<p>It's a bit off topic but my daughter and I still refer to a few folks that we went on tours with over the years (not the guides, but other students.) We were often picking our jaws up off the floor after kids would ask questions that were clearly meant to make them look intellectually superior to the other students touring. If there is a list of what not to do on a tour, I think this should be on it.</p>
<p>Best maintained: Cornell, Trinity-CT
Worst maintained: UC Berkeley
Most scenic: Pepperdine, UCSC, Cornell, and maybe UCSB (we like water)
Most livestock: UC-Davis, Cornell
Most wildlife: UCSC
Nicest architecture: Stanford, Yale, Cornell, UC Boulder
Worst architecture: UCSD
Best tour guide: Yale
Worst tour guides: Columbia, bar none
Best dorm tour: Syracuse, UCLA
Best off-campus food: UC-Berkeley
Liveliest off-campus scene: UC-Berkeley
Dullest off-campus scene: Trinity CT
Best use of bicycle: UC-Davis
Best accepted student event: Trinity CT, UCLA Engineering
Worst accepted student event: UC-Berkeley Cal Days (too crowded, too late in month, one day only event).</p>
<p>I'd like to "edit" one of mine. I put "Best locale" for Pepperdine. Actually, the town is NOT much of a locale unless you are a surfer or want to get pizza. I think I should have put "Best Views". The views of the Pacific Ocean are absolutely breathtaking, IMHO, from almost everywhere on the Pepperdine campus. Other than the views...no on in my family liked anything about the school (not wishing to dis the school...it is absolutely terrific for the right students, but not right for my kiddos).</p>
<p>Coureur...the Taco Bells in New England do not have that "design".</p>
<p>Santa Clara is built on the site of what WAS a functioning Mission! It's style is authentic and parts of the campus are restored original structures that date back to 1777 and Fr. Serra himself. I don't know if that means anything to non-Californians but anyone who completed 4th grade in a public school in California should know that the origin of Mission style came from buildings like you find at Santa Clara. Not Taco Bell. Call Stanford a copy-cat if you want. But Santa Clara is the real deal. </p>
<p>Hmphhhhh Taco Bell Modern indeed!!! ;-)</p>
<p>Widest Hallways in Dorms - Vassar... </p>
<p>...because l9th century girls had to walk and pass each other in their hoop skirts. Hoop allowances for 4 girls across the hall (2 coming, 2 going) = 20 feet</p>
<p>Revisionist History Prize - Oberlin...</p>
<p>... America's first coeducational undergraduate college began requiring separate sidewalks unless a boy was escorting the girl to a college class. This resulted in students perfecting the "Slow Walk" and removal of separate sidewalks a few years later.</p>
<p>History Mom, I'm with you! "Taco Bell Modern"--them's fightin' words!</p>
<p>As for UCSD, my daughter loved the setting, hated the architecture. Agreed with me totally that both Stanford and UCLA are awesome.</p>
<p>Friendliest admissions office: Colgate
Funniest tour guide: Yale
School we felt the worst sending the "no" response card to: Lafayette
Best information session: Dartmouth--most convincing; Georgetown-- most complete and thorough
School that best conveyed they wanted our child to attend: Washington & Lee
Most amazing school for someone other than our child: Swarthmore</p>
<p>Best college town, medium-sized: Umich/Ann Arbor
Best college town, big: NYC/Columbia
Prettiest campus: Swarthmore
Most eclectic architecture: Wesleyan
Quietest campus: Haverford (our fault, friday morning)
Least appealing campus, small: Haverford (pretty, but felt like a state park for a preserved Colonial town)
Least appealing campus, big: Boston U (one block wide, one mile long)
Busiest campus: UMich
Best tourguide: Wesleyan, U Delaware
Worst tourguide: Cornell (never took us to see gorges or dorms)
Best info session, small: Wesleyan
Best info session, cattlecall sized: UMich
Worst info session, by far: Cornell (questions? anyone, anyone? --That was about it.)
Preppiest: tie--Tufts, Haverford
Least preppy: Wesleyan
Most whitebread: U Delaware
Most questions designated to show that I'm-smarter-than-you in an info session: Johns Hopkins ("so, how willl my research help in admissions?" followed by, "I went to prep school in Switzerland, how do you view that?", sitting next to a kid with the periodic table on his Tshirt.)
Dining Hall closest to Hogwarts: John Jay at Columbia <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/photogallery/00/food/pages/John_Jay_Dining_Hall.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/photogallery/00/food/pages/John_Jay_Dining_Hall.html</a>
Most aggressive squirrels: UMich
Most honest comment during student-only info session: UDel--"now that the parents aren't here, we know you really want to hear about the parties."
