<p>lol i wonder what school in medford that could be</p>
<p>and i have heard that it is not a very diverse student body.</p>
<p>jimbob, That just reminded me of the time we were touring a college in MA. They were doing some construction work and had an extension cord lying across a piece of plywood that was set on the pedestrian path that lead to the student union. Our tour guide had us cross the construction area and my H tripped and fell. There was little concern on the part of the school or the tour guide. Only people on the tour bothered to ask my H if he was okay.</p>
<p>ouch! i hope it wasn't serious. i remember there was some weird thing being set up at uchicago when i visited, probably for graduation, i almost did the same thing as your husband. did it affect your child's decision?</p>
<p>Blasts from the past</p>
<p>Our tour of UW-Madison included a detailed description of the bombing that occurred during the Vietnam protests, resulting the death of a lab worker who was working into the wee hours. The guide quickly followed up with assurances that students were currently much more into negotiation and peaceful demonstrations. </p>
<p>Our neighbor's tour of UC-Berkeley also featured more protest highlights from the 60s than current information about campus life. </p>
<p>Peace.</p>
<p>I noticed on the tour we did of Berkeley how proud they were of their 60s protests and liberal leanings (and the dinosaur) as well and I thought emphasized it too much. It doesn't exactly help to sell the school to those not on the left.</p>
<p>jimbob, No it was nothing serious, but it could have been. My H was lucky. He took quite a fall. No, it did not effect my son's decision, but he did not apply to that school. We saw that they were not up to date with their computer technology, and I thumbed through the yearbooks in the admissions office and noticed how few students were from oos. Those were a few of the factors stopped my S from applying.</p>
<p>Another UNC-Chapel Hill story - our tour guide said that she really wanted to go to Duke, but she was rejected, so she "had to come here" instead.</p>
<p>Another Berkeley story - The parking at Berkeley is awful since there are very few spaces. One late, anxious parent asked the tour guide what those 'N' spots were since that's all they could find and they said they figured it didn't stand for 'Nederlands'. The 'N' spots are the ones reserved for Nobel Laureates (just spots on the side of the road - nothing special). The parent had to go back and move the car.</p>
<p>lol yeah our guide at unc-chapel hill SUCKED. and i got really embarrassed when i was walking back to the car with my mom and we overheard thew words "yeah and we played beer pong..." spoken by a passersby. obviously there is beer pong played on every campus, but to have my mom hear it was a bit embarrassing ;)</p>
<p>While on an interview day (for a scholarship) at the UMD-College Park, they ran dorm tours to pass the time while we waited for our turn. While we passed between buildings, I looked up and saw a very extensive liquor collection on the windowsill of a dorm room, and pointed it out to a fellow interviewee. Soon, all the kids were looking up and laughing at the blazen display, while our parents were looking around going "what, what?"</p>
<p>while on a tour of a dorm at amherst, a student walked by in his boxers. later on during the tour, as we were walking back towards the admissions office on that path that looks down on the sports fields, the mens' lacrosse team got into what my mother now calls "attack formation" and mooned us. it was, in her words, a little endearing.</p>
<p>I'll just copy from the</a> editorial I wrote about college visits for my school newspaper:
At one highly selective Massachusetts liberal arts college, our tour guide was a football player and philosophy major, and our admissions representative, a recent graduate, was a former hockey captain and philosophy major. Neither of them knew the first thing about science. Actually, they boasted that the school's open curriculum freed students from taking a single quantitative class, should they so choose.</p>
<p>At another reputable college in Connecticut, one cheerful (and inebriated) fellow ran up to our freshman tour guide offering an open bottle.</p>
<p>Some Kid: Hey, Erik, you forgot your beer! Tour guide: Uh, that's not mine. SK: Yes it is! Go ahead, take it! TG: Dude, it's not my beer. SK: Wait, you're doing a tour? I'm so sorry! TG: Yeah, so, people here like to joke around a lot. Moving on...</p>
<p>In my father's immortal words, you only get one chance to make a first impression.
