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

[Tana98]

We visited Wesleyan University on Easter Sunday, and were part of a very large group of visitors that day. My hs junior has previously visited Bard College, Marist College and Clark University–those reviews are upthread.

Son is looking for a small to mid-size school with a LAC feel, open curriculum preferred, strong creative vibe, where students are smart and engaged but not overly intense, outside of an urban environment but with decent access to a city occasionally, active outdoors club (he is a snowboarder and rock climber).

Wesleyan University–UP
This was the first visit that seemed to light my kid up at the possibilities. The Admissions office split a large group of visitors into four smaller groups led by two tour guides each. The guides encouraged prospective students and parents to choose different tour groups which was a great suggestion. We had so much to talk about when we reconvened.

Campus was very green, with a good variety of new architecture (the arts buildings specifically) mixed in with beautiful old brown stone buildings. The approach to open curriculum seems to be very exploratory at Wesleyan; it is totally fine to have no idea what you want to study when you get there and to use the broad array of available options to try out different areas of academic interest. (This is in contrast to my impression of Smith College, where my daughter attends, and where it seems like most students are drawn to the open curriculum because they are already so focused on what they want to study and need an open curriculum to fit it all in.)

My husband and I were in a tour group with two very nice but not overly dynamic tour guides. One was an astronomy major and experimental music minor–it certainly feels like many students at Wesleyan are involved in creative expression in one way or another. We loved that.

The housing system adheres to a model of increasing independence, where students move from a traditional dorm in freshman year, to interest housing sophomore year to the option of being in apartments for junior/senior years. We really liked that model.

Every student we met was involved in at least three activities outside of classes–from club sports, to volunteer work in the community to acapella to theater to undergraduate research. The students we saw were a little bit quirky (big plus for us), friendly, smiling and down to earth.

There is some new construction happening on campus (science building) and the surrounding town area is perfectly adequate. Lots of restaurants and community based organizations to get involved with.

I did not love that the tour guides all followed the same route, so that while we were split into smaller groups the groups often collided at key points of interest.

[billythegoldfish]

Univ of Florida: moved down, unfortuantely. was a strong contender before the visit. Gainesville was fine with a young, bohemian vibe, cool parks with food trucks, lots of green space. But the campus felt disjointed and the buildings were kind of ugly and uninspiring, including the dining hall we saw. The dorms actually weren’t bad looking (from the outside), and there are a couple of nice quads (plaza of the america’s was the main one, I think), but it just didn’t feel like there was any central location or cohesiveness to the campus. I suspect there is but our tour guide was really awful and did not know anything about campus or dorm life. My daughter did go out at night with friends and said it was fun- there is a Midtown area with clubs and stuff adjacent to campus but the real downtown area requires a car or uber. UF stayed on the list but didn’t do enough to move ahead of UT Austin or UGA. Greek life seemed more important socially than I expected. I do think the kids seemed happy but many seem more focused on their career than on enjoying their college years (not a bad thing, necessarily, depending on your POV). Basically I think UF just did a terrible job selling itself that day. My kid won’t be attending, but she did feel she would be happy there if it was her only option.

[Gatormama]

fwiw, I routinely biked to downtown when I was a Gator. No Ubers then! Horseless vehicles were pretty new in general

[billythegoldfish]

yeah, it’s really not far and biking def seems like an option- but not at night when they go out. like I said- I think Gainesville and UF are great but did a bad job selling it to us that day.

[sbinaz]

Austin College: UP

Will have lots of details to post later when I have more time. But this school is really a hidden gem. Food is way way better than NMSU. So many excellent opportunities here. Students seemed genuinely happy. Real sense of community here. Saw students eating together in groups in the dining hall, actually talking to each other, no phones out. Students waving and smiling at each other walking to/from class.

Got lots of info about their new BA-to-PA program. Their PA grad school opens in 2024. The PA program overall admits 34 students per academic year. Preference on admissions given to Austin College students or alumni. Went to a whole presentation about this. Really cool.

So many details to share with all of you. DH said that he wants D24 to go here.

Headed to Southwestern in Georgetown today.

