Parents' College Visit Awards

Parents Forum
101

<p>"Best Sport Award: Younger daughter being dragged to all these tours!"</p>

<p>I agree that the youngest kid deserves some kind of medal. I dragged my then 7 year old along the Eastern Seaboard when my daughter was looking at schools. We plugged him into her CD player which kept him happy. I knew something was skewed when for months after the trip he would say things like, "Rhode Island -- that's where Brown is right?" That's how he learned geography -- as opposed to, say, cities and/or other more traditional information. </p>

<p>I do have one more to add from today.</p>

<p>Claremont McKenna -- fabulous waiting room and the only college I have ever toured that took us into a computer lab and had the head guy running the computer lab talk to us for a while. They have such a great arrangment that kids don't need to bring a printer. But beyond telling us how great their services were, he answered general questions like the pros and cons of laptops versus desktops, how to pick out a computer for college, etc. We came away knowing what we'd probably do for a computer -- very helpful even if son doesn't apply there.</p>

102

<p>mimk6,
Daughter did the same thing as your son. She had her ipod and had even downloaded a few TV shows and movies. My daughter was 13 at time and being tall for age, several thought she was also perspective college student. I will say, she did tune in to things the rest of us didn't notice-could you rent frig. from school, if beds were lofted, was sink in the room, was there TV in lounge. When we discussed schools, she would often remind us of things we either forgot or didn't notice. I think it opened her eyes, so 3 years from now she will have some vague memories of this process. We tried to make some family time during whirlwind week of tours and made sure we booked a hotel with pool to keep her happy. Overall, we really enjoyed the touring experience and have some great stories.</p>

<p>Others to add:</p>

<p>Nicest info. session room: Univ. of NC-Chapel Hill</p>

<p>Do you need an umbrella?: Wake Forest (did need to leave license though, guess they have lost a few. Maybe after being left in library at end of tour, people couldn't find their way back to building)</p>

<p>Nicest surprise for urban school: Univ. of NC-Greensboro</p>

<p>Wish we could have fit it in schedule: UVA</p>

103

<p>Most historic campuses--UVa, William & Mary, and Harvard. I'm a big Jefferson fan so I was especially taken by UVa's buildings, designed by Jefferson. The Rotunda and the Academical Village (I think it was called)--so historic and still in use today! </p>

<p>And William & Mary has the oldest building in continuous academic use--built 1697 & designed by Christopher Wren. Cool.</p>

104

<p>Biggest surprise: Emory - I live in Atlanta and had never visited. I had no idea there was such a beautiful campus and grounds tucked away there! Living here, we hear about the grad school and the sciences and the CDC a lot - Was pleasantly surprised about the "college within".</p>

105

<p>binx,
Never got to Emory, but have heard the campus is lovely.</p>

<p>More to add:</p>

<p>"Come in and make yourself at home award": Loyola in Maryland-There were no tours as it was a Sat. and Accepted Student Day. The admission person told us to join the crowd and even gave us tickets for lunch.</p>

<p>"Worst MapQuest Directions to Campus": NC State</p>

<p>"Amost Fell Off Chair Award": Husband when her heard tuition at Univ. of Richmond</p>

<p>"Cutest Mascot": Bryant Univ. Bulldog </p>

<p>"Funniest Info. Session Movie": Univ. of S.C. </p>

<p>"Reasonable Food both on and off campus": Virginia Tech</p>

<p>"Best Parting Gift": Babson had really nice pens. Took 2 off them!</p>

106

<p>Coldest Tour: Northwestern (February)
Best Info Session Video: University of Notre Dame
Best Initial Impression on DD: Wake Forest (She barely had 1 foot on the Main Quad before she said," I LOVE it here!!!")</p>

107

<p>here was my mom's take:</p>

<p>Best campus/architecture: Wesleyan
Preppiest student body: Amherst/Trinity tie
sketchiest off-campus: Trinity</p>

