<p>I suppose it had to happen eventually. After visiting three dozen schools with D#1 and D#2 there was finally a college visit worthy of a REALLY negative report. My dilemma is that while this school apparently appeals to a certain type of student, it shouldn't appeal AT ALL to the intellectually curious students served by CC. I'm not interested in polluting CC with negativism, but it seems unfair to let this visit pass unreported. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>PS, I should add that while this school is in "The Best 361" it's not a school I've seen mentioned much on CC.</p>
<p>I had a child go for an overnight at a top 10 LAC. After being offered alcohol and drugs, and actually being pressured to use them, this child went out and found some other students, sleeping in their room in a different dorm.</p>
<p>I contacted the head of admissions and, as politely as I could, pointed out that several laws were broken and that he should look into the matter.</p>
<p>NewHope, I think that if you want to post a review that is negative, you should do so - but try to state things in objective terms. Also, try to sort out what may have been a one-time instance from what would objectively be the experience for any visitor. </p>
<p>Tarhunt's example is a case in point about an unfortunate incident which may or may not represent the school as a whole -- Tarhunt was right to report it because the school should know not to assign any more overnight visitors to those students as hosts, but obviously there were other students on campus in a different dorm who did not engage in such behavior. So all you know from that is that there are SOME students at the college with poor judgment and bad habits.... but that could be true of just about any college.</p>
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I think most CCer would be interested in your observations during your college visit.
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<p>I wouldn't be interested, personally, unless there was a repetitive pattern. A single incident is not a useful datum. Anecdotal info is sometimes worse than no info at all.</p>
<p>I would, however, be interested if the name of the school is omitted.</p>
<p>We had our own very negative impression of a top LAC. My son wanted to leave after the info session but we insisted on going on the tour. It is a very popular school and I am sure many students are very happy there. Just not for us, so I didn't feel the need to bash the school publicly. </p>
<p>So, let's play, "Guess this school"! Was your school in your home state? An ajoining state? Is it bigger than a breadbox?</p>
<p>NJ - An intellectual challenge? I'm game. Try this to start:</p>
<p>Mid-sized school located on both sides of a river you never heard of, and it has a law school in a different city than the main campus. Oh, one more thing --- ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad can't play in this game!</p>
<p>I would make a report, it is actually a fair thing to do for the school, if their presenters are doing a poor job, the administration needs to know</p>
<p>if the school is just a bad school they need to be aware of how they are percieved</p>
<p>My Ds had a presenter at their middle school for private HSs in the area, one presenter came across as snobby, arogant, and subtly bashed the other schools in an attempt to look better</p>
<p>I shared my feelings with the school, as prospective parents, we need to give our feedback</p>
<p>Some schools we toured even sent D an email after asking how the tour was</p>
<p>So, imo, I would at minimum send an email to the admissions department with your personal observations, I am sure you are not the only one that felt that way, but if no one says anything, nothing ever changes</p>
<p>Whle not naming the school, what particulars were disturbing, you can do THAT now that you have piqued our curiosity</p>
<p>I don't see anything wrong either. It's simply that, as nicely elucidated by NJRes above, I see very little benefit in trashing a school that obviously benefits the many students who choose to attend there. And I don't know how to avoid trashing an institution of higher education when my complaint is "a lack of intellectual curiosity common to ALL students, faculty, staff and administrators I spoke with."</p>
<p>I have posted fairly negative ones about a couple of schools that we visited- but is is likely that someone will like it and respond with a different viewpoint. 'Lack of intellectual curiousity' for you could be 'comfortable and secure' for someone else. One of the schools from which we ran in terror is currently the happy home of one of my son's hs classmates. Different kids, different fits.</p>
<p>Hmmm. Won't say the name of the school? I think you could write a report that wouldn't be negative, but would give the readers the idea that the focus of the students of the school seemed different from other schools you've visited, or something. There are ways to do it. I can think of some schools that don't have much of an intellectual vibe. Some people consider that a plus.</p>
<p>mstee, I know of many schools that don't have an intellectual vibe. That's OK. But what college President is comfortable admitting "I know our school lacks an intellectual vibe and I'm OK with that, as are our faculty, staff and students." As I've said earlier, I'm not looking to trash the school. Is it possible to "flag" the school for CC types without trashing it?</p>
<p>citygirlsmom - OK here's a tiny slice of the visit. My D likes to ride. At the Outings office I ask if they'll be offering any horseback outings. "Why would she want to do that?"</p>
<p>Oh my. All I can say is, if the president is comfortable with saying something like that, why wouldn't you post the name of the school? He/she would probably consider it good publicity!</p>
<p>Okay, seriously, just write up a factual report. We met with X, Y, and Z. When my daughter asked about Q, X's response was . . . One student, R, told my daughter that . . . </p>
<p>You can even make such a report positive. Were students friendly? Was the campus beautiful? Did the students seem happy? What are the strengths of the school? Why do people go there? -- Maybe not for the intellectual challenge, but there must be some reason. Maybe the lack of intellectual curiosity had a big impact on you, but you can describe that in various ways. You can make it a <em>part</em> of the report, while taking care to include some positives.</p>
<p>Your description, including the non-intellectual atmosphere, sounds like a dead ringer for Union College (affiliated w/ Albany Law School), though I don't remember specifically whether it spans the Mohawk River. Heck, I was quite disappointed in my own visit there some twenty-odd years ago. Union looked like such a nice fit on paper, but the "vibe" of my two visits just didn't click at all. Way too fratty/preppy for my personal tastes, and the students tend not to be intellectually curious, despite the high stats of the entering classes.</p>
<p>NewHope - I really don't understand why you are being so coy. EVERY college report is someone's biased opinion. Whatever college you post, someone is bound to mention a student they know that goes there and is happy. I only half believe the write-ups in the college review books and the authors supposedly got a few people's impressions and are unbiased. If you ever read studentsreview.com you will come to the conclusion that every college is a bad one. Post away, we can take it!</p>