[southernfemmom]

We toured Wake Forest, Davidson, Washington & Lee, and University of Richmond with S24 in February (reviews upthread) and took him to tour Tulane yesterday.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about Tulane and New Orleans for S24, and I told him it probably is most outside his comfort zone of of anything he had seen, which is both a good and a bad thing.

The info session at Tulane was very well done. Short, informative 30 minutes with a dynamic AO who did a great job highlighting some great things about New Orleans and some unique Tulane programs. I like that Tulane has combined degrees programs (a 4 + 1 MBA is particularly appealing for us) and generally small classes (a must for us). Most of the campus was beautiful, but definitely some buildings need some TLC. Guide didn’t take us inside any buildings, which seemed strange. There also was a ton of construction, so it was hard to hear the guide. Campus seems very compact and kind of bleeds into surrounding area.

S24 learned freshman can’t bring cars. That was the only negative he mentioned to us. He seemed to like it a lot, but not sure if he liked it as much as Wake Forest. We took him into the French Quarter and he seemed a little shocked. I think he is intrigued and excited by New Orleans but also a little overwhelmed. We did have some fantastic meals though! I thought there was a lot to like at Tulane, though I honestly hope S24 will apply ED1 to Wake. Wake just seemed like a perfect fit for him. But, it’s his choice!

S24 likely is finished with pre-application tours. He has several AP exams coming up I’m not sure about summer tours if students aren’t around. Plus he wants to be in the southeast d summer is hot!

[BeverlyWest]

Feel free to PM me for some thoughts on NOLA.

[be76Wear]

NC tours over Easter weekend. Weather was a factor!

Wake Forest: SAME. DD loves it, but probably because her sister goes here. No official tour because we were there over the weekend and they do not do official tours on the weekends very often. It rained and was unseasonably cold the two days we were there. The campus is beautiful and has the perfect blend of strong D1 athletics, school spirit, and liberal arts focussed curriculum. Great work hard/play hard vibe.

Elon: OFF. It was the Saturday of Easter weekend. The weather was rainy and cold and the campus was completely deserted. Literally, the only people we saw on campus during our 2 hour presentation and tour were the admissions staff, tour guides, and about 10 people in the dining hall at 11:45 in the morning. I felt like we were visiting during the long winter break. Apparently everyone leaves on three day weekends. The facilities were very impressive though. We loved the communications, business, and engineering facilities. All of the buildings on campus and all of the grounds are very well maintained. As beautiful as it was, my daughter could not get past the fact that the students were all away for the weekend, sports (school spirit) were never mentioned by the tour guide, and the fact that the town only has one main street with just a few shops/restaurants.

UNC-Chapel Hill: SAME. By the time we made it here on Monday, the weather had cleared and was cool, but beautiful. The town of Chapel Hill and Franklin Street were vibrant. The campus architecture was much prettier than expected. The student panel was a a nice mix of students and there was ample time for questions. Our tour guide was a bit uninspiring. (The library that she compared to Hogwarts scared/intimidated her, so she doesn’t go there. Seemed to be an odd thing to say.) The tour group of ~50 people was very large, especially since the guide didn’t have a microphone. Anyway, my DD liked it before she visited and it stayed on her list due to pretty campus, strong academic reputation, and big school spirit.

Duke: WAY UP! I am pretty sure my DD fell in love the moment she laid eyes on the campus architecture and after the amazing tour/tour guide she was 100% in love with this school. She liked the idea of being able to easily create an interdisciplinary major. She is very intellectual and felt she found her like minded people here. She liked that students are given funds to take a professor out for a meal. Liked that the advisors seem very in tuned with the students, even at the freshman level and look out for both their academic needs as well as their personal well being. Big school athletics and school spirit. The only thing she wasn’t excited about was that the freshmen live in a different part of campus. That was easy to shrug off because she was so enamored by so many other things at Duke.

[pishicaca]

Also willing to provide input on Tulane and New Orleans. D graduated Tulane in ‘22 and is living and working in New Orleans. I have been a regular visitor for over 20 years and am there 4-5 times annually these days.

