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

[elise123]

Over the past few days, I visited Duke, UNC, UVA, JMU, and University of Richmond. Here are my thoughts! I am a junior in hs btw

Up—

UVA:
Now my dream school. Unfortunately very expensive out of state (really the only con—probably impossible for me to go.) Gorgeous campus. You could tell that academics were an important part of campus culture but also that the students had a lot of fun. There seemed to be a good mixture of sports, school spirit, and traditions with studying and caring about the future. Lots of study abroad and research from what I heard. The size was great imo. We had a really good tour guide which I’m sure helped. I also liked Charlottesville.

University of Richmond:
I really had no idea what to expect with this one, so my mom and I were both shocked at how great it seemed. Beautiful campus, which I did expect. The facilities were super nice. Definitely recommend visiting if you’re considering it because I could not tell from online just how nice this place was!! It almost felt like a super fancy boarding high school though so if you go to one of those right now, you may not like it. I liked how they have sports but they don’t rule campus. The size was perfect for me!! I also liked how progressive it was. Coming from NW Louisiana it was a breath of fresh air, and I didn’t know what to expect in that regard. The administration seems to just throw money at students to pursue their research, start ups, and study abroad. The tuition is very high which does explain it, but between that and how nice the buildings were it felt like they had so much money they didnt know what to do with it. I also noticed the stats of the accepted students are high but not so high that I will have no shot at a scholarship, which made me want to like it

Neutral—

Duke:
We didn’t get an official tour of Duke. The campus was beautiful and it happened to be the only warm, sunny day of our trip. I loved the chapel and the choir program with it. It didn’t move up though because I accepted that it’s just not a possibility for me so I tried not to love it too much lol.

JMU:
It didnt go up or down on my list because it wasn’t very high to begin with. We didn’t get an official tour, but we did get to talk to the head of the honors college. It was a pretty campus but awful weather so we didn’t walk around much. The people were all very friendly and there seemed to be a good mix of different types of people, which I liked a lot. I didn’t love it, but there wasn’t anything in particular I didn’t like about it either. I didnt get to see much of the town it’s in, but it looked like there was nothing to do. Everyone seemed shocked someone from Louisiana was there. Maybe that will help me with scholarships.

Down—

UNC:
This one made me a little disappointed. I had been thinking I wanted to go to UNC since I was in 8th grade. To be fair, I did come here right after Duke. But after seeing how Duke was nestled into the woods, it felt like the chopped every tree down at UNC and turned the campus into one endless expanse of brick. Our tour guide talked about sports the majority of the time and when I asked about the music department or music things around campus, she didn’t have much to say and gave the impression that there is not much of a music scene at all. I know it is a highly ranked, but it didn’t feel much more academically focused than any other state flagship. It also felt way too big for me. My sister loved it though. She is VERY extroverted, a cheerleader, plays lacrosse, smart but not super focused on school, etc. so if that describes you you may love it!! Or maybe I got the wrong impression. I’ll still probably apply since the OOS tuition is much lower than most other places and I really want to get out of the south.

[Lindagaf]

Reminder that this thread is not for discussing where people are applying, but for generally reviewing colleges that moved up and down the list. Feel free to send a message to another user for their specific information.

[2plustrio]

UP: Loyola New Orleans
Music major: We did a regular tour. They split the group up and it was only my son and another child who was also interested in music. The tour guide was also a music major. This really helped as they were able to specialize the info given. They offered speaking with a music major for lunch (and free lunch was given to the student and a subway coupon for the parents) which my son said was nice. He really got the feeling it was a pretty collaborative group between the different music majors. The music building was a mix of old and new. One of the adjunct recording arts professors gave him a tour of the studio and explained some of the courses in his major. Tour included a free tshirt. Campus was clean.

My son personally liked the smaller defined campus. It felt bigger with the streetcar and Audobon park out front. It felt like a very safe area. Of course my son loved the city in general, especially the music. He quickly figured out the public transportation which was cheap and easy to use. Overall my son felt he would be able to find “his people” quickly.

Students get unlimited mental health visits on campus. Dorms are typical and fine with communal bathrooms which isn’t his preferred but he could handle it for a couple of years. Having access to Tulane next door was also a bonus for different food options.

