Colleges your child crossed off the list after visiting, schools that moved up on the list. Why?

Parents Forum
3722

So glad to read your assessment, Lindagaf. My daughter applied to USD, kind of on a whim since we love the city of San Diego (my parents spent the last 30 years of their life there), and she ended up getting decent merit and FA. It was one of 12 schools she applied to and got into, and I didn’t think it was too far up her list (she hates flying and we live near Chicago), but she wanted to visit, so we went to Torero Day on April 14th. Wow!!! That was the end of the other 11 schools… I will admit that academic opportunity was not the deciding factor (c’mon, any of the 12 would have been fine), but the opportunity to join that community in that location with that campus was simply irresistible! Truly seems to be a “happy place.” You only go around once…

So D will be a Torero next fall!

3723

My niece went to USD. Her (catholic) high school was sort of a feeder school and I’d guess there are at least 20 from her high school at USD in any year (total, not per class).

I think my sister misses the weekends in San Diego more than my niece.

3724

USD - Up for me, Down for my students…I had what I call the parent reaction to USD - where the outside shine of the place just sucks us parents in - gorgeous campus, seems idyllic, safe, all the things us parents are drawn to (except for the steps up from the housing/parking in the gully on a very very hot day). My students had opposite reaction. Thought it was way too small and was like a high school, and also felt trapped on the hill - no where to walk to, even the bottom of the hill it sits on doesn’t offer any kind of neighborhood. Would definitely want a car there. The girl in a sundress and pearls giving the tour only talked about food, nothing about academics, which was entertaining. Someone asked about the STEM programs and she didn’t think they had those. Adorable.

3725

@blueskies2day Your tour guide story gave me a good chuckle!

3726

A tour guide really can make or break the visit. Usually my daughter had less subjective reasons for taking a school off her list, but those first impressions are important and a lackluster guide doesn’t help.

3727

Bates! Lewiston Maine has seen better days, and it’s not like Bates is on a hill outside of town. True story: When my niece visited last summer, she saw the coroner wheeling a body bag out of an off campus building. Most likely, an overdose victim. Needless to say, she crossed Bates off her list.

3728

Mount Holyoke - information session was meh; the student presenter didn’t impress - started out by saying she “eschewed the use of pronouns.” What salvaged it for our D was that the tour guide was impressive - she was an articulate, down-to-earth advocate for the school without sounding like she was reading from a rehearsed script. The grounds were gorgeous - as mentioned on other threads, the library was so Hogwarts. A scholarly vibe pervaded the space. The dining hall was a visual feast -very homey with its cozy side rooms. The tour guide demonstrated a genuine sense of pleasure/pride in school traditions - milk and cookies in residence hall common areas, class colors/mascots, the college collectively watching the film “Dirty Dancing” in the amphitheater ("Baby is going to Holyoke in the fall), and classes being called off and the entire school body hiking Mt. Holyoke. D was impressed by the science facilities. She was initially unsure about a women’s college, but she was won over by the visit (notwithstanding the info. session).

WPI - a comprehensive information session on the WPI plan (clarified the school’s unique approach). Great tour guide - a sophomore biotechnology/bio. infomatics major who has lined up an impressive summer internship at a major research university. She offered up a candid “insider’s” take on things and answered dad’s probing questions. At the conclusion of tour, she took extra time to answer D’s questions. Despite being a holiday with no classes in session, the place exuded a STEM vibe (lots of kids engaged in projects and study). Moved to top of her list.

UCONN - the best information session of any tour we have been on to date, despite being delivered to a sizeable contingent of visitors in a theater space. Gave D a good sense of academics/research opps., campus life, and service. We got a good workout as we toured the core of the campus. As we traversed campus, the enthusiastic tour guide pulled students aside in a “walk and talk” session geared to their specific major. Biggest school of all, but it didn’t dissuade D as she is looking at the honors program with its “school within a school concept” - special opportunities/programming and theme housing as part of the package. Lots of new construction - clearly the school is making investments in infrastructure. It was a vibrant atmosphere. We capped off the day with ice cream at the school’s dairy bar set against a backdrop of fields and hills. Final takeaway image - a group of senior girls taking photos of themselves clad in caps and gowns - in front of a bucolic barn by the agricultural school.

Several more tours to be done down the road…

3729

I visited UConn 15 years ago and I still fondly recall the school’s dairy bar. Nothing better!

3730

Outside Middlebury’s campus is an A & W root beer drive-in. Ice Cold A & W delivered right to your car window.

3731

Just finished the 4 month sweep of NC/VA. More still to visit this summer, but this is it for now. And, to preface, my pet peeve is not being able to see a dorm room.

UP:

Davidson: Rainy day in February - Junior Day, so it was packed. Big tour group, but we had been on enough tours that my DS was able to get to the front and get the information. Very personable guide with a shadow who was learning how to do the job – so we had two people to ask questions of. Parents of other students were snarky about the guide and that annoyed me. Info sessions were really good, too. Son LOVED it. Moved up with a bullet. Pet Peeve: knocked on doors in the dorm, but no one answered, even though we could hear them.

