Good for you and your kids! As it should be. Sadly some of us, parents and kids alike can be so danged superficial and immediate in making decisions.
My one son could not get over the construction going on at a school. Another hated the impact that a snow storm had on a school, even while continuing to consider other schools that certainly had to have lime issues. Fleeting impressions unfortunately can feature highly
Two of my kids put schools up on the top of their lists because the planets just happened to line up just right for their visits.
So, unfortunately, I well know that these impressions that likely have nothing to do with the fit and how fine a school is, can have impact. Wash U, Bates, CWRU are all fine schools.