<p>Love the one about the "philosophy of the drumline." I didn't know they had philosophies!</p>
<p>S refused to look at a school that accepted someone he knew but did not like. No matter that the school had 9,000 other students. He must have REALLY not liked him.</p>
<p>I saw a wild turkey at harvard today.(med school) Just saying.....</p>
<p>CountingDown - LOL</p>
<p>My son said he wouldn't go to any school south of what he called the "Bob Jones" line!</p>
<p>Sorry. My children, too, said "No southern schools." They didn't express it in as reasoned a way as "the Bob Jones line". In their case, it was clearly the Mason-Dixon Line that applied (Baltimore = too far south). Anyway, irrational preferences (like no southern schools) that conform to MY irrational preferences are not "stupid". They are indications that my children were raised right, and they contribute substantially to family harmony!</p>
<p>(Last night, my wife and I were discussing a friend's child who had yet to decide between a great LAC and a great research university. My wife said, "This would have been simple if it had been our children." I said, "What? You would have told them flat out that they couldn't go to [LAC]?" She said, "Of course not. I taught them over the course of years that they shouldn't even consider [LAC] in the first place, and they didn't." Which wasn't exactly true, because our older child applied to one match LAC just in case she panicked in April and wanted that option, but when the time came she never seriously thought about enrolling there.)</p>
<p>How about not wanting to go to a college where there is no snow? And S is not even a skier!</p>
<p>LOL at the black squirrels in Grosse Pointe... they're always lookin to get run over</p>
<p>1st son didn't like Duke because of the graffiti on the bridge separating the two campuses. Didn't like Cornell because the other kids on our tour were extremely aggressive with the tour guide, asking about research opportunities and workng with specific professors. And didn't like UVA because the buildings looked "ancient". He said he fell in love with Virginia Tech because there were kids out there playing frisbee. Sigh.</p>
<p>2nd son said no southern schools because of the heat. Udel was "a brick overdose". He said UMassAmherst was awfully bricky also, but when I asked him how it compared with Udel, he said, "Oh, UMass used different bricks." Okaaaay. Sigh.</p>
<p>Re: wildlife </p>
<p>We had a tourguide last week at a college in upstate New York who said that he was from NYC and could see Yankee Stadium from his home. Apparently they don't have much wildlife in the Bronx. He excitedly told us all about the chipmunks, skunks, squirrels and groundhogs on campus. He said he was used to squirrels from home, but he had just seen his first chipmunk! He then spent a few minutes telling us how small/cute/adorable chipmunks are. Then he warned us to stay away from skunks, because "they can spray, like, 10 feet." And about 30 seconds later, he pointed out an actual groundhog sitting near a rock. He was very excited about all the "wildlife" at this suburban campus.</p>
<p>(My daughter and I discussed that the cuteness quotient of chipmunks goes down significantly when your cat routinely leaves half-eaten ones on the back deck.)</p>
<p>A friend of ours refused to consider any school where he couldn't wear flip flops through most of the winter.</p>
<p>
[quote]
A friend of ours refused to consider any school where he couldn't wear flip flops through most of the winter.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Based on what I see kids doing, I'm not certain that excludes anyplace.</p>
<p>S's friend from CA (is it necessary to mention this?) wore flip-flops and shorts the whole winter of his freshman year.</p>
<p>S trudged around Chicago during the -17 degree cold wave/.snow storms wearing a pair of sneakers that were duct-taped together. </p>
<p>I lived in Georgia in HS and did not own a winter coat until I had to travel to DC senior year for a conference. Shorts and a down vest were all I needed!</p>
<p>im refusing to ever consider Duke because im a Terps fan</p>
<p>Marite-
My cousin also wore flip flops all winter, but we live in northern Iowa.</p>
<p>One school reminded her of a mental institution. (enclosed campus)</p>
<p>Can you just see the new brochures they will produce after reading this thread? </p>
<p>"Come to XYZ University, we are squirrel free!"</p>
<p>My husband liked many of the schools he visited with our son. </p>
<p>But the reason he recommended the school he wanted my son to pick was completely based on the fact that they had a good Sunday brunch in the dining hall and parents can eat there when they visit!</p>
<p>"Plaid? I hate plaid." So young friend eliminated Notre Dame.</p>