<p>Thank goodness this is all behind us as our D is making a final decision between acceptances now, but for all you parents with juniors, enjoy this humorous article:</p>
<p>J.D</a>. Rothman: How to Plan a College Tour from Hell</p>
<p>I’d laugh more if my freshman isn’t at the college where all the planets lined up exactly right during his tour there painting the most unrealistic picture of life anywhere on this planet. And I am not exaggerating. It was like it was scripted from that “Truman” movie --I was looking for the friggin’ hidden cameras. Everyone smiled and waved at him, offered him jobs, spoke spontaneously. The food at the cafeteria was A1. It was PERFECT. No wonder he was hooked.</p>
<p>Another kid of mine eliminated a school when it was pouring down rain, got lost getting there, parking was in outer Siberia, we missed our admissions session by 15 minutes and the next one was full so they would not let us join it. He stepped into a mud/water puddle. We got the dregs of the cafeteria lunch as they were closing up, and the tour guide had hiccups and farted several times. I left a bag in a building and had to send DS back to get it and he got lost, bag was gone and no one there could even begin to help him.</p>
<p>LOL cptofthehouse! Your last paragraph made me spit out coffee! I’m sure it wasn’t funny at the time though. Is your freshman happy where he/she is now? Sounds like it’s not measuring up.</p>
<p>He is over the moon where he is. The college tour from hell was at a highly ranked school too, that would have made a very nice choice for him. No way would he even consider it. It was not a pleasant ride to and from there. I am so done with college tours for reasons like this. That was the worst, but I have a number of doozies from the many years of doing this. I forgot where I parked at one large school and there were lots around the perimeter of the very large campus and it was, of course, pouring down rain. At another, my son who has severe pollen allergies visited at the height of the blooms, at a school famous for its beautiful flowering bushes and nearly ended up in anaphylaxic shock. In two more years, I’ll be doing my last gig. Maybe I’ll write a book like Neurotic Parent did.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse - Please write a book! Please write a book! Hilarious!!</p>
<p>Cptofthehouse: sign me up! I’ll buy it…</p>
<p>Wow! I’ve been on lots of college visits, but none as extreme as yours, cpt.</p>
<p>You don’t have 5 kids, most likely. And mine span a lot of years. I still have a young one just starting high school. They are also very different so there were only a few colleges that overlapped. I have two that turned down in state Cornell, something that still gives DH tics when he thinks about it.</p>