<p>i went to look at boston college on columbus day, because like most schools, i had the day off. BC somehow didnt realize this, and was totally unprepared for the hordes of prospective students. i had about 100 people on my tour that was clearly meant for a small group, and couldn't hear the tour guide at all. they couldn't fit us into the information session. one would think they could have looked at a calendar! we were so turned off.</p>
<p>This is interesting reading, although not for the reactions to particular schools, but for what is persuasive as impressionable students step foot on campus. Snap judgments based on how articulate the tour guide was that day, whether someone was forthcoming with directions, the weather that day, and how something smelled! So much emphasis put on the physical plant and things that are dependent on interaction with a couple of people.</p>
<p>This reminds me that before I take my younger daughter on any college tours we should probably have a talk about what basis to use for evaluating what she encounters. Ideally, she would take into account academic opportunities that separate one program or campus from another as well as the physical and geographic differences. The physical plant seen in one hour on one day can be overweighted in the decision-making process from the sound of it.</p>
<p>I agree with post #130 that the tour guide can have a significant impact on one's impression of the school. Our Dartmouth tour guide was friendly and attentive, but focused on minor, irrelevant details (for example, when touring the student center, she stressed that lockers were where students could place their books or backpacks and that students could put their feet up on a certain table. And these were lengthy explanations.) that caused us to leave the tour after 25 to 30 minutes of this silliness.</p>
<p>Then there is my neighbor, who fell in love with a certain school at which her tour guide, coincidentally, looked like a Greek god.:D</p>
<p>The admissions reps and office staff at Princeton were, across the board, snotty and rude, which turned me off, despite loving the coach and the campus. Our tour guide was sort of a dingbat, too.</p>
<p>It is really fascinating what insignificant factors lead to a decision as big as college. Wow. </p>
<p>Imagine what criteria people use when choosing a president!</p>
<p>Nimby58 - You're absolutely right, but telling your kid not to let the weather, tour guide, etc. influence them will have minimal impact. If it's raining, they'll imagine themselves walking to class in the rain. If the tour guide is snotty, they'll tell you that this person was selected to be a tour guide because he/she is representative of the student body. If the buildings are dirty, your kid will tell you that if the cleaning department is underfunded then the bio/psych/business/English departments are probably underfunded too. If the dorms are unattractive, your kid will claim that clearly they will negatively impact his/her ability to study. My suggestion is that if you really believe a school was eliminated for the wrong reason, schedule a second visit. One of my kids did change from a neutral to a positive on one school based on a 2nd visit, but none of them ever changed from a negative all the way to a positive reaction. Once they had written off a school, it was OVER no many how many times I got them to look at it again.</p>
<p>It's frustrating when a parent likes a school, and the kid doesn't. In my case, I warned my kids that I was reserving my power (wallet power) to veto a school. I've only had to say ABSOLUTELY NO twice so far.</p>
<p>D. and I took two flights to get to Burlington, then rented a car to drive across VT to Dartmouth. Expected to love it, but hated it. The main focus seemed to be the drinking culture and fraternities. Yuck. While my daughter had an interview, I chatted with a dad in the admissions waiting area and compared notes. He agreed about the drinking problem, and on his tour had actually asked the airhead giving the tour if anyone got out of Dartmouth without being an alcoholic. Her reply: "I don't know, I'm only a sophomore!".
D and I had planned to spend the night in Hanover before moving on, but left that day.</p>
<p>Touring with my son, encountered a male and female tour guide pair at Williams, leading their first group. They looked like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Only they were much smarter and cooler.
