My older S (S20) also had a very positive reaction to Purdue when he toured. Even my husband (who graduated from IU and expected to dislike Purdue for rivalry reasons alone) was impressed. They got lucky with a beautiful fall day which helped, but also thought students on campus just seemed happy and friendly.
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Did you tour Bryn Mawr when you were at Haverford? My daughter is headed there and we’ve never been (accepted ED from overseas with COVID related travel issues), always like to hear different perspectives about the school, the area, and the consortium - I know it’s not for everyone.
Also, regarding Wesleyan, you mentioned a few coffee shops but I’ve see many diverse local eateries advertised in Middletown’s Main Street/ downtown neighborhood. Did you explore this area at all?
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We did not visit Bryan Mawr, sorry! Re Wesleyan, there is a street or two of studenty coffee shops and restaurants for sure. Just not particularly exciting I think.
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Middletown’s main drag is approximately 3/4 of a mile long. Not all of it is suburban or “studenty”; quite a bit of it is retro and funky and frankly blue collar. But, that’s more of a plus than a minus. YMMV.
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Montana State University - Moved down a little- We toured on one of the first summer Fridays that they were giving tours after Covid restrictions lifted. D22 didn’t love/ didn’t hate. She was disappointed that expert skiing wasn’t closer. There were a few students around and it was a sunny, windy day. She felt our guide was good but heavy on MSU trivia. She thought things were too spread out (too spread out for what, I’m not sure) and void of mature trees. She said she didn’t hear enough about programs, the honors college, etc., to get really revved up. She thought we should go back when students were on campus but we never did.
University of Montana - Went up–She loved the vibe and the flat quad, older buildings and mature tree(s) feel of the campus. She loved that a freshman dorm she toured faced the quad (you could open your first floor window and talk to people walking to class). She felt like the person doing the introductory talk really focused on the students touring and she was impressed with people using her name and seeming to really “see” her. She LOOOVED Missoula and the snow enthusiast-meets-flower-child feel to things. Very excited about proximity of skiing and pockets of downtown with vintage clothing stores and non-chain coffee shops. I believe they award their out of state merit using unweighted GPA and she computed that she would lose out on their best package (WUE, I believe) if she got any B’s fall trimester of senior year (although I think she learned later that they will take up till Junior year only if you apply early).
University of Idaho–Went waayy up-- We visited the Friday of Homecoming weekend and the school and the whole town was buzzing and on their best behavior (and seemed authentically happy). A friend’s son walked her all around Greek row and–though she didn’t expect to be intrigued with Greek life–she met a lot of people that she “vibed” with as she walked around with him, I guess (it was Friday afternoon and all the houses were decorated and hosting alumni in their main areas–it was kind of like adult trick or treating where people were roaming around, going house to house. She loved the ivy-covered, old buildings and (you guessed it) mature trees. She liked that there are about 1/2 men and 1/2 women there (saying that she doesn’t love that most colleges are 60-65% women these days(?)). I was shocked, but she thought it was cool that 35-40% of kids are Greek and that freshmen move right in to their Greek houses after recruitment, right before school begins. She liked the honors program and a lot of what she heard from the COB and the College of Environmental Science (intrigued with the Wildfire Management program and thought it was cool that the uni had a Golf Course Management major.
Boise State University - went down - Tour guide was over-the-top in to football and being able to attend BSU games “free” as a student was nirvana for him. We visited the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and campus was sunny, cold, and empty-ish. Tour was 100% outside. Emptiness of campus reinforced reputation of BSU as being more of a commuter school. Very little merit aid is awarded (even to NMSF) and there was a little bit of a ‘we’ve got plenty of applicants, so suit yourself and come if you want’ attitude.
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Thanks so much for sharing your D’s impressions! I always enjoy hearing about students’ experiences at various campuses, but I particularly appreciate hearing about campuses that we don’t read about too much!
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Very interesting. Bozeman is blowing up in terms of development and growth. I wonder if MSU is going to be heavily involved, or simply a spectator in such growth.
Tours booked in February for:
Emory (Atlanta & Oxford campuses)
Oglethorpe (Atlanta)
Do you want to share your impressions about Oglethorpe and the Emory campuses here?
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Thank you for offering your kid’s reactions to colleges in a part of the country that doesn’t get a lot of attention here on CC!
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Sure!
We visited Atlanta over the winter break and snuck in some tours so happy to share.
Oglethorpe University-MOVED OFF THE LIST
We had a great info session & tour. The campus was beautiful and the area around campus was really nice. If safety is a big concern, the area is very safe (near downtown Atlanta but not right in the city) and it’s a “closed campus” so gates close at a certain time. Although my son is leaning towards a small college, he decided this one was a bit TOO small with only 1500 students. Although a private school, they have a great Flagship 50 program for high-achieving students which overrides their tuition rate with your state’s Flagship college tuition. See link below.
