Ok, this may be my favorite spot on CC and no one has posted in awhile, so I’ll jump in. Here we go…
West Virginia: OFF. Really, really wanted to like the school. The freshman dorms are a 10-minute bus ride away from the main campus. We went on a random Wednesday night in Jan 2021 and nothing was open at 8:30. The college was very eager for DD1 to attend, but we just didn’t like Morgantown. The primary hotel in town (Marriott) was extremely nice but the campus just seemed spread out and not very walkable. I’m pretty comfortable behind the wheel but I couldn’t picture my DD or even myself driving on those roads during the icy winter. Didn’t appear to be too many places for the students to go or walk to at night. Maybe this was an effect of the Pandemic and perhaps if this is your only option you could make it work, but in the words of our younger kid as they looked out the window observing the town, “I dunno, man.”
OHIO University: UP. One of the prettiest campuses of the 15-20 schools we’ve visited over the last two years. The college is the town and the town is the college. The campus is 1800 acres outside of Court Street. The school is known for nursing as well as a very competitive journalism program that has decent pipelines to broadcast outlets. During the Pandemic, while West Virginia was quiet and somewhat desolate at night, Athens was lively and loud. Bar owners brought out free slices to students waiting in the cold to enter. The place, in the middle of COVID, just seemed like a blast.
OHIO Wesleyan: OFF. The campus is small, like barely 200 acres and feels much smaller. Really nice admission staff but the town appeared to be barely a mile long and the main strip wasn’t jam packed with numerous restaurants and watering holes like Athens. DD1 felt bad because their admissions staff was fantastic, but the campus just looked like a really nice private high school.
Bowling Green: UP. It was a 90-minute drive north from O. Wesleyan, and the land, was very, very flat, but you know what? The town had a cool vibe. The main strip was hopping at night with students. The half-dozen bars were busy, young adults were waiting on lines to get in, students were working among the wait staff at the fun restaurants. The campus was like a 15–20-minute walk for those living off-campus. I was pleasantly surprised and so was DD. She ended up politely declining but, I really mean this, if you’re looking for an in-state school (or even a neighboring state), Bowling Green should be considered. Nice staff and a fun little college town. You won’t be lonely there.
Alabama: NOT FOR US. Gorgeous. Just gorgeous. Fast becoming the resort college for Northeasterners. Where everything at West Virginia is a 10-min drive, and everything at Ohio University is a 11-minute walk, Alabama is a car culture and everything is a 5-7 min drive. Greek life is significant. You better be into sports. Wished the in-person presentations for certain majors lived up to the promise of the virtual sessions. Upon leaving, DD1 was like, “I could be pretty happy here but I could be just as happy at WV or OU for like $15k less.”
Florida International: OFF. The hospitality program is a 30–45-minute bus ride from the main campus, which was nice and active, though it was clear that the school has a significant commuter culture. Really nice dining hall with numerous franchise options. The hospitality school on the other side of Miami was very nice but isolated. There’s a lovely dorm on the water with a nice swimming pool. The hospitality school has an affiliation with Food Network (or did 18 months ago) and participates in numerous South Beach food events. DD1 liked it but was concerned with the isolation. Definitely a car culture.
U Central Florida: NOT FOR US. A nice campus (great student pool), decent gym. School encourages in-state students. The school’s located in the Orlando area, a suburban setting. A solid tour, accommodations were standard, some deep programs. Our tour guide was well-versed in all things UCF, even asked them for some thoughts on the ZAXBY’s location about a half-mile outside of campus (“Delicious.”) During the information session, the admissions folks made it clear that the standards for acceptance were much higher for OOS. I would recommend the school for Floridians.
U Colorado Boulder: UP. The athletic center? Wow. There’s this huge window providing a view of the whitecaps from the basketball courts. Nice dorms. Spacious campus. Boulder is a cool town that’s a slightly longer walk from the school than I would like. Great, invested tour guide. Helpful information session. DD1 wasn’t feeling it but it’s one of the cooler campuses that we’ve toured as a family.
University of Denver: OFF. I mean, it was okay. It felt like the donut hole of the Denver highway system. The hockey rink is top-notch, a nominal amount of green space. The school feels surrounded by Denver’s outskirts. None of us cared for it from a living space point of view.