I have to admit it sealed MY impression of the school!</p>
<p>BengalMom: When we visited Dartmouth, the admissions officer stressed the "country club" aspects of the college. A few students pretended to be drunk while walking around campus. I really like the town as well as Dartmouth's trimester system & D plan (which requires, among other things, sophomores to stay for the summer term) but the students acted as if they had never experienced freedom before entering college. My son was offered a "fly in visit" but declined. And, just as you posted above, everything seemed to focus on the drinking culture & fraternities. Surprisingly, one of our best visits was the University of Alabama (Honors College) which emphasized academics, volunteer responsibilities, EC & internship opportunities and the spectacular facilities--especially the honors dorms.</p>
<p>Reading these posts reaffirms to me that I made the right decision last year when my S was going through all this.</p>
<p>S went to visit the college he had the most interest in BY HIMSELF and he stayed Thur mid day-Sun morn. The college flew him up and he and the college admissions department handled the details.</p>
<p>Since S was the one attending if he decided to go there, not me, I did not see what having my "opinion" on the matter benefitted his decision. </p>
<p>BTY-- when I drove him to freshman orientation and dorm move-in I found the campus, students and administration to be just fine with me --FWIW.</p>
<p>It is amazing how kids react so strongly to seemingly little things. My son's experience:</p>
<p>Tufts: Beautiful campus, but he really got tired of the pretentiousness and apparent conceit of the tour guides. The person giving the info session spent all of her time stressing how selective the school was and how only the "best" would be admitted -- leaving no time for Q&A.</p>
<p>Santa Clara University: My son absolutely did NOT want to attend school in California (too much like AZ) -- until he visited. He was completely won over by the friendliness of everyone he met there, including faculty and staff.</p>
<p>University of Puget Sound: Absolutely turned off by the unfriendliness of students walking around campus and an extremely bored tour guide who's answer to nearly every question was "I don't know."</p>
<p>danas- Did it seal your impression positively or negatively?</p>
<p>I liked Wake Forest, Amherst, UChicago, Northwestern, UNC, Princeton, and Washington and Lee before visiting. After visiting, I had absolutely no interest in any of these schools.</p>
<p>I thought I'd like Vassar, until I visited and realized just how liberal it is... I was pretty apathetic toward Dartmouth and Pitt, but after my visits, I loved both schools.</p>
<p>Post #154 is my all time favorite.</p>
<p>Houston is humid all year round - miserable! I guess you aclimate after awhile - otherwise no one would stay. Houston has some great attributes, but the weather wrecks it for me! We'll be visiting Rice with younger D who has a friend there who LOVES the school (but has found it much more challenging than expected).</p>
<p>07Dad,
DH and/or I visited with DS the first time around. For the final visits as he makes a decision, DS is going solo. It's got to be his choice, he knows where we stand on the $$, and if traveling solo to distant schools is a pain, then he'd better learn that now. He also figured out the logistics of where he's staying (since he's not going on Accepted Student Weekends), local public transit, getting himself to classes, appointments, etc.</p>
<p>I've been to two of his three top choices -- the third one I last visited in 1985. Am not sure how we're going to handle move-in -- DS2 will be either in the throes of two-a-day football practice or already in classes when DS1 leaves. DS2 already has a summer job lined up, and DS1 is looking for one -- not sure how we'll do anything for a family vacation this year (even just for a weekend camping -- DS2's job is on the weekends, and DS1 hopes to get a job at a local camp, which will be weekdays).</p>
<p>Breathe deeply.</p>
<p>My S visited - and changed his impression - about some schools not yet mentioned:
Claremont - McKenna looked like a perfect fit on paper and he was impressed during an initial day visit, but after an overnight decided not to apply - just didn't click with the students there.
Trinity Univ. in Texas also bit the dust after an official visit - coach was great, campus was OK, but highly touted dorms were average, weather was HUMID, and students seemed a little less serious academically than he expected. He also hated that a car was really necessary to get off campus (no public transportation "this is Texas", and no walkability off campus).
UC Berkely - had to convince him to get out of the car, and after the tour he was glad that getting in OOS was so hard - didn't apply
Stanford - dream school for years, but after a visit felt it was too big, too impersonal, too impressed with itself, and would be a much better spot for grad school - didn't apply
Emory - thought it was his first choice - thrilled with the sports opp, the scholarship/fin aid package, and the academic opportunity. We couldn't afford to visit unless admitted, so it was down to the wire for a decision - but after visiting felt the size, the student culture, and the distance were weighty factors.
Whitman - a little afraid it might be too small or too far from a city - but after (several) visits this school was at the top of his list with Emory (very different!) after the visit to Emory - Whitman won out and he has been more than happy with the academic, athletic, community service, and social opps at this school.
Good luck to all!</p>
<p>Mu daughter and I are planning on visiting schools in the greater Boston area. She wants to major in Business and we are looking for a more urban location, but one that has some good financial aid packages. Any suggestions?</p>