<p>Daughter is accepted, thrilled to finally tour and a big let down. Tour guide wasn't into but her area of interests and glossed over other factors of the school. Wi Fi not available everywhere (ethernet in dorm rooms?) and most of the buildings seem dark and gloomy. Bright, gorgeous, sunny day and outside looked great but some of the major tuitition money should go to lighting! I wish we had asked for another tour guide or more questions of the guy leading the info session. Now wondering where she'll attend.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re the only one who had that impression. We are also reconsidering.</p>
<p>We are your other choices? I really hoped to have her deposit set. Now it’s more decisions, more last minute school visits.</p>
<p>SLC is unique. I was disturbed by the physical plant when we toured and D decided to go to Barnard.</p>
<p>However, if the student is pursuing an art SLC is amazing. Friend of S’s attends and do does her boyfriend, and they’ve been very happy there.</p>
<p>Please don’t be put off by one guide. SLC is an amazing place. I’m a student and I absolutely love it. If there are any questions that you didn’t get to ask the guide, please ask me. Virtual guide here.</p>
<p>thanks, (th) ink. She’ll probably ask you questions later.</p>
<p>(thi)ink, can you give us your impressions regarding the facilities? We visited last summer and most of the buildings were closed so we couldn’t see classrooms, dorms, etc. SLC is D’s first choice right now, and when I mentioned the dark classrooms, etc., that didn’t phase her too much. I would love to hear your opinion though!</p>
<p>I have to warn you that my question is a surprising one from a mother! My biggest concern is the social life for a girl with so few boys on campus. She is currently at a school where there is a large gap between boys and girls, and, as you can imagine, the competition between too many girls and too few boys is fierce. It really isn’t healthy and leads to boyfriend poaching (this issue deeply affected her), etc. I certainly don’t want her to make male availability the most important criteria for choosing a college, but, building relationships IS an important part of the college years. I do understand that not everyone is heterosexually oriented at SLC, and that is just fine with my D. She has many friends of all orientations, as do most kids deeply involved in the arts. She respects everyone’s individuality and expects others to respect hers. As a mother, I am simply concerned for her. Any thoughts on my concerns?</p>
<p>I had a female friend who went there in the late sixties and early seventies. During that time, I visited SLC several times.</p>
<p>Earlier this year I took my daughter to visit because she was very interested in going. I was more than a little disappointed in the facilities there. While the school has a terrific academic reputation, the campus didn’t look a whole lot different than it did 40 years ago. A few new buildings, etc., but the insides were pretty sad when you consider the cost of attending. No wireless, huh? Not good. I was also surprised that the campus is not wired for cable TV. C’mon, this is the 21st century and they still don’t have any TV?</p>
<p>SLC is a very accepting place for the gay and lesbian community and they probably have a larger than average non-straight student body. Your daughter is definitely going to be among many girls vying for the attentions of a few boys. I agree with you that this is (and should be) a legit concern.</p>
<p>You might want to do a little “Googling” on the Internet. I recall reading a article describing SLC’s perpetual financial woes. As a small school wanting to offer the best staff, I’m sure the money is earmarked for the staff, not the facilities.</p>
<p>That’s not all bad, though. I never heard a potential employer asking what a prospective employee’s college dorm looked like.</p>
<p>theatremom2009:
Truthfully, the facilities are not quite what I expected either. Except for Heimbold, the visual arts building, most others are dark, old and not that great. The dorms especially are a problem. Most first years are either housed in the New Dorms or in Hill House. The New Dorms are small, cramped and horrible to live in, and you usually end up living in a triple. Hill House is far from campus, but the rooms are airy, spacious and pretty great. But the dorms for Seniors and Juniors (and some Sophomores) are great. Mead Way housing is where you get to live in a great house, and they’re all really central to campus. You also have the choice of living in group housing with a bunch of friends, which is also great. </p>
<p>The classroom aren’t dark at all. Most seminar classrooms are open and airy, structured around a round table for discussion. All classrooms have wireless internet and most have a TV, or a projector, and video facilities. </p>
<p>Contrary to what people seem to be saying here, there is wireless internet on campus. Just not everywhere. But most of the main campus, including most of the dorms do get wireless internet. Cable TV is available in the Pub, and in most areas where there are TVs, just not in the dorms. </p>
<p>Concerning, the sex-ration, I have bad news. There is a lot of boyfriend-poaching and a lot of girl-girl rivalry. The number of heterosexual males is very low compared to the number of heterosexual females. There is competition and dating is quite cutthroat. But from what I’ve seen, most relationships don’t turn sour. The community here is very accepting, of all kinds of people. We’re all very openminded here. Trust me, your daughter thoughts and individuality will be respected and encouraged. She just needs to be prepared to participate in heated discussions with people with contrasting views. But its all healthy, all fun.</p>
<p>Bankroll & (th)ink, thank you so much for your honest replies. It took me a full day to get up the nerve to ask my question regarding relationships 
I am printing off this thread to e-mail to my daughter who is away at boarding school. I want her to have as much information as possible when making her final decision. Thank you again.</p>
<p>Hi,
I am not surprised by your reaction, if you remember in my very first post I warned that the tours were ridiculously bad and that the dorms were dreadful. I have to say that it really threw me for a loop too. What made my daughter insist that it was the right place was the writing program, which is realy second to none, partly because of the proximity to NY city. The kids all seem to bond about the bad dorms and somehow they seem to love it. We saw many colleges with beautiful dorms and it was hard for me, as a MOM to picture my daughter in a dark, old, dorm. It is the work that engages her. That is what she talks about and I cannot tell you how much she loves it. I suppose it is not for everyone. If your daughter is serious about writing, she may want to talk to one of the writers on the faculty. I think that the college fails to woe kids with their tours because there are so many waiting for a seat. I will tell you however, that once a student matriculates, they could not be more supportive. Just my thoughts. Bottom line of this may be…don’t judge a college by the dorms?</p>
<p>I had a friend who was accepted to SLC after a poor campus tour. While initially it was low on her list of schools that she was considering attending, she went back and walked the campus on her own and got a very different impression. If you have time to do so before decisions are due, then I would go ahead. It might change her mind a bit!</p>
<p>She’s gotten tons of emails from various department heads the past two days. Hoping she’ll contact a few people to decide what makes it worth it.</p>