Princeton: UP. One of the three nicest campuses we’ve ever seen. Here’s the thing about the town, though…. where a place like Athens offers over a dozen college bars and MAYBE 1-2 restaurants that caters to visiting Moms & Dads, Princeton offers nearly the exact opposite – it’s all eateries that will cost a family of four $100+ if done right. Great restaurants and a bread shoppe with croissants to die for, but it’s a mature college town. The number one memory of all my friends who graduated isn’t a local college bar, it’s the hoagie joint close to a half-mile walk north of campus. Obviously, the academics and opportunities for lectures speak for themselves but you wanna know the funny thing? You’ll see tons of parents walking around town, packs of high school kids spilling out of the bookstore and the town’s famous record shoppe. You don’t see a ton of college students off the campus. But man, that campus is simply stunning.
Wesleyan: NEUTRAL. Hilly campus, only a couple of places for students to eat – one dining hall didn’t open until 11 am on a Saturday. The main strip is probably a short walk from campus. There’s some restaurants but not a wide selection. There’s only one main hotel for parents to stay in town and the lodging options 7-10 miles away are a bit run-down. Some friendly faces as our family walked around and I will say that we saw students walking around campus at 10 o’clock at night. A ton of construction on campus at the moment. Clearly, a good amount of money flowing into the school. Be interesting to see what the Wesleyan looks like in 2024.
Brown: NEUTRAL. Another nice campus like Princeton, just a bit more spread out, much less enclosed. Less engaged tour guide but there seemed to be numerous activities on the main green. Not a slew of eating options within walking distance – a brunch place here, a Shake Shack there. Providence is a small city but Brown still gives a city college feeling, at least to us.
Tufts: UP. Like Wesleyan, a good amount of construction happening on campus. We saw dozens of students playing frisbee and throwing the football around. Entered a building and found posters promoting lectures featuring Lester Holt, the late John Lewis and numerous political figures. Tufts is listed as a suburban school. I would say that it’s a city school set up on a hill above it all. Hanging out in Cambridge is just a healthy walk away. We heard about the housing issues but we saw campus security driving slowly along the streets. DD2 likes their programs and thought the campus was cool. Remains on the list.
Wellesley: UP. An incredible town. Similar to Princeton, the town is geared more towards parents than students. Someone wrote that the campus gives “summer camp vibes” and they’re not far off. You’ll feel like you’re on vacation at the lake house. The COVID protocols remained in place while we were there. School remains on DD2’s list.
Virginia: UP. When you tour through the main campus for the first time, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped onto a ‘80s college movie set. It’s extremely impressive…and then you walk down the block and see beer cans and bottles littering nearly every frat house lawn. We only saw one block of pricey bar-restaurants. Need to see more of the campus-adjacent streets. I wasn’t alarmed by the sloppy Saturday morning porches, but I did take note. Also didn’t see a ton of students walking around. School’s top-tier academic programs keep it on DD2’s list, though.
Richmond: UP. Cleanest campus for us is a tossup between Princeton, Ohio University and Richmond. Actually, Richmond might be #1. Simply immaculate. The ground’s so clean that you could impose a 10-second rule. We saw students excitedly engaging in groups of 3 and 4. A group of parents chilling out in a pre-lax game tailgate. The campus is set on the lovely Westhampton Lake. Although some might call it the world’s most beautiful boarding school, Richmond comes across like a quaint collegiate village. DD2 said, “It passes the campus test.”
Santa Clara University: SAME. The campus itself is very nice-- compact, lovely landscaping, well maintained buildings, cohesive mission style mixed with modern architecture that worked well, lots of recent investment in campus. The information session was kinda weird. No presentation or particular agenda. Some useful topics were covered, but others weren’t touched on at all. Student panel was pretty interesting (all Q&A based.) The tour was just okay. We saw stuff but it was a bit dry. Bonus was we got to see a dorm room. The dorms are much nicer than any campus we’ve seen. Students seemed smart enough and very chill, very CA. SCU is a safety-ish school for my kid so he will likely apply. He liked it but didn’t really find anything standout or a particular draw for him even though it “checks the boxes”. Also we’re locals so he’d like to get farther away, but I can see it being a novelty from someone from outside CA with all the mission architecture, palm trees, and big name tech corporate partners.
We visited these schools at admitted students days, which is like a campus tour on steroids.
