Some kids really enjoy their high school experience and may not want that type of experience to end, especially if they are succeeding and thriving. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the ‘high school-ish’ descriptor when I hear it.
@readingclaygirl - You summed up exactly why U of Colorado - Boulder and U of Northern Colorado are not on DD’s list. She attends a smallish charter school (120 students in her class), and the majority who are going on to a four year college have already stated CU and UNC are at the top of their lists. She wants to avoid four more years of high school.
Well, I personally never get that. My kids were in Virginia and both went to instate schools that had other kids from their high school. Made no difference. Once you get to college, you see as much or as little of your high school friends as you wish.
“Well, I personally never get that. My kids were in Virginia and both went to instate schools that had other kids from their high school. Made no difference. Once you get to college, you see as much or as little of your high school friends as you wish.”
That’s simply not always true. Here about 1/4 of the class of 500 goes to our state school. Greek life is very popular among kids here when they go to HS and if you are Jewish like a large Percent of the population at our HS you will have a hard time getting into anything other than a Jewish sorority/ frat. This means that if you attend the state school and Greek life is important to you its very very difficult to get away from HS fr lends and acquaintances. Some of the student who don’t want a repeat of HS thus go to other schools where they can participate in Greek life but it doesn’t feel like HS.
Even those not in Greek life note that they constantly have to see HS people who also participate in stuff like Hillel. Maybe this is a factor of being Jewish but for our HS’ ers it’s just hard to get away if they attend the state flagship.
Among my daughter group of 12 from HS, 8 went to the store tate school. 5 in one Soroity, 3 in the other Several tried for others but were told bids would most likely be from Jewish soroities. And they were. . The two soroities have several joint events. Very hard to get away. And many many acquaintances. in the same soroities or frats they mix with.
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Yes, I can imagine there are exceptions if a particular experience is important ,such as joining a sorority with those of the same religion. But for most large instate public schools, there should be plenty of opportunities to meet other kids from other high schools within the state and kids from other states as well , kids from other races, religions, cultures, etc. if that is important to you.
Going to the flagship with thousands of kids and knowing 125 of them can be a positive or a negative. I graduated from a hs with 1000, and probably 400 went to the flagship. I didn’t know all 400, so it didn’t matter to me. Sometimes I’d run into someone I knew anD iD say hi. I was in a sorority with kids who did know each other from high school, but they seemed to like it. I can’t see where knowing 5 others in a sorority would be just like high school.
Good thing there are lots of options for college.
@twoinanddone. It’s not " knowing" 5. It’s having 5 of your group of friends from HS in the same sorority. Plus of the 40 in the plegde class knowing half from HS and another 6 from camp or local activities ( dance, swimming). Plus having large numbers from the frats you mix with also known from those things. This is a pretty common scenario for kids who grow up here and go to the flagship. My daughter rejected the flagship outright when she visited an older friend and they walked into the cafeteria and she saw multiple tables of people sitting with the exact same people they sat with in HS and then went to a Hillel service and literally knew 1/3 of the kids from home or camp ( and these were older kids she didn’t generally have as many connection to as her peers)
And yes many like this. But the question is whether in some situations going to the state flagship makes it difficult to get away from people you knew in high school even if you want to and my answer is absolutely
Let’s all take a deep breath, and say it all together again: Different people have different criteria, and that’s completely okay.
Some people don’t want their college to be too much like their high school. Others do. And in fact, lots of people have different definitions of what being “like high school” means, anyway.
There is no good, there is no bad, and there is actually no correct definition here. That’s because (deep breath again, and repeat along with me) different people have different criteria, and that’s completely okay.
Friend to D: What’s the thing you like most about the school you chose?
D: There is no one from my HS going to any school in the same state or any of the adjoining states!
But this reminds me of a school report more on topic from D’s good friend.
Whitman (up): Loved the campus and liked that she’d be able to walk on to cross-country with her times. Felt like home! But her ex-BF is going, so it would be impossible to go there.
“Some people don’t want their college to be too much like their high school. Others do. And in fact, lots of people have different definitions of what being “like high school” means, anyway.”
This is so true. My son did not want to go to a university that was a hour away from home. He said to many kids from HS went to school there and he wanted a fresh start. I advised him that school had a enrollment of over 30k kids but I did not matter. The school he did select has alot of kids from the San Antonio/Austin area. Many of those kids went to our local university because they felt the same as my son. I live in Texas so the kids have lots of options.
