We were all over the map, literally and figuratively, looking at schools in very different places and very different in culture, purpose, approach. My son didn’t know what he wanted or liked so I showed him a lot of different stuff. (We started early.) This helped narrow the focus. I will say I’d probably do it differently given how expensive our trips became. I’d probably help him narrow some of the broad categories – size, Univ. vs. LAC, etc. – by visiting schools within a driving radius and only after making some of those choices would we range further afield. Plus it sucks to go fall in love and then get rejected. Also wanted to interject that all the schools on our Down list are fantastic institutions and are undoubtedly places that others see and fall immediately in love with the place. But hey, I didn’t start this thread. I’m just playing along.
Down
U. Chicago – we saw it in the dead of winter and it was cold and bleak. Turns out Chicago is windy and cold as balls in February. Who knew? Despite that the campus is enchanting. Students and faculty who spoke were extremely impressive. Definitely picked up on the intense vibe though. Yikes. Didn’t strike us as a very happy place. This was our first tour and as if talking directly to us the Director of Admissions started with “relax, you’ll get into a college and it will be okay. Might be here, might not. But it’ll be okay.” That won some points. Location in/near a great city like Chicago was a huge plus.
Carleton – campus didn’t win us over. I think we’re in the cohesive architecture camp and this was a little all over the place. Very impressed with the students we met. Big throbbing brains and very friendly. We got nary a whiff of academic or intellectual arrogance. Just a bunch of nice, extremely bright and hard-working kids. Our local alumni interviewer was also fantastic. Much more convenient to downtown Northfield than St. Olaf.
Hamilton – Obsessive detour from a business trip (without my son, though by this point I knew what he did and didn’t like) and mostly a drive-through without a tour, so not at all fair. Very nice facilities but didn’t love the campus. Could be the architectural schizophrenia again. Wasn’t a great day weather-wise and central NY in the winter isn’t the sunniest place. I left thinking I might see it a second time and love it. But I only saw it once and it didn’t resonate.
UC Berkeley – Campus was a mixed bag. Loved the location adjoining a cool and decent-sized college town. Not ugly but nothing remarkable about the campus and collectively not particularly attractive. Our tour guide was very impressive. Son didn’t love the idea that if he wanted to change majors that it could be next to impossible getting into certain disciplines. Struck us as a fantastic place if you already were dead certain about your field of study. Having SF so close doesn’t suck though.
Swarthmore – nope, not feeling it. Beautiful campus and great location on the rail but the students all looked so stressed and unhappy we couldn’t wait to get out of there. Very much respect the kind of intelligent, driven person who could thrive at Swarthmore but my son (who is a serious student) felt like he’d be walking into four years of hell. We expected a school of this caliber to be intense but this was an entirely different level.
Same
College of Wooster – campus and town were okay. There’s a little bit of crumbling roughness here and there and the town seems like a place going south. Maybe I’ve projected that after learning of the loss of a major employer in town, but it seemed a bit vacant, a little too large for what’s there and – like the college – crumbling at the edges. Fairly walkable from campus. Great athletic facility. And this might sound picky but the black and yellow everywhere started to feel oppressive. Church in the middle of campus is stunningly ugly and distracts from an otherwise attractive look. Cafeteria food was rough. Have to say, the faculty and administration are so passionate about their school we found ourselves really responding. Even the charter bus driver was all-in. These people love their school and it shows. CoW is the little engine that could. Very impressed with the IS thesis program, though as the class my son attended did not strike him as particularly rigorous and he ended up being the most vocal “student” in the class.
Notre Dame – Impressive campus. They’ve managed the straddle of modernization and preservation very nicely. Football stadium and cathedral are jaw-dropping. We liked the message regarding religion too. We’re not at all religious but my son didn’t emerge feeling that it would be a problem for him, rather another subject where he’d learn something. South Bend was pretty crappy though. All in all a fabulous place but we expected fabulous so it didn’t move up or down.