Richmond: Preview Richmond Open House: Lots of people, but if you scheduled yourself well, you wouldn’t have too many people in your group. We were really thoughtful and had a very small tour group - 15 people, maybe – where the morning tours had 60 in a group. Attended sessions for both arts and sciences. The arts session was broken up where all of the professors talked for a few minutes, then we sorted into groups and got to talk with the respective professors in a smaller setting. The science session was more lecture style – wish we could have spoken one on one there, too. The dining hall was really good. Absolutely beautiful campus, and the best (until a month later…) tour guide we’ve had in all of our visits. Up and in a tie with Davidson now. Only drawback is that DH hates spiders.  Pet Peeve: One of the group sessions was a housing tour! We saw several options and got a really good feel for the dorms. I like when they pay attention to housing, because that really matters!

East Carolina: Tour: Lots of people here, too, but somehow, we ended up in a tour group of 5 families. And, our tour guide took the “BEST” title away from Richmond. He was amazing. It really helped that they assigned tour guides, but let us pick if there was someone with a major or an interest that a student wanted to learn more about. Admissions presentation was short and the speaker was entertaining, but most of the information was readily available on the website. As with any large D1 school, they talked about their athletics, but the tour attendees were really asking questions about the student tickets and guaranteed seating, etc. Just not something we’d ever think to ask about on a tour, but, I guess it’s a big deal. Like how the campus is structured, even though it is a huge school, it ends up not feeling that big with the way the academic buildings are clustered. Went in with no real expectations and ended up really liking the school. Pet Peeve: We did get to see a room – it is a sample room, but they have it in one of the oldest dorms and a very small room. I like that we got to see one that wasn’t a palace, and one a freshman is likely to get unless they are in an LLC.

University of North Carolina Charlotte: Open House: Large presentation was held in the basketball arena – so different than where we had been touring – there were 1800 people at the open house alone! They had a really nice resource fair where you could talk to professors and departments. It was a great opportunity to speak to the people and areas DS was interested in. Chemistry department was fantastic! Music folks were really nice – students at that one – and the honors and scholarship folks were very helpful. There were three sessions and an extra Honors College session at the end. Two of our sessions were presentations, and they were fine. Lots of good information. However, one of these sessions was a tour… Now, we were warned by friends that there were a lot of stairs, but because they were doing abbreviated 30 minute tours, we were basically running up the stairs. Having had a recent knee replacement, I can walk the stairs easily, but slowly… so this was a big drawback for me enjoying the tour! But, once we got to talk to the guide one on one, he was great, as were all the other students we met. Up a bit – and the first public to make my DS’s list. Pet Peeve: Saw a real dorm room! They did have housing tours, but we gave that session up to attend some of the others. We only saw the honors dorm, which is fine for us. The unannounced sprint up 5 flights of stairs there put aside… sigh… the room was fantastic. All suites in that dorm, and available to freshmen.

Stayed the Same:

Washington and Lee: Tour. EXTREMELY cold January day. Fantastic tour guide, only two families with this guide, so we could hear and got a lot of great information. Liked the feel of the main part of campus, was able to go to the music building and wandered through there. The students really do speak to everyone – we asked questions of a random student in the building and they were very responsive. Pet Peeve: super small – “we show this one because it’s so small no one wants it!” - set up single dorm room, but at least we saw one.

High Point: I know many people have many opinions about High Point, but it is right for a lot of people. It’s a good option for him, with some concerns, just like some of the other schools! We went in with the full expectation of a marketing extravaganza, and while we got it, it did move up because of content and a very good visit. It was an Open House, so there were a lot of people there. It was extremely well organized, with different groups of people doing different things, so nothing was ever too crowded. Nice campus, not a ton of trees, but it is kept up very well. Got to speak one on one with a professor for about 30 minutes. He was extremely impressive and the access for undergraduate research is pretty amazing. Tours were broken up by major, so they tried to show what the prospective students were interested in. Our group was small, so lots of interaction with a very nice guide. We didn’t get shown the science building because “it isn’t the newest,” (translation – not as nice as the others, so we’re not going to show you) or the library for some reason, but they are building a science center which would be ready when DS would be going to college. Remains on the list for now, but we are concerned, and therefore asking the school about no ACS certification for the chemistry department. If they don’t have that certification, it is likely a deal breaker. Pet Peeve: Saw two different dorm rooms. They were showcase rooms, and neither of them were the Tier One housing that is in the base room and board. But they are very nice. I would have liked to see the tier 1 housing.