Moved up: University of San Diego. Beautiful campus, very friendly tour guides, food looked great. Business and core curriculum offerings looked solid.
Moved up: Loyola Marymount. We missed the tour, but an admissions counselor met with us and gave us a campus tour. Very impressed with him and his willingness to give so much of his time to us. Also, beautiful campus. New life sciences building was stunning, and folks seemed very approachable.
Moved down: Pomona. Campus tour was nice, but campus was really quiet. Admissions speaker spent an hour explaining why liberal arts colleges were great. Not necessary. Beautiful school, but didn’t feel right for us.
Just spent 12 days visiting 8 colleges for Aerospace engineering.
Big movers…
Oklahoma State jumped from not on the radar to top 3. Nice size, good people, felt at home, great facilities, and good workforce network.
Auburn was top 3 and now not even a memory. Unorganized and not friendly. Good lemonade!
Other schools…
Alabama stayed in top 3. Very organized, friendly, and great insight. Facilities are good and leadership seems focus on students. Everything positive you read is true.
Mississippi State and Saint Louis University are tied in the 3 spot.
MSU seems very much like OSU maybe a little smaller and facilities a little older. Spent day with grad student and professor. I enjoyed the experience and felt at home.
SLU is a beautiful campus. Wasn’t sure what to expect being in downtown St. Louis. Met with professors and really enjoyed the different conversations. The pro and con are the same. Smaller classes, but a small college. Felt like ND , just smaller. One thing caught my eye is you do at least 1 lab and a class in your major every semester.
Iowa State was disappointing. Was in the top 5 heading in and I tried to like it, but couldn’t. Seems so big from afar, but felt small doing tour. Staff and students are full of passion, excitement, and happiness. The people are great, the campus didn’t grab me.
I’m doing 4 more first of August and will apply to my top 4 plus in state school in case I need to take any summer classes.
I have caught grief about the # of colleges I visited, but I will tell you it was worth it. Until your on Campus you can’t feel the vibe.
Good report! What’s your home state @nitro11 ?
Colorado, so University of Colorado.
@nitro11 Thanks. I only ask because I’m curious how far from home people will look to attend an OOS state school. We (NYC) are also looking at Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State and Ole Miss. My father-in-law is SLU alumn but we never really considered it. Maybe we should take a look.
KU and Missouri S&T didn’t move, but not high on the list
Wash U in St. Louis was the school that moved up the most. This was in part because we had low expectations about St. Louis and the school does a good job of selling the city, and in part because the facilities are like the Ritz-Carlton compared to other fine schools we saw.
I’m sorry that this is so long. I visited 25+ colleges with my 1st child…10+ so far with my 2nd child - From larger universities like Princeton, Yale, Columbia, NYU, American, Boston College, New Hampshire Lehigh, Tufts, Fordham and Northeasten to small LACs like Lafayette, Dickinson, Wesleyan, Mulhenburg, F&M, Bard and Skidmore, to a smattering of Catholic schools like Marist, Marist, Providence and Le Moyne (and my child is not Catholic.) On person many years ago told me that to truly evaluate a school check out the library, the commons and the professors offices to see what is really happening at a college.
Some colleges we visited were SUNY schools to get an understanding of the process and become familiar with what to ask and look for at other schools that we visited in Junior year.
SUNY Geneseo - Visited 3 times with 1st child. Each time was better than the last. On an official visit after a very large group tour (on a very hot day) they supplied us with ice cream sandwiches…a small thing, but appreciated. The Admissions direct gave my child a business card. She told my child to actually use it. She knew the school my child went to and knew some of the teachers. Campus was attractive with some new building on it - not an overwhelming amount. It felt like LAC. A small town is in walking distance. By the last time we visited (after my child had been accepted) the size of the town had made my child reconsider it being the top choice.
Gettysburg - 1st time - Great tour. The tour started off with about 5 families. By the end we were the only ones left. Our tour guide was a senior. He knew his stuff. He knew the history of the school. He knew the organizations on campus. He was polite and friendly, and appeared to know everyone. The admissions officer we met with was great. This was the moment the college search became real for my child. The admissions officer had a very compassionate discussion about the holistic application process and encouraged my child to apply.
