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

re:tour guides. My advice for all of you still in the process. Please let your kids know in advance that some guides will be great and some will be terrible. A great or terrible tour guide is no reason to move a school up or down a list. Use all resources to investigate a school.

Our funny tour guide story. Rhodes. At some point in the tour the young man mentioned that Rhodes had a Quidditch team and that they all enjoyed going out and watching them play. Then he looked at all of us and stated with all seriousness…“you know they don’t really fly?”.

@Agentninetynine Can you elaborate on what the waiter said that sealed the deal? Good friend of S is attending there this fall and I am curious.

D wants LAC near/in big city:

Up list:

Univ. Maryland College Park: happy students; tons of activities, big food court and traditional campus

UMBC: too new, no feeling of tradition D is looking for. tour guide had on sunglasses on the entire tour- strange.

GW: she liked the peaceful vernon campus ( i thought the 15 min shuttle ride between campuses would get old-FAST)
kids had designer handbags/totes but she likes that kind of thing. whole foods on campus- awesome . she loves good food- so many choices and food trucks!

Georgetown: campus beautiful, Georgetown shopping and dining a few blocks away? can’t beat this. but unlikely to get in but still impressed

Barnard: D is in love. Old, pretty campus right in nyc. columbia campus right across street. ate lunch at french

bistro after tour. i’m in love. of course i went to columbia college and had to really reign in my enthusiasm
but i think our nyc love must be genetic :slight_smile:

Down list:

Johns Hopkins: had student speak during info session- amazingly brilliant use of SAT words. i was floored.
tour guides funny and just smart. very research oriented. nice campus but we’re from baltimore area
so good food and fun not that close to campus.

Stevens Tech: the best skyline view of lower manhattan- goosebumps. small, cute campus. too engineering oriented

for D and no dance options but hoboken a gem of a town, great dining and quick trip to nyc

NYU: no campus, no school spirit, of course it’s nyc! not cool to wear school sweatshirt!

UVA: a living J Crew Catalog. lovely but kids were prepped out.

Stanford: massively spread out. we were there just over a family vacation- no real way to get admitted :0

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@latetogame: Nothing really terrible. He simply painted a very clear picture for her. He said that UCSB was every bit of a party school as its rep and then some. That Isla Vista was party central and that several kids got drunk each year and fell off the cliffs.
He warned her to be wary of frats/frat parties in an older brother kind of way. He wasn’t trying to dissuade her, just give her a real world view of what going to a large school entails. He admitted that he was drawn into the party culture and that it took a great deal of discipline to stay focused. Beyond the partying it’s just more difficult for some kids to get to class when the beautiful Pacific ocean is so close.

D is more of a straighter arrow, majoring in STEM and she was looking for a less rowdy campus. Clearly one can find partying or study buddies on any campus. It just wasn’t for her.

I love this thread so I figured I should contribute.

Up: U Rochester. Son loved the traditional campus, Rush Rhees library, Wilson Commons, and the tunnels. This school quickly became his #1 (realistic) choice. My husband took him on his first tour, but the whole family went to Admitted Students Day, so I got to see what he was raving about. The campus really is beautiful. Group info session was well done, and our tour guide was very knowledgeable and personable.

Down: RIT. Son didn’t like all the bricks (even though U Rochester has a lot of bricks too). I wasn’t on the first tour, but we drove by it when we were back in Rochester, and it did seem kind of fortess-like. In fairness, though, we drove around the perimeter (it’s surrounded by a gigantic parking lot), which didn’t really give me a good sense of what it was like to be walking around on campus.

No change: BU. Son is a double-legacy there, and has been going to BU hockey games with his dad since he was little. While he loves BU hockey, he doesn’t love the campus. It really is mostly a bunch of buildings lined up on either side of a very wide street (Comm Ave) that has a trolley line running along the middle. Not a traditional campus feel.

No change: MIT. He loved it, and loved everything about MIT. Alas, it was not meant to be. While touring, I told him that the good side of knowing he had very little chance of getting in was that the campus is very urban (and in my opinion, not especially nice). We toured the engineering labs on a different day, and they were very cool, though.

No change: Cornell. This was a reach (Engineering School) too, but he loved the campus. I didn’t go, but I’ve heard its very traditional, which seems to speak to son. Husband hated the hills.

No change: WPI. It’s a small, pleasant campus. He didn’t love it, he didn’t hate it.

He didn’t tour any other schools, even though he applied to a bunch more.

