@wis75 true but to me South Bend didn’t feel like Charlottesville, Ann Arbor or Chapel Hill. There is definitely stuff to do at ND all year, but there I’m not sure I would say it’s an apples to apples comparison with a big state school community. Lots of people love ND you just have to visit and make sure it’s what you want.
I spent 4 years in South Bend, as did my daughter. My husband spent 4 years in Madison, WI. South Bend is a bit of a sad town, but Madison is great. Yes, the days can get cold and gray, but you dress for it. We live in VA now and we all managed the cold just fine when we lived up north. Living further south, we contend with hot, humid, sticky days, and nothing compares to the heat and humidity our youngest is experiencing in Columbia SC. I guess because my husband and I moved quite a bit as kids, we adjust to weather fairly easily. As for things to do, I don’t ever recall being bored in college and neither was my daughter. Mishawaka and Granger have movies, bars, a mall etc and ND and SMC have lots of on-campus activities. The train and shuttle are easily accessible for trips to Chicago, which is about an hour and 1/2 away (depending on where you are going). Fall and Spring are also great with trips to the beaches on Lake Michigan. We enjoyed the Midwest so much that my daughter lives in Chicago now and we lived in Chicago for 5 years out of college.
Also, we live less than an hour from Charlottesville. It is much smaller than SB and the demographics/geography are vastly different, so you are correct in saying it doesn’t feel/look like Charlottesville.
We were just in Charlottesville and yes it’s smaller, but it’s more connected to UVA. ND has that little street (Eddy St.) which is actually very cute, but it’s just a little strip. As far as the schools go, I actually liked ND a little better personally. I preferred the diversity of UVA, but ND was extremely friendly and warm. My daughter probably would have chosen Notre Dame over the school she attends now if the location were different (she’s at Georgetown). She knows she made the right decision though…she loves Georgetown and access to DC is a big part of why she loves it and says she definitely needed to be near a city. This is a personal decision and people just have to decide for themselves what is important. And the truth is, at the end of the day, I’m sure many students could be happy at many different types of schools.
Can someone summarize the whole UVA-ND sub discussion? We’re either crossed off or moved up the list after visiting? 
My daughter last year ultimately crossed ND off of her list because of location/climate. But she loved the school and really gave it considerable thought. The location in the end was a deal breaker for her, but might not be for others.With that said, my son may still choose to apply to ND. He’s not sure.
UVA is staying on my son’s list for now. We felt the proximity to the robust college town was enough that it didn’t feel too isolated. Also only 2 hours from DC. I have heard some mixed things about UVA socially that concern me but for now it’s staying on his list.
It is time to move on from ND/UVA.
@collegemomjam Absolutely agree. Best of luck in your search!
Personally I think UVA ought to be crossed off any list. Of course I might be a wee bit biased being a Va Tech grad…
Details, details.
Recently toured University of S.C. and it moved slightly down the list. Opportunities for research seemed more “created” so they could say it was offered than at other schools. Really hard to tell for sure though. They do not offer the opportunity to sit in on a class nor do they show you a science lab on the tour so no idea what the quality of those facilities are. Beautiful, walkable campus though with lots of food options and excellent OOS scholarships so it stays on the list for now. Nearly 50/50 IS vs OOS is attractive also.
Also toured N.C. State which moved slightly up the list. Excellent “real” research opportunities both on campus and with local businesses. Loved the idea of the LSFY program since it offers exposure to all the majors DD20 is considering. Liked that even though there are multiple campuses (Centennial, Biomedical) an undergraduate in life sciences would be unlikely to need to go there unless visiting the award winning library on Centennial. Loved the mix of greenery, brick and open space on campus. Plenty of food variety also. Very diverse student body was a plus. Might be just a bit too large though. DD seems to prefer 7500-15,000 students. Also, low % of OOS students and only Freshman housing guaranteed on campus is a negative.
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@cheeringsection My daughter was able to sit in on several classes last year when she was applying. She got in touch with her regional rep, who in turn got her in touch with the Dean of the individual school (in her case it was Engineering) and they were able to coordinate. She emailed several professors and sat in on 3 classes on a Monday and also got a tour of the lab facilities.
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Thanks @hopewhite25 ! We will try to set that up for a later visit. Maybe they just offer that to seniors?
@Cheeringsection Maybe. She did get to know the regional rep pretty well, and that might have helped her too. It’s a great school, my oldest is current a senior there and loves everything about it. 
Good luck!
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Moved up- UVM. Just attended an open house which was very well run. Lots of families attended. Started with the typical info session, moved on to tours. They ran 60 tours simultaneously which was a little hectic but not nearly as bad as you would imagine. They then had a fair where you could visit academic tables as well as find out about other aspects of student life. We got to speak for about 15 minutes with a physics professor and get lots of good info. Then they gave additional tours by major. My daughter went on the physics tour which only had one other student. The professor we talked with, as well as a senior physics major took us to the new STEM building and showed us all the labs and research being done. This was by far the most comprehensive tour we have attended.
We also got to see a brand new Wellness dorm that is substance free and houses almost 700 freshman. There is a dining hall and gym in the dorm as well as an enclosed walkway to the library. The campus was beautiful (it was a gorgeous fall day though). The town of Burlington was so fun. There was a lot to like there. We had attended a tour there about 3 years ago with our other daughter and didn’t really like it. There have been many positive changes there and our opinion changed as well!