Same: Tulane
My son didn’t apply but since we were in town we did a quick tour. It is a nice midsized walkable campus and I felt very safe. It is a mix of old and new. Lots of renovations being done. Communal only bathrooms the first year. No cars freshman year. 12 mental health sessions a semester I believe she said. No shirt no food on the tour.

Some of the takeaways from info sessions: They have a kosher kitchen which I know is important for Jewish families.
Admissions begged students to NOT use family members for letters of recommendation. She said it is really, really awkward to read.
Admissions stated less than 400 students were accepted in RD round this year so applying ED or EA is highly recommended.

[dfbdfb]

A college that doesn’t get a lot of mention on CC: The University of North Texas

Background: My D23 had previously been accepted at UNT, and was seriously considering it because it’s strong in her field of interest. She hadn’t actually seen the campus, though, so she went on a campus tour last week (spring break) to see if there were any red flags. (There weren’t, she’ll be starting there this fall.)

Result: Up. It was a good tour, and we could tell they put a lot of work into making sure it was good. My guess is that they have obvious competition for students with the University of Texas Austin, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor, and they’re in the same metro area as Southern Methodist, UT Arlington, and UT Dallas, and they know they aren’t as high-prestige as many of those and don’t have as high a name recognition, so they have to impress when they get the chance.

The tour began in their welcome center. They’d sent an email with a QR code to scan, but checkin was by name. All of the students got a UNT lanyard with a card with their name on it, and we waited in a lobby with comfy chairs, coffee, tea, and UNT-branded disposable water bottles. The lobby also had a mockup of a dorm room in Joe Greene Hall (the largest first-year dorm) off to the side.

Precisely on time (even though some people were still checking in) we got brought into a room for the intro session, which started with videos highlighting UNT sports (the Mean Green, one of the more interesting team names out there) and the city of Denton, which gave time for everyone to finish checking in and get into the room. There was a brief (a bit under 10 minutes) description of UNT by a member of the admissions staff with PowerPoint slides, and then our tour guides were introduced. (From what we gathered there is usually just one tour guide, but we had one guide plus another in training.) They apparently don’t break into small groups for tours; our group had ~30 people, but our guide said that the day before he’d led one of ~60 people.

The tour was a bit over 1½ miles in a bit under 1½ hours, and covered everything you expect on a tour—seriously, my kid was keeping a mental checklist. (And there is apparently not a university seal somewhere on campus where the “tradition” is that you don’t graduate if you step on it. That’s a plus in my mind.) The tour guide even covered a bit about transportation (mostly car, but also mass transit and bike), which is unusual but very much welcomed by my bike- and transit-loving kid.

At the end we got brought into another room at the welcome center, were thanked for coming, and the students were given individualized (as in, they had flyers about majors of interest along with the generic stuff) packets inside a reusable UNT bag.

One noteworthy quirk: They talked about residence life on the tour (and first-year students who aren’t living with family are required to live on campus), but we didn’t go into any dorms on it. You can arrange dorm tours individually with residence life (located next door to the welcome center), and they’ll take you to the dorms you’re interested in and show you rooms that are set up for student visits.

[CT1417]

Is it a large school, both the enrollment and the campus? Cornell’s campus tour does not include the residences. They offer a separate one hour tour for residential life: dorms, dining halls, and probably the athletic facilities that are located where the freshmen and sophomores live.

[Gatormama]

Could not resist.

[Auntlydia]

I was hoping to have more to report but for reasons that will become obvious, my entry is shorter than I expected. Most recent visits:

Wake Forest:
About the same. We liked Winston Salem and the flight was pretty easy. Liked the tour guide (a very nice, relaxed guy who seemed to be friendly with everyone on campus) and the layout of the school. Didn’t love the info session/panel, or that our entire tour group appeared to be from NY/NJ (including two girls DS remembered from camp several yrs ago). DS worries he’d find Wake claustrophobic after a couple of years. Still on the list, but not the top.

Bucknell:
We had high hopes … but DS simply did not click with the school. Didn’t like the long drive or the hotel. Didn’t love the info session - seemed as if they were trying too hard. Half way thru the tour DS realized that isolated and bucolic simply wasn’t the right setting for him to thrive. He needs a city and more immediate work opportunities. Bucknell’s off his list.

