Well it lasted two posts anyway.
Wesleyan knocked off due long walks down a hill in a “projected, future” snowstorm to the one dining hall from the freshman dorms. And the strange arts buildings that seemed so out of place.
UChicago was scary. Not my words.
@oniongrass We toured Cornell and my son wants to major in international relations. We asked on several occasions and they have NO international relations major, minor, global studies, etc… Was very surprising, especially since they had some really random seeming majors. The only thing closest to international relations was political science.
Do did you knock it off the list after that tour?
@Kanfly or anyone else looking for an “international” major…have you toured U of South Carolina? I have read that they have an outstanding International Business program, but not sure we can get down there to see it.
Why was the University of Chicago “scary” ? Intensity of academics or fear of crime ?
@oniongrass - have you carefully reviewed the Cornell course catalog? I just popped over to the Government page - there are numerous “comparative politics” and “international relations” faculty members. I’m sure it’s quite possible to concentrate in international studies within the Government major, probably with an area of focus.
@oniongrass – I had not realized that IR was not a major at Cornell. I feel as though I knew people studying IR at Cornell.
Apparently there is a minor: http://courses.cornell.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=31&poid=15259
@privatebanker lol this exactly illustrates why this thread … “GW NYU and BU became drive by views as it became clear the campus wasn’t storybook enough for d.”
Those were three of my D’s favorite (non)campuses, immediately! She loved the urban vibe and energy…and hated the “storybook” campuses. Horses for courses.
@kanfly , second what @Trixy34 says. As a comparative example, the NYU IR department highlights that it is possible to effectively “clone” an IR major through careful course selection even if you don’t get to officially major in it (it’s an honors only course at NYU so not everyone can declare it). I’m sure one could do something similar at Cornell. Of course, as others have noted, if you want a “name” in IR there are a number of options, quite a few of which are not ranked overall as high as Cornell.
@privatebanker nice try, good effort. 
Hah. Pearls. 1950s Miss porter school style.
Moved up the list. Georgetown after getting cupcakes and walking around. And we liked the campus too. We did like the area better than the campus. Which was the opposite almost everywhere else. Tried to scare her with the exorcist staircase for fun. She said what’s the exorcist. Told her about the movie. She said that’s cool. Not the intended effect. Lol.
D20 is also looking at IR but I’m hoping she’ll consider economics as well. She’s the exact opposite of @privatebanker and wants a campus with no campus. She was not a fan of W&M, Bucknell, and Villanova. She was “afraid” of Villanova in the sense that she said it was like a campus where you placed the most popular person from every high school. She was also saying this in relation to S19 who was accepted there and that it was not a good fit for him. She is a fan of GWU and BU, and we are visiting UChicago in a couple of weeks.
For anyone that is planning a trip to BU, make sure you get to walk along the grassy area between the Comm Ave buildings and the Charles River. My son doesn’t want urban, but when we visited BU I was pleasantly surprised how beautiful that area is. If he wanted urban, it would be one of the ones on top of his list. I went to college in Boston and never really toured BU, but was honestly blown away this past visit. Lots of new beautiful buildings as well. Nice students and tour guides. I liked it better than Northeastern, also a great school, but didn’t love the area as much.
@MAandMEmom U Chicago will not feel like GW. Chicago is a real campus separate from the city. It’s gorgeous and I wouldn’t really even call it urban. It’s settled into a neighborhood with no skyscrapers. I would do a virtual tour on their website to get a feel of it.
Thanks @homerdog I noticed it’s definitely not like BU or GWU. When I asked her about her impression of JHU, she said she was good with a campus with very close access. I’m thinking Chicago might be similar to JHU right? I didn’t go with her to Baltimore, but will go to Chicago. We know BU extensively from going there for sporting events and I went there for grad school. Much different than in the 90’s like @collegemomjam mentioned. She’s also very keen on a college that is well represented with all cultures making BU an excellent fit. An additional benefit to Boston is that S19 will be there as well!
@MAandMEmom Hm. It’s not super easy to get from U Chicago to downtown. I think one takes a bus. I would just look at a map of Chicago. You will see that the campus is not downtown - it’s seven miles south of downtown. It’s close to the Museum of Science and Industry and maybe a mile or two from the beaches of Lake Michigan. Our S19 wanted more green space so it’s was crossed off of our list. Campus really is beautiful but kids stay on campus. We drove in from the west and S19 knew immediately that he wouldn’t go running in the parks in the neighborhood and even running out to the lake didn’t seem super safe (although I’m sure it is in the day time if one stays on main streets). We are in the Chicago suburbs and have been to Hyde Park numerous times to visit the Museum of Science and Industry, the U of C museums, and Frank Lloyd Wright houses. Hyde Park is great but it’s not urban. It’s a neighborhood south of the city.
Ha ha, @privatebanker, my D loves scary movies (The Conjuring series of movies, Rosemary’s Baby, The Omen; the old one with Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, etc.). She so would’ve appreciated seeing those stairs since she’s seen the original Exorcist movie.
We took a two day trip to Minneapolis area. S19 loved Mac, hated Carlton and was liked St Olaf. D19 loved St Olaf, hated Carleton and so so on Mac (I think the music dept wasn’t upto her standard). At Carleton, I think it was the tour guide that gave the “you should be lucky to get admitted here and we study all the time” vibe. S19 applied to Mac and is going there. D19 applied to St Olaf and was one of her top 3 until the very end.
S19 visited Kalamazoo, Occidental, Reed and Lewis and Clark as he wanted a small schools in a city. But, after visits, all fell out for various reasons. We visited Bard with him and we were totally mistaken as we thought it had easy access to NYC (which is what it sounded like from the web site, it doesn’t). I almost turned around without taking the tour. But, he loved it and ended up applying.
D19 dropped Weslyan off the list because Wes had grad students in the sciences and we felt that if she wanted to be in a place where she worked with Grad students, she might as well apply to a national university, not a LAC.
Tufts was a huge plus for me! So pretty and friendly student body
We dragged our daughter to Vermont on a beautiful fall weekend. She did not like Middlebury- too quiet. I think it is just such a big campus for the size of the student body. I loved it- great emphasis on cultural immersion and one of the most beautiful place I have ever been. But she took it off her list.
University of Vermont, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise. I think our daughter wanted to hate it because it’s not that hard to get into and she has her sights set higher, but she admitted she liked it and could see herself there. It will definitely stay on her list although not as a top choice. Has a typically Vermont focus on outdoor pursuits and social justice. I think it can be academically rigorous and stimulating, or not, depending on a student’s drive and effort. There are definitely many intelligent, passionate people there.