@doschicos totally hear you on that. Any safety for our son will be visited for sure. Just like they would want to make sure he’s really interested, we would want to make sure that he loves it as well and that means spending time there and taking to as many people as possible from the school.
@Finalthree - would love to hear your specific observations on Centre. It looks interesting on paper.
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Of course! I’ll send you a PM -
@Finalthree , Can you just post here? I’d be curious too to hear about it, both the good and not so good.My H’s grandfather went to Centre and then went on to medical school from there. The title of the thread does ask why a college moved up on a list or was crossed off, so I don’t think it is off topic to provide more info on a particular college?
Sure - here you go:
Every single person she encountered – food servers, students, administration – were very friendly and genuinely seemed to be interested in her, and wanted her to feel welcome. She felt they all gave a personal touch. The campus was very clean and fit her image of what college campus should look like (old, historic). She claims the food was “outstanding” and (I know this is silly) liked that the dorms were air-conditioned. She wasn’t bothered by the small town of Danville and said it was “cute” and “quaint.” She is not a hugely social person, and has a small but tight knit group of friends – a kid who is very social and is always wanting to be out and about at different parties may feel differently. I also did some research on number of admits to graduate school and student satisfaction of graduates and it is off the charts - very positive. She’s going back in a few weeks and will sit in on a class and have an admissions interview, so her opinion may change after that, but for now it is her top choice.
Thanks. I know they seem to have produced a lot of successful alumni, relative to their size. Good luck to your daughter!
@Finalthree - It does seem that plenty of people stick around beyond 1036 replies - compared with some threads it would seem that the discussion barely be getting started.
I’ve benefitted from hearing others’ experiences and am grateful for them. I posted a few score pages back, but am reposting with additional schools and updates.
Together, we’ve only visited schools in So. Cal. and NY, but D17 has spent time at a couple of midwestern flagship Unis where she has attended summer programs, and she looked at a few schools on a trip with her HS. At the schools that we have seen together, we did official tours on some, not others, walked around campuses and D has sat in a couple of classes, etc.
USC - went to an big open house and attended forums for Dornsife and for Admissions. The campus is stunning, and - despite reports to the contrary - the surrounding area did not seem bad. We never got over to see the new construction, but the main part of campus is lovely. For a big school, it seemed smaller than I would have imagined. We were there on a weekend, so D didn’t get to sit in on any classes.
UCSD - Didn’t go on any official tours, but D17 is taking a summer class there and knows the campus well. Her overall impression is that the campus is too spread out, and she doesn’t like the architecture in the least. School doesn’t have much of a community feel to it; probably better as a grad school or commuter school than for a four-year college experience. Also, humanities offerings are not UCSD’s strong suit, so wouldn’t be a good match for D17 in any event.
UCLA - Again, did not go on an official tour, but the campus is beautiful and the course that D17 sat in on was excellent. The distance between the dorms and the main campus, and the hilliness of the campus make it less than ideal for D17 with mobility issues, however.
UCSB - We mostly only visited the College for Creative Studies. Campus was ideal from an accessibility standpoint and the location can’t be beat! We tagged along on a tour for a bit (it was already underway and we joined them for part of it), but we didn’t stick around long enough to form any opinions. D17 has concerns about the school’s reputation as a party school and the school’s level of intellectualism (or lack thereof), but it’s staying on the list for now (we will need to see how the newly-redesigned writing and literature major pans out). She knows a few people that are starting this year, so she may get a better sense later.
Recently attended info sessions for all 5 Claremont Colleges at a local forum; it served to reinforce pre-existing ideas about actively disliking everything about Pitzer and Claremont McKenna – as polar opposites both philosophically and with respect to student body (although D17 likes the idea of CMC’s Atheneum lectures!) Pitzer and CMC were each less appealing than the other for diametrically opposite reasons. Curiously enough, Harvey Mudd was a standout both in terms of presentation and overall philosophy (but certainly not in terms of curriculum as D17 is a humanities kid!). Pomona and Scripps - which we had previously visited as described below – remain on the list…
Pomona - Went to the information session, walked around a bit and ate lunch in the Hogwarts-like dining hall. Did not get a very strong sense about campus culture (it was Thanksgiving week) and will require additional visits/tours/sitting in on classes to get a better sense of fit, but overall we (and least I) had the impression that Pomona tries a bit too hard to be an east coast LAC. However, D17 likes the idea of a bright and engaged student body and we both really love the idea of the consortium.
Scripps - Beautiful campus. Went to info session and tour, D17 met with a prof and sat in on a class while I hung out in the coffee shop. We had lunch in the dining hall and both loved the food; also liked how professors co-mingled with students. Got a very good sense of community, but D17 has concerns about the student body’s overall level of intellectualism (she was not bowled over by classroom discussions, but probably needs to sit in on an upper level class in her areas of interest rather than a lower-level required core class to really get a sense of fit); D was also concerned about the possible over-abundance of SJW-types. Again, we love the consortium, and if she can make it work among the campuses, so much the better. Still on the list.
Univ. of Minnesota - D did a week-long summer program there last year; campus is too big and too midwestern for her.
Univ. of Michigan - D just spent six weeks there for a summer program. Huge campus; liked the way city and university were intertwined. Both were bustling, even in summer, but the school was never on the list (and still isn’t). But for the right kid seeking that type of school, it’s a winner.
U.Penn. - D saw on her school trip and detested it; It seemed way too pre-professional in its orientation for what she is looking for.
