In my travels around the US I have visited around 400 schools without an appt or student ID–on weekdays (classrooms and unions etc–NOT dorms). The only place that was pretty tight was Yale. Granted most were not in big cities but some were–UCLA, Udub, Northwestern, UMinn. Maybe some things have changed in the last few years but I’m skeptical.
Schools that dropped off the list after visit (although in some cases the visit itself wasn’t the reason). Limited pool to work with since intended major is Nuclear Engineering.
Princeton. S20 did like the campus (who wouldn’t), but didn’t feel it was a good fit for him for undergrad. Now graduate school…
Lehigh. Was luke-warm to the campus and decided the major they offered wasn’t apples to apples with where he wanted his undergrad to go.
NC State. So. much. brick. Yes the fact that virtually everything was redbrick, he also felt the campus was disjointed. Engineering campus not really walkable from main campus. Engineering campus also seemed sterile to him.
RPI. The area wasn’t the greatest and the campus, for the most part, seemed dated. Dorms felt like they belonged at a state school. But he loved the new performing arts building, but they don’t have much in way of ensembles (he’s a bassoonist)
Schools that climbed list after visit:
Georgia Tech. Didn’t know what to expect with a school that was in the middle of Atlanta. He loved it. The campus doesn’t feel like it’s in a city until you look up and see skyline. Close proximity to Atlanta symphony (and likely bassoon instructor). There really wasn’t anything he didn’t like about the visit (save for the 12 hour drive I suppose). It vaulted to his top spot.
Michigan. It went from “well, it qualifies” to a true contender. Although in some aspects it suffered the same things as NC State (engineering campus a short bus ride away from main campus) it didn’t seem to bother him as much. Possibly because the campus as a whole is not as monotonous as NC State. He had a good visit with the nuke folks. Hit all of his buttons. (This is the only school that my opinion differs from his. I wasn’t a fan at all. But then again, I was the one trying to find parking in that god forsaken corner of the world).
Cornell. We had high hopes coming in and Cornell met or exceeded all of them. If they had Nuclear Engineering as a major, it would likely be number 1. As it is, he would likely have to major in Engineering Physics there. That was a big ding against it going in and it was near the bottom of his short list. But the campus was great. He really felt he could fit there and make the major work. It’s probably tied for third with Michigan for him. Although…
Penn State. We’ve been here four times since it’s the “closest” (3 hours) to home of the schools on his list. I think he always looking for reasons to not include it, but it’s growing on him due to the visits. The Nuclear program has now been made its own named department. They are alone in offering music performance minors. He’s had a couple lessons now with the Bassoon professor. The nuke inf sessions were very…intimate. Maybe 4 kids. So he really was able to have conversations with professors. It may have climbed into that tie for 3rd with Michigan and Cornell. If he gets into Schreyer Honors College, that could break the tie.
(His second choice has been, and remains, Wisconsin due to there fusion research but we haven’t been able to visit)
@snakster - Purdue didn’t make the list? They have a nuclear reactor on campus 
As does Reed College. https://reactor.reed.edu/
Purdue is on the list. But it neither went up or down after visiting; which is why I didn’t mention it. He liked it a lot there and they probably have the best Bowling program of the places he’s looking at.
Indeed, but they don’t have engineering. He would likely have to major in Physics there and that’s a little too far off the path he envisions. Ultimately he wants to do nuclear fusion research at the graduate level, so schools that have that type of graduate program research (with undergrad research opportunities) as well as nuclear engineering major (or at a minimum engineering physics or possibly materials science engineering) are at the top of the list.
“Duke tour we saw a prospective student wearing a Wake Forest t-shirt, presumably from a tour she attended the day before at Wake. IMO, very inappropriate and disrespectful. Not sure how the parents allowed this?”
Ok so I’m not getting the disrespect angle on wearing a WF shirt at Duke, yes there may be a little rivalry, but really it’s not like a UNC or NC State shirt, which I agree could be seen as disrespectful. Big lol on the parental issue, you make it sound like they wore a costume mocking another culture.
