<p>Visited Ursinus with daughter last week. A couple of things struck the both of us as unusual. Firstly, the tour guide wasn't terribly informative. All she seemed to know was the names of the buildings and what depts. were in each of them. Usually, you can insights about the culture of the school from your guide. Not in this case. Every comment was in terms of her membership on the gymnastics team. Also she looked like she literally rolled out of bed to give the tour!</p>
<p>More importantly, we toured from 10AM to about 11:30 on a Thursday, and the campus seemed abandoned! D thought it strange that there were no students in the library or dining hall. The place was eerily quiet--we kept expecting a change of classes that would flood the walkways with students for a few minutes--it never happened.</p>
<p>We've read good things about Ursinus, but don't many of Loren Pope's "Colleges That Change Lives" tend to be quirky?</p>
<p>We just found it very hard to get a handle on that place.</p>
<p>I was just on campus yesterday. (My daughter will be a freshman in the fall; I went to the bookstore to get her a sweatshirt she can wear to her high school's senior "this is my college" celebration tomorrow.) The campus was in beautiful shape - freshly planted flowers, neatly mowed lawns, and no cigarette butts littering the ground. The students I saw seemed to be in good spirits - lots of them were in the dining room. All of them were in pairs or groups; no grim-faced loners with their heads down.</p>
<p>I'm sorry you had a bad tour, and I know how much that can affect to which school a student wants to apply. (We had a memorable tour guide this fall at a different CTCL school. A theatre major, he fancied himself quite the actor and led the tour speaking with a very bad Irish accent. It was all my daughter and I could do listen with a straight face and not run off screaming in the opposite direction.) </p>
<p>My daughter did overnight visits to four schools, and she felt that was the best way to get a handle on how happy and engaged the students were.</p>
<p>I will be attending Ursinus in the fall and I went on a tour on a saturday in Febuary. I had a wonderful one-on-one tour with a sophomore major, who showed me everything and explained everything really well and had a great sense of humor. I saw a lot of students outside. I think you may have gone on an off day. I also did an overnight in late April and had a blast, everyone I met was super nice. Also, the campus was beautiful and it is definitely well-kept. Also, I think class times vary.</p>