Colleges your child crossed off the list after visiting, schools that moved up on the list. Why?

Parents Forum
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Tufts - absolutely wonderful tour. The school matched students to tour guides based on interests and our guide was a great match! We loved the walkable campus with green space and an interesting mix of architectural styles. We saw a rabbit on our tour, which was delightful. Views of the Boston skyline reinforced proximity to a wonderful city. We learned about lots of interesting clubs and fun traditions. Everyone we met was so nice and interesting! Moved to top of list.

Amherst - crossed off our list. D thought it was too small and too difficult to access a city. The information session was well done, just didn’t excite D.

Vassar - D loved the interesting buildings and campus, and we had a fantastic tour guide who did a great job highlighting fun aspects of campus life. Moved up list.

Swarthmore - hands down best information session and there was a lot to like. Actual tour was kind of dull. It’s an interesting campus but odd mix of traditional and modern. Great trees though! Given admission rates, this one is probably moving off the list. D just didn’t love it so probably not worth a reach application.

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We had a great BC tour a few months ago. Only thing we didn’t see was the inside of a dorm.

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I would look into this a bit more if your kid likes the school. Skidmore’s campus “apartment villages” are very nice - I’ve personally been in a few of them - and are a hugely popular choice for sophomores, juniors and seniors. I think freshman don’t have the option. Yes, kids move off campus, but I don’t think it’s a particularly big factor at Skidmore. The apartment villages house a lot of students.

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I just checked their common data set - went to 2018/2019 to get precovid housing numbers. 100% of freshman and 90% of all students live on campus. So our perception was incorrect in general, probably influenced by the particular student-athletes DD interacted with. Thanks for noting for the sake of others!

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Pitt - up
D23 was opposed to Pitt as too close to home. Had an official tour today (with dad so I didn’t get a ton of info)
Liked the campus, urban but with green space and bordered by Carnegie Mellon, Chatham and Carlow. Liked what the guide said about student life and the honors college (I don’t know what specifically). Free city transportation, and free safe-rides. This will be an option, especially if she gets TE/honors. Also got an application fee waiver and free t-shirt.

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Well, it may now be off the list as it appears they have gotten rid of their dance classes and minor as of this year. Emailed the contact.

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I love this thread so adding the tours my D23 and I have done so far, in order.

Purdue - Down - Fall 2021
Purdue probably suffered because it was the first tour so D had nothing to compare it to. It was a beautiful fall day and campus was bustling. Campus was pretty; interesting architecure and we liked all the fountains. I really liked the way the visit was orgainzed: 1st a tour of the Academic area of campus, then the Admissions presentation and finally a tour of the campus life areas. Each tour had different guides which I thought was nice. Both guides were enthusiastic, helpful and clearly love Purdue. Ultimately, D just doesn’t love the surrounding Indiana area (even though it’s only about a 5 hour drive for us, it felt like it took forever). They do have the major she’s interested in though, so she might still apply.

Butler -Off the List - Fall 2021
After the busy Purdue campus, Butler felt empty and desserted on a Friday afternoon. We both wanted to leave after the lackluster Admissions presentation, but decided to do the tour since we were there. The tour guide really redeemed the day. It was just her and us which was nice. She engaged my daughter, asked what kind of activites she’s interested in and then told her about similar things at Butler. She was very friendly and loves Butler. Professors seems accessible; in fact we noticed a few conferring with students in public areas around campus. Campus is pretty but not a lot to do. I think only one restuarant that was closed. Greek life seems very big (maybe because not a lot to do). D felt that it was just the same as her high school. Off the List.

