@youcee - No hate for hills. Really. Those steps at Tufts were just more steps than I’ve experienced on any campus… In all seriousness though, for a kid that is a runner or likes to ride a bike, Tufts is a challenge.
@OHMomof2 - good point you raise about the tour guide who said he only went to Boston 2 - 3 x a year. It was also mentioned during our tour that kids go to Boston 1 - 2x a year and using the phrase the “tufts bubble” on the tour. Said they don’t need to go into Boston or interact much with the kids from the other nearby schools because they prefer to be in the “tufts bubble”. The endless stairs were the early deal breaker; the bubble was met with a comment from my son about how he wouldn’t fit in their bubble.
Everyone’s comments have been tremendously helpful. For the kids reading these threads, I hope the take away is that these are all fabulous schools but the most important thing is to find the perfect fit for you. Everyone has different likes/ dislikes. Find some place you can thrive at and want to live at for four years.
My kids have no problem with hills and have the calves to prove it. Uphill is one of our family hobbies.
For S2 - moved up; Cal Poly SLO. We toured on a pretty day, student guides were engaging and enthusiastic, central California coast has nice weather and a decent location, no Friday classes.
Off the list - UCLA. After driving on a four-lane highway in traffic then getting into stoplight purgatory of Brentwood, he refused to tour the school, just too urban and ugly. We were going to head up to tour Claremont/Mudd, but the proximity to LA also disqualify them.
Johns Hopkins University was by far the worse tour ever. We had trouble pulling out of the parking garage and one of the employees at Hopkins was so rude and muttered insults under her breath. Needless to say I won’t be applying come application deadlines.
“Off the list - UCLA. After driving on a four-lane highway in traffic then getting into stoplight purgatory of Brentwood, he refused to tour the school, just too urban and ugly.”
We were getting a negative impression from the traffic too when we visited, but once we were on the campus it was like an oasis. The campus itself is beautiful. Ended up loving it there and it’s now at the top of the list.
You missed out then. Claremont is a cute surburban town—the land of "trees and PhDs’ with a cute little village with lots of restaurants and shops. Getting onto campus is also a breeze, one minute you’re in a lovely neighborhood and then there you are on campus. Nothing like getting to UCLA.
Yeah but I notice all the school you mention are in California. lol. In places, like Boston, where you get snow and ice uphill isn’t gonna be too many people’s favorite hobbies.
Just completed an exhaustive journey with twins over the past 24 months!
Awful visits that resulted in immediate refusals to apply:
Western Carolina U - I can’t imagine who thinks it’s a good idea to start an info session with a narrated video detailing the history of every building on campus, but they nearly lost their entire audience 3 minutes into the session! Followed by a tour with sullen students who seemed less than enthusiastic, my D said 10 minutes into tour, “We can leave now!” (And I couldn’t agree more!)
Case Western - Ok, it certainly wasn’t their fault that Mother Nature wreaked havoc and gave us a sub-zero degree day! But the fact that the tour guide kept us outdoors for the entire tour and the entire campus felt dull, lifeless, disjointed, and unattractive didn’t help!
William Patterson - it almost got to be comical how awful the visit became, from rude staff members dismissing us, to overcrowded sessions, to a fire alarm causing evacuation, it was just BAD from start to EARLY finish!
Neumann University - You know it’s bad when the only activity you see on campus is a volleyball game and the admissions counselor boasts that you chose an excellent day to attend because there was so much going on!
RIT - while there is something to be said for a cohesive campus, it was very monotone and the professors were quite lifeless.
And although S still applied to Tufts, he was also turned off by the hills and disjointed campus.
One school that moved up on the list was East Carolina - D loved it and we were impressed as well with a strong academic program combined with an active campus with a lot of school spirit.
Another school that maybe didn’t increase interest dramatically but definitely impressed us with their outreach and connections (and was the only school that both S and D applied to) was Syracuse. We just returned from Admitted Student’s Reception and they have consistently impressed us.
Moved down:
UC Santa Barbara - Tour guide was a sweet girl but we didn’t get any insight into what academic and dorm life were like. We just walked around the campus while she talked about how much fun Santa Barbara was. She pointed out one classroom building. Leaving campus my son declared that he would never go to a large university.
