The “competitive club” thing is part of our local high school as well, reflecting the change in demographics of our town. Parents of late elementary school students are now posting on the town list servs (yes we still use those) to find tutors so their kids will be “successful” at the clubs in the two middle schools leading to successfully getting into the clubs at high school. Parents of middle schoolers are hiring “career counselors” to help their middle schoolers identify their passion (which of course needs to be math and science) and “properly position” themselves for classes and activities at the public high school. Sigh.
Holy crumbcakes! This is all news to me. Argh.
Stanford:
Most pleasant surprise is what a great fit the school can be for a non-STEM, humanities kid. Given its reputation as a STEM-focused school filled with students champing at the bit to create a successful a start-up in Silicon Valley, D has been delighted to find that there is tremendous support for the arts and for the humanities. The professors could not be more supportive – the head of the dept. offered her a 2-quarter-long independent study last year and one of her professors this quarter gives her feedback on her papers that is longer than the written assignments themselves!) D was also awarded a funded summer internship at a national museum and has been encouraged to apply for research funding.
I’d say that ResEd is probably the weakest link in an otherwise very strong chain. The residential facilities are not the fanciest and dining hall food is not the best (they bring out the A-team for Parent’s Weekend and NSO). The dining hall food can be avoided in upperclass years by living outside of the dorms in one of the residential houses. There is a fair amount of stress engendered by the housing lottery/tier system. The upside is that there are a number of different housing options and special interest housing to choose from.
I’d say that the only other disappointing thing is the lack of flexibility in providing transportation for students with disabilities on campus. There should be more golf carts available on an as-needed basis. (The carts must be reserved by 3pm the day before and stop running after 8:00 pm (used to be 5:00 pm, so that’s gotten a bit better). Given the size of the campus and needs of the disabled, there should be an Uber-type system set up as a mobile app wherein registered students with disabilities can request a ride across campus when needed or within a specified window of time. There have also been concerns with how mental health issues are handled on campus and in the residences (forced medical leaves, etc. that might discourage students with mental health issues from seeking help. I believe that this is being addressed.
Yale
Unexpected negatives
Budget considerations ruined the previously great food, as they figured that cooking in a central location and reheating in each cafeteria would work well. Unexpected positive from this is that DS didn’t use the meal plan and became quite a good cook :). When he visits, he and GF cook great meals. Who knew?
Post office made getting a package an adventure.
The lack of forward progress in some male students regarding attitudes towards female students. I would have thought that most, if not all, male students would be relatively evolved. Many have learned to talk the talk, but not yet how to walk the walk.
We expected a moderate sense of entitlement in some of the students. I was surprised at the extent of it.
Unexpected positives
The professors willingness to engage with students.
The feasability of combined MS/BS (or MA/BA) degrees, which did reduce the number of electives that could be taken, but IMO not as much as a double major.
I don’t know if it’s fair to call this positive “unexpected,” but I am pleasantly surprised at the extent to which most graduates were prepared for post-college life and careers.
Skidmore
Unexpected negatives
It’s somewhat early days, but not really any unexpected negatives yet.
Unexpected positives
The acceptance of really diverse students, and the willingness to work with them.
@IxnayBob We toured Skidmore over the summer, isn’t that campus so pretty? And I was shocked at how good the cafeteria food was. In my day (I’m an alum) plenty of my lunches were just bowls of potato chips because the hot food was unpalatable. Those days are gone!
One Skidmore negative for the next year or so is that they just broke ground for a new state-of-the-art science building, and that part of campus will be messy for the next year. My D19 is still applying though, the “old” science building aint so bad.
@JenJenJenJen , I would have mentioned it, but the nice campus wasn’t technically unexpected, as I had seen it. Food wise, the contrast between my two sons couldn’t more stark: Yale student begged to move off campus ASAP into an apartment with a kitchen, Skidmore student is perfectly content to be in the dorm and on the meal plan.
How is this unexpected? Isn’t that why you picked Yale?
A lot of the things being listed shouldn’t be unexpected. I thought that’s why people went on tours, ate in the cafeterias, looked at the dorm rooms.
Unexpected to me was that my daughter’s STEM school, Florida Tech, with several computer science programs offered could have such a horribly BAD website, billing system, communications system, filing system. Why aren’t the webpages updated weekly (if not daily)? Why make it so difficult for parents to PAY the bill?
Notre Dame
I hadn’t intended to post because my now senior D’s experience has been truly wonderful (definite feeling of student “family”, amazing access to professors who are genuinely interested in the student, residential dorm life) but was hard-pressed to find a negative until IxnayBob’s comment about construction. They are rehabbing dorms, and last year it was the dorm next to D. Her dorm does not have AC and it was very loud, many days starting very early, listening to that construction particularly with open windows in the hot months meant some lost morning sleep for D and some general hassles.
Also, after the first month or so, there seems to be a dearth of berries in the dining halls. 
@twoinanddone , I should have been more clear. Yale professors’ willingness to engage with students exceeded our expectations, and we expected a lot. It was especially surprising in DS’s CS and Math classes.
Another unexpected positive was the great number of internship and TA opportunities.
