<p>I've taken Son to Saturday vocal auditions at two of his schools on Saturdays during the school year. One was on a Saturday morning, and when we were walking around the campus at about 10 am, we observed one student. The other was mid-afternoon and we observed maybe a dozen students total, either outside or in the student center. Where are the students? These aren't schools that are commuter campuses. Does everyone just stay "in" all day on Saturday? </p>
<p>Try as I may, I have no recollection of Saturdays when I was in college (and no, I was not a heavy drinker). I don't know if we slept in, did laundry, studied, or what.</p>
<p>It just sort of creeps me out to think about where the students are....are they really crammed into those tiny dorm rooms all day? Should I see the absence of students as a danger sign?</p>
<p>I remember thinking this same thought when we visited a couple of schools on the weekend. And even now, when I take my D back or visit it seems that it's pretty darn bare on the sidewalks!!!!</p>
<p>I'm actually surprised how much my D and her friends DON'T sleep in on the weekends. I mean, they usually rise around 9:30am, take their time and head out for campus brunch around 11am....I myself, remember often sleeping in till noon on the weekends....</p>
<p>I actually think from all our conversations that D and her friends have much better intent/habits when it comes to studying and balancing fun on the weekends than I remember. So maybe they are all holed up in their individual study places. :)</p>
<p>They are sleeping in. Depending on the school, they are sleeping off hangovers.</p>
<p>Also if a lot of students live off campus, which is the case at some state schools where only 40% or even fewer students live on campus -- the students are at their apartments. There aren't classes Sat., so they don't need to be on campus.</p>
<p>Even on campuses where most students live on campus, there aren't a lot of things to do on campus on weekend days except perhaps study in the library. Extracurriculars usually meet weekday nights.</p>
<p>I would not expect to see much activity in the morning. But it is something to ask about the school. Do a lot of the students leave every weekend? It will vary. One thing DD loved about Rice was that most students stayed around over the weekends and that there were a lot of activities then, too. </p>
<p>Then the next questions is the weather. During audition season it is usually the middle of winter and I am guessing they are doing indoor type things. Did you visit the rec center? Were there students hanging out there or practice rooms or student center or library or dorm area lounges? DD's dorm had a huge common area for each 2 rooms which is where they put the TV and frig. They hung out there a lot with friends. Now they have an apartment. Then her building had a lounge and then her dorm complex had a lounge. Lots of places to hang out. </p>
<p>Definitely worth exploring before committing.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Then the next question is the weather. During audition season it is usually the middle of winter and I am guessing they are doing indoor type things. Did you visit the rec center? Were there students hanging out there or student center or library or dorm area lounges?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>On Saturday we were in the gym building - almost empty; library - only the employees; student cener - empty; dining hall - maybe a dozen students. We couldn't get into the dorms. It was a bit windy, but mid-70 degrees on Saturday.</p>
<p>Older D keeps cautioning her younger sister not to visit schools on Saturday -- she says everybody sleeps in and moves very slowly.<br>
That being said, I remember two very different Saturday visits at small schools -- at one, the student center and library were very busy by afternoon. The other school felt very deserted. Both were almost 100% residential schools (people live on campus all four years.) No rhyme or reason there.</p>
<p>No surprise that you saw no students at 10:00 AM on Saturday.</p>
<p>Mid-afternoon is a different matter. It might indicate the portion of the campus you visited is not convenient to the dorms. It might be a function of timing, too, with you being on campus on a weekend when many students went home, or a weekend right before mid-terms or finals.</p>
<p>The student center may be empty because students hung out there all week and want to hang out somewhere else over the weekend. As I recall from before the crust of the earth cooled, I didn't go to the student center much on weekends either.</p>
<p>You might re-visit another weekend and check out the dining hall areas and ask to see one of the dorms.</p>
<p>College students have different schedules than normal people. For college students - gettig up at 2pm on a Saturday or Sunday is early!! You might see a few students around, and probably more as it gets closer to mid=term and finals, but the majority sleep in.</p>
<p>I try to keep my mouth shut about some things when visiting these schools. I am mostly horrified by the freshman dorms. Lots of the schools have nice apartment-type facilities for upper classmen, but the freshmen dorms are smaller and dingier than what I lived in in the late 70s. It is hard for me to imagine two people spending most of a weekend cooped up together in a tiny cinderblock room. Between the housing and the institutional food (all frozen or from cans), college living conditions seem terrible. (Again, I keep my mouth shut on this issue.)</p>
<p>
[quote]
That being said, I remember two very different Saturday visits at small schools -- at one, the student center and library were very busy by afternoon. The other school felt very deserted. Both were almost 100% residential schools (people live on campus all four years.) No rhyme or reason there.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Sometimes the weekend campus activity waxes and wanes depending where the school happens to be in its academic calendar. Don't know if that was the case for the schools you visited, but closer to the end of the term ... more activity libraries and student centers on the weekends.</p>