[twingles117]

My FD is at Elon. Kids do not leave on weekends. About 80% of the student body is from out of state. We live in NC. She was there, but was gone all day working on a set (she’s a CTA major) - I would guess most kids were holed up in their rooms due to the miserable weather, or with their parents ( I saw a lot of parents there with their students, out and about).
My daughter’s roommates haven’t been home since January, they didn’t even go home for “fake break” after J term. Not trying to talk you into Elon but you’re off base with the assumption that on a holiday weekend the campus wasn’t busy enough.

[sbinaz]

Southwestern Univ: UP

Quick thoughts and then will post more later…

Small LAC in Georgetown, TX. Georgetown is apparently the #1 small town in TX. I can see why. Very charming. Very “Main Street USA.” About 15-20 min walk from campus.

About 1500 students. Campus is gorgeous. Saw model dorm room. Thought room was pretty big. D24 doesn’t really care about dork layout or size or stuff like that though.

53% of students are white. Saw the diversity on campus. D24 really liked that. We are Caucasian but she has very few Caucasian classmates in HS and thinks that it sounds weird to go to a college that’s mostly white people. So the diversity #s were a big plus for her.

SW has lots of really excellent opportunities. DH spent long time asking a million questions of the admissions office staff. DH is sold on this place, too, and was even pushing D24 to like it more than Austin College.

Had lunch at the Monument Cafe in Georgetown afterwards. D24 said, “This town is cute.” As for me, I’m ready to move in.

[Mom270]

Yup, my FD hasn’t left Elon’s campus recently except for spring break and was there all of that cold and rainy weekend. Probably looked deserted due to the weather. She and her friends had indoor fun.

[gouf78]

LOL. Probably have a million years between generations in G’ville. Son was most recent. I think quick uber rides were most prevalent for him at night. He walked often depending on where he was headed. During the day you can literally bike everywhere from one end to the other. Busses take students free just about anywhere you want to go.

It is true that UF has grown so much that it won’t have that “old school” vibe that used to exist back in the day with quads and plazas. Most of the new buildings are squarely in mid campus for freshman classes for convenience. Upper class buildings are situated in outer parts of the campus–the law school, health center, engineering, agriculture, etc. Students tend to move off campus after a year or two in whatever direction their classes take them.

Super surprised about the impression of Greek life at UF. It is really a “take it or leave it” scenario. There for whomever wants it and not a big deal if you don’t. There is really so much to do and be involved in that greek life is not necessary to be involved in any way, shape or form.

Did you get a chance to visit Lake Wauberg? The fitness centers?

[HKDad1]

Glad you like SW and Monument Cafe. Maybe try Via 313 Pizza for dinner? =P

[billythegoldfish]

honestly I think our UF tour was so horribly marred by our tour guide, a freshman who lived off campus and was involved in nothing and knew nothing about campus life or off-campus activities. it was brutal. UF never had a chance. I know it’s a great place- the kids we know there are in love with it.

[sbinaz]

Austin College: more details in addition to yesterday’s post…

Housing:
Freshmen dorms being renovated starting this summer with focus on the bathrooms. Freshmen dorms have community bathrooms. Type of accommodations improves as you move up to sophomore, junior, etc. with suite style rooms and apartments. 90-something % live on campus.

Physician Assistant Program:
New program starting in June of 2024. No GRE test required. 1 semester of O Chem, not 2. Stats required, no calculus. 24 mo long program. 34 students accepted per year to purposely keep class sizes low. This program will be located at Texoma Medical Center.

Austin College now has a BA-to-PA Pathway.” Requirements include:

• overall 3.5 GPA
• science GPA 3.5
• 200 hr healthcare experience (volunteer ok)
• US citizen or legal permanent resident
• enter Austin College as a freshman
• take all prerequisites at Austin College
• work regularly with Pre-Health Program staff through undergrad
• Chem classes: Gen Chem I and II, O Chem I
• general psych or intro to sociology class
• 1 statistics class: get approval from pre-health advisor prior to enrollment
• Bio classes: medical terminology, systemic physiology, microbio, Anatomy & Physiology, genetics, cell biology, and “evolution, behavior & ecology” courses.

This program is, honestly, a huge reason why D24 is now super interested in attending here. Especially when the PA program faculty member stated that PA grad programs are harder to get into than med school.

