@IBviolamom - writing this from the Lafayette family weekend- my freshman is having the time of her life . Trying so many different clubs, meeting all sorts of people and doesn’t feel it’s very Greek at all. Plus you can’t even pledge until sophomore year so you’ve made tons of friends by then. DD said she was surprised that she isn’t homesick at all because she is having such a great time. We are thrilled so highly recommend you at least take a look.
Someone wanted more feedback on Skidmore and Lafayette I think? D didn’t apply to Skidmore. Neither of us liked the campus at all, though that is minor. D did actually like the grungy-looking kids, but not enough to apply. Lafayette was nothing special to us either, and D didn’t like the preppy vibe, though she was impressed that clearly the college has put a lot of money into the science dept and library,which was one of the best we saw.
Always a fan of both Dickinson and Rochester, both great schools.
Interesting. Neither my son or I liked Dickinson, but he did like Lafayette. We didn’t like how Dickinson was split up by so many streets used for town traffic. The campus was almost split in half by a pretty busy street that required waiting for traffic lights to cross. There are lots of campuses with functioning streets through them but most of the others we saw the streets were either on the periphery of the campus or the traffic level was so light that they just had cross walks, not lights. I don’t think he had any problem with the school beyond the campus, but since there were comparable schools where he liked the campus more, like Lafayette and F&M, it fell off the list.
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@IBviolamom Ditto what @myjanda said. My D graduated from Lafayette last May. There is Greek life but it is not overwhelming. There is absolutely no need to take part in Greek life to have a busy and happy social life on campus. And students can participate in a number of Greek Life events without pledging themselves so overall it does add to campus life for everyone.
For full disclosure my D surprised us and joined a sorority on campus but it was apparently very low key one. She felt it was a plus for her. But she also had many many friends who were not involved in Greek life and they were equally happy. A nice thing is that there is no rush until sophomore year so there are very strong friendships in place well before anyone considers going Greek.
This recent discussion really shows how something can be a positive for one student, yet a negative for another. I think my daughter responded positively to the layout of Dickinson, because it made the campus feel a little more urban. She tends to be a little put off by the isolation of some of the liberal arts schools, so the placement of the Dickinson campus and the way it feels integrated into the surrounding area, while still being fairly contained and very pretty, was a plus for her.
^^^^This. The road through Dickinson being a problem makes me laugh. I know there was an accident there several years ago, but compared to a school like BU, Dickinson’s road is a tiny side street.
Right, but my son wouldn’t even tour BU because it was far too urban for him, so for someone like him that’s not really a point of comparison. For the most part he was seeking either suburban or rural schools. He toured Dickinson and F&M the same day and by comparison F&M felt more “campus” because it didn’t have a street grid through it. To someone else, like @IBviolamom’s daughter, that street grid and more urban feel was a positive. To each their own. But it’s all relative. You see Dickinson and compares to BU, he sees Dickinson and compares to Middlebury.
@citivas That’s why I said “^^^^This.” It references IBviolamom’s post. We are all agreeing here.
Moved up: Son wasn’t interested in USC, but after visiting the campus it may now be his favorite campus. Walked around a lot, including quite a bit off campus, and felt comfortable with the area. May not be affordable even with a half tuition NMF scholarship. The new USC Village area is really far along and looks like it will be a great addition. Wasn’t expecting all the open space throughout the campus. You forget you’re in the middle of a big city while on the campus.
Denver U is urban and has streets dividing the campus. Two of them are major, especially during commute times. There is a pedestrian bridge about in the centers, or you can walk to the corner. There is also a highway on one edge, and the commuter light rail. It’s still a beautiful, urban campus and if you are in the center of the classroom/dorm area, you’d never know it. The buildings seem to be grouped, like all the athletic facilities in one area, the library and classrooms, some dorms over here, the music buildings over there. It works.
re post #1217 and dislike of modern architecture. Does anyone ever consider the age of buildings and the fact that some of those campus landmark buildings may have heating and cooling issues? I had one class in Bascom Hall, the iconic UW-Madison building decades ago and the age of the building made it difficult modernize even for my era. Of course, some of the buildings built in the 1960’s deserve to be torn down for functional reasons, and I think are on some schedule in the long term plans. It’s like buying an old house for its “character”, there will be era built problems.
Some people are strongly visually oriented, I guess. I’m one of them, as is my son. That can override practical concerns about the buildings.
Well, it’s not like modern buildings are always wonderfully set up for things like heating and cooling, either!
As Jorge Cham (creator of Piled Higher & Deeper) described it in his strip on campus architecture, it’s the “Modernist ‘It cost HOW much??’” style, described as “Sure, they could have built three buildings for the same price, but those buildings would be functional and non-leaking.”
See the entire strip at http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=999
Great memory inducer…those old limestone buildings on my college campus were gorgeous, even more so in a snowy setting. But those lovely wood framed windows let in all that cold and the old wooden desks and floors squeaked like crazy if you made any movement whatsoever. In real estate, that kind of house is marketed as “charming.” Never took off my coat in those classes. Still loved the buildings and all that character, and never fell asleep in class (too cold)!
General FYI - This is my favorite thread on CC. I love it when I see new responses, and I’ve read every single post.
I work with several people who live in 90+ year old houses. They have leaking windows, no insulation, old HVAC, etc. Every time they mention one of those issues I call it “charm.”
May vary by area of the country, but I would imagine fewer kids are growing up in old houses. And not as many share rooms or even bedrooms. May have an impact on the appeal of certain colleges.
I feel like I have seen one million campuses in my lifetime, and don’t most of them have both older and newer buildings? Isn’t it rare to find a campus where every single building is on the historic register? Some of the most beautiful campuses in my opinion, blend the new in with the old so that the effect is harmonious. That being said, the ideal is when the outside looks old and the inside has modern conveniences
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Back to add two more schools after visiting this past week:
Macalester: became D’s second choice, and honestly, if it were closer to home, might have edged out her first. D loved the location, the class she attended, the dorms - her overnight host showed her all of them - the food, and the people. Impressive internship programs.
Grinnell: wasn’t sure going in, got added to the list but it’s at the bottom, even below less “prestigious” schools. Seems like a great school academically, campus and facilities are great, students super-friendly, but D walked away with a distinct feeling that there is a lot of drug use there. A lot.
Vassar: after visit #2, became the very top choice and she’s applying ED. Attended a class and met with a faculty member, and super impressed by both.
Someone on CC complained that after touring Harvard they crossed it off their list because most of the buildings were old and smelled funny. Someone replied that it was the smell of POWER.