Yes @CMCMLM, we did consider Rice. I really loved it on paper, but S22 just couldn’t connect with the school as he researched it, so we did not visit. Same is true for CMU and Cornell - fantastic on paper, just didn’t resonate.
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Please get back on-topic
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This sounds so much like my daughter’s experience. We are in the south and the colleges you mentioned (Princeton and Yale) are extreme reaches. We visited Princeton and my daughter LOVED IT!!! She got the same vibe you got as well. We are also targeting Bard but have not visited. My daughter is into nature but wants to be close to a big city. Being in a big city would not work for her. We did not visit Yale. Thanks for the feedback
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Off the list - None, due to advice we received to apply to rival schools if only to compare financial aid packages and possibly leverage them against each other.
Moved down - UMD. The campus was massive and filled with long-term construction projects. My son also wants to be in more of a city environment.
Moved up - Drexel and American University. They had great Criminal Justice programs (his major of choice), diverse student bodies, and great locations in major cities but without feeling like you were literally in the heart of it.
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Don’t forget #1 in campus food in the COUNTRY!
Toured several schools this past Fall with S22. Quite a variety on his list and for different reasons
CMU-Down on list -(self guided) we loved the location and campus, right next to PITT but felt unwelcome. Basically, pick up a map and follow around campus. Names of buildings on map, but not what the buildings were for. Luckily had his cousin, who is doing a masters at PITT meet us for lunch and who showed us around town. Moved of ED lost to RD
CU -Boulder stayed the same- S wants to stay on east coast, but was encouraged by counselor to look here due to up and coming Engineering Dept. Wasn’t prepared to like it, has a bigger campus then he wanted, but both loved the Engineering Building and housing for it, in close proximity. Would be higher on list if we lived closer
MIT- same, loved the campus, location to city. Self guided tour but felt more welcome on campus than CMU… big reach school for S, low likelihood of acceptance
Dartmouth- went up. Moved to ED. Loved the campus, great tour, enthusiastic guide, helpful students ( we got lost) activities to do in the area. Neg-big into Greek life-only bothered me.lol
Syracuse- went up, H went her undergrad, son looks up to him, beautiful campus, son loves snow and season’s. Great tour guide, hooked him when he talked about sledding down the quad hill on lunch trays. Good team spirit, bigger school if he changes interest, but still smaller feel.
RPI - went up a bit, then kinda of crashed. Great open house during COVID, got to spend time talking with engineering students and professors. Caught my sons attention when they said they pick teachers who can “teach”. Tour went down hill when looking at Pre med area of focus, food availability and freshman dorms way across campus in there own very separate environment. Didn’t seem to see a lot of smiling happy students. Troy kind of bland.
WPI- Moved way up. Great tour and energy. My S22 felt immediately that he would fit in. Very New England. Liked the grading and class schedule with 7 week terms. Freshman housing right around quad for most part. Only negative, while on tour and in one of the food/lounge areas, one student behind our guide kept shaking her head and while we were leaving, kept saying, don’t come here, not worth it. A bit discreaning, but didn’t bothe S22. I also feel no on campus housing after Freshman year, was hoping through Soph year.
Holy Cross- moved up. Great tour and guides. Many hills but beautiful campus and all
around general feel from students and staff
Not best chose for chosen major, but he’s still flexible on it. Probably would be my #1choice.
BC- moved down. Original ED 2 to RD. Beautiful campus, close to Boston but not in town. Freshman dorms, most not near main campus and have to bus in. Worst tour guide we had to date. Talked too fast and too quiet to her much of anything he said. (and one time in front of construction equipmen-in use). May be on the more preppy side, but we’re from MA and used to it. Still a strong pull for academics and location.
UMASS Amherst-went up. Very surprised we liked it as much. Layout was great to find your way around such a large campus. Food #1 in Country (they were having lobster and filet the evening we visited!) Tour guides very animated, intelligent and really made the school look interesting and attractive.
We’ll see when admission are all in around Apple. Acceptances, 1 regency, waiting on 6 more!
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We got a similar feel from CMU. It was as if the college did some sort of competition among first year CS majors to design the most sterile tour imaginable, plus every building was closed with giant NO VISITORS signs. No one on campus was remotely welcoming. Daughter removed from the list.
Contrast with Pitt, right down the road, which basically had student cheerleaders posted at every corner, folks volunteering information left and right, and lots of welcoming signs that lead visitors to at least walk thru some key buildings (which were otherwise closed). Moved up the list.
