<p>On the naked thing (far more interesting than the topic itself), they do have naked parties at Yale, but I wouldn’t say that it is a campus tradition, exactly. My son is in a rock band that was invited to play at such a party–but they would have had to be naked, too. He called me to ask my opinion of this opportunity (believe it or not). I discouraged it on several grounds–I told him that as a musician, it was his job to make others feel happy, not inadequate. His band didn’t do it (I think).</p>
<p>On the main topic, I wouldn’t let my kid attend a school if the reason for choosing it was really bad. There are a few (like Liberty and Bob Jones) where I can’t imagine an acceptable reason they’d want to go there, but I don’t like to prejudge. We didn’t want our son to go to a music conservatory, but we would have let him.</p>
<p>Add DePauw and Purdue for two non-liberal colleges that have streaking/nudity.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t want DS to attend any school where stuent teacher interaction is rare. He has gravitated toward a lot of tiny LACs for that very reason. Big may be better for many, but he wouldn’t thrive a large lecture. He is not a kid that would always rise to the challenge to get more out of a class when he could get the same grade without doing extra work. He is mortified when he sees how good my grades were at flagship U when he knows I partied almost every day and night.</p>
<p>squidge–St. John’s University in Minnesota address is Collegeville, MN. Great beach on campus :).</p>
<p>redpoint-Creighton in Omaha doesn’t have a football team but soccer and basketball are huge.</p>
<p>I don’t understand the aversion to sports. They are a great social activity on campus, a great way to establish traditions, etc. Having attending a very football oriented school, I didn’t feel that it hampered my education at all, quite the opposite, it brought a lot of things to the campus that would not have been there had it not been for the popularity of the football team and yes, the money the program brought to the school.</p>
<p>Just curious, is there a serious reason behind this statement? Only wondering because a large number of my elementary/middle school acquaintances ended up at College of Marin It seems to be a decent enough CCC and many transfer to UCs/CSUs…</p>
<p>We did a drive-through of High Point U last year enroute somewhere else, on recommendation of a local relative, and before we even got to the roving ice cream truck mention, I was wondering how much of the impressive fund-raising that built the new deluxe facilities and brick-iron fencing was left over for academics and attracting excellent professors. Aesthetically, it reminded me too much of a southern sprawl gated subdivision. Of course, S was wowed by the country club features, but I reminded him that college is not a vacation.</p>
<p>As for The Ohio State University, I’ve heard of parents who told their kids they could apply anywhere EXCEPT OSU. I live in Michigan. :)</p>
<p>I’m not a user of FB/Twitter/etc, so it bothers me when people judge you for not facebooking/tweeting in the middle of class and for actually paying attention. I’d be concerned if there are a lot of ‘fluff’ classes, that no one signs up for, taking place of actual requirements. It would suck if courses that kids actually want to take would only have 40 spots and 30 people on the waitlist (but this way, you have plenty of room for sixty sections of underwater basket weaving!).</p>
<p>It’d be nice to have strong communities within communities, too, be it through clubs or otherwise. It’d be awful to go to a school where Greek life is lame, participation in ECs and school spirit are next to none. Besides, I’d like students to somewhat care about their studies, too (imagine going to a school where the weekend starts on Monday). </p>
<p>Dorms should something to think about once you’re accepted at a few schools and going on admitted students days. Imagine a college where the dorms have black mold infestations (which no one cares to clean up) and that aren’t clean when you arrive. Yuck! </p>
<p>What would break my heart, though, would be going to a school like this full pay and dropping a quarter of a million dollars for four years there.</p>
<p>Granted, I have a bias against certain states, greek life, religious fanatics, and (as a UCLA Alum) USC, but after D’s journey from a small southern religious LAC, to a large not -so presigious western State school, to a large prestigious grad school…I have learned that my biased preconceptions didn’t mean a hill of beans. What “I wanted” was not close to half as important as what “she needed.”
And, when she went to her grad audition at USC, I even drove her to campus with a smile on my face. Not a sincere smile, but a smile none-the-less. ;)</p>
<p>Several years ago my son and I visited a small state school in the Dakotas. They wanted him to play football there. I’m not cruel enough to name the school/town. I forget if it was the college’s website, or the town that the college was in’s website that boasted: “paved roads” and “a bowling alley”. IRRC those were the only two major draws listed. That one got crossed off quickly.</p>
<p>I’d also think twice about any college so off the beaten path that you have to drive several hours on two lane highways to get there.</p>
<p>After reading about Dartmouth’s recent hazing revelations, I’d think twice about that too. (Not that that’d be on anyone’s list from our house anyway.)</p>
<p>Penn State, I’d think twice about that one too.</p>
<p>Colleges located in states that seceded from the Union. I know a girl who went to a state flagship in the south to take advantage of a special program. She said many of her fellow students from that state had gone to woefully inadequate high schools–and many of them were in the top ten percent of their class. She said many of them had never written an essay or paper in high school. TA’ing an English class, she said many of the topics of student’s papers were of a Bible Belt ethos–ie titles like “Why Homosexuals shouldn’t be allowed on Television”. She said that upper level English courses covered topics like resume writing.</p>
<p>You wouldn’t let your kid apply to the University of Virginia or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, two of the best flagship state universities in the country?</p>
<p>This also seems like an unusual reason to veto Duke.</p>
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<p>And this seems like an unusual reason to veto Cornell, Syracuse, the University of Rochester, and all of the multitude of schools in the Boston area. You buy a really good coat and a plentiful supply of hats, scarves and gloves. You wear boots or old sneakers when you go outside. You survive.</p>
<p>^^^I should have included some ironic looking emoticons. Of course many great colleges are in the south, and probably there are some that are off long stretches of two lane highways. …just having fun.</p>
<h2>DS#1 is a sophomore at Penn State, and I have recommended it highly to several of my friends whose kids are considering it. No regrets. No worries.</h2>
<p>The directional state U that a postcard along the lines of</p>
<p>Dear X,
Come to YZ Univ. New athletic facilities, great sports teams, 1/2 hour from the beach, great nightlife in nearby city, …</p>
<p>and another like</p>
<p>Dear parents of X,
Send your student to YZ Univ. Many options for majors, many research opportunities, outstanding faculty, highly qualified student body, excellent career placement services…</p>
<p>Great thread, with good things to think about. I like Marian and Musicamusica’s posts, about having preconceived notions and finding that they were baseless or not worth worrying about. I still have my own list, of course!</p>
<p>Any school who believes that the Earth is 6,000 years old or that evolution is a baseless theory. That’s a biggie for me. Universities that don’t value science? Argh.</p>
<p>Naked doesn’t bother me :D, and I love college sports, though I can see how a college with too big an emphasis on sports can be a negative. I live in Eugene, Oregon, also known as Nike University…</p>
<p>I am curious about the CCC in Marin too. I believe Marin is the richest county in the country (has the most millionaires or something). Wouldn’t that make for a better cc?</p>
It seems to be a decent enough CCC and many transfer to UCs/CSUs…</p>
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