Did visiting change your mind about any colleges?

<p>Hmm…wish I visited more schools, but now that I think of it, I did see a good number of them.</p>

<p>I visited UC Davis Thanksgiving Break of my junior year. The dorms were crappy, but it seemed like such a friendly atmosphere despite the day being overcast and the kids looking mostly solemn probably because they had some tests before going on their Thanksgiving Break. I liked it, but I didn’t love it.</p>

<p>Then I visited Whitman for free…felt isolated and I didn’t seem to see many people walking around on campus. The people I met were unbelievably nice, but I didn’t really have much to say to them…cool place, not for me. Too small; think I would get bored after a while. (Still applied…)</p>

<p>Visited Carleton…so many people on CC love this school. Also a great school, but I didn’t feel a click. Everyone in the classes were so quiet, didn’t appear to know each other well, but wasn’t it nearing the end of the first trimester? The Minnesota air felt so heavy; I just wanted to go home. (Still applied, but almost didn’t)</p>

<p>UCSB. Hated it. Ugly, got to agree that the library is depressing. Bikers would just run into walkers with unresponsive faces.</p>

<p>Occidental after that. The neighborhood was kind of…very urban, in a working class section of LA. Campus didn’t seem very well-maintained and the students were generally nice, but gave a very SoCal kind of vibe. (Still applied, but really crossed it off my list after my horrible alum interview)</p>

<p>Scripps. Thought the architecture was pretty, but not well-maintained either. The girls seemed to be all upper-middle class. The on-campus library was dark and empty. At the end of the lunch (which wasn’t too great), one of my tour guides asked me if I had any questions. I didn’t. I didn’t have anything to say to her, so eh, I saved my money and didn’t apply.</p>

<p>I liked Pitzer’s atmosphere…in the end, I wrote my app. essay and didn’t apply since…well, I couldn’t think of a reason to. My very short visit was nice, but…guess I didn’t learn enough about the place.</p>

<p>UCSD. I really liked the campus – people say the buildings were ugly, but they have some great weather and a nice open vibe. Too bad it just seemed too big and unorganized and in a suburb…not attending. (applied)</p>

<p>And finally, I’m attending UC Berkeley next year…after applying to all those LACs and all of them just not working out for me. I guess my priorities have changed. Anyway, I finally went on an overnight there and I can picture myself there next year. That makes me feel better…</p>

<p>To sum it up, I generally didn’t like schools that I visited. I’m a picky person, yay.</p>

<p>Last year (junior year), reading up about colleges, of the ones I knew I actually had a chance at getting in to, Carnegie Mellon was probably my first choice (of course, there were some others- 2 Institutes of Technology, on opposite coasts- I bet you can guess which ones- but I kinda knew from the start I wouldn’t be getting in to either). When I visited it in October, I loved it, and almost applied ED2. I ended up applying Regular. I visited in April, and thank god I didn’t apply ED2- I hated it. I didn’t like the people I met. The campus felt weird. I hated the way the dining was. It just wasn’t right.</p>

<p>My parents wanted me to apply to Bard and in the beginning I really didn’t think I would like the college and that it was a waste of time. After I visited I realized that I really did like it and although I’m not going there I’m glad I applied because it was a really great option.</p>

<p>Severely disliked Yale, Princeton, and Columbia after visiting… I was going to apply to at least two of them, and I ended up applying to none. There was just something about them (esp. Columbia, because of the city I think) that made me think I wouldn’t be happy there.</p>

<p>On the other hand, I fell in love with Chicago and Brown after visits. I knew I’d like Brown because a lot of my friends go there so I knew a lot about it, but Chicago was a surprise…</p>

<p>Son was completely turned off by Pomona, which he thought he would like, but loved CMC. Also liked UCSB, but not UCLA, which was another turn around. Really liked UChicago, had lots of fun there while visiting brother, except he hates cold winter weather, which is probably a deal breaker.</p>