@JanieWalker If she likes the outdoors and the idea of Colorado College, google image Manitou Springs. My daughter goes to CC and the outdoor club/hiking club is one of her favorite clubs there. That part of Colorado is just stunning!
Off the list: Fairfield U: Tour showed us the most random locations (gym, mailroom, library which was under construction, a narrow academic hallway, and a freshman dorm (the campus is rather spread out)) and the tour guide repeated “as well” so much, we counted 39 uses of the phrase during the second half of the tour!
Moved Up: UConn: Loved the environment and the “city feel” of the campus despite being in a rural location. Appreciated the diversity of student backgrounds, thought, and course offerings. Really surprised because as an in state resident, everyone seems to rag on it.
Also moved up: While I was interested in accounting freshman year, I visited Bentley. Even though the field is not for me, it is an absolutely gorgeous campus! Well kept and developed, right near Boston. Tour guide was nice as well. Do not be fooled, however, it’s a rough social atmosphere as it is all business students (according to four alumni I have spoken with) and a pretty penny to attend.
Davidson where my D will attend has its own lake campus on Lake Norman (biggest lake in NC I think?) a few minutes away with college-owned equipment students can use to sail, kayak, etc. And it has active outdoor club that goes hiking and camping in the blue ridge mountains on weekends – the college is 1.5 hours from amazing national forests in the Appalachian mountains such as Pisgah.
Bowdoin owns its own island in Maine , with a research facility, beach and dock activities, etc. They just got a huge donation to expand the facilities there. Their Outing Club is one of the best in the country.
@JanieWalker - Word of caution about Cornell summer visits - they run limited number of tours only on certain days of the week. Be sure you contact them first before booking hotels and such. It’s a beautiful part of the country!
@momofsenior1 Thanks – we can’t get to Cornell this summer anyway. We always register online with a college before visiting.
@citivas, thanks – we visited Bowdoin during a busy (for us) week. The location is close to where both my kids regularly compete in one of their (shared) extracurriculars. My kids wanted to go on the visit but were very tired that day and therefore barely remember anything about that visit (or the entire day, really – they were worn out from finals and competing). We will visit again when they don’t have so much going on at once, for I think they would both like it (though I know it’s a reach).
@CatLover20 Your post made me remember a few things about our UPenn visit on spring break, after which the school was off the list.
An admissions director (professional, 40 yr old woman) said ‘um’ 66 times in her presentation, I started counting a few minutes into the prez because it was so distracting. Bothered me more than D19.
The tour guide (who was a great young man, and honest, which I appreciated) talked about 1) the prevalence of the hook-up culture saying “no one here dates” and 2) in answering a direct question about grade deflation in pre-med science classes (from me) “There’s huge grade deflation in these classes, I don’t know why they have to make it so hard”.
While I believe #1 is certainly not unique to Penn, #2 is somewhat knowable and controllable. Suffice it to say these two points took the school off D19s list for good.
From an admissions strategy point of view…this age cohort doesn’t favor rural schools. They are often admissions bargains for that reason. If you have a kid who really wants to be out out in the woods, I’d run with that.
@Mwfan1921 It’s a strange phenomena to me, as universities KNOW the impact that these tours and first impressions have. At universities where the presentation is slipping in this department, however, no one seems to care.
Forgot in my earlier post (I think because I’m trying to block out the memory completely): RPI. COMPLETELY OFF MY LIST. I went for their spring open house and (similarly) had possibly the worst student reps possible. I went to a panel on their Comp Sci programs and there were maybe five students who all essentially trashed the school. They said they never have any free time, there’s no student organizations outside of your major, the curriculum is completely misguided, and they feel stressed out 24/7. I rarely heard them say anything positive (I felt bad for one girl, she genuinely seemed happy with her time at the school and was upset with the other students’ behavior). I expect some upset students, especially within engineering which can be rough, but I also expected that RPI would have picked people with positive experiences and things to say about the university. Everyone was also in sweatpants, which once again, I expect-- it’s college, after all. I wish I could have been wearing sweatpants!! Other open houses I have gone to, however, have required their students to be incredibly well dressed. Scranton was a great example about this. I went with a friend who wanted to see their business showcase and every student that presented was wearing a suit or dress. Very professional but also brought up anecdotes and experiences they had (much more impressive than I ever would have expected from Scranton students) with other presenters that really made you feel like you knew them, or wanted to know them.
Well, back to RPI. I then went on a tour (keep in mind, it was a beautiful Saturday and one of the first days where we saw sunshine and warmth up here) and not a single student was outside. I immediately assumed that everyone was at home, but when we went into the dorms, you could sometimes hear faint music and the lights were on in all the rooms. My family and I decided to turn around and found a girl in the hall to help us out. She said everyone was on campus, just that no one really “hangs out” there and they mostly sit in their dorms every weekend. Weird, right? Maybe a fit for someone. Not for me.
