<p>Just wondering how many and which campuses people toured and how impressed/disappointed you were. I'm looking at touring American, UBaltimore, and UMD on the East Coast later this year, as well as UMinnesota-Duluth, UND, Belmont, and possibly Valdosta. I'm sort of caught between a few, so I'm hoping one of them will eventually just scream, "You love me! Enroll here!" If any campuses had a make or break impact on your decision, please share.</p>
<p>start by touring campuses of various types near you. A urban U, a suburban U, a rural LAC, etc. These don’t need to be schools you plan to apply to, but you want to get an idea of what it really feels like to be at them.</p>
<p>Why Valadosta State?</p>
<p>I’m interested in their criminal justice program.</p>
<p>We made it a goal to visit as many different types of schools as possible to get an idea of the environment I liked best. Hence, we ended up with two Big State Flagships, two selective and tiny LACs, two medium LACs, one small Evangelical Christian, one large private Research U, and one super-selective Elite Research U.</p>
<p>I fully expected to get gut feelings at each campus-- either “nope, nope, nope” or “MUST COME HERE”. Didn’t happen. Aside from one state flagship that was an absolutely horrible fit and off-putting visit experience, I mostly felt “I could maybe come here” at ever school. Of course, some were better than others. But there were no Damascus moments (which you will so often read about on CC). It was disconcerting but also reassuring… I think I could make most schools work out.</p>
<p>Of course, this will probably make things more difficult come decision time ;)</p>
<p>warriordaughter, I think you are very smart to realize that you could make many different schools work out. My D, who is beginning her sophomore year in college, kept waiting for that “Damascus” moment to happen because everyone told her she would just “know.” It never happened that way. We went through the whole process, she narrowed it down to 3 schools that she really liked, then 2 and then finally just took a leap knowing that she would likely be happy either place. She loves her school and feels strongly that she made a great choice, but often makes a point to tell younger students (including her sister, a senior in high school this year) to not be fooled by the assurance that you would know the minute you stepped on the campus. For some, that is the case. For others, it is a matter of narrowing it down to a few really great choices. Best of luck to you!!</p>