On our tour of Georgia Tech last year, the admissions presenter asked the students in the room where they were from. Then went on to let the Texas kids know that because they get a lot of applications from their state, scholarships are nearly impossible for them, so basically—don’t apply if you can’t pay full price. Such a shame!! We loved our guide and enjoyed the vibe, but admissions killed the desire to apply.
Marist definetly moves up on the list. Great location only 90 minutes from midtown NYC by train. The campus itself is beautiful, well kept and manicured. Many newer buildings and new Athletic Center under construction. Very safe, non-intimidating campus feel. Students and staff were all friendly. The campus had a lot of activity going on for early Sunday.
1200-1350 SAT and the school is also TEST Optional. Freshman dorms were your typical doubles. Floors/Wing separated by sex. Laundry is free. Freshman must have the unlimited swipe plan. Sophs, Juniors and Seniors all live in apt style or townhouses with kitchens. Housing is NOT guaranteed all 4 years and works on a priority points system. In past 8 years, no one who wanted housing was denied. There are also several condo/townhome complexes just off campus that many students rent. Several Starbucks on campus.Cafeteria was large and clean. Another few smaller places on campus to grab a sandwich, salad ect…
They pushed the Study Abroad program hard. Nearly 60% of students go abroad during their 4 years. 80 countries to choose from. School spirit around campus was evident. 80 plus clubs available to join. Greek life is 5% of population.
Everyone of the 15 guides either had a double major or major/minor. Credits are able to double count. Library was nice, well used. Free printing on campus. Free WIFI on entire campus.
Social life seems to be OK, many area bars and parties on campus.
Ratio of females 60% to males 40%. The school has many trips to NYC for $25 you get round trip transportation and ticket to Broadway Play. $60 ski trip to Hunter Mountain includes transportation, ski rental and lift pass. $5 movie tickets to local theaters just to name a few.
Cost of tuition, fees, housing $55,000 per year. Merit Aid ranged from 5-$20,000. Many on campus jobs available.
Again, Marist will probably make the short list
Loyola Marymount, University of San Diego, and Santa Clara all became first choices after my D toured them…I can see why, the campuses are all gorgeous! S said there were too many flowers and gardens at Santa Clara…haha boys!
Also for my D:
Moved down:
UC Santa Cruz thought the campus was too big and way too spread out.
Dominican U in San Rafael, CA (Northern bay area) thought the campus was beautiful, but also thought it was way too small, which is true seeing as they have less than 1500 students. Thought the same thing about St. Mary’s College in Moraga, but still applied
Mills didn’t want to go to an all girls school
Chapman too close to home
Occidental didn’t like the surrounding area
Moved up:
Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, San Diego: Beautiful campuses
NAU: liked that it had four seasons and was in a different place
Sonoma State: liked that it was a CSU that wasn’t a commuter school
U of Oregon: Liked the school spirit and thought Eugene was cool, H and I didn’t like the price tag, so this was a we’ll wait and see the fin aid situation…
Toured Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Princeton over the past couple of weeks.
Up:
Bryn Mawr - gorgeous, good vibe. D21 likes the fact that it is only as single-sex as one wants it to be, with Haverford right down the street and the probability that a student will take classes at Haverford too (and Haverford guys take classes at Bryn Mawr). Detailed and friendly info session and amiable tour guide.
Princeton. Of course it’s a lotto school, but it’s okay to have some of those on the list as long as there are also plenty of matches and some real safeties. Anyway, the campus ties with Mount Holyoke for most gorgeous out of all we’ve seen (IMO). Down to earth info session and very friendly and completely unpretentious tour guide. D22 loved everything about it. She has a close-to-real-nature preference for colleges, but she’d probably make an exception for Princeton or Bryn Mawr.
Down: Haverford. Nothing wrong with the college of course, and the info session was extremely detailed and helpful in general. Pretty campus (looked like an extension of Bryn Mawr). Tour guide was fine, etc. It just didn’t feel right to D21 for whatever reason - she didn’t love the vibe, couldn’t put her finger on it. Also, she’s not sure if she likes the very black-and-white nature of Haverford’s Honor Code. She figured that if she went to Bryn Mawr, she could take classes at Haverford sometimes if she really wanted to, so there was no real reason to apply as she definitely preferred Bryn Mawr. This is all fine with me as she has plenty of reaches (which Haverford is for everyone) on her list already.
