<p>SBmom: I couldn't agree more about the tour guides. We've talked about not making decisions based on an inept tour guide, but that is often the first real contact a student has with a school...and we've had some real humdingers for tour guides. We've also had some great ones. Either way, they are representatives of and for the school. Some times I think the school ought to have a 'plant' fall in line and follow these tours around every so often, like doing a spot check, just to see what goes on.. and note the revealing statements tour guides make.</p>
<p>garland, thanks for taking these silly jabs the right way. No offense intended by my comment about your D's wonderful school. Actually quite the opposite, which I think is partly the intent of this thread. How stupid of me to hold brown lawns in the middle of an August drought against a school! Our loss.</p>
<p>And sometimes the tour guides might be fine for some portion of the tour/population, but not for you or your student. My major example of this was our tour guide at UC Berkeley. He spent most of the time talking about sports and The Big Game, alternating with trying to impress us with the parking spots reserved for Nobel laureates, and he seemed to click with most of his viewers but we didn't have a clue what he was talking about when he laid the sports stuff on so thick. It got to the point where my sons were turning to me and making faces or even cracks at the things the tour guide said: good thing it was a big group and we could hover at the fringes! (To offset any damage the guide might have done, we met a professor friend for lunch, and he re-did the tour, with a focus much more appropriate for my son.)</p>
<p>Bryn Mawr. I have a niece who grauated from there last year, and this is a terrific school. We attended graduation and liked the campus. But one negative impression stood out, for both me and my wife: there were a whole lot of homely students. And it made us wonder about self-selection to the school.</p>
<p>School where S wouldn't get out of the car: Penn State, University Park.</p>
<p>Decided to swing past PSU, no tour etc scheduled, on way back from Pittsburgh to NJ; it was somewhat out of the way but I thought he should see what a big state school was like. </p>
<p>His comments: it's too big and in the middle of nowhere, I'm not going here. I did coax him out of the car to play some video games at one of the places across from the campus, while "I" walked around. I loved it.</p>
<p>On my visit to Duke - I loved it. Is there info I need to know? Any one
have impressions on MIami</p>
<p>Skidmore. Ok true confessions. I am a skidmore grade, do alumnae admissions for them but I know what everyone means. I think the problem is that it has no "soul". It's just not something you can put your finger on. It was a good fit for me as I wanted LA w/good art and Field Hockey. Besides I got in. when my D was looking at schools, I just didn't think it was her and we never took the tour.</p>
<p>Me again. My D could not wait to get back in the car at Williams. Once the tour guide explained in great detail that the one activity they were all excited about was bowling with the Security guys, she was done.</p>
<p>Liz, ummm...where did I say or implied you needed a sense of humor or anything of the sort? I think you're reading things that aren't there.
And if anything many of these comments are cautionary tales <em>against</em> making decisions based on petty reasons...or at least illuminates the extent to which it happens.</p>
<p>Kriket, I'm boggled. Of all the criticisms I could think about Smith, parent-unfriendly...except for the tuition...would be near the bottom.
I've consistently found a "what can we do for <em>you</em>" attitude...where did they go astray with you? PM me if you would prefer.</p>
<p>Mootmom, I've heard of unfortunate tour guide or info session experiences at virtually every school. Our bad ones were NYU and American. Worst I've heard of was at Smith: a guide illustrated the notion of self-governance with the fact that her house had had a vote on whether or not it was okay to have sex in the showers. Oy vey Maria. It persuaded a girl that I very much would have seen go there, from what I know of her, not apply. Sorta matches the incident of the sex toys club or whatever it was at Wesleyan as depicted in THE GATEKEEPERS.</p>
<p>We had a real dud of a tour guide at Smith. Someone asked her, right off the bat, how she liked Smith. Her answer was, "The food's okay so I guess it's not too bad." That lack of enthusiasm really threw us off.</p>
<p>The only schools I wish I (and my D) had liked better are the ones that would have cost less (i.e., the state school options). :rolleyes: Going even out-of-state public would have saved us substantial money, and we did find some nice liberal arts state schools. (We were not interested in huge flagship schools, so ended up focusing on out-of-state publics.)</p>
<p>A couple that I liked * almost enough *were Mary Washington (VA), and St. Mary's in MD. (And no, I do not, that I know of, have a thing for the name Mary! --although we were also taken with William & Mary!) But D did not like them nearly as much as she did her first-choice private LAC. Her comments were thoughtful and her feelings about "fit" were probably on target, but it would have been nice if she could have found her "fit" at a less expensive school.</p>
<p>My younger child, however, (totally different kid) really took to Mary Washington, so if he maintains that, we might get back there with him. We know he can't go where his sister is (Smith). :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Thedad,
It was a reaction to several comments from other posters about not taking the thread seriously and your offer to give me humor lessons a while back when I made an accidental pun. I'm clearly outnumbered in my perception of the thread and maybe I took it to personally.</p>
<p>Sorry, Liz. I'd forgotten that exchange. I sent you a PM. Be well.</p>
<p>Jyber, yeah, we got the notice of increase $$$ for 2005-2006 yesterday.
Sigh. The only way I get to swallow this is by saying "This is what we'd be paying if we had two." In your case, you might want to say "four." :)</p>
<p>Because were overseas, and out visits had to be a one shot grand tour (okay, we started late) we did a lot of research before hand. As it turned out in several key instances, what we (I say we because son, husband and I DID pretty much agree) thought we would like we didnt. What we knew we wouldnt like, we did!</p>
<p>Pre-visit, Amherst and Haverford were on the top of the list. Post-visit they were off the list. Amherst was too cold and we couldnt find anyone who would even acknowledge that they had an art department. Haverford was too claustrophobic, preachy. Obviously I didnt sit in on sons interview with an adcom member but he emerged with that get me out of here look.</p>
<p>Pre-visit, Swarthmore and Williams werent even on the list. Loved both -- in spite of the fact that finding the art department at Swarthmore was also a challenge. I quake to think how close we came to eliminating Williams based on stereotypes and misconceptions. Once there, it just clicked.</p>
<p>For me, the biggest disappointment was Brown. I hated Providence and was annoyed by admissions attitude throughout the process, including one of the most inane information sessions we attended. My son, however, didnt share my opinion and Brown remained high on his list.</p>
<p>If I were to be reincarnated, Id study harder and shoot for Yale.</p>
<p>I have done a lot of research and read these boards faithfully. On paper and from most of the comments, Wash U should be on S's list. However, I have had such bad business trips to St. Louis that I can not get myself to like a college located there! So- it isn't on S's radar screen because I haven't put it there!
We are doing our first 3 college "sweep" next week and I'll report in after that. Penn, Princeton and Colgate.</p>
<p>Anyone visit Hampshire? I'm thinking about going there, since I got a scholarship. BTW, this thread is quite entertaining =)</p>
<p>Hey....we are all smart folks here and we have this thing in perspective. I mean look at us all obsessing......soaking up facts....searching for commonality.....look how we love you too!!</p>
<p>But did you visit Yale?</p>
<p>hazmat, I meant I'd aim for Yale if I had the chance to be an undergraduate again. We visited and everyone loved it. For my son, however, Williams was first choice.</p>
<p>Is finding out where the parents will go on their next college journey....the schools they didn't see, the new interests....good comments from you.</p>