<p>I got into NYU, BU and Fordham (3/4 of the schools I applied to) and I was leaning towards NYU. After visiting all 3 campuses, I chose Fordham. Not only is the campus huge, but it's beautiful as well! IMO, NYU and BU can't compare.</p>
<p>Visits absolutely helped our D make her decision and take Georgetown and UCLA out of consideration. We waited until she was accepted and then attended the Accepted Students event.</p>
<p>Georgetown had absolutely fantastic kids already attending, as well as the group of accepted students D met. However, D didn't like the campus itself. For her, it didn't have a lot of green space. And her high school classrooms were nicer than many of Georgetown's. Plus, cost was a big factor to throw in - the college fund would have been depleted pretty rapidly if D had decided to go there.</p>
<p>UCLA was like visiting the Emerald City - it was a beautiful campus with wonderful facilities. But both D and I were turned off by the attitude of the student guides and many of the accepted students - it was very much "if you aren't from California, you aren't ****". Well, duh, of course we know that 95%+ of the students are from in-state. But you've got to have some pretty impressive statistics to get in from out of state and it would be nice to appreciate that fact. Thanks, but no thanks to your offer of admission.</p>
<p>UC Santa Barbara was my dream school since 10th grade, but after visiting the campus last year, it dropped to the bottom of my list...I still applied and I got in, but I will not be going there.</p>
<p>feesha- can you tell us why? I just want to know because my d also thought it "might be her dream school", but I refused to pay the OOS tuition. She never applied.</p>
<p>I thought I would love Georgetown but once I visited I just couldn't connect with all of the incredibly rich and preppy people I met. I'm sure there are tons of people there who aren't like that, and I wish I could have met them instead.</p>
<p>momnipotent-- thank you for your comment! i'm visiting BU the 25th (last Open House) and I hope I'll enjoy it.</p>
<p>visiting schools before applying will save you money (application fees)...i wish i did that before applying to Cornell and Binghampton</p>
<p>Visited Caltech as I was applying. On paper, it's amazing, but it really wasn't a good fit for me. On the other hand, visiting MIT convinced me that that was the place I wanted to spend the next four years. :)</p>
<p>S visited many schools and applied to all. He found his current school when it was impossible to visit. Researched and loved it . Said Yes without ever stepping foot on campus! Never even visited until a few weeks before classes started.</p>
<p>D (and I) thought Bates was perfect on paper. ie, 70% of students involved in athletics, seeking artsy well-rounded high acheivers. Well, during the info session, a mom asked what's to do on campus on weekends. The student replied that everybody is in the library. I thought I would have to hold my D in her seat.
It appears that everyone is involved in athletics so they don't have to stay on campus during the weekends.</p>
<p>UVA had been near the top of my apply list since I entered high school. The idyllic setting, the amazing history, and great education all seemed to create a fantastic place from what I could tell.</p>
<p>Then I visited a few months ago and just realized it was absolutely not for me. Way too big and seemingly WAY too focused on the history rather than the present. I thought the dorms seemed really inadequate for a school of its caliber as well. I don't know, I know that a ton of people love it, but I could just absolutely tell it was not for me.</p>
<p>That was probably coupled with the fact we visited W&M on the same trip, which I loved. The feel of the two schools was entirely different and really made me realize UVA was not the place for me. I actually didn't even end up applying there after all.</p>
<p>Personally, the first time I visited the University of Virginia (long before my senior year of high school) I loved it and thought it was a great place. Before I began applying to colleges, I had already been to Charlottesville three times and knew that U.Va. would be right for me. Needless to say, I didn't apply to many other colleges and now will be attending the University in the fall. Getting to see a particular school can have a great impact on your perception of it and you may find an interest in a school long before college application season rolls around.</p>
<p>Dartmouth- loved it!</p>
<p>Tufts- indifferent</p>
<p>Harvard- indifferent</p>
<p>Yale- I'm in love</p>
<p>Duke- not impressed</p>
<p>Northwestern- indifferent</p>
<p>UW-Madison- liked it pretty well</p>