@JanieWalker Bryn Mawr accepts about 39% of applicants, Haverford College accepts 25% of applicants, Princeton less than 7%.
Haverford may be a match, check stats.
Princeton, applying EA really helps a lot, but they limit students to one EA private school, plus in state public schools are usually OK to apply early with Princeton.
Understood about the SCEA option for Princeton. Not sure there’s any real bump for SCEA though unless you are legacy or a recruited athlete (which D21 is not).
I thought Haverford was at 16.1% recently for admissions? I consider anything under 20% a reach for everyone. Well regardless, D21 isn’t thrilled so it’s not going on the final list.
@Coloradomama Haverford ended up around 16% this year- haven’t seen Bryn Mawr’s numbers, but they’re surely higher. My D was the exact opposite of @JanieWalker ‘s daughter- she toured both and Bryn Mawr just felt wrong, whereas Haverford just felt right. She was even interested in a major only at Bryn Mawr but figures that’s no impediment at all (she’ll be attending Haverford in the fall). I agree they have really different vibes, but in an oddly subtle way. Going for one opens up the opportunities available at both, so no real down side (plus Bryn Mawr does merit aid).
@milgymfam - isn’t it funny how kids just get vibes sometimes one way or the other? It’s why I feel it is so important to visit if at all possible.
Congrats to your daughter on her acceptance!
Below is my review of three colleges we visited this week:
Tulane University (Rating B-)
Pros:
Tier 1 research institution
Not admitted directly to major programs. Academic flexibility /design economic path 120 credits to graduate,
Average 21 students per class. Faculty 8-1
Student. Adventurous and involved
250 clubs
Type of person, take advantage of opportunities
Service learning program, 2 service classes or internships. Most engaged college for service
40% acceptance early decision, don’t apply RD 5%
Write the “Why Tulane” essay
Holistic admissions but
Merit is about stats.
Tour
Campus intersected by two streets
1 New bldg every year.
Nice gym
Nice business school bldg
NOLA City is Diverse, Music festivals, Food, Vibrant and alive.
Cons:
Downtown seems dirty and rundown especially near French Quarter, Huge party culture
Maybe unsafe in certain areas.
Lots of upper class students from New England.
40% Jewish (which could be a plus or a minus)
Duke University (Rating A-)
Pros:
As soon as you enter campus you feel that this is a world class institution of higher learning.
Beautiful sprawling campus, green
Tour guide smart, confident, passionate
Can take lots of classes even if only 3 students in the class (e.g. Persian language)
Diverse student body
West & East campuses.
Freshman housed in East
Frequent bus to West campus
Architecture gorgeous
Impressive Chapel
Duke Engage summer program
Alumni and grad student
Flunch and grunch (lunch with faculty and grad students)
Small class size
Academic flexibilty. Lots Minors and Certificates
1/3 Greek 1/3 social housing (live and learn) 1/3 independent.
Smart and engaging student body
Food good
Good mix academic and school spirit / sports
24 hour free van service after hours
Big on arts, music, academics, sports
Friendly, helpful student body
Research triangle for internships / jobs
My 13yo son even got to meet and take at photo with Zion!
Cons:
Durham city. Rundown and unsafe
Campus big and freshman somewhat isolated from main campus.
Can’t pick roommate.
Might have hard time getting professor you want in popular classes.
Adcom was a little arrogant
Overall an awesome college experience for very bright students, who like great school spirit, sports, the arts and boundless opportunities.
UNC-Chapel Hill (Rating B+)
Pros:
Beautiful brick buildings, wooded areas. Clean, safe, college town
83% NC residents (good and bad)
Somewhat large Greek presence.
Quintessential college experience
Great school spirit
About 10% of classes with 100 to 200 students but many small classes as well
Tour
Knowledgeable but uninspiring tour guide (transfer student from College of Wooster)
Lots of traditions, history (oldest public US college)
Seem to have a little chip on their shoulder living in the shadow of Duke only 20 minutes away.
