@JenJenJenJen Thank you for that post! When reading it I thought I would mention Skidmore, and then at the bottom of your post you mentioned it:) It seems like a good school for a theater kid and it’s near a great town, Saratoga that has a lot going for it. Emerson is also a great “theater kid” school, and there is nothing like Boston. Thanks again.
I’ve always been a little skeptical of the idea of these student “bus tours” to colleges. Seems like a lot of group think and consensus by a bunch of teens on colleges, IMO. I’d be worried that some kids weren’t formulating their own opinions. I’m sure it doesn’t apply to all teens but I could see it being a factor with some.
^ I’ve wondered the same at times, @doschicos . But I do remember seeing a large HS tour group at the hotel when I visited Grinnell. I was impressed because these kids were from a high school in New York City (we’re from NY too, and nobody from my daughter’s high school ever applies to schools like Grinnell). I chatted with one of the chaperones at the hotel’s breakfast buffet and she told me these were all right, motivated kids who went to a public high school in an underserved area. The trip had been paid for through fundraising. I thought it was great that they were touring academically rigorous schools like Grinnell that seek out not just st ethnic but socioeconomic diversity and are generous with financial aid. These kids wouldn’t have had the opportunity to look at schools like this otherwise.
I think the bus tours can be helpful if there is someone to help them break it down after…that is, what are the similarities and differences between the schools that they liked and hated…the patterns if you will. I did a bus tour a generation ago up the central valley to the SF bay area and then back down the coast to home in Southern California. I learned a lot but my parents did nothing to help me understand why I liked what I liked (UC Berkeley was the winner hands down…Stanford was the surprising loser).
And as a Bostonian…I can say without a doubt it is a terrific place to go to college.
I have never heard of these bus tours!!! I tend to agree that kids would all compare notes and maybe not be able to parse out how they really feel about the school when they’ve got peers along for the ride who they’ve known for years and years. I imagine it’s a terrific way for some kids to see schools that would be hard to visit otherwise and, for that, I applaud any high school trying to help kids figure it out.
S19 is looking for something completely different than his friends. He’s a liberal arts guy through and through looking for small classes and strong advising. Many of his friends want to major in business at big “fun” schools. Sending them all to Grinnell for a trip would result in quite the discussion between S19 and his friends. Kids need to make these decisions while being true to themselves and it’s hard to know if S19 would question himself if he had his best friends along for the ride to one of his favorite LACs. Kids really do care what their friends think and S19’s friends are a smart bunch who have good reasons for their choices just like S19 has his reasons for wanting what he wants. They’ve agreed to disagree for now. I’m actually thankful that these boys don’t want an LAC because then S19 doesn’t have to compete for a spot with them!
I agree that the bus tours are helpful if they are well run and you have a guide help you “break down” the tours. I think they are especially helpful if you live on one coast and your child wants to get an idea of what the other coast has to offer. I don’t think there is much “group think” aside from one kid noting something and everyone concurring. The kids all have different interests and so are drawn to different colleges.
I sent my son on such a tour not only so he could get information, but also so he could get excited about the process by going on a fun trip with his friends, rather than slogging through tours with his parents who he might not want to listen to.
Our school organized tours over the breaks. It was really helpful for international students and for students who wanted to explore schools in a different part of the country (and it saved parent vacation time for other things.) I think the faculty helped them process their impressions. While I might have some concern about group think, I suspect there was more discussion with each other than there was on tours with parents (if our family was an indication.)
With that said, my kid never went – interested in other schools than the ones included on the tours.
My daughter did a bus tour of colleges around L.A. and another smaller one in Seattle. They spent time talking about costs, etc. She came away thinking of all the ones she had seen that a Jesuit college (Seattle Univ.) fit her best. She was not loving the big big schools.