Boston College - Same -Fall 2021
For a long time, this has been my daughter’s top pick. Her grandfather is a grad and she’s grown up with all things BC. Campus was beautiful on a Saturday morning, but felt empty. The Admissions presentation is not your typical let’s tell you about the Admission’s process, etc, but a panel of 4 students who answer questions about their BC experience. The tour was a dissapointment. Pretty much saw only the outside of buildings and zero areas of student life - no cafeteria, rec center, dorms at all. Thus, we felt like we saw no students anywhere. Not sure if this was due to Covid restrictions but it made it hard to determine if it was a good fit. We definitely felt the vibe was “you need us; we don’t need you.” D liked the proximity to Boston, but not being right in the city. I love the Jesuit education ideal of cura personalis. This is a reach for her (for everyone now I think!) so if she gets in, we will need to return for a second look.

Ohio State - Up slightly - Late March 2022
This is our state school and D reallys wants to go out of state. But she went in with an open mind and liked it more than she expected to. It was cold and snowing but campus was busy and it was prettier then anticipated. As has been said, a good tour guide makes a big difference and how a school is percieved, and ours was a bit off-putting. Basically, if there was an activity, sport or job on campus - he had a hand in it. Double major, 2 minors, worked at a hospital, tutored kids, created a safety app, played an intramural sport, club leadership and on and on. It felt a bit scripted and braggy. He also did not engage with any of the prospective students as we walked from stop to stop. Just recited his spiel.

UVM- WAY Up - Spring 2022
D23 loved everything about UVM; the location by the water and the mountains; the fun town of Burlington; the program for her major and most of all, all the students we encountered. Both on campus and in Burlington, everyone was so friendly and welcoming. As we were waiting for the Admissions session to begin, the tour guides came around and introduced themselves to the prosepective students and offered to answer any questions. A nice touch. After our formal tour, a very sweet student was kind enough to give us a tour of the CREAM barn and sat with my daughter for over an hour to answer all her questions. The size of the school is perfect; not too small and not too large.

Colorado State - Up - Summer 2022
We saw many students around even though it was summer. Campus was beautiful, clean, lots of green spaces. Great tour guide who made it a point to engage with all the students in our group. After the regular tour, we had a tour of the Animal Science building. This was really beneficial; another wonderful guide who gave us many insights into the program and answered so many questions. We both could see that she would fit in well here and the program is great for what she wants to study. D loved the Ft. Collins area and all the nearby outdoor activites are a huge plus for her.

CU Boulder - Off the List - Summer 2022
D and I were both expecting her to love this school but it didn’t turn out to be a fit. We attended a special Discover CU Boulder day, with different informational sessions, lunch and tours. (Really wish they had offered an early morning tour because it was blazing hot for the 2 PM tour). I did like that at one point they separated the prospective students from the parents for a different sessions. The students got the chance to talk with current students and the parents heard from the head of admissions who was a great speaker and very forthcoming about the admissions process. We didn’t have a great experience in Boulder, they don’t offer the exact major she’s interested in and just didn’t feel like a good match, so it came off the list.

Definitely learned that meeting with the college or program of interest is invaluable to getting a better feel for the school. More visits this fall!

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Search this board for complaints of students having to live in triples at Skidmore. There’s also a “druggie” dorm. Neither of these may bother your student yet it’s good to know more rather than less.

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Below is based on Virtual Tours/Information Sessions…

Williams: DOWN/OFF THE LIST
This was a live virtual info session (we also watched recorded virtual tour). USNWR ranks Williams #1 LAC in the U.S. Here’s why: 7:1 faculty student ratio and average class size of 13. A huge endowment. An Oxford style Tutorial option where 2 students and 1 faculty make up the class. Paid summer research grants bring a lot of students to campus during summer. A Winter study that is required, but Pass/Fail. Two really unique Williams-hosted study abroad programs. Did my S23 like it. Not particularly. He was horrified by the idea of a Tutorial course. The location, while beautiful, was utterly remote (not even a small town really). But mostly, the student guide and the Admissions Rep both made us feel that Williams is basically a safe haven for very odd/unique students and possibly the LAC where “fun goes to die.” Sounded like they curate a weird student body on purpose. The Ad Rep did not even mention anything about student social life or fun until he was asked during the Q&A! So if its a fit for you, great school. Not for my S.