Moved up:
Harvey Mudd - (Day after the Santa Barbara tour) Tour guide was also a sweet girl. All she talked about were academics and dorm life. She talked about how hard she worked and how much she loved her dorm and how much the other dorms sucked and how hard she worked. Son was charmed.
Tour guides at both schools were genuinely happy and in love with their schools and I think they represented their schools well. Another kid would have a completely opposite reaction to the exact same tours from what my kid had.
Swarthmore - felt like it was straight out of “A Separate Peace.” Felt strangely 1970s, including the furniture, and the tour guide mentioned availability of ‘inter-library loans’ as a big selling point couple of times !?!
Moved up: UChicago. Loved the neighborhood and the vibe on campus. Students were friendly and it was apparent the “Where fun goes to die” myth was just that.
JHU: Some regard the “transitional” neighborhood as a negative. I found it a welcome escape from my usual bubble.
Moved down: Hahvahd. Confirmed most of my reservations, as did a friend who attended recently.
Columbia: Too much like the rest of NYC, when I wanted something different.
Stayed the same: Cambridge. Students were obviously intent on their studies, which was a positive, but I wasn’t a fan of Cambridge itself; after 10+ years in a mid-sized town, it looked like more of the same.
All the comments about climbing the hill at Tufts made me laugh. My daughter was figuring out ways to “cheat” the hill half way through the tour. A t the end, she informed me “You know, you can use the elevator in the library or the building with the visitors center and never really have to climb it at all.”
So glad we toured Case Western before reading all these negative reviews. Granted the weather was nice but we thought the campus very pretty and interesting, loved university circle right next door, like the new uptown area and that the area was urban while the campus still felt like a campus (more so than UPitt, GW or BU). Definitely one of two DD deciding upon - liked it going in and still likes it.
Skidmore - loved Saratoga Springs and the distance from home. Loved the neighborhood but liked not loved the campus. Seemed more like private boarding school than college, and lots of smokers everywhere.
moved down:
Union College - so turned off by the surrounding area and lack of anything to do in Schenectady that we truly couldn’t even really see the campus - been told by many people they find it beautiful but although have a cousin there who adores it, DD was happy to see it in the rear view mirror.
Lafayette College - similar to above - Easton so depressing (and felt a bit menacing) we almost didn’t go on the campus tour the next day. Were very pleasantly surprised by the beautiful campus, and cute little neighborhood area but despite having much of what she wants, DD couldn’t get passed the vibe she got in Easton and doesn’t want to feel isolated on a small campus.
Moved up:
Bucknell - always heard it was a nice school but friends of DD had crossed it off their list as it was too isolated. We however both liked Lewisburg a lot, and other than the hassle getting to and from home, DD felt she could be very happy there. Liked the campus vibe, great mix of preppy, smart, athletic and friendly. Unfortunately was waitlisted…
Going up to Syracuse today to see what DD thinks. Decision day looming!
Grove City College, despite its low tuition and recommendations from several friends whose kids attended. It felt dingy and like a high school campus. The track coach was a little odd, too.
Moved down:
Amherst, believe it or not. The facilities seemed dated. The track coach said that during the winter when the roads were too icy to run on, he would lay a rubber mat down around the perimeter of this old building that housed a volleyball court. Really?? Also, the attitude of the people at the info session - “We’re glad you came, but you probably won’t get in.” Well, my son DID get in, but he declined.
Dartmouth, too. The tour guide spent a lot of time talking about drinking, how they wouldn’t get in trouble if they reported someone drinking, blah, blah, blah. She also didn’t go anywhere near the engineering part of the campus, even though she knew that’s what my son wanted to major in. That was the one school that rejected him, but he didn’t mind.
Moved up:
Susquehanna University - I loved the school on our first visit, which was a big surprise. Beautiful campus and facilities, and an incredibly friendly student body and faculty. I’ve been back at least four times since then. Oldest son didn’t end up going there, but we just put down a deposit for youngest to attend next year. And I didn’t have to twist her arm!