Just came back from a road trip and was able to see Hamilton, U of Rochester, and Cornell.
Hamilton - Pretty campus, and my daughter loved the dark and light side aspect. Dd21 was impressed with academic aspects, and our tour guide was chill, unpretentious, and genuinely enthusiastic. Info session was down to earth and friendly. One thing that definitely stands out to my kids is if the admissions officer at the info session and/or the tour guide is pretentious in any way …that’s a big turn off. No arrogance at Hamilton. I felt like we could have gone to lunch with the info session guy and our tour guide gal and easily talked about anything for hours. Hamilton is strong in several areas of interest for my daughter, and it is strong in my daughter’s serious nature-must-be-there-or-nearby qualification, plus she loved the overall vibe - Hamilton is now high on her list.
U of Rochester - the campus is away from the city enough to give it a traditional campus feel, which DD21, who definitely does not want a city campus, appreciated. Info session was down to earth, Dd21 appreciates the many options she could pursue which relate to her area of interest. Tour guide was friendly and casual. The campus is attractive and the various tunnels are fun. The library was a huge point of attraction for both Dd21 and DD23 (who was along for the ride, as she usually is). Very different atmospheres within the different libraries, and they are connected to each other, and then there is the 12 stories of bookshelves that go all the way up into the dome that stands out on campus. My daughters could have spent hours hanging out in the various libraries. Both my daughters loved the vibe here - the only potential downside is that serious nature is not right there. That might not be an issue if she has some way to leave campus at times through the outdoor club, etc. She wants to come back next year and spend some more time in the area - she very much enjoyed the college itself and wants to explore further.
Cornell - has everything she could ever want in terms of academics, and the info session for CALS (the school to which she would apply) was engaging and helpful. The potential drawback is the size of the school. It’s massive, way larger than anything she’s seen so far, and she isn’t sure if she would definitely be okay with the size. That being said, she liked the campus tour and noted that she would easily stay in shape with all the walking around - she likes to walk for exercise, so the size might turn into a plus, who knows.
The U of S.C. posts above bring out a good point that I have learned over the years. Sometimes you just have to ask the right person to get what you want. I’m referencing the comment that someone said that you cannot sit in on a class and it turns out you actually can. I have found that the person that answers the phone in admissions often doesn’t know the answer to the questions asked. They usually have great attitudes and want to help, but I think sometimes they “guess” at what they think the answer is and it’s not always right. Great advice to reach out to your regional rep to get the most accurate answers.
As for Cornell, we were there not long ago and I did like it (but my daughter didn’t). It is definitely a bustling place, even in the summer. It almost felt more like a Penn State to me than an Ivy, which is a good thing being it’s rural location (IMO, at least). If you are up for the academic challenge, I do think that school has a lot to offer.
@Cheeringsection - U of S.C. question -we heard it can be difficult to find housing and that the area around the main campus can be characterized as “high crime”. Did they address this? We are up in New England but have two who want “warm weather and South” for school so U of S.C. is on the list but have yet to make the trek there. Thanks
Yes, regarding Cornell and its big size, though I think it cuts both ways as a positive and negative. For my D, it ended up being a negative. It was my D’s top choice on paper and we had a good visit – though it was our Spring Break and there was a little snow on the ground up there which was eye opening. As the application season wore on, however, my D started thinking that while Cornell has some really excellent programs in her field, they’d be a better choice for grad school for her. The undergrad size is almost exactly the same our excellent public flagship (UNC) yet the cost would have been almost 3X as much (!!) and we just couldn’t justify from a value proposition standpoint. With smaller privates we had conversations that you were paying more for more attention, smaller class sizes, and less competition (hopefully) for some key opportunities. Probably should have realized that b4 visiting but we just hadn’t connected the dots regarding size and cost when we visited.
I give Cornell credit on their tour that they made it clear you’d have some big intro classes, and overall the campus and town were really nice. And the fact the dorms are on the edge of campus does indeed promote walking! We wondered how’d you make it between classroom buildings in time if you had back-to-back classes! Finally, I loved walking through the old athletic Field House on campus – it was so retro and cool looking!
Overall, I’m glad we visited b/c we drove up from NYC and I’d never been in part of New York before – so pretty!
@Momtofourkids My oldest is a current Senior at UofSC and has opted to live off campus the last three years, even though as an Honor’s student she could have lived on campus. She has lived in three different apartment complexes and has not once felt unsafe. There is a wide variety of off campus housing options and there is no issue finding somewhere to live. Yes, it is an urban area and you need to be cognizant of your surroundings, but she does not feel like she is going to be mugged at any moment.
We just returned from a Boston area trip and went through this - thought Brown would be a hit and Tufts would be a bust. Just the opposite. Not to offend anyone from Brown, but my daughter felt like the kids we met - those who ran the info session and the tour guides - took themselves waaaaay too seriously. It was a big turnoff. Tufts, on the other hand, went from “okay, we’re in Boston, I’ll go” to “I’d rather go here than anywhere else we’ve seen.” Felt like the kids were normal and easy-going and it just fit better.
@AlmostThere2018 I never had an issue making it to classes at Cornell. The academic quads really aren’t too far from each other. I will say though that I never went back to my dorm room in the middle of the day until I was done with classes. At the time, freshmen weren’t all on North Campus, and I had to climb the slope. I think Cornell feels bigger than it really is because it is so spread out.