Others that stood out:
Brandeis — not sure how students endure the architecture for 4 years. Removed.
Amherst — old New England feel yet many modern amenities. Helpful students eager to volunteer info. Added.
Brown — just a perfect blend of Ivy, college town & manageable city. Moved up.
Villanova — impressed by campus and student pride about school. Liked how they explicitly emphasized the balance between academic rigor, job placement, and athletics & social life. Added.
Northeastern — often overlooked in the Boston circuit but worth a visit just to contrast with the others. Removed because it wasn’t a fit for her course of study but impressed by how well they’ve integrated the campus into the city. One of the more interesting urban college environments we’ve experienced.
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Cornell- Older S initially didn’t want to consider, due to climate and location. Curriculum matched his academic desires quite well, so he applied somewhat blind. Accepted, and upon visit (possible this was related to acceptance, lol) fell in love. Loves attending. So big UP.
UM- Down. Both kids loved Ann Arbor proper, but did not like the campus. Size, spread out, “boring” buildings. Young D would consider, but campus actually pushed it down on her list a bit.
Wake- Big Up. They just…care. So in-depth, really get to know the applicant. Gorgeous (if a little movie-set like) campus. On D’s list, but moved up much higher once she visited.
Richmond. Up. D had it as a “safety” and visited on her way back from UVA. Most immaculately perfect campus, and the tour was so great. Like Wake…they just love engaging with future students. So different than the cold reality of so many these days.
Penn. Down. S and D both loved academically obviously, but they didn’t like the campus. As D said “Vanderbilt is a great urban campus. In the city but beautiful. Penn is basically buildings, a quad, and a nice street that intersects.” Just wasn’t ideal for her.
UVA. About the same. Anticipated a nice grounds, saw what they expected to see. Great surrounding areas as well.
Vanderbilt. Up. Surprised neither did ED. Loved campus. Loved access to a major (and really fun) city. Loved academics. Really loved the aeshetics of the new residential colleges going up.
Harvard/Yale/Dartmouth- UP. Princeton- Down. Putting these all in one, lol. Loved the old school collegiate (it feels like an old movie) of Harvard and Yale, and loved the nature and town of Dartmouth. Princeton was gorgeous, but interestingly D did not like the location. Said it was “inconveniently convenient” in that there were few major arteries to get or leave quickly. Interesting!
UCLA- UP. Wasn’t even on D’s radar, and we visited family and shot over there for a quick walk around. She fell in love with the campus/surrounding. CA would be a bit far, but probably her #1 state school.
Duke- Down for S, Up for D. S hated it, hated his tour, and crossed it off his list from the jump. D ended up sending ED app in. Interestingly, S really liked UNC but D didn’t see it when we were down there- and she just got in EA lol.
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Thank you for all the posters in this topic. I for one love hearing the thoughts people have on college visits as my son gets closer to applying.
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Northwestern is the “Gold Standard” in the Chicago area? What about the University of Chicago?
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Funny, you pretty much shared my son’s exact experience with CMU, Pitt and NEU!
Students interested in Brown probably should take a look at this list: Schools Similar to Brown University — TKG. Wesleyan, in particular, shares various characteristics with Brown.
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Skidmore might be a les selective Brown-like school, too.
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WashU- Crossed off the list. Gorgeous campus and very pleasantly surprised by Saint Louis. However, everyone was unfriendly including the Admissions employees. Students seemed very serious and preoccupied. Walking from the freshmen residential area to the academic part of campus there was a big sign that said”Are you thinking of suicide?” and in smaller letters there was a number to call for help. My D was done at that point.
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Caltech - crossed off the list, no diversity in student body. Program very theory heavy and school too close to home.
Harvey Mudd- crossed off the list as school provides a generic engineering degree, good if you want to apply for masters etc. good for CS but not as strong in areas of computer engineering, architecture.
USC - Dropped, the tour talked more about football and jabs at UCLA than any thing else. You will not sell a So Cal resident on weather or the fact that you can take a train to Santa Monica beach. The department briefing at Vetebri was ok though.
Added- UT Austin. After touring the kid liked the city’s vibe, the size of the campus and the EERC, the various labs and resources where computer engineering is housed.
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Cool, thanks. Did you visit CU Boulder? Or Rice? Seem similar in spirit…
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Rice does not make sense if you are targeting a top 10 program and it costs 1.5-2 x compared a public school with reputable engineering program.
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