wow. I followed pretty closely and did not see that. I saw some schools keep students’ belongings but not one had staff go into dorm rooms and send home what kids requested for no charge.
In 4 years my son’s tuition at a public school with a low endowment has gone up $736.
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Sorry, wrong thread
One more reminder to keep this thread on topic.
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Hi, my daughter is a freshman at Guilford and we are all so happy with it. Fantastic professors and such a warm atmosphere. She has found wonderful friends, as well. I would be happy to answer any questions you have.
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As the application process comes to the RD Deadlines later this month, kiddo reflected on the tours/visits over the past 16 months. Due to COVID, it was very hard for our student to get a sense of schools due to key factors:
- Campus closures &/or students not on campus
- Admissions offices closed
- Campus open but buildings closed to non-students
- Lack of outreach by some colleges to prospective students
- Zoom presentations by admissions folks who meant well, but were just too long and too boring - talking heads but not able to give a student-view of the experience.
- Difficulties getting a sense of the college “vibe” or community due to COVID restrictions.
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I have to agree with this assessment. My kiddo has struggled to find schools he is really interested in because of this. The schools he saw over the summer were more like architectural tours than anything else and it was not that useful in determining fit/vibe etc. He has seen a few schools this year but not enough to really get a strong sense of what he wants so he is casting a wide net. We will check out all the schools he gets into (and that are still of interest) before deciding. Covid has depressed interest in college among many of his friends - they are applying, but the enthusiasm isn’t there, and these are academic high performers. It’s actually pretty sad.
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Very true! Couldn’t agree more with both of you - @Thorsmom66 and @Golfgr8.
So sad that Covid took away such an important aspect of the college search process for our kids. And personally, my wife and I too are disappointed at not having had the experience we had looked forward to as our D22 reached high school age. She’s our only child.
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It is, of course, worth remembering that the phenomenon of students getting to tour colleges to get a “feel” for a campus is a pretty recent development. As much as we’re led to believe (especially through places like this one) that it’s a necessity, it isn’t.
Speaking to some extent from personal observation here: Of the colleges she seriously considered going to, my D19 ended up going to the only one that she hadn’t had a chance to visit—the first time she was even in the state it’s in, let alone on the campus itself, was orientation. And it has been a great place for her, as many other colleges could have been.
The idea that there is a “perfect match” (or even a set of “perfect matches”) for any given student is a function of marketing, not reality.
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Some schools were open and welcoming prospective students even last spring. D21 visited and had tours at the majority of her RD schools in April. It made a difference. She just took schools off that she couldn’t really visit. I know that won’t work for all kids She was able to get on the campuses of most of her top choices. I think most schools have had tours and info sessions this fall. Even a place like Bowdoin, that wouldn’t let prospective students step foot on campus in spring, has info sessions and tours and interviews in person for fall.
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Yes! It has been really tough to get a sense of these schools. My kid also cast a wide net, about half EA and half RD (with some of these RD not finished yet). Kid did a few in-person tours last summer, but not for most of the schools on the final list. I said the rest of the visits could wait until after acceptances because I thought that tours/campus life would be more normal in the spring. I’m not sure I was right about that.
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My S22 has only seen two colleges so far, and one was where his sibling attends so he’s not too keen on going there. He is applying all RD. It’s going to be an interesting spring if he gets into multiple schools.
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While those zoom webinars can be boring there are many other ways to get a feel of the campus. On YouTube there are many filmed campus tours, both official tours from the college and unofficial tours done by students. You can go to Google Maps Street View and do a virtual walk around the campus. Just avoid Reddit. They seem to attract the malcontents and chronic complainers.
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I agree that it is has been much harder to get a feel for a place when the campus is empty. I think one of the benefits, though, is that my D22 can picture being happy at a lot of places. She isn’t super attached to any one place because our tours were primarily to get a feel for locations, campus layout, architecture, etc. And the rest of the research was more academically focused, following social media, attending the Zoom presentations, etc. All of that feels fairly removed, even when the Zoom meeting is good.
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Once again…let’s stay in topic if you want this fun and helpful thread to stay open.
Please create a new thread or PM for other issues (including issues of not being able to visit campuses).
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William & Mary - OFF - Old musty buildings. Students seemed stuffy and sad. Plus, no Engineering.
UVA - Off - Old buildings, really (and I mean REALLY) snobby students. Engineering building are old and unimpressive.
Cornell - OFF - Snowing sideways in late March. Nice campus and beautiful surrounding area, but Engineering students looked miserable. Engineering buildings filled with kids studying, and about 30% were in tears. Friend who gave her the tour says it’s typical for Eng kids to cry at least weekly. Ithaca is pretty sad town too.
Penn State - Off - Nice Campus, though very large. “If I’m going to go to a big football school, it will be in the south”.
Duke - Down - Beautiful campus. Diverse student body, but seemed very segregated. Everyone hanging out with people who look like them. Gathered from the 2 different tour guides that it is a pretty competitive environment. Also, the school has basically decimated the Greek system with unfavorable changes.
Vanderbilt - UP to #1 - Great, compact campus. Kids seemed very happy. Loved the idea of living on campus all 4 years. Nashville is a blast. Her friend (Fr) gave her a great tour and is really happy and doing well.
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We went to visit Cornell and we were walking over the bridge and my son noticed the suicide nets.
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Same, off the list for that reason. Well, not only that.
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My son actually DIDN’T cross it off his list although he he did say he didn’t see himself there. He decided to apply anyway. It is a reach for him, so we shall see.
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