Both S19 and D20 crossed Furman off the list because when we all toured it felt like I would be sending my kids to a boarding high school. There is no rhyme or reason why we all felt this way. I still cant figure it out (toured last summer). It was a very beautiful campus and the tour guide was wonderful. She did overemphasize the no drinking policy which maybe helped with the high school feel. I wished they liked it though because it seemed like a very safe campus and met a lot of other criteria for both of them.
@cakeisgreat: That is not an uncommon reaction to that university’s campus culture.
“Feels like high school” crossed two colleges off D19’s list instantly, though neither had a no drinking policy.
My kid had the same reaction to Furman. Her college counselor at a small BS liked it for her and she applied and was admitted, but I saw a look of panic on her face when we visited and they started talking about the point system for involvement in college activities and about how small the classes were. Lovely school…for someone else. Mine wanted big. Furman didn’t fit the bill.
UAH got crossed off the list largely because the research focuses of the faculty don’t match anything my D19 is interested in, but contributing to it was her feeling that it felt too much like a better-capitalized version of the college I work at—basically, it felt too much like something too familiar, and that was a problem.
Drew University seemed much better on paper. Admissions counselor had 40+ years at the school and it showed. He seemed to be out of touch with kids of today. Presentation was mundane, at best. Seemed like it was the same speech he was giving 39 years ago. Great location, 40 minutes from NYC, but small, run down campus. Sad to say, we disappeared halfway thru the tour and cut our losses.
@cakeisgreat @Sue22 @Publisher Agree with Furman, sadly. It is a great school with tremendous merit aid but DS thought it was too isolated. They make a lot of hoopla about Greenville but have infrequent transportation there. They could probably up their admit rate just by running a shuttle leaving every 1/2 hour. My DS also thought the classes were too small — and it seems the school’s faculty is pushing to have the school decrease the size of the student body. So much potential there - I even bought the amusing “FU Furman University” shirts, which annoyed my DS!
Visited Marquette was located in a sketchy area, but the actual campus was great.
@bubblytaco A big cornerstone of the Jesuit belief is to serve the less advantaged so it’s not uncommon to have Jesuit schools placed in less desirable areas.
But I do agree with you. Marquette is a great campus…the surrounding area, not so much.
People say the same thing about Yale. And USC. And Hopkins. And Georgia Tech.
Gatech is in a world class city with stuff to do. The area is much improved. MARTA rapid transit system takes students from Tech Square( the east end of GaTech’s campus, and all the start ups are there ) , to downtown, to mid town and the airport. Atlanta is a beautiful city with a lot to do, including an orchestra, art museum, hiking, restaurants, and world class rock climbing to the north. GaTech has one of the best outdoor education programs for mountain biking,kayaking and rock climbing due to the area its in, excellent for all three.
I attended a college for grad school that, in the 80s and 90s, was kind of legendary for being in a sketchy part of the city.
I went back there for a research conference they hosted 5ish years ago, and the neighborhood was nearly unrecognizable from when I’d been there 20 years before—gentrification had clearly happened, and it had happened quickly.
Makes me wonder how many widespread “X University is in a good [or bad] neighborhood” claims in the conventional wisdom are actually terrifically outdated at the moment.
We went to visit U of So. Cal this past November and had heard how bad the neighborhood was and were surprised that it seemed fine. I’m sure we didn’t have enough exposure to the surrounding area to properly judge, but it did seem “cleaned up” based on what we had heard. Good point @dfbdfb
Didn’t like Loyola felt unsafe in the Rodgers Park area. The lake was of course beautiful. We did not see a lot on the tour except the student center, the library, and the planetarium. Having the library right next to the lake is definitely a plus. But seemed that they had a lot of useless gen Ed’s. Based on financial aid package definitely the highest prices school, and I applied to 15 schools! Average aid is in the mid 30’s if you don’t qualify for federal aid. Also, it seemed like you would have to volunteer in sketchy areas. I’m from the Chicago land area and I can tell you when you step even a foot away from campus it is sketchy. They have also had multiple crime incidents such as an unfound serial killer roaming around the campus and library and unreported assault cases. Please keep this in mind. But, if you can get pass this it has very good programs across the board. They are know both regionally and nationally. Also, it is nice to have the Chicago connections. But, just my opinion. On the tour they emphasized that Chicago was the campus. We visited on a Saturday so we didn’t get to see the campus at its finest. But, one major plus is how diverse Loyola is. If you like a city school I would recommend looking at DePaul University; in the heart of the city and you can still visit Lake Michigan. Also, keep in mind that Loyola has two campuses one that certain majors go to more than the other. Hope this helps.
Loyola Chicago is often not a comfortable place for the suburban set. The Jesuit ethos is to help the people most in need, so no volunteering at the mall. Community work and helping people will generally require setting foot inside some uncomfortable areas from time-to-time; it’s not for everyone. Rogers Park is a working class neighborhood, full of wonderful people. There is crime in Rogers Park, it is not without it’s problems. A grad student was killed a few blocks off campus five years ago when my daughter was a freshman. There have been no murders on campus and certainly not in the library. The main campus is rather small, especially when you consider that LUC is the largest Jesuit university in the country by total number of students. LUC was a commuter campus less then 20 years ago. Now almost all freshmen and sophomores live on campus. Most of the campus housing is converted apartments in the neighborhood on the southern side of the school. The previous school president raised multiple billions of dollars over a ten hear period and the improvements in buildings, class rooms, and housing has been nothing short of spectacular. The Watertower campus, on the north end of Michigan Ave, has a new business school that opened just three years ago, it is spectacular.
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It’s interesting the comment about Jesuit schools and lower income areas …it had never occurred to me before as the only ones we visited were Georgetown and the Lincoln Center campus of Fordham, both of which are great neighborhoods. (Of course the main Fordham campus is the Bronx, though.) Although we are not catholic or in fact even Christian, we were very impressed by the service ethos at these schools.
@SJ2727 Agree with you. I’m just saying that the serial killer was spotted in the library. But, no one was killed on campus.
We visited Auburn University with my daughter recently, because she’d received a pretty decent scholarship from AU. She was then accepted to a couple “big name” schools, and I think she’s actually leaning towards Auburn, even after visiting the big name schools and being told cost wasn’t an issue. At Auburn, she liked the facilities and programs, felt connected with the people, is interested in the school’s sports and Greek life, and she liked the vibe of the geographic area. It wouldn’t be my choice of the three, but it’s not my choice, so…
I think when you attend any school, you need to be cautious. When the school is in a large city, that caution needs to amp up. Loyola, DePaul and U Chicago are all in the city and caution needs to be used whenever you are in a large city. My niece went to Madison and she was followed home more than once, not to mention the groups of homeless on State Street. People either prefer small towns or bigger urban areas. I know my daughter would have a very hard time going to school in a small rural area. For her, the city is where she gets her energy and drive; she would suffocate in a small town. There are positives and negatives to both environments. The great thing is that we have choices.
Just a note that rural campuses aren’t immune to crime. In some ways the city campuses can be safer because there is more security in place.
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