<p>My son hated Indiana University of Pennsylvania because we passed a metal junkyard on the way there.</p>
<p>FSU...D was unnerved by the number of times guys went out of their way to hold the door open for her. Go figure</p>
<p>Middlebury, it's a very sad town and the drive to get there is equally sad.</p>
<p>Looking at the weather aspect, when I visited Boston College, I LOVED it, and it was raining/snowing and all disgusting and everything. I wonder what I would have felt like if it was pretty weather. And I hate rain and snow. xD</p>
<p>When I visited Rutgers, I thought I was going to hate it. Turns out I loved it. (:</p>
<p>Hahaha, jasmom, that is too funny!</p>
<p>sammielue21 </p>
<p>I suggest if you can, make another visit to Hampshire (just to give them a second chance). Make appts with advisors in the departments you are most interested in to get a more in-depth feel for the area(s) of the school you would spend the most time in. If they'll let you do an overnight, try that too. If it's still not a good fit, go with your next best choice, assuming you can afford it. Unfortunately, money is a big influence in school choice.</p>
<p>Almost every school visit with D ended up with some surprise:
Carleton: top on her list for months. Spent an overnight and loved almost everything, except it was so liberal she didn't think she would fit in well enough, so it didn't make the final cut.
Iowa State University: visited while on trip to Carleton. Wasn't really on the list, but they had sent letters with good scholarships for Texas students, so thought we'd take a look. Met with advisors in International Studies and Honors Program. They knocked her socks off. Great opportunities and sense of community in the honors program. Still in the running for final choice.
TCU: beautiful campus, great reputation. Poor choice for tour guides - got the impression the school is for spoiled rich kids. Didn't make the cut.
Austin College: Went on a whim, loved the atmosphere, the tour guide was great, felt like a good fit to my daughter. Could see there would be lots of opportunities for her there. Still in the running for final choice.<br>
WashUSt.L: In this time of 'green living' and 'sustainability', they are killing more trees than most of the other schools in mailings to prospective students. However, the campus is gorgeous and protected feeling, the tour guide was the best of all the tours we took - she pointed out all the usual kinds of things, but also talked about the numerous areas of support the school has for it's students to help with their success. Fantastic school, but tough to get into.</p>
<p>My son and I visited Hendrix because he probably could have scored a big scholarship there. Every single person in our tour group was turned off. Very prominent drinking culture (drunk students at midday in the dorm lounge, openly drinking), and we talked with current students who were not happy. Son stayed overnight (he was given a spot on the lineoleum floor), and it was a valuable experience to clarify the kind of school he did NOT want to attend.</p>
<p>Forgot to mention: in the cafeteria, they were serving fried chicken gizzards. Really!</p>
<p>"Applied to Carleton, got accepted, visited this weekend expecting good things. After my visit, I have officially decided not to attend. Something just didn't sit well with me on that campus. Not to mention Northfield, MN would probably end up feeling really really really restricting at some point."</p>
<p>That's why visits, if possible, are such a good idea. My daughter had a very different experience from you. I had to practically drag her to see Carleton, since we were in the area last year. To her surprise, she loved it immediately, even though she'd never envisioned herself at a small-town school in an isolated area. Previously, she thought that only a big city school would make her happy, but she found what she was looking for at Carleton. She's a very contented freshman Carl these days. ... Good luck in your college decision, Phoenix17! I hope you've found a good fit.</p>
<p>
[quote]
After visting Georgetown, I decided not to apply. There was construction going on, so maybe that was a factor. But the campus was just too small. There was even a weird cemetary on campus! hahaha
[/quote]
</p>
<p>LOL, actually, there are 2! One of which has a turtle buried in it...</p>
<p>ICK! Left coaster, where were they serving that????</p>
<p>Anyone been to Mt. Holyoke and/or Conn College??? Impressions? Thanks.</p>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p>From the website and everything, I thought that SUNY Stony Brook would be amazing...But it wasn't. I mean, it was alright, and I'm going to apply (but basically only because I'm planning on applying to 2 other SUNY schools so it's barely more work), but it's at the bottom of my list of places I want to go.</p>
<p>khsstitches--I posted earlier in the thread, but there's a lot of pages to wade through, so:
I went and saw Connecticut College last summer. I loved it. All the admissions staff and students were friendly, encouraging, and helpful. Conn. really made an effort to show how they stand out from other small New England LACs. They made it clear that they really care about YOU as a student and a person. The tour guide was excellent and did a great job explaining both the campus--but more importantly the student body, opportunities, and feeling of Conn. It is a really beautiful campus--nice, fairly up-to-date buildings, beautiful greenery (trees, grass, flowers, etc.). They are environmentally and world conscious. </p>
<p>I think what struck me most was the atmosphere. I felt like I belonged.</p>
<p>About New London--you may have heard this, but it's not the nicest town. I guess it seemed kind of like a small recovering old-factory city. The waterfront/walkway along the water is really beautiful though. And it's nice that the train runs through (you can hop up to Boston or down to New York even if you don't have a car). So New London's not terrible (and I think the beauty of campus makes up for it), but you wouldn't go to Conn. for the surroundings.</p>
<p>If you want more opinions, you could also search in the "college visits" section (and you can check there for Mount Holyoke).</p>
<p>I wasn't planning to apply to UCLA until I visited. It was such an awesome school! It moved to the top of my UC list afterwards.</p>
<p>Thanks poetrygirl! That is a very comprehensive look at Conn. I think we'll look at it this summer although their bio dept is not exactly offering what she wants.</p>
<p>Yes, definitely!
I visited Lewis & Clark, for example, and had a lesson with the cello professor who just wasn't really compatible with my style of learning as a cellist. Consequently, I didn't apply there.
Also, visiting Willamette made me think, "Where is everybody?" you know, students out reading and studying on the grass, and also, I didn't like how the campus was so... geometric/organized seeming. I'm sort of messy. I dunno.
But visiting Whitman, on the other hand ... it made me think, "I can see myself sitting right there." ... which is why I'm sending them my deposit tomorrow.</p>
<p>NYU. The lack of campus wasn't very attractive, but it wasn't a huge turnoff either. But Stern turned out to be not as intellectual as I would have liked to it be and way to business oriented/vocational despite their supposed liberal arts emphasis. Before I visited NYU, it was one of my top schools and I really wanted to go (and very likely would have if I hadn't visited). But after the visit, I couldn't really see myself there and very easily decided not to go. -<em>- except now I'm on the fence about two other schools so .</em>. but im visiting one of them today 8D! hopefully the visit will give me an answer</p>
<p>Yes, visiting colleges is crucial. I eliminated Trinity College, Lafayette College, Wesleyan College and Conn Coll (the last two just bc they were too much Long Island, and I wanted a change).</p>
<p>On the flip side, I was weary of Wheaton College (MA) and Muhlenberg until I visited them. They were beautiful and had cool programs so I made them as my safeties.</p>