Thanks so much for your write up as it will be helpful for many students and families. Congrats, you will love Colby. My non athlete Junior son LOVES it and my daughter is headed to Middlebury so I appreciate your thoughts on both of these schools.
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I could see how your daughter felt that way and I hope she is enjoying Mount Holyoke. Thanks for sharing that insight.
FWIW, my kid has not felt like BMC is not a true women’s college. I assume that she must see men in some of her classes or on campus but from the way she talks about her college experience, you’d never know it. It feels very women-centered with reinforcement through the many BMC traditions and dorm life.
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Where did she end up? Looking to add some more diverse colleges that also have these values.
College tours made a huge difference for my son and his decision to apply and/or keep schools on his list.
Kept on List after visiting and Applied:
Auburn
Texas A&M
Baylor
TCU
OSU
Removed from List after visiting:
OU
Alabama
Arkansas
It’s an interesting process to watch play out for sure!
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Are you comfortable sharing why the 3 listed schools came off the list after visiting ?
Well, he decided these schools weren’t a good fit for him and just weren’t his vibe, and he told us almost immediately after leaving each tour or town at these schools. He knew right away it wasn’t for him.
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Heavy Greek vibe?
Arkansas and OU are top Greek targets from our HS. Bama and Ole Miss as well.
We visited around 30 schools between summer and fall of 2021. We did some actual tours and some were just walk throughs or drive bys. My daughter D22 had definite favorites and some were knocked off the list.
Cal Poly Slo- she loved the campus and area and applied. Love the learn by doing approach here
UCSB- loved everything about campus and applied
Claremont McKenna- cool downtown area with cafes and shopping but the campus was too quiet. Had a horrible tour guide who didn’t know much bc she was a freshman the year before and not even on campus. Could not answer most of our questions.
UPenn- beautiful campus but my daughter didn’t connect. Wasn’t in love
Bryn Mawr- liked the campus and has programs she is excited about and is applying
Haverford- was just ok…not applying
Swarthmore- too serious of students. Lovely campus but not applying
Villanova- Beautiful campus but too religious for her.
Lehigh- one of her favorites. She loved the entire campus even though very hilly. She applied here
Lafayette College- seemed like the perfect size campus and was immaculate. She applied
Cornell Univ- loved the campus and town. So much going on in the town with fun cafes and shopping. Has programs she is excited about and applied
Colgate- beautiful campus but town is a little small for my daughter. Couldn’t even find a restaurant open after our tour. All the buildings seemed to look alike and my daughter didn’t get a good feel during tour.
Syracuse Univ- beautiful campus and buildings but did not like the town or surrounding area near campus
Hamilton-this was my daughters favorite tour we did! Tour guide was hilarious and everyone we met seemed so happy to be there! Has everything she wants in a school except for the size of the town. There is some shopping within 15 mins of campus. She loved and applied.
Union- only drove through. She did not like the town or campus
Skidmore- actually one of her favorite campuses. Saratoga springs seems like such a fun town. Ended up not applying bc a little too complicated to get to from our home in Arizona.
Williams- lovely campus but again too remote to get to
UMass Amherst- just ok like any other big campus
Amherst-Lovely campus but didn’t connect
Mount Holyoke- Beautiful immaculate campus but area around doesn’t have much for college kids
College of the Holy Cross- beautiful but too religious for my daughter
Tufts-seems like a nice campus but felt too disconnected for her. Kind of outskirts of city. She would rather be in the middle of everything
Harvard- Beautiful and fun area surrounding for college kids.
Boston College- loved the campus but too religious
Boston University- nice tour guide but did not like the long skinny campus. Too urban and did not have that true campus feel.
Northeastern- awesome tour guide, in the middle of everything, loved the co-op, beautiful true campus feel. She applied early action
Univ of Washington-Seattle- her favorite of all the tours we have done. Easy access to city, beautiful campus, great school spirit, fun college area close by with restaurants and shops. My daughter applied here and hopes she gets in!
Univ of Michigan- nice campus but very spread out. D22 didn’t vibe and her dad and grandparents went to Michigan state so not even allowed to apply. Lol
Michigan state- loved the campus! Beautiful and love the river going through middle of campus. School spirit was amazing and everyone was so friendly. D22 applied early action and was accepted with a nice oos merit scholarship. Will definitely be comparing to all the others she gets into.
ASU- our state school. Daughter not excited about but applied for her one in state school option. Accepted with merit scholarship but is in last place right now.