Reading some of these posts shows me how shallow the college selection process can be for some people. It’s one thing to lower a college on your preference list because the parking attendant was rude or the first portion of the admission’s presentation was dull, but to completely remove it from consideration due to a brief encounter with one person? Come on people, if you’re going to learn something from this entire site it’s to be smart about this selection process by assessing factors that matter.
For us it was Cornell with the eldest:
We crossed off Cornell. We did a big Spring Break road trip around the NorthEast. Each and every day it was beautiful blue skies. But at Cornell the atmosphere seemed “cold” and there was a lack of “energy”. Didn’t seem to be students around even though they were still in session. That and the spread-out-ness didn’t help.
I think Cornell is a love it or hate it type of school.
And for the youngest it was Lehigh… We visited Lehigh and Lafayette on the same rainy day. Lafayette did tours with two families and tried to keep us indoors as much as possible. Lehigh did the normal tour…up and down through the hills in the rain with like 20 people…as I have asthma i was bringing up the rear and the only thing I heard was the rain dropping on my umbrella.
Moved up: U of South Carolina. Big school but very walkable with a nice mix of old (renovated) and new buildings. D also liked the neighborhoods on either side of campus and wasn’t put off by the hills (most of the campus is pretty flat, but it slopes away on three sides). When D asked a couple of questions before the tour about the Honors College, the tour guide (who was great) immediately set up an informal meeting with one of the other tour guides who happened to be in that program.
Moved down: U of Alabama. Another big SEC school, but totally different feel from SC. The people were very welcoming, the buildings are gorgeous, tour guide was terrific, but it’s very spread out. D thought the restaurant area near campus was fine, but didn’t like it nearly as much as the Vista or Five Points in Columbia. Honors program rep was excellent but overall, things just didn’t click for her.
Moved down: Johns Hopkins. Total reach that I was hoping D wouldn’t fall in love with. Turned out not to be a concern as she actively disliked it. Musty rooms, so-so presentations, OK tour guide, passing students looked so serious.
Moved down: Case. Multiple presentations (welcome, admissions, financial aid) were redundant and the rooms they were held in were rundown and cramped. Tour guide basically pointed out a bunch of buildings from the outside. My kid likes urban schools but the back and forth across a major street made the campus seem disjointed.
Stayed the same: Emory, Tulane, Pitt. D expected to like them all, and she did. Very good tour guides and presentations at all three. Emory and Tulane have beautiful campuses. Pitt is definitely attractive and she (and younger son along for the tour) liked the urban setting.
[]Davidson - Poor info session with no visuals and lame stories. Inexperienced tour guide. Tired campus.
[]Clemson - Snooty honors college presentation. Smelly dining hall.
Moved Up:
[]Case Western - D loved the vibe and the urban setting with music/arts influence. Unpretentious.
[]Elon - Campus was beautiful. Lots of activities and went to College Coffee on the Tuesday we visited. Best guide ever.
[]Furman - OK, a few too many Vineyard Vines, but nice student body. Seemed bigger than it really is. Beautiful campus, with nice Sciences building.
Moved Down:
[ul]
[li]UNC-CH - Just OK. Maybe was expecting too much. Solid state school.[/li][]UIUC - Desolate. Yeah, we get it: Good ME & CompSci. Stuck in the 80s.
[li]WUSTL - OK, this actually moved down after visiting other places. It was a strong contender until visiting other schools.[/li][/ul]
I suspect that with many of these, it isn’t the one thing that’s listed, but rather that that’s the straw that broke the camel’s back, and so is emblematic of wider issues in the experience.
Also, things that may seem trivial to one person might be really, incredibly, vitally important to another.
And finally, there are thousands of colleges out there, many (at least scores!) of which could be good fits for any given college-bound student. In order to trim the list to a manageable size, cuts have to be made, sometimes ruthlessly and sometimes based on thin evidence. (Writing this, I realize that it’s kind of like admission to highly selective schools…) In fact, cuts may be made based on no evidence at all, simply because cuts have to be made. I don’t really see the problem here.
TL;DR: Don’t judge just because you don’t understand.
In all seriousness though, for a kid that is a runner or likes to ride a bike, Tufts is a challenge.