Lehigh:
We canceled the tour at DS’s request. If he wants a city or at least a bustling town, Lehigh won’t work either.

So we’re back home and regrouping. In a few weeks, we’ll try to visit BU and U Mass Amherst. Then possibly U Florida and U Maryland. DS is very much the kind of kid who goes by instinct and feel. So far, he’s had really good vibes at Miami and Syracuse. Hoping he gets more of those good vibes at 4-6 more schools (including a safety or two).

[hoopsdad2000]

@Auntlydia

He needs a city and more immediate work opportunities

@Auntlydia With this information, you considered adding Northeastern to the Boston/MA trip, no?

[AustenNut]

Deleted…moving to the OT thread.

[KDEGKDEG]

Cornell- Taken off list. D felt it was too snobby and did not click with the vibe.

University of Pennsylvania- taken off list. I am a double alum- Penn undergrad and Wharton grad so she has been dragged to a lot of alumni weekends. Took her on a tour hoping it would change her mind that she does not like the smell of Philadelphia, but it did not.

Virginia Tech- taken off list. Too provincial and she really disliked the dorms. Since we are from VA- she took all VA schools off the list because she felt like it would be High School 2.0- too many kids from VA.

UCSC- taken off list. Even though they gave her great $, the campus was too big and spread out for her. She immediately said no but her younger brother has it at the top of his list for when he applies.

UC Davis- down- we spent the whole weekend and attended Aggie Day. Completely thought this would be the school for her but she did not like the bikes or the huge campus, and felt it was too “yellow.” She also had a horrible allergic reaction to the eucalyptus trees. I loved the town and the vibe and was sad to see her turn the school down.

UC Irvine- same. Nice center of campus but really had a commuter school vibe.

UCSD- up. Really loved the campus and the fact that it was not too hot.

UMASS Amherst- up. She loved the campus feel and how friendly the staff and students are. Granted, we were there for a destination day, but she really loved how everyone was welcoming but did not oversell or push the school too much.

University of Washington- way up. She only applied because it is great at her major and I told her how much I wanted to see Seattle. She loved this campus, the vibe, the students and yes- the weather. I made sure she really spent a lot of time on the Ave to experience the grunge, but she immediately felt at home. This is the school she ultimately chose and absolutely loves it. She loves the academic environment, the access to the city, the social life, the food, and yes- even the weather. I fear that I have lost her to Seattle forever- I don’t think I can get her to move back to the East Coast.

I love this thread on impressions of campuses after the visit because University of Washington would not have even been considered if she had not visited it. And from reading posts, I wish we had been able to visit more schools. Vibe and fit is so individual and important.

[sevmom]

Virginia Tech - “too many kids from Va.”
Priceless. Who knew.

[Thorsmom66]

Just got back from touring UVA, Georgetown and William & Mary. S24 liked them all. I wouldn’t say they were up or down since he didn’t really have a strong impression going in.
UVA - Liked the beautiful campus, the location in Charlottesville (lots to do) and the history. Excellent tour guide. Seems to have a lot of fun campus traditions. Southern(ish) but gives off a progressive vibe. Students seem to have a lot of fun between studying hard.
William & Mary - Beautiful campus with a lot of history. A friendly vibe. Strong study abroad culture (which is important to him). Location not as good - Williamsburg is cute but very limited. Outside of the town not a lot going on.
Georgetown - Worst tour of the bunch (100 kids per tour guide - just why). Lucky enough to have a family friend who showed us around afterwards and saved our visit. Great location, classes looked interesting, great internship opportunities and fantastic campus speakers etc. Biggest negative - very mediocre food.

Not sure I mentioned before but S24 also toured Williams last Friday and that was a hard no. Poor tour (guide didn’t seem to know a lot), didn’t see inside any buildings and just didn’t get a good vibe. Not going to apply - would mean ED and just didn’t like it as much as others.