My husband and daughter just got back from a college visit weekend - so the below is a little second hand
Way Up: University of San Francisco. D18 liked this on paper but we had no idea how she would feel about a campus that is really in the city. She loved it! Said it felt manageable size wise but not too small (around 7k undergrad), really diverse student body, everyone she spoke with was friendly, she loved the Jesuit social justice theme that permeated everything. Loves SF. Concerns - small dorm rooms that often are triples, crosses around campus (not opposed and like the Jesuit philosophy but she grew up in Jewish family though considers herself non religious), and for me - so far away (we live in the south). She applied EA so should hear at end of December. Hoping she would get good merit money here. Definately a contender.
Down: University of Washingon - Seattle. Cold, rany, windy, power outages. Need I say more? Bad weather luck for their visit to Seattle. Husband said the campus itself was gorgeous and they had every thing anyone could ever want. I think D18 was overwhelmed by the size. She also didnt like that the tour was before the admissions talk - seemed backward to her.
Down: Seattle University. This was a last minute add because a few people they met touring USF told them it was similar and to check it out. We had not heard of it before as I think it has the reputation of a strong regional school but not known in the south. According to D18 and husband- it has a much smaller campus feel than USF (even though population about the same). Nice neighborhood. Weather issues again - cold, rainy and miserable. The Jesuit influence was more present - two religion classes required versus one and a Jesuit priest lives at end of each hallway. Crossed off the list. @TempeMom - just saw your comment above - glad your daughter liked.
Yesterday was not a good day for a Seattle visit that is for sure. About the worst day we have had in a few years. I would agree with your assessments of UW and Seattle U. UW has an honors program though that can make a big school seem smaller. But alas my D thinks UW is too big as well. Great school though. If they are still in the area University of Puget Sound is a 45 minute drive and worth a look.
@Veryapparent nope - they took the red eye back last night. Walked in the door at 7:20 this morning. Very tired travelers
We considered Seattle for retirement- love the city but weather is a real issue. Will continue to spend time there summers visiting son et al to escape Florida heat and humidity, but not a Thanksgiving time again. I sort of see why WI nephew chose UW-Seattle instead of UW-Madison for climate (academics not as much- both are good) but for a person coming from California I can see where the rainy season would be a downer. Cold is relative. I’m in favor of large campuses- so many places to be without leaving campus. Small ones seem too limited to me, but that’s why different people pick different environments.
I consider it lucky that we visited schools in New England (eg Tufts) when it 35 degrees and sleeting sideways in late March and in the South (eg Tulane) when the humidity was so bad I sweat through my clothes and my glasses fogged up every time I left an air-conditioned building. Much better than being under false assumptions about climate.
I’m the child who took the tours, but anyways, here’s my list of colleges that moved up, stayed the same, and moved down or off the list.
MOVED UP
Purchase College — I didn’t know too much about it before the tour, but the tour ended up making me love it a lot. My tour guides were charming, intelligent, and helpful, and all the campus activities seemed to be a lot of fun, like having a “zombie prom” and giving out free pancakes to all students the night before finals. I got the vibe that it was a really creative, inclusive, and close-knit community, and that’s exactly what I want in a college. The only downside, honestly, is the fact that the dorm they showed us was a triple. So glad I decided to tour!
Emerson College — My first visit was in spring of sophomore year, and I ended up adoring it. My tour guides were very down-to-earth and knew the answers to pretty much every question asked, the dorms were incredible, the programs looked great, and their bookstore was really nice. I visited their open house a few weeks ago with a good friend of mine, and we both loved it. Our tour guides were so sweet and hilarious, and they really seemed to love their school. It’s definitely my top school, and if I get in and get sufficient financial aid, I’m going.
STAYED THE SAME
Fordham University, Rose Hill — I never went on an actual tour, to be fair. Me and my mother just wandered the campus a bit during February break of my sophomore year. It’s a gorgeous campus, and everyone we ran into was very helpful and sweet. It just didn’t feel like it was a very “me” college, and I probably wouldn’t get in, but I still applied because I do like it.
SUNY New Paltz — The campus has really gorgeous views, and the little town surrounding it is really cute. The woman who ran the admissions session was very knowledgeable, although she spent a little too much time telling us how rigorous the admissions process at New Paltz actually is. I felt an artsy vibe there, too, although not as much as I felt at, say, Purchase or Emerson. I definitely liked it, but it’s not my top school.