“Had a student on our Cornell tour who was wearing a UC Berkeley hoodie and Stanford sweatpants. So he had color matching issues, along with the school issues.”
This makes even less sense, you’re going to criticize Cornell because some kid from the bay area bought some college gear, which they needed for the trip to Ithaca? If you visit Stanford you’ll probably see some kids in UCB shirts and vice versa, if you’re going to eliminate both of those schools, because of that, go for it!
@theloniusmonk not sure where you thought I was going with the comment on the Stanford/UCB apparel on at Cornell. Didn’t affect my opinion of any of the schools. I was just trying to add some color too the conversation. In this case a lot of mismatched color. D21 isn’t a huge fashion person, but she pointed out the clash to me after the tour was over.
Also, kid was from Colorado, not Bay area (I had a nice chat with his uncle). So not wearing the gear as a necessity, I think more showing off that he is looking at lots of top schools maybe?
Personally I’m too superstitious to buy anything until the "Welcome to [where ever] email arrives. No chance any of my kids ever wear gear from a school that rejects then.
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The only school my d received a rejection from was the same one whose shirt I purchased for her as a surprise gift after it shot to the top of her list. There will be no swag for my s, a senior, until afterwards!
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@snakster – I imagine you heard about this while touring Cornell?
It was fairly new when I was there, so was mentioned often. I don’t read about it much now, so perhaps outdated?
Be aware that St. Olaf has over 50% of it’s students coming from Minnesota, while Macalester only has about 15%. Did you tour Carleton when you saw St. Olaf?
Yes indeed and thank you for reminding me. It is a reason why Cornell remains on the list despite not having nuke engineering major.
My S wanted to join a univeristy that was either in a city or close to city, with a mid sized student populations with great school pride. Schools we visited - NYU, Columbia, BU, BC, Babson, Syracuse, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Carnige Mellon, Emory, Tulane, UPenn, Villanova and two in state schools UNC Chapel Hill and Charlotte. I was surpised with how he picked his top choices:
NYU - down - The guide was good and funny and the city is fabulous ( we lived there for 10 years before moving to NC). He just did not like the fact it was buildings and the school had too many students who just commuted to school.
Columbia - down - he loved it because it had its own campus in the city but did not care too much about the presentation and tour, he flet it was pretentious (This would have been legacy for him)
BU - down - Same as NYU
BC - down - he liked the location and campus but felt too many preppy kids with built in cliques from MA
Babason - too small and one dimensional, he did not like that
Syracuse - up - He loved the campus, and the tour. Was impressed with their dual major in Business and communications - this is one of his top choice safety schools, it is very cold up there though
Notre Dame - up - great campus, school spirit, sports and tour was great, only down side he saw was its in the middle of nowhere
Carnige Mellon - niether up or down - loved the campus and tour but felt no school spirit (I really don’t know what that means)
Emory - down - hated the admissions counselor’s speech, felt she was more discouraging than encouraging - no sports at the school
UPenn - up - loved everything about, the campus, the students etc - would go there if he got in - just like Columbia its a stretch school for him - one drawback no sports
Tulane - up - absolutely loved the city and the campus, the school spirit, the tour was great and he felt the vibe was good and he could spend 4 years there
Villanova - up - absolutely loved the campus, the tour guide, the school spirit, basketball and vibe and the kids he got to talk to. When we left the tour he said that would be his number one choice if he did not get into UPenn. We are Asian and his choice surprised me because there was a lack of diversity on campus but he felt most comfortable on this campus.
So after all these visits his preferred choice by order:
- UPenn - reach
- Villanova - match
- Tulane - match
- Notre Dame - match
- UNC CH - match
- UNC Charlotte - Safety
- Syracuse - Safety
What do you mean by “no sports” at UPenn? It’s a part of the Ivy League sports conference.