[Baltmom23]

Moved up:
UCSB- visited on a beautiful sunny day and snuck away early from tour to visit beach. She liked its laid back vibe and we had a great, funny tour guide. Stopped in downtown Santa Barbara for lunch. Unfortunately for me, she ultimately decided not to apply to any of the UC schools but this was the favorite.
USC- had the most diverse group of visiting students and a fantastic tour guide. The student speaker at the college specific info session we attended happened to be from same city. What isn’t there to love about the facilities, they’re gorgeous. I think this one caught the eye of our younger child as well.
Georgia Tech — it had the big school energy my student loves and one of the most engaging information sessions we attended. Having a traditional campus in midtown was very appealing to my daughter.
Stayed the same:
UCLA- We’ve lived in Westwood and visited several times since moving away so maybe the beauty of the main quad didn’t hit the same as it does for first timers. We weren’t able to get a tour but she commented that the inside of the admissions building looked run down compared to USC. Younger kid seemed more interested.
Moved down:
Emory - she thought the campus was beautiful but the experience was marred by an incompatible tour guide. Tour guide lost points when she said everyone at Emory was a nerd at heart, and couldn’t identify anything at Emory that built school spirit other than food truck Wednesday. Campus was too quiet. Still stayed on her list though.
UCSD - Unlucky to have visited in a cool, cloudy morning. Brutalist architecture was a huge turnoff. This school had been high on her list prior to visit but could not meet her expectations. Visit to beach helped slightly.
Richmond- this was our first visit. She didn’t like downtown Richmond or the more suburban neighborhood around campus. I thought campus was beautiful and pristine (can parents get massages in wellness center during parent’s weekend?), she thought campus was too big for number of students.

[HKDad1]

We just did a tour at UNT (Univesity of North Texas).

The tour guid was ok. Much like what dfbdfb has posted, we didn’t get to go into any of the dorm. Since its on weekend, no individual college or class tour. The campus is nice. It is much bigger than Southwestern or Austin College, but smaller than UT Austin. S24 likes the size and how he can drive to Planos or Richardson in an hour (closer than from Sherman). However, he will need to look into the programs at UNT more closely, since their Poli Sci program is not as strong as UT Austin or A&M.

Maybe we will try again during summer on a weekday, and make requests ahead of time to visit College of Health and Public Service, College of Liberal Art and Social Studies, and Honor college.

[OregonMom2024]

Where did he end up? Our list is super similar for next fall applications

[veeshla]

He ended up applying ED to Colgate and got in. Super happy. But ultimately liked a bunch of the schools we visited and he applied to all the schools on the list he liked plus some big publics.

[billythegoldfish]

UGA: moved up for my daughter after admitted student day. Well cared-for campus with many pretty spots. Hilly but can walk right into downtown Athens which has many cool eateries and bars. Got the sense the school was very focused on undergrads and their success and happiness. Facilities were in great shape.

[eschuke]

I promised myself I would chime in to this thread and post my comments on some campuses we visited throughout the course of the last two years. Many of these we saw because we were in the area and decided to check it out. Others were organized. For background Son is a normal kid into sports. Just outside the top 10%. Doesn’t study to hard but gets good grades. Not going to be a professional or collegiate athlete but likes playing and watching sports and hanging out with friends. He wasn’t interested in being an Ivy Leaguer and wouldn’t go if offered. He wanted a “Power 5 school” with the general goal of majoring in business and having a school to root for after he graduated. That’s who he is so if that’s your kid this may be helpful.

Notre Dame- we literally were nearby and went as college football fans and tourists. Never had any intention going in of applying as we aren’t very religious or even a Christian denomination let alone Catholic. All that said, WOW! Absolutely loved this place. Campus is stunning. People are incredibly friendly. You can feel the school pride. They note academics, athletics and charity. He checked all those boxes. The residence hall system sounded weird at first but he thought it was awesome by the end. They also had the greatest tour concept ever- pick your guide after having them tell you who they are and where they’re from. Simple yet brilliant. Find your people and feel at home. He actually ended up applying! They said no. LOL.