2nd time - We came for an admission interview with the same admissions officer (after applying I believe) and then a meeting with a professor. The professor was so uncaring and indifferent that even after being accepted to Gettysburg my child did not seriously consider attending.
Loyola University Maryland - Visited multiple times. This was my child’s #1 choice. I wanted to her to see a complete picture of the neighborhoods around campus. The first time we visited we got “lost” and went a few blocks the wrong way. The library is not in the center of campus, but way off on one edge - a very long walk from everything. Some dorms were incredible others were not as nice. The academic buildings, particularly the science center were very well kept. The ironic thing was that we had a very inexperienced tour guide (lots of “ummm” and “Super!)”. We were at the back of a large group tour. Apparently the tour guide was giving her first tour and was being shadowed by a graduating senior (who answered all of our questions once we found out). The joke among us became - If Loyola could turn that Freshman tour guide into the poised and knowledgeable Senior who had been in back next us, it must be an amazing school.
Le Moyne College - my alma mater. Many years ago I brought my family to the college while we were on the way to Buffalo. It was during Freshman Move-In day. Some staff members recognized me and said hello. Needless to say my kids were mortified and the oldest child had absolutely ruled out ever considering Le Moyne as a result. No interest. After flirting with much larger schools, my child came to the realization that a smaller school like Le Moyne might be better. My child decided to go on a tour and asked me to schedule it, figuring to use it as a safety. We drove up on our way to see some other schools. Le Moyne rolled out the red carpet. The President of the college took time to talk to my child about potential majors. A tour of the performing arts center was arranged as well as a general campus tour. At a NYC potential student reception the college brought an English professor (an alumna) and who led 50 potential students in a dynamic and interactive class on Shakespeare. At another on campus visit for accepted students (around decision time) which several hundred other potential students also attended, the college president bumped into to my child at the athletic center and recalled specifics of the conversation they had more than 6 months prior. That gives a kid an amazing feeling of being connected and that is hard to beat.
I have to say that some of the Ivy schools tours are by far the most uninspiring. It seems that they really don’t care. Lots of long information sessions that provide information readily available elsewhere. The tours don’t go into any buildings…the guides just point to buildings for the most part. No interactions with professors. It’s almost like apply first, and if you get in we will give you the real tour. Yale’s tour and info session were a notch above, but not exceptional.
Best tour/visit experience so far has been Lehigh (not counting LeMoyne which is probably a unique situation). I am not sure if it was because it was after we visited Princeton earlier in the day. But the person from the admissions office was personable, humorous and informative. She gave us guidance on what they really are looking for in an application. The tours were well run and we got inside buildings (something the Ivy schools avoid). The tour guide answered questions about greek life with apparent honesty and knew about clubs and organizations on campus and what to do off campus. The campus was very pretty in the Spring. The two high school students I brought to this tour are applying based on this visit. It was the only school they agreed upon.
After reading @WearyTraveller’s report about the effect an uncaring professor had on a prospective student’s college choice, I have to give University of Alabama Birmingham a big pat on the back. UAB was not high on D’s list. In fact, I made her visit it because an automatic “full-ride” based on test scores made it extremely attractive to me even if it wasn’t her first choice.
We visited during spring break and the campus was empty. The modern architecture and lack of trees and ivy-covered walls didn’t appeal to my daughter who was looking for a more traditional campus.
BUT we were both impressed when a middle-aged chemistry professor who saw D and me wandering around the quad took the time to greet us, talk to us about the chemistry department for about 10 minutes, and invite us up to visit his lab. While it wasn’t enough to override other factors, that one professor left us both with good feelings about the university.
(Plus we both liked the dragon mascot…much swag was purchased at the bookstore on that stop.)
@STEM2017 - We are also a Colorado family, and we’re looking OOS. DD has stated emphatically that the coasts are both WAY too far to go. She’s really taken a shine to Nebraska and Iowa, though. Drake, Creighton, and U of Nebraska-Lincoln are her top three, but she’s also considering schools in Indiana, Kansas, and Utah at the moment.
Fun fact - if you are a U of Nebraska alum, your child can apply for a Legacy scholarship, which if you’re from out of state brings the cost of tuition WAY down. Taking that into consideration, U of Nebraska actually became a comparable option to CSU and CU Boulder for us. That’s why we even considered out of state.