Health Sciences Advising:
2 professor team does this. One bio prof. One English lit prof. English lit prof said that he helps students a lot with crafting their personal statements for health professions grad schools. Austin College has 60% of students go straight into med school and 80-90% after 1-2 yr after graduation.

Pre-health advising also helps students shadow a healthcare professional off campus and they do it for college credit. Often done during Jan term; must be at least sophomore. You can also do it at home during Jan term. Must keep daily journal and write a reflection essay at the end of the Jan term course.

Pre-health advising during junior/senior year includes lots of 1-on-1 advising, mock interviews, workshops for writing your personal statement. They also have programs like admissions officers from professional schools come to campus.

Class sizes:
Small as you’d expect at an LAC. “Big” classes are 40 people. No grad students. Professors all teach the classes. Easy to get classes you need for graduation. Students are assigned a faculty advisor at start of freshman year who’s their advisor through the whole time at Austin College. Faculty advisor assigned to you is based on what First Year Experience class you take. If a class you want/need is full, you basically just ask them to add you and they add you because there’s not 500 people in the lecture class.

Research:
Research during summer is usually paid. You live on campus for that. Can also do research for credit during school year. One of the bio professors talked a lot about this…has even had her undergrad students included with her for professional research journal publications and got them published as undergrads.

Applied Learning:
There was a whole hour presentation about this. Presented by a bio professor. She was a really good speaker. They have some “course-based research experience” options like Cancer Biology, Investment Management, and Extreme Physiology. Other stuff covered in this presentation included internships, integrated learning projects, study abroad (Jan Term or for a semester), and community-based learning experiences. Students are required to complete one 75-hr “applied learning” experience while an undergrad.

The Dean of admissions told my DH that they are all about preparing students for the job world and grad school…she emphasized “we are all about outcomes here.”

Finish in 4 Guarantee:
You’ll be done in 4 yr or they pay your tuition for year #5. Their promo materials also say that they have a 97% acceptance rate to grad schools.

Library:
Has a mock courtroom in it. It looks cool. Writing tutoring center is in the library. LOTS of writing help available. English majors take a class in how to tutor people in writing and upper division English majors are the peer tutors in the writing center.

Writing also focuses at this school on being able to write effectively for whatever career you’re going into. They talked about that a lot in the info sessions. From a mom point of view, I thought that was pretty great.

SAFETY:
Very safe campus. VERY safe. They have the same set of blue phone thingys that every college does.

HEALTH SERVICES:
There’s a small student health center on campus staffed by a nurse practitioner. A doctor comes in couple of times a week. Texoma Health Center (hospital and medical clinics) are also nearby about 10-15 min away by car.

Other stuff:

• 9 out 10 students volunteer locally
• Austin College is big about giving back to the town of Sherman.
• there’s an E-sports team
• they have an annual TEDx event. Recently, an austistic female student did a Ted talk about autism in girls and her talk was selected to be featured on the official TED talk website (ie different than TEDx).

APPLYING:

• they don’t do ED
• EA1 due date is 11/1.
• if you visit Austin College in person and apply by EA1, then you get an admissions decision by 11/15
• EA2 due date is 2/1.
  -RD due date is 3/1
• submit a FASFA and even if you qualify for no need based aid, you get a $500 institutional grant.
• lots of merit-based scholarships which are not need based.

Students visiting campus went to a class while parents attended the Applied Learning presentation. They had a big long list of options to go to.

Campus tours were done by all of the admissions staff. D24’s tour guide was her assigned admissions officer.

GREEK LIFE:
Didnt see any Greek houses but there are some frats and sororities on campus. It wasn’t emphasized or even really talked about. I saw a few guys in the dining hall wearing fraternity letters. I got the impression that it’s there if you want to do it, but if you don’t want to participate, it’s no big deal and there’s plenty of people to hang out with…and nobody’s socially ostracized for not being in a frat or sorority.