<p>here was my take:</p>

<p>Best campus architecture: Amherst/Loyola Marymount
sketchiest campus surroundings: Wesleyan/Penn/Trinity</p>

<p>I won't make references to the preppiness since i am a prep myself.</p>

108

<p>After visting a couple of dozen colleges during the past year, I have come up with the following awards.</p>

<p>Best Dorm Room View: Loyola of Chicago's Mertz Hall 12th floor corner room had a stunning view of the Lake Michigan and the Chicago Sklyline. </p>

<p>Best Parents Program:SMU did a tremendous job getting parents to feel very comfortable with their school. However, D did not like it</p>

<p>Most Nurturing Environment for Students; Stonehill College made every effort to communicate to parents that they watch out for your kids in every way possible. </p>

<p>Coolest/Hippest College Neighborhood: DePaul wins this hands down, as the Lincoln Park area of Chicago is truly special. </p>

<p>Most Homeless People at or around Campus: St. Louis University has an absolutely beautiful campus set in a marginal neighborhood. </p>

<p>Presidential Involvement Award: Tulane President Scott Cowan was the only college CEO who attended a student/parent presentation. We saw him twice and this was one of quite a few factors why D decided to attend there. </p>

<p>Nastiest Dorm Rooms: Texas A&M's rooms wre tiny, dingy and poorly furnished. </p>

<p>Best admission communication method: Creighton University and Loyola Chicago both texted D on her cell phone that she was accepted. She thought that was very cool. </p>

<p>Snootiest parent/student presentations: Boston University and Northwestern University tied for this honor. D was so annoyed by her perceived arrogance of these school's presenters that she declined to apply. </p>

<p>Best Tour guides: UC Irvine's dual tour guides parodied nerd behavior in an attempt to promote the school's image. They were hilarious and very effective. </p>

<p>Cleanest and Best Maintained Campus: Texas Christian University's grounds and buildings were absolutely spotless and in brand new condition. TCU also had the best campus landscaping. </p>

<p>Best Dormitory: DePaul University's Clifton/Fullerton Hall was a gorgeous building in a great location with really nice suites. </p>

<p>Best Collateral Materials: University of Nebraska sends great direct meal pieces and emails (completely with hilarious videos) to thier prospective students. No wonder their yield is so high. </p>

<p>Most Unfriendly Students: SMU students were so unfriendly to D while on an overnight visit that she decided not to attend there, even though she was offered the Honors Program and a nice scholarship. </p>

<p>Highly Rated University That Does Not Take Itself Too Seriously: Tulane students and faculty are smart, but also very friendly and laid back. I'm sure the New Orleans location has something to do with this. One professor talked about how he sometimes lends his car to students. </p>

<p>Campuses Too Big For Their Own Good: UIUC and Kansas were both so large and spread out that D felt intimidated by them, thinking she'd have to walk miles in between classes. She also did not like the steep hills at KU. </p>

<p>Ugliest Campus: University of Dallas is in a great location, but it's buildings were older and looked like they were designed by the Texas Department of Public Works. </p>

<p>College that Showed the Least Interest: Boston College sent out zero direct meal pieces and no e-mails. The letters they sent were in black and white letterhead and had the tone that they were doing D a big favor by communicating with her. They really stood out among the many schools that D applied to or inquired about. </p>

<p>Most Intimidating Campus: Boston University's Campus stretches out for approximately a mile on both sides of the trolley tracks in a very urban area. </p>

<p>Most Visitor-Friendly Campuses: Creighton University and Tulane (twice) offered the family a very decent, complimentary meal during our visits. The entire staffs at these schools also stood out for their friendliness. </p>

<p>College I Would Most Like to Attend: TCU, in my opinion, had the best combination of academics, student life, friendly envornment, beautiful campus, the right size, solid athletic programs and all-around positive feel to it. However, I am happy with D's decision to attend Tulane and am glad that our Odyssey has ended.</p>