College of Wooster, police and school actively try to ticket and give kids criminal records for alcohol and marijuana. I was a recruited athlete and the person I was with blew me off with nothing to do. I ended up hanging out with a senior on the team who i really liked, he told me not to waste my time there.

I forgot to add RPI. No change. I didn’t go on original tour or to Admitted Students’ Day. Son thought it was okay, and that Troy was dumpy. A generation ago, my brother toured it and thought both the campus and Troy were dumpy, so they must have fixed up the campus since then. It was reported to me that Admitted Students’ Day was a madhouse, everyone there on one day. My husband sent pictures of the hockey rink with the thousand (?) or so kids sitting on the ice area. Engineering kids in the middle section, non-engineers off to the sides. A week or so later, we drove through RPI on our way out to Rochester, and campus seemed okay to me. Very hilly. I thought it was weird those stairs that feature so prominently on their website were so hard to find. Got the fortress feel again, because we were just driving by and seeing the backs of mostly brick buildings that probably had nice quads on the other side. This was #1 contender till the U Roch letter came.

Well, for some parents, that could move it up on their lists. :))

(Why isn’t there a “Here, have a beer” smiley in the drop-down list, I ask…)

We were very pleasantly surprised by Fordham. I’ve lived in NY most of my life and had never been to Fordham’'s Rose Hill campus. My S was looking at a number of Jesuit schools (not for the religion, but he liked more urban mid-sized universities and a lot of the Jesuit schools fit the bill and were in his academic range). Although we saw a number of Jesuit schools on the east coast we never considered Fordham because…you know, the Bronx. Plus it was too close to home. But he got one of those letters from Fordham and we figured why not go check it out. We walked on campus and were stunned. My S’s eyes lit up the moment we arrived. Gorgeous campus, felt very safe, tour guides were all intelligent & personable, the school had an excellent program in his academic interests etc. He ended up at Fordham, lived on campus (we did agree in advance that we would never pop by and he would not come home for dinners/laundry etc.), and had an fantastic college experience. And to think we almost didn’t even visit…

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@happy1 I truly believe the Rose Hill campus of Fordham is a hidden gem. Son goes to high school there. He has NO idea how good he has it.

I went to a wedding on the Rose Hill campus. It is indeed beautiful.

Off list – Duke - when tour guide said don’t bring too many clothes with you, just bring a credit card you’ll want to see what everyone else is wearing and buy once you get here

Off list – Wheaton (Mass) – sat in on women’s history class, arrived early some students already there, sat down and said “so what’s this class about” and none of them seemed to be able to say

Off list – Elon – her sister who had visited three years before kept telling her it had to be one she visited because the campus was soooooo beautiful, I think nothing could have lived up to that buildup but it kept her from focusing on anything else – all day she just kept saying “so I don’t understand why people think this is all that beautiful”

On – Hampshire – got to visit day largely because we were in the area to visit other schools and they handed her a schedule of classes, hard time deciding because she wanted to sit in on almost all of them. for a kid not all that into academics, it was a marvel to see her excitement which was maintained even after going to the classes (two – one history, one philosophy)

On – Goucher – we got out the car back side of campus, she said this is ugly and clearly wanted to get back in the car. Loved the tour guide, sat in on two classes where the students went out of their way to make her feel welcome. Even though the student she was to do an overnight with didn’t show up, the genuine friendliness of all the other students made her feel like it would be the place for her.

Is attending none of the above but those were some of her experiences of the various schools.

Down:
New School Lang. Absolutely soulless. D said it would be like going to college in an office building. If possible, it had even less of a community feel than NYU!

It’s fascinating to me to read these assessments. They are all so different and I can’t help but wonder if colleges are going to read these too. They will learn a lot about how to present their schools to prospective parents.

I’m officially bumping this thread. :slight_smile:

Down:

When my daughter first looked into direct entry nursing schools, we developed a Junior spring break trip.

Case Western: We attend a prospective student visit day which included many events. The weather in April was dismal, cold and the campus was not very pretty. She did not like the nursing facilities at all, they were located in a basement and appeared dingy. She loved that the hospital was right on campus to practice clinicals but that’s about it. I think we all felt the general vibe was cold, serious, and the surrounding areas ugly. The best part about our two day visit was eating in Little Italy, the food was fantastic. She didn’t apply.

Clemson: In the middle of nowhere… Nursing department has a very snooty attitude about accepting only the best of the best and described that as high test scores being the determining factor. They don’t look at essays, extra curriculars, recommendations. They only appeared to weed out the best through GPA and test scores. My daughter felt that even if she scored a perfect test score, that limited view was discouraging and the school didn’t merit that kind of attitude. (What about those people that work very hard to get A’s who might not test perfectly, but have learned a very important work ethic?) She has talked about her experience to many people allowing them to make their decision but imparting her negative experience particularly in the nursing school. She didn’t apply.