Elon: Toured twice because DH couldn’t go the first time. Tour 1: Admissions presentation and tour. Fairly large group, but great guides and good presentation. Nice campus. Pet Peeve: Saw an occupied dorm room, complete with student doing homework. Appreciate the ability to see one in use and how they set it up. Tour 2: Open House. Lots of people, but tours broken up by interest, so some were smaller. My DS19 and DH were with the sciences tour and my DD21 and I were with the music tour. We had a much smaller group. Really good guides with both, but our tour got the much better lunch options! Liked the ability to talk with and have questions answered by professors and students in the fields DS is interested in pursuing. Pet Peeve: Once again saw occupied dorm rooms – it was nice to see them in use and talk with the students in them.

Down:

Wake Forest: Toured twice because DH couldn’t go the first time. Tour 1: OK. AO not great. Giant tour group, but great guides. Pet Peeve: Saw a room! A real room that was set up, but it was a typical room. Actually nice. Tour 2: Meh. AO fantastic! Much smaller group, guide just OK. Pet Peeve: No dorm room. They are all occupied. DS doesn’t like the campus – he doesn’t feel right there. So, down it goes.

3732

“Knocked on doors in the dorm but no one answered, even though we could hear them.”. Hey, @KatzHerder I do the same in MY home. If you knock unannounced and I was not expecting you, I may or may not answer the door. And you may even hear me or the TV on in the background ! :slight_smile:

3733

@sevmom, ran out of characters, but to clarify, these were rooms that had volunteered to be seen. The guide knocked, not us! :))

3734

I feel bad throwing shade on little Grinnell College in Iowa… but I’m gonna.

Where was everybody? It was a gorgeous spring afternoon, and the campus seemed completely deserted. It was like the Twilight Zone or a film set or the aftermath of the neutron bomb (remember the neutron bomb?). OK, I exaggerate, but the campus seemed oddly empty. My kid suggested that the school was over-resourced for the number of students attending. Future econ major?

Buildings were gorgeous, architecture was artful, and I loved the Laurel Leaf Lounge in the student center. My kid noted that the money wasn’t being spent in the areas where the students hung out.

3735

@prodesse that’s interesting about Grinnell. When we visited last fall, the campus was buzzing. We ate dinner one night on the cafeteria and breakfast and lunch there the next day. S19 went to two classes. Everything seemed great!

3736

I share the pet peeve of not being able to see dorm rooms. Seems like it has become the norm to NOT show them, based on the many tours I have been on. At the schools where the tour guides prearranged it, we sometimes had “volunteers” on hand to show us their rooms and never once did they not answer when the guide knocked. I agree that is rude. But I wouldn’t hold that against the school (and it doesn’t sound like you are).

3737

I’ve done over 30 college visits and it is hit and miss as to whether or not you get to see inside a dorm room. I never expect it, and if I get it, it’s a bonus.

3738

We found it helpful to see dorm rooms too but with that said, we appreciated it more when we were shown a typical freshman dorm instead the fanciest, newest, Taj Mahal that hardly any freshmen get to live in.

3739

We’ve been on two dozen tours and the vast majority showed dorm rooms, though there were exceptions. Most showed a typical room, not dressed up, and not in the fanciest building. A couple totally staged a room full of their store merchandise. The ones that stand out for various reasons:

Swarthmore: The tour guide took our whole group through her own super messy room, complete with her roommate still in it and all their clothes and underwear all over the floor that we were stepping over. Certainly the most authentic dorm tour we did.

Williams: The place looked like a low security prison. I’m told Williams has some nice dorms. For whatever reason that’s not what we toured. It was depressing. The hallways were cramped, had no natural light and poor artificial lighting and were devoid of anything on the walls. The floor was a hard prison-grade surface that was not wood or carpet. And the room was unoccupied and not staged so all you saw was the metal bed with their springs and super thin mattresses.

Pomona: Tour guide took a huge group into the common area of a large three story dorm with two long wings. Gave a brief talk then told everyone to just walk around and try and find and open door and peek in. So 50-60 people then started roaming the halls looking for an open door, yelling at each other up and down stairs to relay whether anything else was getting luckier. No one ever found a single open door. It was 9:30 in the morning. Probably woke a lot of kids still recovering from the night before.

3740

Our Cornell tour guide accosted a student on the hallway and convinced her to show us her room which was a COMPLETE disaster with clothes and items everywhere and it smelled pretty stale. Poor girl was sheepish. Parents and kids laughed and said, “well, that’s realistic.”

Most tours we just walked through the ground floor common area of a dorm and sometimes saw a model room. Many tour guides cited security concerns, and I actually kinda get it. Now that I’m thinking of my D as a first year next year not sure I’d want her and her hallmates to have group of 15 to 20 people come traipsing around on a frequent basis.

3741

I’ve been on the Hamilton tour twice. Both times they showed the same quad room, consisting of 2 sets of bunks in 1 room, a common room and a bathroom occupied by 4 extremely messy boys. I kept thinking it would be a great set-up for 4 neat girls. The first time, you could barely take a step without stepping on a piece of clothing, book or some type of sporting equipment. The 2nd time you could perhaps take 2 steps before stepping on something. And imagine a shared bathroom that 4 college aged boys are responsible for cleaning! yuk! But kudos to Hamilton for showing a real room!