U. Maryland - Again, saw on her school trip. Too big, too spread out, too rah-rah.
William and Mary - too hilly. too inaccessible. Liked the history piece of the school and got a kick out of Colonial Williamsburg, but W&M is not a fit for D.
UVA - D. really liked the campus (another school trip visit), and was shown around by an alum of her HS. She liked the traditions and the overall feel of the campus, likes the curriculum, and would go in a heartbeat if offered the Jefferson (a girl can dream…)
Georgetown - Loved DC and liked the campus, the location, etc., etc. The lack of merit aid and the separate application required make it a lower priority for D, even though she is legacy and she probably would have a good shot at admission. Probably not applying, but may remain on far back burner.
Columbia U. - loved the campus and liked the idea (and implementation) of the core curriculum, but D17 is not a big fan of NYC. If we could take the school, plop it down on the campus of UCSB and surround it with the museums and theatre that NYC has – but not the city itself – and get them offer merit aid (as I said before, a girl can dream…), we’d have a winner. Alas…
Other than revisiting SoCal privates for interviews and possibly a fly-in program or two, many of the visits will have to come later – hopefully for big merit consideration – or after acceptances are in. ED is not an option and the decision for which school to do SCEA/REA has been made based on schools’ programs, reputation, philosophy, set-up, etc., but since they are lottery schools anyway, it doesn’t matter which coin you toss…
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@LoveTheBard , gotta laugh at hills at William&Mary! We visited in the winter, and it snowed (about six inches, but the reaction was as though it had been six feet;-). The college tour didn’t happen because they called a snow day and cancelled everything. So we just had a drive around, and I remember wondering if there was anywhere at all for kids to sled. We did finally see a tiny hill-ish bit that students were sliding down on cardboard, but it seemed about 6 feet high. I thought it was as flat as a pancake! Haha!
And for us old-timers on this thread, no need to bring up the heated “hill debate” way back on about page 7 or so :))
@Lindagaf - As we’ve seen time and again, person’s hilly is another’s flat as a pancake and personal reactions to places are just that – personal!!
In D’s case, it was probably more of a matter of trying to negotiate her wheelchair and/or trying to ambulate on the uneven cobblestones. All I know is at one point, she was left by the group at the bottom of a set of stairs and was not amused.
Oh, and – for the record – I miss the suspense and the superb narrative that accompanied your D’s decision-making process (and, you’ll notice that I steered clear of the nipple-ring issue and the dark comments about Kenyon (again, those pesky personal reactions!) as we still have yet to see Kenyon and form our own opinions!)
My son told me that when he was a tour guide at McGill in Montreal he sometimes led tours in snowstorms (a snow day is an American concept BTW). The tours would usually start with 25 students and parents. By the end of the tour there would be 8-10 left, the others having bailed. At the end of the tour he would tell the hearty remaining people that they just passed the first admissions hurdle for McGill: they could tolerate a snowstorm.
Also the tour only covered the lower campus. Middle and upper campus would scare the hill phobics!
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@LoveTheBard , sorry for inserting my foot in my mouth 
Apologies! Yes I guess your D has a very different perspective from most people. And I still haven’t seen Kenyon, but it definitely went way up for my daughter.
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@Lindagaf - apology unnecessary. As I said, we all react to different places in different ways. As a good friend of mine always says “That’s why they make ice cream in chocolate and vanilla!” (not to mention a gazillion other flavors…personally, I prefer gelato, but that’s another story…
Moved Up:
Davidson—beautiful small campus, great distance from Charlotte with lots of activity. Very smart students, funny presentation. No slideshow or anything which we liked, more personable
U of Michigan—did not feel as big as it is. Very funny tour guide, everyone in admissions office very nice, not characteristic of big university
Notre Dame—although some are pretentious, had very nice high achieving tour guides. Presentation somewhat bland, but beautiful campus with some great kids
Moved down:
UIUC—opposite of UMich, not personable, felt like a number
UVA—although beautiful campus, didn’t really feel that it is for me!
hope that this helps anyone!
Context is important when reporting. I live about an hour from William & Mary so was also surprised to have it described as “hilly.” I have visited Williamsburg and strolled the campus and particularly the area around it many times over the years. Tidewater Virginia in general is pretty flat. The issues for someone in a wheelchair will be different and comments re: accessibility are helpful. Accessibility issues in relation to the college search could be a good topic for discussion in general.
To those still posting now that we’re > 1050 posts, yes, there are some of us still reading with interest.
I work in a public high school and often have “potential college” conversations with students. Since I didn’t visit every college out there with my own three guys 
, it’s nice to have some hearsay about what others think in my mental data bank to pull from when students are looking for suggestions that match them.
I’m still reading, but I may be a bit of a masochist when it comes to worrying that I might have missed a college possibility for either D… #-o
^^^ this
I am still reading too! DS loved Indiana after visiting- everything he imagined a college campus to be. (He likes big campuses with lots of green space)
Liked UMD at our first tour, but after going back for an accepted student day- it fell- the business school presentation was almost the same as on our first visit- felt it should have been more detailed given that this was for accepted students.
GW- fell- though DH and I loved it and the business school tour guide was amazing (DS called to schedule private one because none were offered that day) He didn’t like the big city, tall high rises, lack of green space. It was def not the campus feel he wanted.
I’m still reading too - this is one of my favorite threads 
In fact- on a long drive for vacation this year - asked to drive through 2 campuses that I had read about here because people had talked about how pretty they were
Which 2, @toowonderful, and did you agree on their aesthetic appeal?