<p>I've noticed the same thing at S' small LAC when I've been there on a Saturday or Sunday early for some reason. Between sleeping in, studying and being able to communicate with everyone that you want to without leaving your dorm (via Facebook, texting, etc) I'm not surprised that campuses seem empty on weekends. Everyone lives on campus through most of their junior year at this school too. </p>
<p>Weather also plays a factor. By dinner time and later, I've seen more people out and about.</p>
<p>My freshman called yesterday at 4:15pm...he had just gotten up! Even allowing for Daylight Saving Time, that's still after 3 pm. I have toured many schools with the 3 kids and have never seen a bustling campus early or midday on a weekend unless it was a gameday.</p>
<p>Son is only looking at very small schools and needs to be at a very small school. H and I, however, went to a 20,000+ student state school, so the campuses we're looking at with Son are so different.</p>
<p>That may be it then too Missy....your memory is probably of lots of students out and about, heading to football/basketball games, into town, etc.</p>
<p>Smaller schools - often sports is not as big a thing, brings less people onto campus (even parents, alumini) on the weekends and perhaps, less town means less people heading out. Did it bother your son?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Smaller schools - often sports is not as big a thing, brings less people onto campus (even parents, alumini) on the weekends and perhaps, less town means less people heading out. Did it bother your son?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>There was a baseball double header going on when we were at one school on Saturday....there were a few spectators in fold-up chairs....you know, like we used to bring to our kids' soccer games...a very different vibe than at a large school.</p>
<p>And no, it doesn't bother Son at all...Son would be oh so happy if he had a whole Saturday to play video games....</p>
<p>
[quote]
As I recall from before the crust of the earth cooled,
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I love it. That's how I feel sometimes, especially with college admissions -- totally different world now than when I went to college.</p>
<p>S and I visited a school in Oct on a Thursday and attended a class, had lunch with a couple of students, sat in on info session, and took a tour. We went back on Saturday morning to walk around a bit before our flight out and it was a very different place. Not a soul (well maybe one or two) out and about. </p>
<p>I kind of wish we hadn't gone back -- not the best last memory of a school we both loved. But that is part of life there, as it seems to be on many smaller campuses. I guess it's good to know -- definitely a different side than you see on tour day.</p>
<p>missypie, When we visited schools with our oldest (we were so naive in the college search process back then--lol), we had the same experience when visiting his 1st choice. We actually asked the tour guide about the lack of students hanging out and walking around the campus. He gave us a silly answer and I remember not buying it. We actually visited the campus twice and both times noticed the lack of students walking around the campus. To make a long story short, he got accepted to this school and was so excited to go. Once there, he realized just how truly boring the campus was---the major activity seemed to be hardcore drinking. Little to no fun student activities took place on the weekends. It got to the point where he dreaded the start of the weekends because it meant drunken roommates, puke all over the dorms and in his bathroom ( a shared bathroom between two rooms), kids being sent to the emergency room for alcohol poisoning, etc. He couldn't wait to get the heck out of there. He transferred out after the first year (should have left after the 1st semester looking back on the situation) and has been happy ever since he stepped foot on his transfer school campus. What he thought he would like (a small (2900 students) top tier college with an isolated campus) ended up being the complete opposite of what he ended up really liking (a public instate campus about with approx. 5800 students and located in the center of the town/small city).</p>
<p>See if you can visit again--this time on a Friday/Sat. night. Walk through the campus and see if you see any kids in the student center, fitness center, eateries, coffee joints, etc. Also, go onto their website and check their Events calendar. Also check out the Student Activity/Student Association section of the website. Had we done this, we would have noticed that the school's major events consisted of a year long Pottery art display, Family Bluegrass bands, a movie video on a big screen TV, and the occasional speaker at the Law School. Oh, What fun!</p>
<p>Just got back from a college visit with D2. This was in combination with a sports competition for her, and we spent most of Saturday at the university Rec Center. </p>
<p>The campus was dead (below zero day) but the Rec Center was teeming with students from about noon until 7 PM. </p>
<p>I bought a day pass for $6 and got in a workout, as well as lots of interesting, informative conversations with students and members of the community. You know, treadmill chat!</p>
<p>I'd never thought to do this before, but many colleges (Dartmouth, $10, for another example) offer day passes to their Rec Centers. If you can work it in, I found this to be a fun way to see more students in a casual setting, and definitely answered the question about where at least SOME of the students go on the weekends.</p>
<p>The other light bulb that went on for me was the importance of a well-lit, well-maintained, welcoming rec center, especially in northern climates. D2 and I agreed, survival on this particular campus in the winter would depend on daily visits to the rec.</p>
<p>We visited one school that was a top choice for my daughter. On a sunny Sat afternoon there was no one sitting out at a quad playing frisbee, touch football or playing loud music. We were told most kids were studying for their midterm. I told my daughter to forget it.</p>
<p>I think going to a gym, student center or cafeteria, where students are more relaxed, is a very good way of getting to know a school. You could get a lot more information than doing a guided tour.</p>