Northwestern- umm yeah. We were in Chicago and visiting family so headed over. This may be for some kids but not mine. We got there on a Sunday on a great weather day. Lake was beautiful. Perfect conditions. Students looked miserable. Sports bar down the street for major Sunday Night Football game was empty. Tour the next day was probably the worst of anywhere. Guide was oblivious to the fact that she was being incredibly racist and tone deaf from start to finish. When questioned on diversity on campus her response was something like “we have clubs for stuff like that.” Some minority families actually skipped out after that one. Kids that morning looked miserable again. Also bragging to friends from Michigan that students get free tickets to football is not a selling point to people who actually care about football. Highly recommend the French bakery in town though. Excellent.

Tulane- the only non major conference school we visited because we are frequent visitors to New Orleans. Depending on your viewpoint this was the most effective information session we had anywhere. We knew going in that Tulane was a demonstrated interest school. They made it abundantly clear that showing up was the first step in the right direction and that they chart everything you did. Data mining who Clicks on all their emails was not refuted as ridiculous when a parent asked. The admissions counselor likewise made it clear that they will reject people using them as a safety. Unfortunately the more he talked about the school itself the more we realized this wasn’t the right place for him. The admissions counselor convinced us of that and frankly we appreciated that part of the presentation. They want kids who want to be there. He could easily answer why New Orleans but not Why Tulane? He didn’t apply.

Indiana- went to visit after getting Direct Admit to Kelley. Really liked the business school. Unfortunately Felt there was a major disconnect between Kelley and the rest of the university. May not be accurate but that was the overwhelming vibe and he was concerned if he wanted to major in something else that he wouldn’t be happy there.Did really like that they (accidentally?) left the door open to the basketball stadium. That was really fun to wander around.

Wisconsin- the first place we went where I could see a smile that this was a great fit. Awesome city. Loved the business school. Student atmosphere was electric. Setting on the lake is great. This tour was also very good. Guides obviously loved their school and took an interest in knowing everyone. I can see why Wisconsin is rising in popularity.

Minnesota- this was a very pleasant surprise. Hadn’t planned on even applying at first but they did an aggressive marketing campaign and offered a fee waiver on the application. He must have checked a few boxes of applicants they were looking for. Also this was the First acceptance which goes a really long way especially since it came in a week after he applied. Was surprised that he loved the urban reach with the campus feel. All the major sports both on campus and professionally. The business school gave a fantastic presentation on their views towards business curriculum, professional training, international requirements and their unique access to a major market. Shockingly Jumped to the top of his list.

Georgia- He was so excited to visit. Loved the business school and being on the campus of the NCAA football champs. Unfortunately it just didn’t click. The campus was ridiculously big and was disorienting. I could see the disappointment on his face as he really wanted to like it. He just didn’t.

Clemson- this was the opposite of Georgia. A school he thought he wouldn’t like but absolutely loved. Absolutely beautiful campus. Business school is brand new and very impressive. Another place where campus pride was obvious. Like Notre Dame This was another great tour with a simple but brilliant idea. They pre-assigned each tour group to align with the major of interest. Our awesome guide (who sent a postcard the next week- nice touch) even said “since none of you are interested in x I’m not going to drag you over to that part of campus”. Tour ended at the business school. Simple and effective. I understand their popularity as well.

South Carolina- when you know you know. Not long after we got there he looked at me and said where are we going after this? Can’t explain why. Might have been the awful lunch at the restaurant the hotel recommended. I was extremely impressed with the business school though.

UNC- We hated UNC. Virtually everyone there our day was from out of state like us. The admissions office couldn’t give any guidance of what an out of stater needed to show on their application nor what they were looking for. There was an aura of we don’t really care that any of you are here. It was the running joke on our tour. It didn’t help the experience that virtually every building on campus seemed like it was from the 70s or 80s. They need to fix that because they have lots of scenery to work with on campus. Since I’m already ragging UNC I will say we took a brief detour to Durham. We didn’t officially tour Duke since it was way above him but that campus is stunning. They also accidentally left the door to their basketball stadium open. If you are a top student and between those two this should be a no-brainer.

Wake Forest- another we thought he wouldn’t like but went the other way. Felt like entering a country club. He joked that he wanted to buy a polo shirt so he dressed appropriately for the tour. Students were great. Gym was really cool. Loved all the “extras” they offer for “free with tuition”. If money isn’t an issue this is a great spot.

That’s all for now. Not exactly looking forward to doing this again with the next kid…