Denison University - Up. Beautiful campus in a charming small town in Ohio, friendly students all over campus. Gorgeous pool. Great athletic facilities. Big on performing and fine arts opportunities and a new performing arts center built with a donation from alum Michael Eisner. D got to attend a class, which she thought was terrific. Faculty and staff very welcoming. If you want a small liberal arts college, check this one out. They have a large endowment and seem to spend a lot on the students. More socioeconomic diversity than other LACs. We saw them setting up for a festival that looked really fun. Spouse and I wanted to commit:)
Syracuse University - Up. A mix of historic and recently renovated buildings. A lot of school spirit and a fun mascot. Lots of merch at the store. Many different areas of study and you can study in more than one school. Lots of choices for study abroad on their own campuses abroad. Many clubs and activities. Big alumni network, especially in NYC. Students from our high school who attend love it. You have to be okay with snow as we saw some in April. Highly recommend the restaurant Pastabilities.
100%. There is nothing suburban about Meford, MA. It is a very dense, blue collar town that borders the city. Not that different from South Boston (“Southy”). Kind of a borough if you will.
D is a sophomore so maybe we’re starting a bit early but she was eager to do so. She’s very into theater, so we’ve been trying to see campus performances and department specific tours where possible.
Drew University - Off. Mom and dad saw enough we liked to keep it in mind but child vetoed her first ever school visit for culture/feel. Getting loudly cheered at as we walked into the Open House building, followed by a cheer routine on stage, put it into a hole it never climbed out of. Quaint nearby town felt conservative which is another strike. Presentation on drama (and the arts and English) was decent but rushed and uncomfortably cramming in too much and too many people. We saw the musical “Working” here which may have been an unfair move because Drew is not particularly a MT school. Again mom and dad were fairly impressed with the production but the show was a no-go for the most important vote.
SUNY Geneseo - Up. D already had this in mind as a possible safety from a local college fair and seeing cute small town and the prettiest SUNY campus we’re aware of only made her more certain. Tour guide was sadly pretty terrible but walking through the on-campus townhouses D glimpsed enough personality and was sold. Too bad it’s so far from our NYC suburb. We saw The Wedding Singer here day before the tour and while it didn’t amaze, D saw enough in some of the performances to be comfortable with the idea.
Ithaca - Way Up. An old family friend is a professor here and gave us a great feel for all they love about the school over a coffee before the tour. Then theater dept tour was very impressive and the evening performance of Fun Home even more so - production was amazing, talent level off the charts. The small city is a charming center of culture in beautiful natural surroundings, lots going on here but the campus is a bit out of town with its own insulated vibe, which is a plus for D. This school wasn’t really on daughter’s radar before but now feels like a definite apply.
SUNY Cortland - Down/Off. Head of theater department was super kind to give us an unofficial solo tour and there was some stuff we liked from what we heard about this program - one of the few BFA theater programs in the SUNY system. General campus tour was less enjoyable - just overall too much of a gym-bro culture and a place D couldn’t see herself. And location is very remote without having an appealing town nearby.
Can I play even though I’m a student and not a parent? I am finding this thread interesting and helpful.
I am a sophomore and we visited these schools during my spring break in April.
Ithaca College - UP. So I did the thing that everyone says not to do - I fell in love with Ithaca College!!! I love their exploratory program because I have no idea what I want to do. I love all of the options for majors and I see so many interesting possibilities. The vibe was exactly what I’m looking for. The students seemed fun, lively, colorful, and friendly. The theater is amazing. The buildings didn’t seem ugly to me but more eclectic (but I live in SoCal and I’m used to buildings from the 50s-2000s). I liked being on the hill overlooking Cayuga Lake. The dorms seemed spacious and they have no forced triples. Ithaca is such a cute town and the restaurants were great.
Hobart & William Smith Colleges - UP. Wow, I thought this school was going to feel way too small but I didn’t feel that way at all. I really think I would thrive here. You get so much personal attention and guidance. Again this would be super helpful to me because I don’t know what I want to do. The campus is so cute with all of the matching buildings and makes me think of Hogwarts. It just looks like what a college campus is supposed to look like. The campus is right next to Seneca Lake and the town of Geneva is very touristy and cute. I imagine there are a lot of visitors in the summer. The vibe felt a little more bland than Ithaca but students seemed warm and genuine.
Syracuse University- Off the list. There’s nothing really wrong with Syracuse but it just felt off to me. I think maybe it’s just too big. It doesn’t seem like the best place for undecided students. I got the impression that if I changed my mind on my major it would be really difficult to transfer to a different school within the university. Their split double dorm rooms seem weird (it’s a traditional double with a wall in the middle between the two sides). Also we had so many bad meals in the city. Is Pastabilities the only good place to eat? On the other hand I love their study abroad options - the Syracuse campuses abroad make getting credit seamless. Plus there is lots of school spirit.