Fairfield U - We attended a Magis Scholar Weekend where my daughter was flown in and allowed to spend the night with a nursing student. She really liked the girl she was matched with and the campus was quite beautiful. What she didn’t like was that amount of kids that appear to party intensely and the fact that most were of catholic or christian religion and there wasn’t much diversity. She is not religious. She much preferred the atmosphere of Seattle University which has a more diverse student body, located in a very liberal area, and the kids had various religious backgrounds. Received a scholarship but didn’t attend.

UMass Lowell - She was very determined to visit after an admission counselor visited the high school and let her know about the school. We attended and she was discouraged at the fact the school was divided into three different sections. She did like the nursing facilities and the fact that all nursing students are grouped together. But felt the school was not very pretty, it looked far better in the brochure. I though the people were really nice and down to earth. She felt she could make good friends there. But we crossed it off the list on the flight back to Los Angeles.

U of Delaware - She really liked the school and nursing facilities were amazing, but she visited this school after a University of Miami visit in which she completely fell in love. We loved the campus, the city outside of campus reminded us of Penn State but it is a much smaller school. Excellent nursing department and great study abroad opportunities. Just didn’t compete with UofMiami.

Moved UP:

Penn State - Initially she did not want to go to a large school, but it was such a beautiful campus and she loved the fact that the town was at the edge of the campus, everything is in walking distance as well. She loved the student center, library, all the clubs, the nursing department appeared top notch. This was her number one school until:

Seattle U - She loved the city and the outskirts of where the college was located. She loved the modern buildings and was so smitten with the brand new state of the art nursing facility located in Swedish Hospital. The clinicals were much closer to the school and very diverse, all within walking distance. She attended a class and felt that the small classroom size would benefit her learning style. She decided to oust Penn State and this was her new favorite until…

University of Miami - She walked onto campus and fell in love with the beauty, weather, size of school. I can’t say exactly what it was, but she just kept taking pictures and appeared giddy with delight at the entire experience. This was our fifth accepted student visit out of six. She just fell in love with everything about the school and believed the fact that they are building a new clinical laboratory that will be complete by the time she starts her clinicals. - She is attending. - If I had to say it was probably that it wasn’t religious, was diverse, lots of activities in the city and around campus, beautiful buildings, weather was uplifting.

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Up:
Tufts. Loved the campus and the interesting student body. Saw no problems at all, but didn’t see the dorms.
Yale. Had the all time best tour guide who made it seem that anything was possible.
Haverford. Terrible guide but wonderful information session. Liked that it seemed more humane and human than Swarthmore
Penn. Utterly exciting. Off because the ubiquitous go getter style attitude felt to be overwhelming and large classes.

Down:
Swarthmore. Had a borderline nerdy kid who thought that the reverence paid to nerdom on would not let him grow. Too many kids by themselves on a pc in dining hall
Princeton. Complete let down. A preppy, stuck up and condescending tour guide. Spent a lot of time talking about the school’s efforts to prevent cheating. Very unhelpful info session. Not warm at all.
Northwestern. Ugly campus, too much division in student body

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Our Princeton experience was the total opposite. Went on a Wednesday afternoon and it was just my D and I with a kid from the Netherlands and his parents. We sat in the reception area in the nice comfy chairs and basically had a conversation for the hour info session = got any and all questions answered. Tour guide was a charming young lady about to graduate and since our group was so small she took us to lots of places she avoids with the large groups.

This is a really interesting thread, full of insights. I thought I would add my impressions from various visits over the years to help others.

Up:

Vassar - Beautiful campus and really diverse, interesting student body that doesn’t take itself too seriously. If you have a preconceived view of Vassar based on old stereotypes, take a fresh look. The administration has done a lot to transform the school. Not perfect in every way – activism can go over the top sometimes – but a very appealing choice.

Brown - An Ivy League school that holds onto a unique identity. The core campus feels like a liberal arts college. I found the relatively low-key vibe and beautiful campus to be very appealing. Almost impossible to get in even for kids who have the stats.

Williams - A lot has been said about the school’s remote location, but in every other respect, this school is a gem. The academic programs are outstanding the students are focused and intense, but don’t seem to take themselves too seriously (unlike their rivals to the East!)

