@citivas thanks. Midd on S19’s list but I’ve heard the athlete culture is very separate from the rest of the kids. That’s not ideal at such a small school. We have a friend whose son runs for Midd. I think we will talk to him. I think he would be honest.
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@meredithfp, your post is a great example to me of how big a difference a host/tour guide can make. My kid, now a first year at Smith, had a completely different experience. Granted, she is an athlete so her time on her overnight visit was mostly with her fellow athletes, but since September she has made many non-athlete friends. She’s found Smith to be very social. It does seem that each residential area has it’s own personality; some are known to be quiet and some more social.
D15 visited Wesleyan and liked it a lot, but it was a little disconcerting to hear a group of students mutter “Go to Amherst” to our tour group as we walked by.
“Your milage may vary” is one reason I like this thread so much!
My guess is those Wes students were Trolling for laughs. Wes was on the short list for my son after acceptances. We toured a couple times and he spent some time with a current student who was an alum of his HS. He just never got totally comfortable with Wes. He seemed put off by how activist the culture seemed – having temporarily defunded the school paper when they published a letter to the editor that some didn’t like, being constantly hit up for petitions while he was eating in the cafeteria, etc. Just wasn’t his think.
LOL that the word that can also refer to a mythical large ogre like creature is automatically filtered out like a curse word here…
We crossed off Pepperdine after visiting. The school was amazing in terms of pre- and post-admission communication, merit scholarship offerings, and beautiful brochures and social media materials. And, of couse, the campus is just gorgeous, nestled up on a hillside above the Malibu coast. That said, the campus seemed dead while we were there and the tour guides assured everyone that this was exactly as it normally is (yikes)…there seemed to be no “there there”…no central gathering space, buzz of activity, etc. Seemed very remote from the real world. Which may be appealing to a lot of folks, but kind of turned all of us off. Also, almost all second year students go abroad. When my daughter just hypothetically asked what one would do if one chose NOT to go abroad, we got kind of confused stares from the tour guides. Just our impression on two different days of visiting.
@calgraduclamom Pepperdine was high on my daughter’s list as a sort-of safety because she loved the location and the pictures of the campus. After we visited it dropped off the list. While the view is amazing, it didn’t feel like a college campus – it felt like some nice business park on a hill with a view. Too much concrete, uninspired architecture, generic concrete plazas, visible parking lots, etc.
First of all, the anecdote is so old at this point that it’s growing whiskers (the visit was in 1999.) Second of all, its placement in the book is to illustrate the random nature of such impressions and their outsized consequences. Not their eternal truthiness.
@civitas, Pepperdine was never on my daughter’s list but when we were doing a west coast college tour, we decided to drive the coastal/scenic route from Santa Barbara back to LA. As we were passing through Malibu, we looked to our left and saw the “nice business park” perched on the hill and wondered what it was. We then noticed the Pepperdine sign, so on a whim decided to do a drive through of the campus. We had the same exact impression as you. Alas, a friend’s daughter graduated from there a few years ago and absolutely loved it.
Perhaps they were, @citivas. We’ll never know! And since they’re not why Wes ultimately dropped down on my kid’s list, it doesn’t matter. Like your son, Wes was not the right fit for my daughter.
I held Pepperdine in high esteem as a classic California college. I imagined it was within walking distance of the beach because their volleyball teams were always on TV and showing the “nearby” beach. It is technically near the beach on a map but the campus is so high up a steep hill that a car has a tough time climbing up. The views were great but I can’t imagine walking so many hills and stairs on a class-by-class basis. We did visit on a Sunday so perhaps not many students were on campus but it felt deserted. Maybe students don’t walk around like on a typical campus but just hang in the dorms on the weekend, get out to the beach or drive to LA. I’d say it’s a must-visit before applying or attending because I think it generates a love/hate feeling.
@SDCounty3Mom Irvine’s gaming computers are part of their “eSports” program. I have a gamer DS. He has been accepted to UCI Honors, but not sure he will attend. Planning to visit when all the acceptance hysteria is done. We have heard the “commuter college” label. That’s a concern for him. We live in NorCal
Sounds like our tour at Davidson when the tour guide said “At Davidson the students don’t want to skip class they want to be there!” and two students said “Yes, they do” , “No, we really do!”
With the beautiful lake next to Davidson College, any missed classes are time well spent !
@usma87 I’m a UCI grad. It had the commuter college label when I went there too and while that may have been the case there were plenty of us on campus to socialize with.
Most people moved across the street or down to the beach after freshman year though.
^^^Thanks for the info. We are trying to squeeze a visit in. @“SC Anteater”
Anyone have opinions on the campuses of Miami university or Tulane? Those are my top two right now
@ProllyBrokeSoon I know 2 kids at Tulane. They both really like it. The kid I know at the University of Miami likes it too. Both schools party a lot from what I can tell. I haven’t been on either campus but my son has been to Coral Gables a couple of times but he didn’t really like the campus. Maybe it just wasn’t his style (architecture). Having said that, you’ll get a really good education at either.
University of Miami campus is much more attractive than is Tulane’s, in my opinion.
Both schools are targets for many kids around FL. I’ve never heard a negative about either. UMiami is clear about their merit awards, based on their SAT and GPA scores.
I think @ProllyBrokeSoon is referring to Miami University (of Ohio)?.