Totally agree that a tour guide can make a huge impact on the visit and universities should do a better job of training/coaching.
@CatLover20 “Do not be fooled, however, it’s a rough social atmosphere as it is all business students (according to four alumni I have spoken with)”
Can you elaborate on the alumni feedback at Bentley? We’re they recent grads? There is not a lot of info on this school on CC.
^ we know some kids that were very happy at Bentley (high achieving, focused, etc.). If your kid knows they want to be in accounting / finance / big data, etc. and they want to work in Boston, Bentley is a very strong option. Tons of internships in the area.
That said, S was admitted with a great scholarship to Bentley for class of 2021 and opted to go elsewhere because he was concerned about the fixation on business, type of students that would attract, etc.
Glad he made that decision (although the $ would have been nice - 50% tuition) as he attends an LAC type with a great business school and has developed a true interest in PoliSci (enough to minor in it). Professors are renowned in their field which has made it quite interesting for him. He will still do business (finance and mgmt) but will get a well rounded education and be surrounded by people with many interests. I think that’s part of the college learning experience that gets overlooked.
We toured several and it was interesting how the campus visit affected his choices.
UDel- lackluster info and tour, did not mention CS and DS had nothing in common with his assigned guide.
Pet peeve-if a college is going to assign groups ahead of time, why can’t they make a sensible match? S19 did not want to switch groups.
Lehigh-stayed at top of list-liked interdisciplinary program and the setting. Fine with steps and lack of ac. Very quiet guide, super humid, drizzling day and he loved it despite everything.
RPI- went off list after being a fav. S did not like the feel, felt very serious and high pressure. He also wanted a school with more options to hang with people not all focused on the sciences.
RIT- stayed on list, good fit but not favorite location or look
NC State-impressive, enormous
Case-fav guide, matched up by interest and guides wore mics! I was so excited by this after several tours of straining or giving up on hearing guides. Moved up to #2 spot if able to get in. Good programs, music, and sports watching.
That interdisciplinary program at Lehigh is very strong! Great placement for it’s grads in today’s data driven world.
1 Like
@suzyQ7 everyone who i’ve spoken to enjoyed their time there but found it difficult to trust the people they met as they would commonly “screw them over” in projects or internships. you just have to be careful because the people there know what they want to do (most of them want power through business) and aren’t afraid to do anything to get it. the people i spoke to were very diverse as well. one student who went there only for her graduate studies and is very shy (socially awkward). another was her sister, who went there for undergrad and grad and is very much a people person who enjoys to party. another was a male international student who got his finance degree there. lastly, i spoke to a “hometown hero” type of athletic kid who went for his bachelors. they all were grateful for the experiences they had but said they would not recommend the university to ANYONE as it was too intense (except for the party girl-- she said if you’re incredibly focused, it’s a good fit).
Just came back from U of Colorado at Boulder. We were expecting to like it but didn’t realize how much we would love it. What a great area and school. Great vibe even though it was summer (still got a sense from the guides/audience at info session).
My son is worried it isn’t “good enough” for him…he has always been considering some more competitive eastern schools, like the two his sisters are at. But CU Boulder is now a strong contender. He will apply.
Also toured Lehigh two weeks ago. It was literally my 4th tour as my girls also looked there. Nothing wrong with that school either. It has developed a bit of a party reputation but I know the academics are strong and the school is not easy…they take their academics very seriously.
@collegemomjam I’ve always heard to NOT take your kids to Boulder unless you want it rise to the top of the list. Everyone loves it.
@collegemomjam We will visit U of CO Boulder next summer, a year from now. I predict mine will love it too – great combination of excellent academics plus easy access to some seriously gorgeous nature. Not a bad school to love…comes with a not-impossible admissions rate, which is very nice. As for not being “good enough” – maybe wait and see what the actual possibilities are after he gets accepted/denied places, then visit again (assuming he gets accepted). U of CO Boulder has an excellent, strong reputation in quite a few fields. I know two people who chose it over more selective schools because they just felt like it was a perfect fit.
moved up… Christopher Newport. Absolutely stunning and a very laid back vibe. Everyone was super-friendly.
@JanieWalker that’s solid advice and that’s what we will do. He is a rising junior and he has straight A’s in rigorous classes (but so do so many kids these days!), but he still needs to take the SAT so we will need to see what his options are. I also think he would only go if he gets into the Business school, which is harder to get in than some of their other programs. I think we would go back again if he gets in and take it from there…maybe go in the winter of senior year to check it out then. My hunch is he would still love it (he is a huge snowboarder!). Thanks!