Flyer from RPI - why would I want to go to a school that has to use initials because no one can pronounce or spell their name?
St. Lawrence - âIâm not going to any school with Saint in its nameâ. Said by S21, so weâll see when the times comes.
Iâm actually crying 
What the hell!? XD
We toured several schools this summer. We both agreed that RPI is impressive but not a good fit. As a reason for his view, he mentioned not liking the âwide, open sidewalksâ LOL (he fell in love with Lehighâs trees and hills)
He also put Wash U on his list then promptly took it back off after an info session at our school. He doesnât want to go to school with kids whose parents are leading the discussion with the admissions rep. Apparently, there were too many parents taking charge in the Wash U line.
My D got a brochure from U of South Carolina that showed a crowded football stadium and a cheerleader holding up a sign that said, âStand up and SHOUTâ. She said, âIf you ever want to know what kind of school I DONâT want, this is it.â
@Dancingmom518 thatâs what happened in our household when Vanderbilt sent us a flyer with the football team as the main photo.
I actually found that puzzling why a school with academics as amazing as Vâs would tout its football team so highly. That brochure â and the school â went into the trash.
Stupid reason, but, there you have it!
I donât think thatâs a stupid reason. We have a similar reaction to our stateâs flagship u. The quality of education is hit or miss (some good quality and a lot of poor quality), classes are generally huge or worse - for the first two years - online. Housing and student support services are poorly done or absent. But woo hoo- we have great sports and parties! Nothing wrong with sports and parties, but thatâs not the primary thing weâre looking for in college.
Even with as homogeneous as the tours and brochures are, you can get important clues about what the college values and prioritizes. UMich was an example of a huge public u that does have outstanding sports and quality of life/parties, but the primary focus is good quality education. The tour mentioned education first with the sports and party culture later and as an aside. Our state flagship U instead starts the info session/tour by doing the team cheer and then talking about the quality of the football team. Again, nothing wrong with that but itâs not the #1 thing we want out of a college.
We spend money and make priority decisions based on what we think is most important. I want a college that aligns spending and priorities with what I believe - education first, quality of life second, sports bringing up the end of the list. A college whose marketing materials primarily feature students at football games or partying is appealing to different people than we are and are indicating they have different priorities than we do.
@Dancingmom518 : Nearly the same here with my oldest and Stanford.The first 15-20 minutes our tour guide and the one next to us allowed nearly every parent in the respective groups to rave, rant and drool over the sports and stadium culture there.
My son was ready to RUN home from the outset of that visit as a result.
She didnât like anything about it - the focus on football, the cheerleader, the thought of the screaming crowds, and the excessive school spirit. Definitely a quiet, reserved, serious kind of kid. To each her own.
Wow, are there really schools whose brochures highlight sports and parties over academics? Thatâs just bizarre to me. Guess I never saw any of those, or maybe I blocked it out!
Hah -my D is pretty quiet and isnât into sports but says she can take it or leave it when it comes to picking a school she likes. Then we went to visit Clemson. The hotel key is actually a football spirit coin, the wifi password relates back to the year they won the championship, every person for miles around was wearing orange and when the tour guides came to split you up into groups they made you shout Go Tigers when they called you name -she was mortified! I will say none of that made her take it off of her list, it fell pretty far down more due to the rural location.
- Doesn't want to be a Horned Frog, because that's just gross.
- There is no Sephora nearby.
âWow, are there really schools whose brochures highlight sports and parties over academics?â
Buckets of them. Including some schools with really good academics for those students who care.
Just a few posts up, someone said Stanford highlighted sports on the tour. I think thatâs a pretty good schoolâŠ
My daughter would not apply to any Texas schools because she stated she would not go to a football game wearing cowboy boots!
I like school spirit and college sports as much as the next person, but come on! You go to college to get an educationâŠnot watch football all day and tailgate. But to each their own, I guess. I enjoy cheering on my alma mater but I went there for an education, not cuz their teams are great!
My kid didnât like a school because they had a pizza hut and he doesnât like Pizza HutâŠitâs just one restaurant at the school and you can order pizza! A friendâs kid didnât choose a school because there was a Chick Fil A there and it wasnât because of their beliefs, it was because she said their chicken is dry and tastes bland and why donât people get that itâs overrated?? Ah, kids say the darndest things!
When we toured Loyola Marymount and University of San Diego with my D she said the campuses werenât exactly like the brochures and that was a turn off to her. Well, we visited Loyola Marymount on a foggy morning over spring break and there was hardly anyone around (not the best time to visit, but oh well) and in the brochures it was sunny and they had students out and about and sitting on the quad studying. Itâs the brochure! Of course theyâre going to make the campus look immaculate! Obviously! At University of San DiegoâŠI forget exactly what she said about it not being like the brochure, but it did kind of make me roll my eyesâŠ
Colleges whose dining halls, vending machines, etc. offered Pepsi instead of Coca-Cola slid very, very far down my sonâs list.
@Moonshot99, I find that to be completely rational. Your son obviously has excellent taste.
LOL on pepsi vs coke, I love that this thread keeps going!