<p>DD plans to head to a California school for the weather amongst other things. Is wanting to learn to surf a bad criteria for selection? :) Actually, she does have some other valid reasons for her choice but it did all start with the question back in jr. high, "Do I have to go to college in Illinois?" and progressed last year to, "Why does anyone even live here?"</p>
<p>DH and I went to college in upper Michigan where the average annual snowfall was over 200". One year we had snow on Oct. 1. Anyone find that to be a deterrent?</p>
<p>Mine went the opposite way- California to Pennsylvania. I laughed when she called in October and told me how cold it was- in the 50’s!!! Now that it’s in the teens, she says she has learned to cope. Weather was not a deterrent to her as she was anxious to try something new. She actually likes the change from what she is used to, but says she doesn’t think she would want to stay permanently. I know my Mom went from Illinois to California, and said she would never go back!</p>
<p>I don’t think weather and surfing is such a bad reason to find a school here, as long as the school meets her academic requirements. College is the time to explore so she might as well try it. I have to say, we were at the beach this weekend and it was in the high 70’s; very tempting. The only problem is that it is sometimes hard to concentrate on studying when the beach is this close and this warm!</p>
<p>Weather is certainly a valid criterion, but it should not trump more important criteria such as academic quality, cultural fit and cost of attendance. </p>
<p>California has many great universities and colleges, but most of them are reaches. Schools like Cal, Caltech, Claremont McKenna, Pomona, Stanford, UCLA etc… </p>
<p>UCSB, UCSC and UCSD are probably the best suited for students who like good weather and surfing, but are they worth paying twice the price of UIUC when they are not quite as strong academically?</p>
<p>Definitely. I (perhaps ignorantly) ruled out the Ivies and east-coast schools because I really don’t like cold/rainy weather. (I also wouldn’t have had a chance at Ivies anyway, but this is my excuse for not applying to them.)</p>
<p>D wanted to go to a southern school to “get away from all the snow”. She got her wish and sat in her dorm room for 4 days while her college cancelled classes due to the recent storm. I think she thought that once you get south of Virginia that it is like the Bahamas year round. </p>
<p>We did consider weather only as a travel factor. If D went to a college that she was considering in Minnesota, there was a concern about flight cancellations impacting her trips home.</p>
<p>this thread is kinda funny in light of the weather in the south this winter…where would one go if one actually IS factoring weather into the college choice?</p>
<p>This year other than California, Arizona or some parts of Florida, you would be outta luck…</p>
<p>Bobby: I hear ya; daughter just deposited to Elon and they, too, were closed for a number of days…she is not amused…</p>
<p>My mom keeps bringing up the fact that it will be freezing and snowy at Geneseo for nearly the entire year. I don’t think it’d make or break my decision but it has definitely been a deterrent lately.</p>
<p>Yes, completely ruled out Cornell, among other schools, due to the insane amount of snow. I’m more of a beach kind of guy…strangely, I didn’t apply to any schools near the beach. Unfortunate that very top few schools are coastal.</p>
<p>FWIW, Ithaca gets a good deal of snow, but it is south of the famed “snow belt” . It’s average snowfall is 67 inches, vs. over 100 inches just an hour away in Syracuse. It’s perfectly OK not to like Ithaca’s amount either, it gets plenty of snow for sure, but if you’re talking “insane” my fear is you’ve confused it as being in the snow belt, which it isn’t.</p>
<p>Another thing to bear in mind is a decent sized subset of that annual snowfall comes when students are off campus on break between semesters.</p>
<p>It was both my kids lists. Didn’t want too hot and humid, nor too cold and snowy (and not in western US)…their final lists had a very small geographical footprint :-)</p>
<p>My daughter insisted on going somewhere with four seasons. She will be going to school in Boston and is so excited to experience a real Northeast winter! She updates me on the temperatures and snowfall in Boston every day.</p>
<p>Long ago I fled my home in Ohio to go to Georgia Tech in part because of some terrible winters during high school. I’ve been able to live most of my adult life in the sunbelt, but we did live up north for five years when the kids were young. So of course, both of them went north for college with my now graduated son making his home in NYC and my daughter at college in Boston. She complained about how little snow we had during winter break (5") and happily returned to two feet of snow in Boston this past weekend. Weather was not a determinant for either kid, but experiencing something different from what they had most of their lives was a plus. We’ll see if they still like it after a few more years. One thing in their favor is that since they are in cities with good mass transit they do not have to worry about winter driving.</p>
<p>Yes, it was a massive factor. I can’t stand weather above 80 degrees. I become cranky and horrible to everyone. Places where that’s common weather aren’t on my radar at all. I like the cold, and I like snow and rain. For that reason I completely disregarded any colleges not in the north-east, excepting colleges in Oregon and Washington.</p>
<p>Haha I consider weather agreement to be more important than selectiveness of college. You can make so much more out life in general when your environment is at least tolerable.</p>
<p>Weather is definately a determining factor for the schools that I’m applying to
Living in Alberta, Canada my entire life where in January and February the temperatures can drop to as low as -50 (not often, but once in a while), and generally range from about -5C (23F) to about -30C (-22F)
I’m applying solely to schools in California :)</p>
<p>I think weather should definitely be a determining factor. I went from CA to MA and I really regret the choice. My family couldn’t send me to look at the school in the winter, but I had been to Chicago during the winter dozens of times, so I thought I knew what I was in for. I was 100% wrong. Its not only that it gets cold, but it gets dark much earlier, at least in my situation. I can’t play the sports I used to play, and in general I’ve found that I’m a happier person in CA. </p>
<p>I think that weather should be considered in conjunction with academics/prestige. Harvard vs. Cal Poly isn’t a hard choice at all, but anything comparable should definitely take into account weather. Just my two cents.</p>
<p>When my D began her college search, and even during the app. process, she never mentioned weather, but she applied only to schools she thought would be challenging and had an EC she had to have (recruited). By the time it came to make the final decision, weather played a big factor. She wanted to be able to practice the EC outdoors, as it is played. She wound up in San Antonio, TX. No winter to speak of there, and over 300 days of sunshine each year. I think e-mails she regularly got from 2 coaches in CA letting her know they were wearing shorts in Jan./Feb. had some influence, but those schools weren’t as good a fit overall.</p>
<p>We are from the Midwest, and she suffers when she is here in winter for break.</p>
<p>Weather is a non-negotiable factor for me. I get heat exhaustion easily - especially when it’s humid - and I will not give up running and biking outside.</p>
<p>I love snow and fall colors.</p>
<p>At the same time, I did draw the line at UAF. Cold is good, but it’s possible to have too much of a good thing.</p>
<p>Not a significant factor, so I was really irked by my counselor, who tried persuading me to reconsider UChicago and UMich simply because it’s COLD there.</p>
<p>And I live in Pennsylvania. It’s not like it never gets cold here.</p>