Others we have visited a few years ago when her sister was doing college tours:
UCLA- we love this campus. Has almost everything D22 wants in a school. My oldest daughter D19 applied and was waitlisted. Ended up getting off waitlist and is now a junior here. My D22 is applying and would love to be with her sister.
USC- campus is like Disneyland. Everything is immaculate. Surrounding area a little sketchy but feels safe on campus. D22 is applying and would love to go here also.
Loyola Marymount- Beautiful campus in the middle of everything. Close to the beach. Almost like it’s own oasis in the middle of a big city. Very safe campus and kids seem really happy. D22 applied early action and was accepted. Definitely on her list. Not too religious.
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Great feed back! thx. curious what didn’t she like about Haverford?
It seemed kind of spread out and just didn’t feel right to her. They weren’t doing tours when we were there so I’m sure that would have helped. It is amazing how a good tour guide can make all the difference!
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Thanks for this recap. My D22 has a lot of overlap with your daughter’s list but hasn’t been able to visit the California schools yet, so I appreciate the impressions!
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So which favorite tour was better? UW-Seattle or Hamilton?
My D had 2 hours at BC and sat in on a theology class (a requirement there). She thought it was interesting but not overly religious. She currently attends a religious school, so I guess it is all relative.
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No, it wasn’t even the Greek vibe because we didn’t see much of that on the tours and he thinks he might want to Rush. The surrounding town is also a factor for him.
Aliwalsh, My wife was accepted by both UofM and MSU for their undergrad business programs, and she opted for MSU. Her decision was driven by the poor condition of the campus infrastructure (there were ceiling leaks in classrooms) and the vibe on campus (I’ll leave it at that, less I get flagged for not playing nice). For 2022 my son, J, applied to both MSU and UofM for MechE. He was not excited about UofM, mainly because of the campus and the need to hop a bus to go to attend classes at a remote engineering campus. We live in MI, and not dreaming of attending UofM is heresy (top 20 in everything, in-state tuition, huge alumni network, GO BLUE!, etc.). He already was accepted into MSU, which was one of his safeties. During our meeting with an admissions officer, he hinted that he might be invited into their Honors College.
Which brings me to a recommendation for you… if MSU is one of your daughters finalists, she should enquire about the Honor College. Not only do students get a nice break on tuition, but they get other perks like first choice for classes and access to undergrad research opportunities. Many Big10 schools have similar programs; it is their way of buying highly qualified students. If they are already throwing merit money at her, she might also qualify for their Honors College.
Feel free to message me with questions re MSU.
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Our tour guide was amazing at Hamilton. Probably more so than Univ of Washington. Hamilton was a school that wasn’t at the top of my daughters list before visiting and she came away from there wondering if she should apply ED! Univ of Washington just happens to check almost every single box for my daughter that she wants in a school. Including close to the coast (we live in the high desert of Arizona in a small town) and close to a major city. As far as Boston College, My daughter goes to a public school. We do go to church every now and then, she is just worried about going to a school that is predominantly one religion over another.
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Thank you for the advice! She has not received an invite yet to the Honors college at MSU but we will look into it! =)
Over the holiday break, we went to Philadelphia for a football game and decided to visit UPenn as well. We were not sure what to expect and my son’s thoughts driving in were not that positive. Upon taking a few steps on campus, he immediately perked up. It is a very nice campus feel and almost feel separated from the city but with still having access to Philly in general. He felt very comfortable as we walked the entire campus and could start to feel himself there. We even were able to get in to the Palestra which was cool in that it still has the same feel as it did when it was first built. Definitely a contender if he could somehow get accepted when he applies. I was pleasantly surprised how much we both liked it.
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Georgetown- moved from the middle to the top of the list. Sporty and happy vibe, palpable school pride, students interacting on campus without faces glued to cell phone (very striking per my child- ended up mentioning it in an essay), location
Yale- moved from upper part of the list to off. Campus architecture felt like Disney world - a little too perfect. Vibe unwelcoming. Tension with surrounding community noticed by D right off the bat.
BU- moved off the list. Too integrated in the city. Plus, our on campus admissions info session mostly focused on how to apply instead of the actual school and student experience.
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@aliwalsh76 I work for a Jesuit. I’m not baptized and I don’t attend church. I have Jewish, Muslim, gay, and transgender coworkers. Jesuit philosophy is service and social advocacy for all.
I agree that surrounding area is a huge factor though. I know it will be for my kids too.
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MSU is underrated, IMO.
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