Some schools allow HS juniors to overnight, hoping to convince them to apply.
Interesting concept and I see how it would be helpful. You definitely only want to attend the ones you can afford. No point test driving the BMW if you can’t afford it.
I still love reading these, even though D (hill hater) is in college now and loving it. Note: the hill-hater chose Pitt, lives on a HUGE hill she has to climb multiple times daily, and it doesn’t seem to bother her at all. Good luck to class of 2017!
One we visited and it dropped off the list in Saint John, Queens NY. We visited Barnard, NYU, Ithaca College and Fordham the same trip and Saint John just didn’t seem the same caliber, my husband referred to it as “pedestrian” and I thought that summed it up. My daughter wanted to see it because a friend of hers got a hefty scholarship there, but even with big money I’m not sure if it’s worth it. Fordham moved way up her list, she was super impressed. Ithaca College impressed too. NYU would be very difficult to make the finances work, Barnard is a big reach, so while she loved it she won’t get her hopes up.
@taliecharley Great write up. Thank you. Love the Miami OH feeling your daughter experienced. Hoping my son feels the same if/when we visit.
@taliecharley that was an amazing first post! Thank you. Many of the schools you mentioned are of interest. Can you say what it was about Miami Univ that made your D love it so much? From what you wrote, that’s her second favorite after Lehigh.
For reasons I probably cannot explain, she just felt she “fit in”-- she liked the facilities, the level of activity on campus, the school spirit and the students and professors she met. She thinks it is a bit big, but despite her knee jerk reaction to the size on paper, felt it was manageable. Mostly she seems to have a very visceral reaction to what she sees-- she talks to EVERYONE she meets (it is hilarious) and drills them for info, and kids seem very personable and happy there.
I think it was also the first campus where she didn’t feel academically intimidated, in a good way. Kids are smart but also like to have fun, and did not seem pretentious. I think she felt comfortable academically and socially and believed me for the first time when I said “you will love it if you go here”-- which I say at LITERALLY EVERY CAMPUS.
I have to defend Bates, (full disclosure, D attends there) and it’s possible I never posted about it way back when.
I am impressed that @taliecharley has read all 85 pages. So, no hills at Bates, hurrah! The campus is small, but lovely. It feels very unpretentious, and that appealed to my daughter. The chapel hosts a bunch of great activities, and is nondenominational with no religious iconography. In fact, I would say the chapel in many ways represents what Bates is all about, which is inclusivity. My daughter actually likes that Lewiston is not a cutesy town. The college also has a free or nearly free shuttle virtually every weekend to Freeport, or Portland or Boston. There is a lot to do on campus, and a ton of outdoorsy stuff within walking distance or close by. (None of which my daughter partakes of, not being outdoorsy, ha!) But of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Anyway, great report taliecharley.
No need to defend Bates @Lindagaf, it was very lovely! I am the parent who loves all the schools and knows college will be great wherever (most) kids go.
To be honest, I think we mostly had burnout by Bates, and though I started out by defending schools and pointing out positives, I realized after a while it just doesn’t matter and the kid has to love it on her own, with whatever random metrics she applies. For what it’s worth, my kid also wants a campus where the activity occurs on campus (and Bates has that), and big D1 sports and Greek. She knew they didn’t have some of that at Bates, but was intrigued by the short term (Elon has it too), and this is what brought us there in the first place. I wish they had that other places!
Of course, this is just our feedback, to enjoy, or ignore. These differences of opinion are what makes this whole college thing so interesting (yes, it is miserable, so seeking the silver lining here)
@Lindagaf , what does your D study at Bates? (I should know from reading so many of your posts!) How does she feel about the “Scientific Reasoning, Laboratory Experience, and Quantitative Literacy” requirements? Is it possible for a non-STEM kid to take a path through those without botching GPA?
@Postmodern she is undeclared. She is learning the hard way though, don’t take a bunch of reading-heavy humanities courses first semester. Poor kid:-) I think for the particular requirement you’re talking about, she opted for archeaology, thinking it wouldn’t be dull. It isn’t dull, but it is a ton of work. Ask me at the end of December how she feels about it:-)
@taliecharley , no Greek life at Bates was a big draw for my kid. Not going to work too well for the kid who wants it though. And Bates does amuse me with the sports thing. Apparently it has fabulous rowing and squash teams. Hardly going to pump up the rah rah quotient. I suspect the sports are to keep the alumni happy. Anyway, back to regular programming…
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Thanks! I will. Bates looks like a cool place (pun unintended).