</p>
<p>A counselor at a small private high school once expanded on the history of an applicant who had written an essay telling us of her recent treatment in an alcohol abuse program. The counselor told me "All the faculty were surprised when she left--we thought if Ashley needed to dry out, then probably the whole class did." Uh, wow. I didn't quite know how to take that. I mean, I think she meant to convey that the faculty didn't feel this particular girl had severe problems--but the counselor made the entire senior class sound like a bunch of wild partiers and lushes, and it made me wonder if the applicant's good class rank was really that impressive in that context.</p>
<p>When we were in so cal visting caltech, we started the tour with the usual gathering along with a video. The video was entirely comprised of a lot of talking-head professors and admins. My D leaned over and said "what about the students?" After visting some of the beautiful buildings, she indicated that she needed to stop and talk to some of the female students. She talked to 3 undergrads and 2 grad students separately. </p>
<p>She asked each one the same question: "If you had it to do over, would you come here?" Each one said "no", she would go elsewhere. </p>
<p>My D never applied...</p>
<p>when my son was applying for dartmouth admission, a regional rep came to a
nearby hotel..their was a military dad there in his fatigues with his football "jock" son...throughout the meeting the dad was asking the questions and the son sat quietly..questions like: do the athletes get more food than everyone else?...when the audiences questions concerning SAT scores came up, the rep gave the standard range but did say it was only one
of many things looked at..the jock dad said out loud "perhaps if dartmouth
would lower its SAT standards, their football team wouldnt have been
1 and 7 last year!!"....the whole place turned around and looked with
astonishment at this dead serious dad ..</p>
<p>This was a story from an admitted student day, rather than an admissions tour, but it's close enough: H and I went to UMich, so we were so happy and excited when D got in as OOS this year. We were dying for her to love AA as much as we did. We loved the school spirit there, but to our shock the tour guide was apathetic. He spent more time waving and talking to passing friends, than in talking to the tour. When we got to the Quad and the library, it was pretty much "well this is what we call the Quad, and yeah, like that's the library over there. . ." Wow, such enthusiasm is infectious, isn't it?</p>
<p>But the real highpoint was when D had lunch with other admitted students and a current student (not the tour guide) to discuss the specific school she would be attending within the University. She asked the current student if he had it to do over again, would he choose U of M? I said to myself "ah HA. This is a slam dunk - it's U of M for heavens sake - here's where she'll hear the enthusiam". So the kid looks at his lunch plate, fiddles with his fork for a minute, then finally says, "well, no. The kids in this school are really pretty unhappy, and we don't like the program". OOooookaaaay. </p>
<p>It was truly so disappointing, as a Wolverine I just wanted to shake somebody. I really hope Alexandre never reads this, because he'd be as distressed as we were that these people were representing our great school. <em>sigh</em></p>
<p><em>takin' notes</em></p>
<p>Our tour guide at URochester was a bit bimboesque. When showing our group the library she noted that it was a good place to take a nap. And her enthusiam was tepid until she was showing us the rec center, where apparently she spent a lot of time.</p>
<p>And while walking across the quad a group of male students screamed, "Don't even think about coming here. This place sucks!"</p>
<p>Add to these occurances the fact that parents asked all the questions during the info session, UR was quickly scratched off the final list of colleges applied to.</p>
<p>Here's something related...</p>
<p>Washington Post--Autobiography as Haiku</p>
<p>
[quote]
It's a warm and sunny day in April, finally. Sean and I lie in the grass on the university quad and we see a gold mine -- not one, not two, but three university tours coming toward us. Three of our school's students are dressed in school colors and walk backward as they lead groups of prospective students and their parents around campus. This is our chance. We both strip down to our underwear, laughing, and we wait.</p>
<p>Eventually, the three groups pass by. We hear giggles, and an "I'm coming here, Dad!"</p>
<p>Mission accomplished.</p>
<p>-Victoria A. Wallace</p>
<p>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I wish they would separate the kids from the fifty-somethings tagging along like so many past-it hangdogs. I used to live next to a top 25 university and, let me tell you, the sight of so many anxious boomers pretending to be enraptured by a perky student tour guide is...kinda pathetic. I couldn't bring myself to do it. We let our sons do the tours and info sessions on their own. We hung out on the quad or in the student union, feeling slightly stupid.</p>
<p>I wish I had the panache of a Yorkshire friend. He went to all the tours determined to entertain. His standard info session question? "Is this more of a pot or beer school?"</p>
<p>I have a good admissions story. I applied to three schools--rejected at one, waitlisted at another and admitted to the large OOS, my dad's alma mater where he was a designated BMOC and President of the Fraternity Council. </p>
<p>In August (!), I got a call from the waitlist school. Did I want to come? Well, I'd already been to he orientation of the OOS--with my dad popping his buttons. I had a roommate and I was set to move there. Not to mention, calling me in August really made me feel bottom of the barrel. I told them to P*** off, politely.</p>
<p>All of a sudden, the Assistant Dean got on the phone. He refused to take my answer, promising to call me in a week for my final decision. Whatever.</p>
<p>A few days later I went to my regular babysitting job, working for two married attorneys who happened to be Jewish. When I told them the story, they jumped up and down saying I must accept the offer since it was a such a great opportunity and I'd never regret it and I'd never ever think about the money. By the time the dean called again, I had changed my mind--much to the fury of my parents who now had to fork out umpteen thousands. they were incredulous that their Jewish neighbors had dared to intervene.</p>
<p>But my employers were right. It was a better opportunity. I never regretted it and I never ever thought about the money--even though I had to pay half the fees myself.</p>