Most thought-provoking info session: Columbia ("we want kids who like to argue")
Most chalkings: Wesleyan
Most opportunities to hang art from museum in dorm room: Oberlin
Most isolated: Oberlin
Most interesting fliers on walls: Wesleyan, Oberlin
Least fliers on walls: UDel</p>
<p>Best murals: Caltech not just in the halls, but in the rooms too. :)</p>
<p>Friendliest admissions staff (and students): Hendrix
Best campus tour: Vanderbilt (knowledgeble, personable guide --- showed us everything & provided intelligent answers to questions)
Friendliest adcom: Centre
School we felt the worst saying no to: Centre
Dining hall most like Hogwarts: Kenyon (I embarrassed D by bursting into laughter when we walked in)
Best food: WashU
Worst cafeteria set-up: DePauw (not big enough for their student body)
Campus D refused to tour once we arrived: UChicago (disliked the area)
Mom & Dad's favorite campus: Davidson (we loved the facilities!)
Best dorms: WashU & Vanderbilt
Worst dorms, especially considering cost of school: Davidson (small, no sunlight, no air conditioning ... in Charlotte?!)
Best admitted student presentation: Vanderbilt (great presentation by faculty about being a student at their school ... they were awesome!)
Most surprising student segregation: WashU (we were struck by the very distinct ethnic groups of students, none of whom seemed to be interacting)</p>
<p>Best presentation at an off-campus reception: Carnegie Mellon (Terrific insight into the school & the surrounding area!)</p>
<p>Dining hall most like Hogwarts: McGill <a href="http://www.mcgill.ca/residences/undergraduate/%5B/url%5D">http://www.mcgill.ca/residences/undergraduate/</a>
Best Overall Tour guide: Northwestern -This kid will be president someday.
Hippiest Tour Guide: Stanford She was also amazing in the backwards flip-flop walk
Most Hungover Tour Guide: Georgetown (Day after St Patrick's)</p>
<p>And so that many of us don't feel left out:</p>
<p>Best campus: Univ of Michigan
Best tour: Univ of Michigan
Best food: Univ of Michigan
Best overnight: Univ of Michigan
Best town: Ann Arbor/Univ of Michigan
Best graduation present that wasn't money: t-shirt that said "Michigan Engineering"</p>
<p>Acceptance to the only school he wanted to attend and the only school he toured: Priceless!</p>
<p>Just to go along with that:</p>
<p>School that both my kids had the hardest time turning down, though both did (:(): Michigan....</p>
<p>Was that the $7 Steve and Barry's t-shirt?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Worst dorms, especially considering cost of school: Davidson (small, no sunlight, no air conditioning ... in Charlotte?!)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>All dorms at Davidson have AC</p>
<p>Cesky, they didn't when we toured in 2005. At least the one we toured didn't (and there were open windows & fans all over the place). Good upgrade! It certainly wasn't a make-or-break item, but it might make a difference if it's a choice between two schools!</p>
<p>Funny how different kids can be. For D, Michigan was the one school EVERYONE applied to ... except her!</p>
<p>I can't believe how many campuses some of you people are familiar with! We didn't visit that many and after liberal-artsy child #1 came 3 boys with similar CS & Math interests so I imagine for child #4 we'll just go, "Should we look at College A, B, or C? ;)</p>
<p>And I have decided many schools look alike, esp. around the quadrangle areas. Buildings, trees, sidewalks, benches...I always get the feeling of having been there before, even if I know I havent!</p>
<p>We visited so many with D (tied into vacations & outings). I enjoyed it! But S, a sophomore, is SO DIFFERENT ... so I read everything here with an eye to the future. A nearby snowboarding hill is the major concern for him!</p>
<p>Getting lots of laughs from this thread! After touring about 20 schools w/ DD a couple of years ago, we seriously though about putting out a "Mother/Daughter Guide to College Tours." One idea we had for rating schools was Coffee Cups -- as in how easy it was to get a cup while driving there. For us, driving from CT, Cornell failed completely. (Neither of us liked Cornell for several other reasons, but not getting a coffee fix on the way there didn't help!)</p>
<p>As a Colby alum, the earlier post about their Art Museum is right on -- their American Art collection is outstanding.</p>
<p>I had to laugh. My criteria for college selection many years ago was proximity to the beach. Your son is a kid after my own heart. :-)</p>