I went to a summer program that floats around to different college campuses and one year ended up in a non-AC dorm (there were a higher number of participants that year and I guess parents with kids were deemed more able to hack it than the elderly participants). It was a surreal experience, never really being able to cool down. A week-long sweat lodge or something. 
My daughter crossed William and Mary off the list since not all First Year dorms have AC. No way she could sleep there!
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She needs to cross off all the Ivies too for that reason, if they are on her list.
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Most NESCAC schools don’t have AC either - back in the day that wasn’t an issue (speaking from personal experience) but these days with much warmer Septembers it can get a little toasty. S22 is at UMass Amherst and it was pretty sweltering the first few weeks . . .
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I am thinking more about the fire smoke and no AC - since you need to close all windows. Not just a college issue, but an issue for so many. Was in NYC last month and couldn’t imagine how anyone dealt with the smoke if unable to have ventilation then add the summer heat - a serious health threat. Both my kids go to schools with about 50/50 AC in dorms and I never thought much about it (yes, they complained - but all fine) until dealing with the fire smoke.
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Worth considering:
I’m not suggesting or supporting dishonesty, but if your “slightly asthmatic” child tells housing that they struggle with allergies, most schools will prioritize a building with AC or provide a room AC unit.
So I’m told… by a friend.
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Most schools will require medical documentation.
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No doubt. People are talking about picking schools in New England based on AC. Getting medical documentation is a hell of a lot easier than getting into most of those schools.
Sure, it’s uncomfortable, but selecting a school north of the Mason/Dixon line based on AC availability in buildings you “may” be assigned to for a year seems like a pretty silly decision point for a $400k purchase.
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Just an FYI, from the parent of an “itchy kid” - a/c in dorm environments can potentially cause many issues for those who are sensitive to mold. It is rare that dorm a/c units are properly maintained in order to prevent mold growth. Vents in dorm rooms are often full of dust & mold. Additionally, rugs and other textiles that are in cold, moist, dark environments, will also grow mold. If the room has the commercial carpet flooring that some dorms have, which remains in the room for several years, chances are it is growing mold.
My daughter was sick on and off for most of her freshman year in the a/c dorm (she got a little better when the heat came on). Maintenance did come and allegedly did a deep clean once, but it wasn’t enough. It’s not unique to her university either.
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I dont know why but when I was reading this, Georgetown popped into my mind.
My son needed a Dr. note for an A/C unit this summer at school. It was pretty general, can’t sleep, lethargic, lightheaded, etc.
From the “real” thread…
I’ve lived and worked in the Philly area my entire life, and Drexel has always been a bit of a mystery to me. Several of my closest friends are Drexel grads, and there are 2 things that they all have in common…
- they all seem to still very much appreciate their time there, and
- they all feel as though the co-op experience was a huge plus for them.
As you note, it’s not for everyone. Taking a year to go work during the time you’re “at college” is non-traditional, but the “normal” semesters (or quarters…they might be qtrs there?) feel like any other city school.
I will also say that the campus is infinitely nicer now than it was when my friends were attending Drexel. There are a lot more places to eat and drink and the overall quality of the buildings it much higher.
Last comment… the work experience does give the grads a leg up when they graduate. Everyone I know had a job well before they were done school, and they all seemed slightly more mature when they were done (beyond the extra year on the planet).
I didn’t really consider Drexel when I was applying to schools…but a lot of people I know really enjoyed going there.
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"@ Curium245 CU Boulder - DOWN Boulder is beautiful and the campus is gorgeous but S24 felt like it was procedurally generated from red bricks and tiles. There was nothing about the campus that was memorable to him except the buffalo shaped pool - "
You must not have been there earlier this week when the campus had to be shut down because a bear had wandered onto campus. Last year there was a badger just scurrying down one of the main sidewalks. It’s a wild place.
I don’t think your impressions of DU or CU are off except that I think there are just as many rich kids at DU as at CU and probably more low SES at CU since it is the state university. Summer is a little different as many non-rich kids are off campus, working.
CU and DU both have really nice pools. DU’s pool is the coldest pool I’ve ever been in. Icy.
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Per capita, there could certainly be more wealthy kids at DU as there are in Boulder. As a public flagship, I’m sure there are thousands of in-state attendees at CU who are not from upper middle classes and beyond, whereas even with their merit aid programs DU’s a tough sell for that demo from a cost perspective.
Nonetheless, one definitely carries a stronger stereotype of Range Rover bros and Golden Goose sneakers than the other. There must be some reason that the rich kids from out of state at Boulder have more of an outsized impact on the school’s social scene and perception by others from outside Colorado. I would imagine part of it is the Greek system’s raw size. That’s around 4,000 kids at CU, compared to less than 6,000 total undergrads at Denver. Considering less than a quarter of the undergrads at CU live on campus, the presence of those fraternities and sororities is probably felt more there than at a place where there may be a slightly higher percentage of Greeks overall, but (a) a large number of them are housed on campus or in university-owned properties, and (b) everyone’s required to be on campus through their sophomore year instead of dispersing to a thousand different apartment buildings. In other words, there are not several blocks of enormous chapter houses dominating the neighborhoods right off campus at DU, but there are at CU.
At least around the upper Midwest, the perception is that Boulder’s a party school that happens to be set near the mountains, and Denver’s an outdoorsy school (not crunchy outdoorsy [that’s Montana], just “like to be outside” outdoorsy) that happens to be set in a city. They could just get different portions of the same socio-economic slice that perpetuate those broad stereotypes.
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That might be the impression but it’s not the reality. I went to CU and I live near (and attend a lot of activities) at DU. CU is much more outdoorsy than DU as it is in the foothills, has tubing and kayaking minutes from campus, and bike trails that take you out of town in minutes. DU has bike trails, but they are city trails. To get to the mountains takes about 30-45 minutes. The people I know from both schools also seem to fall into the sporty/naturalists for CU and urban for DU, including their areas of study. CU has a lot more studying water, environmental design, geology and DU seems more government, accounting, business.
Parties? Absolutely CU has more because it has football and plays in a big athletic conference. DU likes its sports too, especially lax and hockey, Its celebrations are lower key but still pretty big. Our dogs aren’t crazy about DU setting off fireworks.
DU has its fair share of BMWs, Audis, Teslas in the parking lots. And the parking around DU really sucks (city just took out a lot of the street parking to make bike lanes). CU has always had wealthy kids from Chicago and NYC attending. We used to joke that New Trier high school could hold its hs reunions at CU and save the alums the travel costs.
I agree that the building architecture at CU are not my particular taste but most love them. CU is much less an urban school than DU
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Boulder is a top OOS destination for a ton of kids in our upper middle/affluent area of Northern CA. So much so that everyone calls it UC (as in California), Boulder.
It attracts decently good students who love to ski and mountain bike. Those two activities are also enormously popular in our area, with a chunk of kids up in Tahoe every chance they get in winter.
DU, less so. Maybe one or two kids go each year.
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CU has around 36,000 students, and close to 45% of those are non-residents. Like many other big schools, it has a reputation as a party school, but it is much more than that for those who take their academics seriously. It has some great programs, facilities, and faculty members. Like every college, some students work hard, play hard, some just work hard, and some just play.
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I agree. My S26 wants to study astrophysics and I understand CU is great for that. But he might be turned off by the Greek party culture. Definitely not his vibe.
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Last numbers I saw showed 10% of CU students were affiliated with the Greek system.
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