My daughter is still irritated at the school I mentioned originally that went off her list because after sending an e mail confirming the time for an info session and tour we signed up for, they changed the time and then LIED about sending an email with the changed time. (a second admin who we talked to admitted that the first had lied but was very dismissive about the whole thing ) . We had traveled quite far. When a friend who was an alumni very involved in the school mentioned it to the school president he told her that “kids who don’t get in tell all kinds of stories”. Ooof that made my kid mad. She said it was brought back for her when she recently interviewed a grad of the school and told him the story when she said she had looked at the school but didn’t apply and he asked her why not.
Wow maya54, I was wondering what that school was…found your remark from 2016 (!). I don’t forget easily, either
It was Rice, for all those people wondering…
Princeton: Stayed the same. We had walked through campus on a self-tour last summer and it was high enough after that (And Engineering info session) to warrant a real tour. The tour guide was excellent: lots of focus on the ability to do research as well as the deep intellectual vibe of the school, making D realize it is definitely a fit. The town is smaller than her ideal college experience, but that is not a major factor for her. The school remains solidly in the top group. Buildings were not open, which is clearly stated on the website, but we figured at this point they will never open in time to see it so we decided to go. Glad we did!
Yale: first visit ever to New Haven or campus. Moved way UP! She loved campus, the town, the way residential life is structured, the de-emphasis of sports, everything. The tour guide was able to really give a feel of what it is like to be a Yale student: it is clearly a supportive/collaborative and intellectual environment, and she left with a good understanding of how Engineering works there. Even the adult at check-in was one of the most friendly and helpful people we have met on a tour. So , Yale is in the top group now too, after going into the tour considering X-ing it off the list due to too many T10 colleges on the list already.
Since Yale did not get removed, we now need to go do real tours of Boston/MA schools we self-toured last summer, and try hard not to love all 4.
My D22 has of course already decided but wanted to give you our list
William & Mary LOVED and is where she committed. Once we visited she knew this was her home for the next four years. She loved everything about this college. The campus is beautiful! When we walked around the students were out and about and very friendly. We visited twice; once on our own and once on accepted students day. She could see herself here immediately and I don’t think there was ever a doubt this was the school for her.
UVA Went down on list after our visit. She loved the campus itself, the surrounding area was not what she expected and although she did apply, was not at the top of her list. We did not get to do an official tour, as we did our visit while the campus was not holding them, so maybe just our driving around and stopping was what made it less attractive to her?
Notre Dame - Off her list even before we could visit. She applied REA and was admitted but once she researched about the area and the cold winters, it was a no go for her.
Northeastern: UP. She LOVED this college, which surprised me because it was in a city, but she said it felt like a beautiful campus within a big city. She was admitted here and it was one of her top 3 she was considering.
Boston College. Went down after visit. She thought it was beautiful, but said she could not put her finger on why it was not vibing with her . It was such a great tour and they did a great job promoting al the fabulous programs and opportunities BC offers, she just was not overly impressed.
We so wanted to love WVU because D got a great deal. I could tell as soon as we got off the highway it would be a no. The tour (first tour after Covid shutdown, spring of ‘21) was great, but Morgantown was a hard no!
Right? The professors are attentive and eager to engage, administrative reps were always helpful, the school’s Journalism/Broadcasting programs is sort of a hidden gem, all that was fantastic, but that town. I think every school and its surrounding town have a grid. Put aside everything else, the Morgantown grid is just brutal. I do think that anyone considering WVU should also be looking at Ohio University.
Yes to the Purchase shout! That’s near home for us and also the college where her parents met as students some decades back. Those qualities ruled it out for her older brother, despite his getting into both the acting and music conservatories there. But she has been very excited about the idea - for as long as I can remember it’s been her top choice. We haven’t formally visited for a tour with her yet but planning on it, and she’s been on the campus a few times over the years. The acting conservatory there is very selective and impossible to gauge admission prospects but, whether she makes that or not, Purchase will definitely be a contender.
I spent way too many hours at SUNY Purchase. It’s a relatively new campus, so it might lack the charm of land grant schools built in the 1890s. The surrounding area is beautiful though, and it is a lot closer to NYC than some of the other SUNY campuses your daughter visited.