<p>UNC- awesome!</p>
<p>For S1</p>
<p>Columbia "visit" (really going to the science honors program for 2 year) +++
Harvard visit +++
Princeton visit +</p>
<p>Dartmouth visit +
Yale visit -
Brown visit +</p>
<p>MIT visit ---</p>
<p>visits moved Harvard up the list, Yale down the list, MIT off the list and put Dartmouth on to the list</p>
<p>Actually, when I first visited UVa, I thought it was disgusting. It was moving day and it was hot and extremely humid and that was the first turnoff. Also, it was the end of the summer so the grass was brown everywhere (except the rotunda area) and there was dry sand/dirt everywhere. Because it was moving day, traffic was horrendous and I hated the whole experience which translated to "i hate uva." The irony: I will be attending in the fall. :)
I went back yesterday to attend their admitted students day and it looked completely different. Even though it had rained for most of the day before and that morning, it looked beautiful. The flowers were in bloom and trees were starting to get their leaves back. It was a comfortable 60 degrees and there was a slight breeze in the air: perfect running weather. So, taking a tour once isn't enough; you may catch the university on a bad hair day. If you love everything about the university, apply and if you are admitted, go visit again and see what happens.</p>
<p>PA Mom - my best friend and I went on a bus trip with my community college, so we were involved with the group tour and information session before the tour. </p>
<p>During the information session, we both liked what we heard and were really excited, but then we went on the campus tour. </p>
<p>While Santa Barbara is beautiful, UCSB just isn't (in my opinion). The library was dark and depressing except for the 8th floor that overlooks the ocean. There is no way I could spend hours studying in that depressing library. </p>
<p>Another thing was that we toured the campus ourselves after the official tour was over and we spent like 2 hours looking for a classroom, but all we could find were offices! We wanted to see what the classrooms looked like, but we couldn't find any. </p>
<p>One thing that didn't bother me too much, but totally turned her off to the school is that students ride bikes everywhere and she thought it was kind of odd. It did kind of suck that you had to be careful of the bike paths -- they're everywhere and they WILL run you over if you're in the way.</p>
<p>Now, my cousin only got into UCSB, so that is where he is going...and I know some people that love UCSB...it just didn't impress me AT ALL.</p>
<p>Thanks feesha!
It's interesting to hear other people's experiences and impressions. Most of the college visits reports are very positive, so you don't read too many that didn't like the schools.</p>
<p>D2 visited Illinois Wesleyan..loved the campus, the proximity to town ...it was perfect but in the end decided it was too far away from home. Same with University of San Diego...gorgeous and everyone was very friendly...but she will not apply because of distance.</p>
<p>Visited Drake on a cold, windy and rainy day...need I say more???
UW Madison and U of MN were too big and urban.
Marquette..too urban
Grinnell...too remote
Mac and Carleton are still possibilities.</p>
<p>More to go before the list is finalized!</p>
<p>We were shocked by how much my sons disliked the woodsy campus at Drew. It really turned them off. In addition, they have buildings in very bad need of repair, with crumbling concrete on steps, etc. Also, the filthy student kitchen in the dorm had so obviously not been cleaned - ever. gross!</p>
<p>Fordham was a nice surprise though.</p>
<p>the first time i visited williams i was in love. (or maybe i was hit one too many times with the hail?) my parents kept pushing me to apply there early decision because they liked it best and thought it'd be a strategic advantage for me to apply early. however, my first choice was the university of chicago and i didn't want to end up in a situation where i'd regret going ED. i visited williams a second time and i really disliked it. the school was beautiful, peaceful, but SO RIDICULOUSLY ISOLATED. i wasn't into the whole mountains, squirrels, and cows thing. i figured i like living close to/in a city. fast forward a few months later: waitlisted at both williams and UChicago and my parents are steaming mad. <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>My DD fell in love with GWU. I hated the no 'central gathering place' and no dining hall, but it didn't seem to phase her. </p>
<p>We would concur on Goucher. It was dead as a doornail. (we did the tour first, and we ended up sneaking out of the info session early to head down to DC!).</p>
<p>Love the thread!</p>