Middlebury: UP
This was also a live virtual info session and we watched a recorded virtual tour in advance. Really nice architecture and old library and interesting that all the food is made fresh onsite (and all you can eat). The outing club and outdoors life sounded fantastic (they have their own ski hill). J term is required for freshman and one additional year (some intense courses, but fluffy hobby courses available too.) The language immersion programs sounded great. Admission Rep spent some time focusing on academic-social balance and mental and physical health. The town was cute as well, though small. Sounded like club life and the arts are huge and generally a welcoming friendly environment that is not cliquey.

Hamilton: UP
We had previously walked around campus on our own and followed up with a live virtual student led tour and live virtual info session. Very interesting format. The student basically walked around with a very wobbly camera and talking about stuff like we were old friends. The audio kept going out and video was terrible. However, the student was so super down to earth and honest about everything, we left with a very favorable impression. The info session: they definitely favor exploration and self discovery via the Open Curriculum. And is sounded like the administration has a commitment to an immersive campus life, strong community, and respect for the individual. Their in-country study way programs/internships also sounded appealing. This is a very remote campus and up a long very steep hill from the very small town. But there’s a constant loop free shuttle that goes to other towns.

Amherst: SAME
We are familiar with the area since my older D attends Smith. We did the live virtual tour which was pretty awful (student was driving around while narrating a slideshow.) Then we resorted to the recorded virtual tour and the student panel discussion. Love the architecture. They also have an open curriculum. My D at Smith doesn’t place much value on the 5 college consortium since it takes so long to get places from Smith, but I could see the UMass and Amherst College connection as a good thing. They also have a huge endowment and very high caliber academics but the students didn’t come across as pretentious at all. They all talked about their freshman trips and first year seminars. Amherst is less remote than many other LACs we’re looking at. Seems like good fit.

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About 33% of Williams’ students play varsity sports. https://communications.williams.edu/media-relations/fast-facts/

Williams has about 65-75 fully supported coach slots for athletes each year, so not close to half the class. Some more student athletes may receive ‘soft’ support, and there are walk-ons on many teams…ultimately all this adds up to the 33% varsity sport participation number.

This thread is about peoples’ personal perceptions of schools, which by definition can’t be ‘way off’…someone’s perception is someone’s perception, not all will have the same. I have the perception Williams is academically and socially intense, Swat also academically intense.

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Agree. Our family’s perception-- admittedly without a student attending, but living not far from campus, having several visits (my son was a recruited athlete), knowing well a student there – aligns with @Mwfan1921 and @Techno13, that Williams is very intense, moreso than some of its peers.

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I have to agree. Posts alluding to Williams being intense have proliferated since I joined CC.

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Swats intensity comes from the students. It’s a type…a focus… energy. I can’t really describe it, but like the definition of porn, you know it when you see it.

Having seen these comments yesterday, I probed this a bit with my Haverford grad last night. She lives with her Swat grad sister, and they hosted a party Friday night with about half a dozen grads from each school attending. She also took 4 classes at Swat while attending Haverford, and has always been a very observant person.

She loves the Swat grads who were there. They are great friends. But (unprovoked) she made a comment that I think captures Swat perfectly. She said, “they just ask so many questions… they want to know everything”.

In thinking about that, I would suggest that Swatties are really good listeners. They will engage in debate and the standard “college discussion”… but do so from a relatively conservative posture and wait to accumulate as many facts as possible before engaging.

For Swatties, I don’t think everything is a competition. It’s more of a quest or crusade. They want to know… and that level of interest in everything is uncommon, and can feel intense.

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We visited Brown and Providence College last week.

