and the music program I think could work for my quirky music kid. My kid is super athiest and he seemed fine with the religious piece because it felt non-overbearing. There were good options to fill your religious studies classes for secular kids. Our tour guide told us about a class he took about the Bible and modern media where they analyzed modern books and movies like The Matrix and you guessed it, Harry Potter. Anyway - we will definitely plan on going back to do a more in depth visit later and would love to tour Carleton too, though the music program isn’t as strong there I’ve heard. We’re hitting the close ones for us right now.
@Gatormama Take what I say with a grain of salt: we never formally toured St Olaf or went to an info session. We were in the area so we drove to take a look at St. Olaf and Carleton. Kids were moving in the day we went there, but school hadn’t started yet at Carleton. At St Olaf we drove around campus, went in the student union and the bookstore and I did some serious people watching (which I always do) since in my opinion the students are more interesting and important than the buildings. What surprised me was how diverse the students looked. You expect mostly blonde Scandanavians at a school like that, but that wasn’t the case. There were a mix of students in terms of appearance, but mainly what I call, mainstream. Many of the buildings had a modern look and looked clean. The downtown, Northfield was very cute. Overall, the school had a different look compared to Northeast and Southern schools. It’s hard to describe. Carlton looked more like something you would find in New England. I came away from that liitle glimpse of the school thinking “what can we get here that we can’t get on the east coast”? This was over a year ago and I might feel differently now that D is older and going further away doesn’t scare me so much. I also think it’s unfair to give an opinion without formally touring. I heard great things about this school, but at first glance nothing about it wowed me.
This reminds me of how the University of Washington campus was described by one of the local newspapers when I lived in Seattle - a mix of Gothic, Brutalist, and Prison-inspired architecture. If you’d ever walked around the campus, you’d know that it’s a great description.
@citymama9 and others: I would love to hear more about Carleton visits. My daughter considers it a favorite, but there’s no way she will be able to visit unless she is accepted and choosing between Carleton and another college.
Anyway - we will definitely plan on going back to do a more in depth visit later and would love to tour Carleton too, though the music program isn’t as strong there I’ve heard. We’re hitting the close ones for us right now.