Summer visits-where are you headed, any tips?

I got back from the Midwest, Northwestern had the best campus…everything else kinda similar

@squ1rrel what was “everything else”? I’m an NU grad. Campus is so built up compared to when we were there. They started taking advantage of the lake and building there. In the 80s, the lakefront was pristine and a place to go to get away from campus. I liked it that way…but I get that building dorms out there is appealing to prospective students.

@homerdog UIUC, UWisconsin, UMichigan, Purdue. I meant “everything else” was similar with each other, not similar to NU.

@squ1rrel well yeah. NU is a private university with 8000 undergrads. Those other schools are giant public universities. There’s bound to be a big difference in the campuses

My rising junior, her 15 year old cousin and I went to SUNY Fredonia, Buffalo State and Niagara Falls about a week ago. It was a wonderful trip, and a great intro to college tours for both girls. And Niagara Falls was a great add in, just about half an hour from Buffalo.

My son and I visited Clemson and U of Georgia this summer. He liked both of them, but thought Athens might be a better fit for him. Clemson is a great school but the town is tiny. This fall we’re going to visit UVA, U of Richmond, and VCU. Last summer we visited U of Miami. He loved U of Miami!

@tkoparent We are heading for a revisit of Bates in a few weeks. Our flight gets in at midnight and I was debating whether to stay in Portland or Lewiston for a 9 am start at Bates. Would you say staying in Portland is reasonable for this?

We actually really enjoyed our summer tours. We loved all the one on one attention we received as well as the small tour groups. It was often just us and one or two other families. The ones we didn’t really enjoy were the Open Houses as they were just too crowded. We will definitely be revisiting some of them after acceptances and merit awards to try to get a vibe with students on campus but overall we found the summer visits pretty helpful.

@chardonMN, I’d stay in Portland if your kid’s up for an 8:00 departure. It’s a more fun place to stay than Lewiston. If you arrive early there’s a lot of fun shopping in the Market/Exchange/Fore St. area of Portland. For the next day Forage on Lisbon Street in Lewiston is a good spot for lunch or brunch if your kid doesn’t want to eat at Commons. It’s a popular spot with Bates kids.

@chardonMN We also had a late flight into Portland. We stayed there and then drove to Bates the next morning - it’s no more than 45 minutes, so should work for a 9 a.m. start.

Yes, the airport is on the northern outskirts of Portland, so you can quickly get out of town toward Lewiston. I’ve stayed in a hotel just a mile or so north of the airport, very easy to travel north from there. No way I’d want to drive after midnight (but that’s just me).

My NY daughter wants to go there for Nursing. My wife thinks she is crazy. She visited and had a good feeling about the campus. They seem to be on the right track after 2020 budget and teacher cuts. I know it is kind of a commuter school but a good amount of students live on or near campus. Seems like plenty to do around the area. Is she crazy for attending and for Nursing. The price for us is a couple of thousand per year below our own state schools.

Well, this year has been weird everywhere because of Covid, and I wouldn’t judge any school or campus based on this year. But I would not consider Cincinnati a commuter school. A fair number of kids go home, but there is always something to do on the weekends (if that is your concern). Unfortunately you can’t get in to see the really cool stuff about nursing, which are the sim labs. Nursing is very competitive, as it is everywhere. Don’t except much if any merit.