She loved Brown. Such a gorgeous campus, friendly students around. Tour guide was kinda meh but the other 3 options for tour guide were obnoxiously loud and too over the top! She isn’t sure how she feels about the no GPA/choose your own adventure type of grading system they have, considering she wants to go to grad school. Open curriculum was a bonus. Liked that there was zero emphasis on greek life.

Providence College - wouldn’t even get out of the car. We didn’t do the tour. Neighborhood was sketchy and campus was ugly.

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Yup, we’ve seen at least a half-dozen campuses this summer. D23 felt the same about Brown - nice campus but is choosing other reach schools to pursue. As we were heading toward Boston that day, we asked her if she wanted to just check in on Providence, just for fun. “Eh…” so we kept on driving.

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Delete - Off topic

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Hmm, Brown seems to be a popular tour right now.

BROWN - UP for D23.
D23 and I toured Brown today. Having been on numerous college tours with my three older kids, this was one of the few that did not have an info session plus tour. I was a little miffed that Brown does not comp for parking which is $3/hour in their lot. On top of that, their email does not mention at all how long the tour is, nor was it clear whether there was an info session as well. I had no idea how much time to buy. Thinking most tours are roughly 45 min-hour, I figured two hours was enough time. What I did not account for was the 15 min walk from the parking lot to the student center (I went to pay for parking while D23 mapped where we were headed, and when I got back to the car, she said it was a 15 min walk; I stupidly assumed the parking was closer to where we were headed). Point of info - tour was about an hour and twenty minutes, so with a quick walk afterward to the bookstore a few blocks off campus and walk back to the car, two hours was not enough time. We were about 15 mins over our parking allotment.

The tour itself was ok. There were two very knowledgeable and friendly tour guides, but the group was huge, like 40-50 people. Rather than split up, they kept us together which was disappointing. With so many people, we had to spread out at each stop. First stop, there was a group of maintenance men talking very loudly nearby, and it was impossible to hear. On the third stop, we were on the main lawn by the famous tree w/rock (IYKYK), when the maintenance crew started mowing the lawn! At this point, it started raining. Now, rain has been predicted for days - only a few of us had jackets and umbrellas. We had to all go back to the student center to get everyone else ponchos. Not sure why they didn’t hand those out when people checked in. We moved on to our next and only indoor stop - the science library. Standing in a not very large lobby area, crowded together, there was a man very loudly conducting an interview with a young women, right behind us! Nowhere to move, we couldn’t hear a word the guides were saying. And the noise just followed us. The next and last stop was in a passageway b/w two buildings, I assume to be out of the rain. However, there was an alarm blaring the entire time from an adjacent building. :weary: In the end, the tour was not much of a tour and more like an outdoor info session - we really didn’t see much except the outside of buildings. The guides kept pointing in various directions to indicate things (the freshmen housing is in two locations - “there” pointing south and “beyond XYZ over there”).

Despite all of this, and missing quite a bit of the information, D23 loved it. The campus, the location, the open curriculum. She really wants an urban location, and liked how there is both a true campus feel, but integrated into the surrounding area with plenty of restaurants, etc nearby.
Though it’s a reach school for her, it went from not being on her radar to being a top choice, though she knows in all probability she won’t get in. I wish she had more options like Brown that were not as selective.

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE - WASN’T ON LIST/WON’T BE ADDED
Like a couple of previous posters pointed out, we too decided to check out Providence College since we were in the area. We had no intention of doing an official tour, and just drove thru the campus. I did not find the campus ugly at all, but unlike Brown, it is a defined, closed off campus, amidst a downtrodden area with nothing nearby to walk to. Not the kind of urban location D23 is interested in.

Next stop, Boston!

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Brown is well represented on CC among parents of current students and recent grads. Many of us have interacted and all are seemingly very engaged and have kids that have thrived academically and personally.

Often there is a little confusion over how the OC and grading systems work and or how kids are given guidance and support. Please reach out if you or your kids have any questions as one of Brown’s greatest strengths is it’s collaborative environment and sense of community.

Good luck to all.

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