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@FunnyDad - Tulane, UNC, Villanova all have below 30% acceptance rates and are not matches for any student. Low reaches maybe. ND is below 20% - definitely should be in the reach category.
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Crossed off Scripps (wrong social vibe), moved up Pitzer and Occidental (liked the students she met a got the right “vibe”-- apparently vibes are everything these days!)
Still to tour: Lewis & Clark (I talked her into it, though she crossed it off previously just by looking at the map). Smith, Boston U, Tufts, Brown (Spring).
It is interesting the impact the tour guide has. It’s a sample of one, but it may be the only sample they have to go on.
I haven’t visited this thread for at least a year, so I guess it’s a good time to update.
Moved up the list, though not really, because he’s already a freshman there, lol:
Binghamton University
My son and all of his suite mates are very happy.
The problem was ME! I had to let go of my admitted bias against the school, primarily on aesthetic grounds and random stuff I heard before he even started. I know, that’s silly. But I think it’s useful to have retrospective views, and my views were tainted by the charming and bucolic Bates College, where his sis is a senior. We parents need to understand that often our kids know what’s best for them.
My son had a tough time getting a decent schedule, but on add/drop day, there were lots of options up for grabs. He was on the ball and ended up being happy with his schedule. He does have a couple of classes where he doesn’t see the prof a lot. But he also has two smaller classes, one with only 19 kids, that he loves.
He is working really hard, and playing even harder (he said he felt at home from day 1). He says the food is great, and he and his sister argue over which school has better food. He loves the classes, loves the independence, loves the campus, loves going out in Binghamton, and feels that Bing students are very proud of their school. Have to say that hubby and I were very impressed on move-in day. The dorms are amazing, there’s a beautiful nature preserve on campus, a lot of happy students, great facilities. There’s tons of neat stuff to do in the area. Lots of proud Bing Parents on Facebook too.
On the whole, my husband and I are glad he made his own choice, and not paying insane tuition is a plus. As an added point of interest, he was offered the Trojan Transfer Plan to USC, but despite thinking USC was awesome when we visited, he will not be transferring.
Up the list:
USC
We visited this summer. What’s not to love? Gorgeous campus, great academics and reputation, love the new village, nice vibe, great location (except the immediate neighborhood, but with the Village, who cares?) My son thought it was great, but not so great that he needs to transfer there.
USC (CA) Review
We attended the regular session (2.5 hours) and Marshall School of Business (1 hour) breakout session. Below are my impressions:
- large, somewhat dense, urban campus with 20k undergrads and 28K graduate students!
- many newer buildings that blend in well with the existing buildings, well-manicured quads, etc.
- information session emphasizing a very diverse, international student body with world-renowned programs in medicine, business, cinema arts, journalism / communication, engineering, biology, computer science, coupled with top notch D1 sports and school spirit.
- lots of emphasis on Silicon Beach for high-tech, location to the entertainment capital of the world for jobs and internships.
- 300K alumni network.
- intro session and tour was informative and well-run with very knowledgeable "ambassadors"
- great, new USC Village housing students with Trader Joe's and Target on campus.
- safety didn't seem to be a concern with lots of security and closed campus after certain hours, free Uber/Lyft within 3 miles of campus is a nice surprise.
- While some great merit opportunities, seemed that only 1-3 % of students receive them?
- can't beat the SoCal weather.
- overall, very nice college, with some top 10 programs. For example, Marshall has 13 business majors, the impressive WBB (World Bachelor in Business) where you get 3 degrees in 4 years and study abroad in Italy and Hong Kong; and a Business major combined with Cinema Arts seems very interesting to D20. This is not the "university of spoiled children" from 30 years ago.
- I think cost is really the only downside for some families as full pay COA is 77K (ouch).
I just went to their net price calculator for the heck of it. My household income must not have met their standards because the calculator wouldn’t let me past the initial page…oh well.
USC went way up on the list for my daughter after our visit. Pepperdine went way down. It felt too remote and more like “summer camp” to her.