My son visited both Emory campuses (Oxford & Atlanta.) For those who aren’t familiar, students may opt to attend the Oxford campus (about 45 minutes from Atlanta) for the first 2 years which offers a smaller campus of about 1000 students so a more intimate way to start off the college experience. The acceptance rate is a bit higher at Oxford if you are open to this option (24% vs. 19% at the Atlanta campus.)
Emory at Oxford-MOVED OFF THE LIST
Very small, quaint campus. Students seemed friendly and happy. We met with a student ambassador who was a sophomore (a psychology major which is what my son wants to study) and she was very helpful in answering his questions. Most of the tour was outside, but we stepped into a few buildings, including a dorm (but didn’t get to see a room.) This is a great option for students who might want to step into leadership roles early or who benefit from smaller classes and more personal attention. My son said he wasn’t sure he’d fit into the “artsy vibe” there. He also felt it was too small for what he wanted and too isolated, being a small town almost an hour from Atlanta. They do have shuttles to bring students to the main campus which run regularly, but he really wants a big city feel.
Emory at Atlanta-MOVED UP!
This was the big winner for my son. He really loved the vibe on campus and the mix of classic and modern buildings. Students also seemed happy and very social on campus. Our tour guide was pre-med and said he was able to really connect with professors (thanks to small classes) and they are now writing letters of reference for him as he applies to med school. The info session was informative and they stressed the holistic way they assess applications. Don’t underestimate the importance of your essays and reference letters! They were upfront about getting more applications than ever and having to put many applications into a “second read” pile even though they were stellar candidates who would have easily been accepted in past years. They admit about 30% from ED applications vs. 10% from RD. We won’t be applying ED so tough odds, but my son will likely give it a try. We will qualify for some financial aid, but merit might be a challenge (they do have some limited competitive scholarships that cover up to full tuition.) They are replacing student loans with grants to ensure a debt-free experience for students (this doesn’t really help with the parent debt however!)
The city of Atlanta is great but we did not love the traffic!
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Thanks so much for the report! I’ve heard about the Flagship 50 program at Oglethorpe but hadn’t heard any reports from people who had visited, so I really appreciate the detail. Also great to learn more about Emory and its Oxford campus!
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We visited Bozeman and toured Montana State last Nov. Campus and downtown were buzzing. My Northern California D22 loved the feel of the community and the campus. Bozeman is blowing up as you say and the school did mention that more upperclassman are looking to live on campus as the off campus pricing has been rapidly rising. The school itself is trending. They’ve even restricted the number of WUE awards that residents of western states like CA can get because they can be more selective now. It’s become sought after despite the fact that CC doesn’t even have a link on it’s home page for Montana State.
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North Idaho College in Couer d’Alene, Idaho is interesting. I believe that it is a 2 year school. I know that the location is spectacular.
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We toured Bryn Mawr a couple of times, and our daughter was very close to attending. The campus is stunning! The Gothic architecture, rolling hills and beautiful pond are highlights. The dorms were beautiful – if she hasn’t already, your D should check out the dorm tours and decorating contests on youtube or the BMC website, I can’t remember which. That whole area is lovely, and if you want to get off campus, it’s easy to hop on the train to Philly (or beyond). We found the vibe different at Haverford than at Bryn Mawr, but our experiences were limited to tours, so it may not be as distinct as it seemed if you were a student. Our D did like that there was so much overlap in classes, clubs, etc., and she heard great things about food, traditions and community. Congratulations to your daughter!
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I’m a Bryn Mawr grad and loved Bryn Mawr. My daughter isn’t applying because her anticipated major is more at Haverford but she liked it when we toured. She has applied to Mt Holyoke and Smith. A number of my alum friends have daughters at Bryn Mawr who are happy with their choice.
Good luck to your daughter!
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Thanks! There might be a possible Wesleyan job opportunity for a family member so I was interested in feedback for them.
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Thank you! We’ve watched every single possible video and seen every picture on the Internet ( 
) but it’s still so nice to hear from others, I appreciate it.
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Perhaps the tour guide was confused or thinking only of Big Sky, which is about hour from Bozeman? Because Bridger Bowl is less than 20 miles from Montana State and has legendary expert terrain (some of which is quite extreme if you don’t mind a short traverse.) It also has multiple shuttles to and from campus daily. Snowbowl may be a bit closer to Missoula and it is a fine local mountain, but IMO the expert skiing doesn’t match Bridger’s, nor does the snow quality. Here’s a video of Bridger to give you some idea. . .
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Yes! That makes sense that he misspoke! He made it seem like the only option was Big Sky (an hour away). Maybe he assumed my daughter wasn’t macha enough or maybe he thought we only wanted to know about Big Sky. I’m going to see if I can figure out how to edit a post in CC so i can clarify that!
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Just adding that in our tour they mentioned that while Big Sky is an hour away, the school has buses of students heading there every weekend - how fun is that. Not to mention that most dorms have ski lockers and ski wax rooms in the basement. It’s practically like living at a ski resort. And yes Bridger is super close and good terrain from what I hear.
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