Bowdoin - The campus is beautiful and it is in a very appealing location. It’s a school with a lot of tradition and history and the students are smart and focused, although some can be intense. I’ve seen some other comments about Bowdoin campus tour guides being snobby, but the student body overall is pretty well rounded and low key so its odd that the admissions office seems to choose snobby kids to represent the school.

Villanova - Didn’t know much about the school before we visited. Very appealing campus in the mainline section of Philly. Students seem very well rounded and have a lot of school pride. Seems very hard to move between different undergraduate schools after admission, which was a minus.

Pomona - A terrific school on almost every measure, but it has become almost impossible to get in.

No Change:

Bates - I liked Bates a lot. I thought the campus was very nice; the administration has done a great job of updating facilities the last few years and the students seem well rounded and happy. My family was less impressed - didn’t feel Bates had anything special to recommend it.

Colby - I wanted to like Colby a lot and liked it pretty well, but not enough to be a fan. I found the location quite remote - like being in a Thomas Hardy novel! Not a lot of diversity and kids seem mixed on the experience there.

Hamilton - A really beautiful campus with a first-class science facility. Kids seemed down to earth and focused. Quite a remote location and not much diversity, racial or otherwise.

Tufts - Wanted to like it, but was a bit disappointed. The students and faculty really make this place shine, not the campus and surrounding area, which are underwhelming.

Down:

UVA - A terrific place . . . for graduate school, unless one is able to get in-state tuition, which could tip the balance. Felt a bit overwhelming, but that observation is coming admittedly from someone who likes smaller schools in general.

Amherst - Could not get over the arrogance and found the campus very small and claustrophobic. Kept wanting to say “Don’t you think that most of the kids visiting your school today are in the range to be admissible to your school? Why are you pushing them away except to feed your own sense of elitism?”

Wesleyan - Could not get over the unappealing campus and sketchy area surrounding, despite strong student body and curriculum. Recent stories about drugs and frats are a turn off.

Claremont McKenna - An odd school. It’s a school that seems to be confused about what it wants to be. It struck us as mainly a speciality school for kids interested in economics or politics. Kids studying other subjects must feel a bit like fish out of water. Many parts of the campus look like old California motels. It’s clearly benefitting from its location and proximity to the other 5C colleges.

Colgate - We really wanted to like this school and that is partly why we were disappointed when we visited. It’s a relatively small campus set on a serious hill. The students seemed competitive in a way that did not strike us as being very healthy. The admissions office is trying too hard to pump numbers etc. to position the school as a peer of other schools (can you please just give us the stats for the class you enrolled rather than admitted?)

Down-
Wesleyan: I don’t mind the small town/city, but it seemed depressing and lacked charm. Students were too out there and campus aesthetics and campus culture didn’t go well with me.

Hampshire: Probably the school I hated the most. The students were a bit odd and way too out there more so than any other school I visited. Certainly nothing wrong with that, but I got the vibe of Hampshire being alternative.

Amherst: Visited Amherst and thought it was a beautiful campus in a nice area. Something about the school didn’t sit well with me. The students seemed to try to prove themselves as an equivalent or superior to Williams–which I have a better view of despite not having visited)

Bucknell: Original favorite school, but was turned off by the students. Some were amazing and the best people I could talk to, while some were quite the opposite. Kind of felt a big divide between different groups.

Up-
Colgate: Loved the school and vibe on campus. It had the elite feel of the Ivies without the elitism that is often associated with top schools. Sold the strength of the school well, and it backed up by career outcomes. Small town was a little of a drawback, but had the charm.

Yale: Not so great surrounding area. The excitement by the students about Yale was amazing. Keep in mind I visited while it was pouring rain. I still enjoyed it, and the residential colleges seemed cool. There’s also the Yale is Yale factor.

I just finished reading all the posts and must say it has been an education. As for my S we have visited MIT and Harvard. Will visit George Washington U. and Georgetown next week.
MIT- tour guide was nice and good about answering questions. But in the room gathering for the tours the student in charge of answering questions seemed a little snooty and more concerned with being clever than informative. Still,loved the campus, son enjoyed the tour and just actually being on campus was fun for him.
Harvard- The young man giving us our tour was actually an Iraqi war vet, a sniper he said, very polite dressed in a suit, open to any and all questions and gave info on the history school in a way that showed he appreciated his opportunity. As a Vietnam vet I thanked him for his service, he shook my hand and said,“thanks for paying for my schooling”. I’m going to assume G.I.Bill. Son loved the whole thing. I have a feeling visiting these two schools may just end up being pleasent memories due to selectivity.lol!