However a top public flagship university
Cons:
Lots of NC students, not a lot of national and international diversity.
Fairly large Greek prescence
Some very large classes
Maybe a little too much Tar Heel pride?
Difficult admission for OOS students
Overall, our whole family really liked UNC and we were pleasantly surprised how we felt at home at this public college gem even though we live in LA.
That is mandated by state law.
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@TomSrOfBoston “That is mandated by state law.”
Yes, I’m fully aware of the state mandate just pointing out that OOS students should be fully aware that there is a very large Carolina presence and southern feel on campus.
When a Bryn Mawr student steps foot on Haverford’s campus, they are subject to the honor code. If something were to happen, a small group of students would serve as the disciplinary function, not the administration. I don’t think it’s black and white at all; it actually feels pretty fluid when you consider how the school handles issues. There are some major benefits to the inmates running the asylum as well…they tend to be much less structured on “lifestyle” and partying than any other school I’ve known. I think that responsibility actually helps the students grow up a bit faster and take ownership for their actions. They take the honor code seriously, and I think it’s one of the reasons that the acceptance rate is a bit higher than similar LAC’s. Many (like your daughter), self-select out of applying because of the honor code and an extra essay.
@milgymfam is right, there are opportunities at both campuses for students at either school. They use the same registration system for classes, and in a very odd twist, students can major in something only offered by the other…and graduate with their “home” school diploma. For example, you can be a Haverford student and get your degree in Geology (only offered at Bryn Mawr). Your degree is from Haverford, but where the major is listed it says “geology - Bryn Mawr College”. There are several areas of focus like that.
Our daughter is at Haverford and is taking half of her classes at BM this semester. It’s easy on the Blue Bus. As for the vibe, she loves Haverford, but also really enjoys spending time at BM. The campus is amazing, and as a side note, the food is light years better on the BM campus (and the meal plan works at both schools). The other major limitation at Haverford right now to “vibe” are the renovations being done to the library. On such a small campus, it really impacts the feel. That’ll be finished by the fall, and the plans for the building look amazing.
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@EyeVeee Thanks for sharing your opinion, and congrats to your daughter for her acceptance to Haverford. It’s great the philosophy works for her. My daughter (who doesn’t mind extra essays) sees downsides to the Haverford Honor Code - for example, the fact that if you don’t report something that you see someone else doing, then you’re just as guilty (what if the observer made an erroneous assumption?). Haverford’s code is different - but neither superior nor inferior -to other colleges’ codes, and some students are happy with it and other students don’t agree with all of it. Which is why it is great that there are a ton of colleges out there. Different fits for different folks.
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@socaldad2002…UNC moved up on my D’s list (OOS) because of the relatively low Greek presence, diversity ( compared to some other schools that we visited), and school spirit. Interesting to hear different viewpoints…
My daughter ended up at SDU, the Catholic university on the hill in San Diego.
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@twogirls “UNC moved up on my D’s list (OOS) because of the relatively low Greek presence, diversity ( compared to some other schools that we visited), and school spirit. Interesting to hear different viewpoints…”
While UNC “only” seems to be 20% Greek, the exterior campus is surrounded by Fraternity and Sorority houses and they seem to be very prominent here.
As a side note, one popular event is to “Rush Franklin Street” where after a big sports win, students drop everything they are doing and literally run over to Franklin Street to party and celebrate. The school spirit is very strong here…
Our Norcal admit to UNC CH in CS major felt same way @socaldad2002. Different people see diversity differently, and there’s so many ways to evaluate diversity. We crossed it off mainly for that reason (with a couple other factors) as well.
After visiting schools that are 50-60% Greek…under 20% seems low.
I agree Greek visibility is greater at UNC than its actual presence. We know lots of students there and few are Greek affiliated. There’s very strong and diverse engagement opportunities outside of Greek life.
I’m pretty sure it’s less Greek than Duke but b/c their ‘houses’ are basically campus housing it’s less obvious.