Pace University — I love the fact that this school is in the heart of New York City. Its location is definitely part of the reason why I liked it. My tour guide was really sweet and helpful, and he seemed to love his school. However, I’ve heard several negative reviews of Pace, which is why it’s stayed in the middle of my list instead of moving up.
MOVED DOWN THE LIST
Manhattanville College —It was a cute little campus, but very isolated. Even though a bunch of my schools are also quite isolated, I liked the vibe I got from those schools a lot more than the vibe I got from Manhattanville. My tour guides were very sweet, but they weren’t particularly helpful. For example, one of my tour guides asked me if I played any sports, and I said that I didn’t, but he still showed us the athletic facilities. If this was a bigger tour, I totally understand that, but it was literally just me and my mother on the tour. I guess they’re proud of their athletic facilities? I mean, they were nice and all, but nothing special. I’m still applying, but it’s not really my favorite school.
MOVED OFF THE LIST
Providence College — The campus was really pretty, and our tour guide was really sweet and helpful, but I just didn’t love the school. I got the feeling that I wouldn’t fit in with the students. I also felt like I wouldn’t measure up academically. Looking online, my GPA and test scores actually fall within the range of accepted students, but, when I went on the tour, my guide mentioned that he had taken ten AP classes in his quest to get into Providence. I honestly can’t remember if it was ten in just his senior year or ten overall, but either way, that really scared me. I’ve only taken four AP classes and two honors classes overall, and I felt like I wouldn’t get in. It just wasn’t my school, but I’m sure that many people would be very happy there.
Iona College — It’s a lovely school, and I’m sure that lots of people love it, but it’s just not for me. I felt like I wouldn’t fit in at all. I felt like the facilities really looked like those you would find at a high school. The tour I went on was also really focused on athletics — not that that’s a bad thing, but sports just aren’t my thing. The dorms were really ugly, and I didn’t like them. My tour guide was sweet, but she kept on saying “which is something amazing” after every vaguely good thing she said, which really irritated me. The admissions session was way too long, and I was very bored. A few people I’m friends with are applying there, and I’m sure they’ll love it, but it’s really not my thing.
@annexelizabeth If you are in NYC again you may want to check out the Fordham - Lincoln Center campus. It is a smaller campus with a more artsy vibe as the theater program is housed there.
It was a couple years ago but
UVA was nearly crossed off the list after a visit on a cold cold deary January day after a tour guide stood outside of buildings and went on and on about secret societies and traditions as we froze to death.
UVA shot back to the top after an admitted students day on a beautiful, blooming April day.
Anyone do tours over Thanksgiving break?
Georgia Tech - still on the list for S. It seemed to stay the same in his mind and he said he already knew what he needed to know without the tour. I think he liked some of the social events, activities, and competitions they described. I know he would enjoy the sports scene and intramural sports.
It went up on the list in my mind, even though I don’t think it’s the best fit for him academically (he will not be majoring in engineering or computer science). Since 60% of students major in engineering, the information session wasn’t particularly helpful - they talked briefly about the business school and the liberal arts majors.
Even though I have been to the campus a few times, it was nice to see it on a tour and on a pretty November day with colorful fall leaves, and the tour guide was good. I like that they have a pretty and defined campus within the city and there are so many opportunities for social and cultural events in addition to all the business connections in Atlanta. The students were getting ready to leave for Thanksgiving break so it wasn’t as busy as usual, but it still seemed like a nice place to be.
I’m not sure S is ready for the workload and I still have to convince him that GT is NOT a safety.
We drove through the Johns Hopkins Campus Thursday morning on the way to Thanksgiving with family. Didn’t get out of the car but a campus police officer told us where to drive. Pretty campus, lousy neighborhood. May go back and do an official tour.
The neighborhood around Hopkins isn’t “lousy” at all. There is always Drew and Monmouth.
The area around Hopkins is a mixed bag. Right around campus it is nice; head east a few blocks toward the track and not great at all. The thing that surprised us is how few stores and shops are there…a turn off for my oldest. That said, I have several friends with kids there who just love it.