The weather has been around 75-85 everyday in so cal this winter with no humidity. Waking around In shorts. But traffic and cost of living are terrible.
Marion Barry was actually a very good politician for the people, despite his PERSONAL shortcomings. He always made sure the middle and working class was taken care of. During his whole career, never once was he accused of stealing money or anything of the sort. I am not in any way saying that his failings should have been ignored or that he should have be re-elected. But I caution those that want to cast stones to look at some of the politicians in your own jurisdictions.
Now if you want to talk about dirt bag politicians in DC, there is a whole Hill full of them. And - oh yeah - you guys sent them here.
Good, we hope all the bad weather makes all of the Class of 2016 and beyond apply to school in the warmer climes. I am sure the AdComs at YHP will appreciate that and they will still get a wonderful class of 1,300 stellar students.
Suburbs of DC are supposed to be below 0 tomorrow night. My D changed her mind about even visiting a northern Pennsylvania school because of the weather and I have to say I’m glad.
When my D complains about the cold, I tell her I am sure some school in a warm climate will be glad to have her and that she can transfer. No more complaints after that. This year should not be the milestone by which the northern schools are judged. But everyone has the criteria for schools and if it is that it must be in a warm place, that is a valid reason. That is why “fit” is so important. All these people always wanting to go to an Ivy must realize that none of them are in a warm climate.
. Not me. The ones I vote for never seem to get elected…
There have been a few lengthy threads about this over the years. People have very strong opinions about how students “should” or “shouldn’t” feel about the weather in making college decisions. But in the end, the student, not anyone else, is the one who has to deal with the weather. And most of us parents are not walking outside several times a day. Students walk from dorm to the cafeteria or somewhere else to eat, to one or two classes, maybe to the library or to a meeting, and back to their dorm every day. The weather is a bigger presence in their lives that it is for most parents. So if a kid doesn’t want to deal with extreme weather, and if it is affordable for the family, I think
weather is a reason to cross a school off the list. But other parents have disagreed with me. See this thread:
Weather should certainly be a consideration in choosing a college, as should food, campus appearance, and other factors that seem tangential to the actual education a student will receive. This isn’t shallow at all. They’ll be spending four years there. Shouldn’t those four years be spent somewhere other than a place the student considers hell?
Another benefit of warm weather colleges for athletes - spring sports season has already started in California, so games can be more spread out over the semester. Plus more enjoyable to play outside in nice weather!
^Good point about Spring sports. Snow is piled higher than the nets here with no sign of melting before tennis season! A longer playing season was definitely an attraction for the more southern schools.
I didn’t say that weather shouldn’t be a factor. I am a firm believer in fit - my threads will vouch for that. For my D, since Yale and small NE LACs were her only choices, the cold weather was inevitable. She knew that. Is she happy right now that she is freezing her butt off? No. Is she still very happy to be at Yale? Definitely. So is her BFF who is currently at Harvard buried under feet of snow. It’s funny. Each kid is different. Mine definitely did not want to go anywhere hot and muggy - weather which lasts much longer in the south than these few weeks of cold in New Haven. That’s what makes the world great - individuality.
Hot and muggy in the south…good thing it’s not like that in CA.
@ eastcoascrazy thanks for the perspective. I’m just venting a little as this revelation comes after most application seasons are done. With a little warning, I could have aved the application money from the ‘cold’ school and concentrated on Cali schools. Most of the Cali apps were “let her apply so she can’t say you stifled her dreams” apps
IMO a student can select whatever they feel are “deal-breakers” for a school. I’ve worked with students who don’t want too cold, too small, too religious, single sex, you name it. If thats a criteria for them, thats fine. But IMO, many of us, having attended school in cold weather environs, are plenty familiar with what its like to walk to meals, to class, etc. And the outside weather gear (hats, coats, gloves, etc) are way better/ more efficient and able to keep someone warmer now than they were when we were in school. And if you haven’t gone traying down a campus hill with a tray from the dining hall, you haven’t lived 
Climate was definitely a factor in building the college list, but so were cost, distance, size, majors, “feel”, and student body. Was it a deciding factor? Tough to say, D didn’t have any NE schools on her list but that could have been the climate, cost, or feel of the campuses. The upper Midwest was definitely crossed off due to the winter - the temps as well as the length. D also rejected two schools because it was too hot (and yes, there was an unusual heat wave) during her visit.
DC just has the worst traffic and many type A people telling you how important they are
@jyj626 I traveled to Atlanta on business a few times, always during the height of summer. And I nearly died outside. 
I’m sure I’d love it in the winter. I loved DC and Hilton Head in Feb. In August, ack! Actually, I can barely tolerate August here when we have a “heat wave”: a couple of days around 90.
One thing is that it is always harder to tolerate any extreme weather when you don’t live there and it doesn’t happen gradually.
The weather was not the reason none of mine would go to college in the southern US.
One did end up in DC, and I don’t think traffic is a consideration for college students who don’t drive, DC has good transportation options.
Sure it gets hot. And humid. Thank heavens for garages and A/C. Its ridiculously cold at the moment, (we are up from 15 to 32 degrees!) but we aren’t buried under feet and feet of snow and rarely need to pull out a snow shovel (though I do own one). Don’t dig the car out of snowdrifts or put lawn chairs in cleared parking spaced to save them. Springtime, with the azaleas, the tulips, the lilies and magnolia blossoms is spectacular. Come visit!
I just put away my ski jacket, gloves, warm ups, etc. The only time there should be snow on the ground, there should be skis on my feet.
When I applied to college, I was convinced I was going to cross country ski. I refused to apply any where that didn’t have snow. In truth, I never, not once, went cross country skiing in college. After college when I moved to California, I couldn’t figure out why I was so crazy in HS.