@socalmom007 I would love to hear more about Ithaca. S17 has an interview tomorrow but we will not be able to visit unless/until accepted. It’s fairly high on both of our lists for a variety of reasons.
@eandesmom my daughter loved Ithaca College! She loved the campus, the town, the information session was headed up by a very thoughtful and articulate woman. The student tour guides were very knowledgeable. There’s a tunnel system through campus to utilize when it’s bitter cold there. Overall she just like the vibe, academic but not cutthroat, artsy, but not weird. She liked all of the potential they had there for internships. She liked the cross registration potential with Cornell. It’s a bit remote, that was the only downside for her, but it may still be worth it. I think she could see herself there, it seemed like the right level of rigor for her.
@socalmom007 good to know about the tunnels! I didn’t know that. The cross registration with Cornell intimidates my S a tad , and intrigues him at the same time. The environment sounds just right.
^^Ithaca is a great town and while somewhat remote - you can fly into Syracuse an hour away
Those of you who like Ithaca: what do you think of the campus? The architecture is very modern
@taliecharley Thanks for mentioning CofC in such a positive light. DS16 is a freshman in the Honors College. It really is a great school with a great Honors program that often goes unnoticed .
Getting ready to start this process again with D18, so I’m looking at this thread again and thought I would give our impressions of some of the small LACs we visited with D15.
Colorado College: D liked the campus, the surrounding areas, the outdoorsy feel and the block method (one class at a time), but too close to home for her.
Grinnell: This was the first college we visited, D’s first reaction when she saw the town was,“I could never go to school in a town this small.” A year later, she nearly ended up picking Grinnell. She loved the open distribution, the liberal students, and the dorm rooftops (apparently you can go up on some of them).
Knox: I thought she would love this one since it has a great creative writing program, D’s major, but for whatever reason, neither the school nor the town hit D. None of us liked the town, but it seems like a great little school.
Beloit: This was the one tour where D came back all smiles (and she was all smiles after the interview, too). She loved the campus, her tour guide, the quirky/friendly vibe, the writing program, and the hilarious college president. No concerns about the tiny town (which we think is kind of charming). She’s now a sophomore there.
University of Iowa: Great writing program, but as we drove in, D immediately said, “I could never go to a school this big.” (That one she didn’t change her mind on.) We all loved Iowa City, and the faculty she spoke to in the English department went out of their way to be welcoming. But it was just too big for her…
Macalester: Great location in St. Paul and a brand new art building going up. Perfect for an internationally-inclined student, but D is more artsy and just didn’t feel it. She ended up not applying.
Ursinus: Cool statutes and interesting old buildings. D was disappointed that there was only a minor in creative writing. There also wasn’t much of a town.
Bard: D liked the outdoorsy location and we all thought the upstate NY area was beautiful. No real town, though, and for whatever reason, it moved down on D’s list. I do remember that she didn’t like the “moderation” idea (how you declare a major).
Vassar: Great location near NYC and beautiful campus. Stayed on the list, but was never near the top.
Oberlin: Loved the town, the music, and the artsy feel. I thought D would be discouraged by the difficulty of getting into the major as a sophomore, but she wasn’t fazed. Ended up being one of her 3 final choices.
Kenyon: I thought this one was perfect for her with its strong writing program. It was my favorite campus, looks-wise. Just beautiful. D liked it but wasn’t as enamored with it as I was. That turned out to e a good thing because it ended up being unaffordable.
I think we visited a few others, but these are all I remember now. My D18 isn’t interested in small LACs, so we’re starting over.
@KaMaMom Loved your above feedback! What a great thing that your D15 knew what she wanted to study. From the looks of her list, she was able to focus on colleges that had strong writing programs. That must help narrow things down! Did she have any friends that ended up at Colorado College? Our S19 is outdoorsy but not in a skiing way - more like hiking, canoeing, etc. I think he would really like the block program and the vibe there but wouldn’t want him to be stuck alone on weekends when everyone is skiing!
Let us all know how your trips go with D18. Sounds like a whole new ball game.