GENERAL IMPRESSIONS:

• college president said that the greenery around campus looked a little rough because of some huge hailstorm that raged through campus 2 wk ago. They’re doing landscaping upgrades this summer.
• the “campus mall” has hammocks and Adirondack chairs to sit in. D24 really liked the hammocks. The mall is lined with big oak trees that cover the walkway. It’s really pretty.
• everyone there wants your kid to succeed. It’s a very welcoming place. Staffed by genuine people…it’s not marketing fluff. The people there aren’t fake.
• everything is very individualized there. A lot of one on one support, services, opportunities, etc.

DH and I really hope that D24 chooses to go here. She goes to a small high school (<30 kids in her HS class) and we’ve been concerned that if she goes to a really big school, that she’ll sort of get lost. You won’t get lost in the crowd at this place.

Today, we went to Southwestern Univ. D24 said that her list of preferences in order are now:

1. Univ of Arizona
2. Austin College
3. Southwestern Univ
4. UNM
5. NMSU
6. ASU.

[sbinaz]

Add’tl Southwestern Univ visit info:

Did not go on one of their special visitor event days. Just did reg tour and info session.

WELCOME CENTER:
Felt very fancy. They had D24’s name, city, HS on a big TV monitor that flipped between that and the other students who were there for a tour. One kid was visiting from the UK. The rest were from TX.

TOUR:
Had 2 tour guides: 1 junior pre-med student from Kenya and 1 senior communications major who was double majoring in something else (don’t remember what). They were great. Chock full of helpful info. DH and I asked lots of pre-health sorts of questions and the pre-med student knew a ton about all of that.

DORM:
Got to see a sample dorm room that was a suite style. Tour guides said the room was on the small side but honestly, it was pretty big. D24 doesn’t care what any dorm room or building looks like. Laundry is not free (it is at Austin College). You pay with your student ID using Pirate Bucks. Outside the dorm were 2 pool tables. 2nd floor had a community kitchen you can use.

80-90% of students live on campus. Seniors are usually in college apartments. All of the on campus housing is close to everything.

GREEK LIFE:
It’s not a big thing here. About 30% participate. There are maybe 4 frat houses. That’s it. 10 Greek orgs totally on campus. Recruitment is in spring only so freshmen can focus first on adapting to college life. Lots of social life options though if you’re not in a frat/sorority.

STUFF TO DO OUTSIDE OF CLASS:
Not many people clear out on weekends. Lots of students stay on weekends. Both of the tour guides rattled off a lot of things that happen on weekends all the time, including a free monthly movie in the student union. Local music groups also do concerts on campus. This weekend is a big Family Weekend with fireworks at the campus mall.

Once a week there’s a “Sweet Retreat.” Basically free dessert in the afternoon on Wed or Thursday. Students flock to this.

There’s a big “campus mall”‘in the middle of campus. Big beautiful green space with cute Adirondack chairs and also hammocks like we saw the day before at Austin College. D24 really liked the hammocks and commented that she thought they were pretty cool. Big walkways with gigantic oak trees covering the walkway, similar to Austin College. Really beautiful.

FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE:
Every freshman and transfer student takes a FYE class. Topics are specialized about all sorts of things….history of chocolate. Disney villains. You name it. Those classes start one week before regular classes and end in November instead of December.

PRINTING:
$0.10/page. Same price as Austin College.

LIBRARY:
Felt smaller than Austin College. Also houses a writing tutoring center like Austin College has. 2nd floor has silent study area…no talking.

STUDENT UNION:
Dining hall is in here. We ate elsewhere so didn’t go in the dining hall. Don’t know what the food is like. Tour guides said basement has “The Cove” which serves food until really late at night so there’s a place to cure your midnight snack needs on campus.

Student Union was very pretty.

CHAPEL/RELIGION:
There’s a big chapel on campus. You can study in there if you want to. Similar to Austin College, there are services to attend if you want but there’s no requirement to do that. Nor do you have to take any religious studies or Bible classes or anything like that. All religious faiths welcome on campus.

MUSIC:
Non-music majors welcome to participate in campus music groups. Music scholarships of up to $2k/yr for non-music majors. Austin College wins out in this category.

SPORTS:
D3 school. My kid is not a sports kid so I didn’t pay attention other than to note that students get free admission to all games. Their rival school is Trinity Univ in San Antonio.

The gym has a 1/8 mile track on 2nd floor indoors. All of the standard Rec cen sort of stuff is available that you see at every other school, including the tour guide comments about the ability to check out camping gear if you want.

PARKING:
Costs ~$100/semester. Students park in green spaces. Nobody has problems finding parking. Same situation at Austin College. You don’t need a car though. The pre-med major from Kenya hasn’t had a car the whole time she’s attended.

Side note: I think it helps that there’s a lot to do in downtown Georgetown.

HEALTH:
There are medical services available on campus for all of the standard college student stuff. Except if you need a prescription filled, you have to go off campus for that.

MENTAL HEALTH:
Tour guides spent a lot of time talking about this. There’s walk in counseling available. Appointment-based counseling available. Group sessions available. Including an ADHD/Executive Processing/Functioning support group. Freshmen are encouraged to go there for help in how to stay organized and related topics.

TUTORING CENTER:
If you’re a disabled student and one of your accommodations requires someone to take notes for you, that is available through the tutoring center. D24 does not fall into this category, but I thought it was interesting anyway.

CURRICULUM:
1/3 Gen Ed classes
1/3 major classes
1/3 electives
You declare major at end of sophomore yr.
Must take 2 PE classes, must be 2 different PE classes. Does not apply to athletes, I think.

CAMPUS VIBE:
My general thoughts…

1. Very safe campus
2. Georgetown also very safe. Upper middle class town. Sherman, TX (Austin College) felt more middle class. Georgetown felt more “chic.”
3. The tour guides kept waving at people they knew while we walked by people during the tour. Seemed genuine, not contrived.
4. Couple of professors walked by. Waved, said welcome and hello. Very friendly, not fake. Maybe this is just a TX thing?
5. Felt relaxed but maybe a little less relaxed vibe than Austin College. Felt tad more formal than AC. D24’s personality would fit in well with either of these places but I think she’d like it a little better at AC than SW. We are from Az and Austin College felt more Tucson-ish while Southwestern Univ was more of a combo of Chandler and Scottsdale…and D24 is more on the Tucson side of that spectrum.
6. They talked a lot about study abroad but it’s not a requirement. D24 said she didn’t feel ready for a study abroad (“That’s a little too scary. I’m not ready for that right now. I don’t know if I want to do that”). But it’s there if you want it.
7. I think AC will be more affordable than SW. SW is more expensive. The affordability will be a deciding factor.
8. Getting into from admissions officers about AP credit was a little frustrating. They only give AP credit if you score a 4 or 5 and then only if there’s a comparable class that they offer. And even then, if it’s for a science major, they want you to take their class anyway. So this was a negative. AC accepts CLEP whereas SW does not.
9. About 50% acceptance rate. I don’t understand why this school isn’t more popular because it’s a great location, the campus is great, and they have great programs available.
10. 90% of students get into med school straight from undergrad here. Pretty impressive. If you can afford to go here and your ore-health, you should seriously consider going.
11. Very active alumni network. The pre-med tour guide got 2 summer medicine-related internships solely through the alumni connections at the career center. Huge plus.

[DavidF]

I agree. I was one of those parents (from NY) visiting my daughter at Elon for the Easter weekend. We took her to visit family in NC for the holiday.

The students typically don’t leave campus for long wekends. With such a high % of students from out-of-state, that would be impractical.

You are right, however, about the lack of a thriving college town. I could definitely see that as a deal-breaker for many kids. In fact, it is for my younger daughter, who is a High School Senior.

[dfbdfb]

@sbinaz

Laundry is not free (it is at Austin College).

I have trained my kids well enough that whenever they hear “Laundry is free” on a tour, they lean over to me and whisper “Bundled into housing fees”.

And to make this semi-topical for the thread, while they see the bundling of laundry costs as a positive in that it makes things more convenient (and heaven knows it was a pain for my D17 to get herself enough quarters for four years!), all of them have expressed skepticism about tours when it’s described that way, because who knows what else is being hidden behind ambiguous wording?

[Juno16]

No more quarters - my kid uses a card that she loads money onto through an app. Given how often most college kids do laundry I’m pretty sure they save money if it isn’t “free”.