I am enjoying this thread! As we are in the college search process for #2 it is very interesting to take an honest look at where schools are excelling and where they are falling short.
University of Alabama: Overwhelmingly positive experience across the board.
Unexpected positives:
1.The Bamaly - the online support group of parents from all over the world who are eager to share their experiences, their homes, and to help in anyway when any other member is in need. The group is always positive, generous, and welcoming to all, treating everyone like family.
- The support systems. The "dean on call", the mental health services, the campus security - my DD did not need these services personally but was present when a very good friend of hers did during an emergency. We were so happily surprised at how everyone at the University level jumped in and supported the student and her family once they arrived. The level of personal service, care and concern shocked us for such a large flagship.
- The opportunities for ECs built around her major, the focus on community service, and the career services (internship search help, career fairs, speakers, industry mentor program). I expected all of these things from the smaller schools she was considering but thought she would be giving up these things at such a large state U.
- The small class sizes and the quality of the academics. This might be because of the honors college courses or because she quickly made her way to upper level classes (thanks to generous AP credits) but we have been surprised at how she has gotten to know those in her classes and the professors.
- The campus bus system and after hours ride program. DD had no car first year and had no problems getting anywhere at any time of day or night. Surprisingly efficient and safe.
Unexpected negatives:
- Moving off campus in year 2. Securing an apartment, signing leases, furnishing it, outfitting kitchens, setting up utilities, negotiating payments with roommates - all a lot of adulting for 19 year olds.Honestly we "knew" about all of this ahead of time but we were still surprised at how quickly it came (and also how quickly the "kids" all figure it out). Both DH and I lived on campus all 4 years at our schools so this seemed sudden and overwhelming to us.
- Advising. While mandatory each semester, getting an appointment is nearly impossible and the quality has not been up to the standard set by every other department and office on campus. Lots of time spent in the que for walk in appointments because all spots are filled by the second week of the semester to get signed off to register for the next semester. This results in getting whoever is available as an advisor and some incorrect or out of date information passed along. Thank goodness for the online information and the support system of parents/students in the Bamaly who will go out of their way to help advise younger students.
Several have posted that they were disappointed by the quality of the student health services, especially mental health services. I have read about this issue in the media too. Has anyone found that campus health and mental health services to be good or at least adequate? If so, what schools?
@TomSrOfBoston Colorado College’s has been fantastic. It wasn’t something I’d considered before so I had no expectations, but every thing needed has been smooth, stress-free, professional, accurate, etc.
“Another unexpected positive was the great number of internship and TA opportunities.”
I have to echo the other poster’s reaction to this, this is Yale, were you expecting none of these and you got a couple, or were you expecting five and you got ten? Being surprised that Yale offered TA opportunities and engaged professors does seem odd. This would be like going to MIT and being surprised they offered computer science courses.
Interesting that the posters who have a low opinion of TAs generally have not noticed this to claim that Yale is inferior because there may be undergraduate TAs there.
Gosh, if Yale is inferior for having undergraduate TAs, how low does Yale rank if I mention that DS, technically as an undergrad (he was an MS/BS candidate), not only TAed a graduate course, but prepared and presented two lectures for that course? It’s almost child labor. I should mention that the lectures were on a topic for which he had won a cash prize. His lectures were well received; no complaints from the grad students.
@theloniusmonk , it’s somewhat OT, but the surprise was the extent. DS covered his own discretionary expenses from his sophomore year on, but still managed to graduate with a mid 5-digit amount saved as a result of his TAing and internships. His professors became friends, and were disappointed that he decided not to pursue a PhD.
I hope that we can go back to the interesting thread topic now. I thought that the tone of the queries merited an explanation.
University of Pittsburgh - Swanson College of Engineering
Positive Surprises
[ul]
[li]Great move in experience. We arrived a day before D’s official move-in and booked a room in the hotel across the street from her dorm. They allowed us to move her in that day. Move-in ended up being far more smooth that I thought it was going to be.[/li]
[li]Great Roommate. Her roommate is from China, and she’s really enjoying the chance to live with someone from another culture. They seem to get along very well (she’s described her roommate as a Chinese version of her).[/li]
[li]Activities. She’s been able to get involved in a lot of different activities, including theater, language labs, etc. She got a small role in one of the plays the Theater department is producing and was selected as an alternate for the Heinz Chapel Choir. Not bad at all for an Engineering major.[/li]
[li]First Year Engineering Program. One of the things that attracted us to Pitt was that all engineering students have the same freshman year program and that they don’t have to declare which branch of engineering they want to major in until the Spring semester. Students take a zero-credit seminar designed to give them exposure to the different engineering disciplines. The positive surprise is the way that this seminar is integrated with the rest of the first-year program. For example, Pitt’s engineering version of English Comp includes assignments that are focused on helping them make this decision. One assignment required the students to interview someone practicing in the specific field.[/li][/ul]
Negative Surprises
[ul]
[li]Her Freshman Adviser. She still has yet to meet with her adviser, and we’re mid-way through the Fall semester. The adviser has already cancelled two appointments, and if the third appointment is cancelled I may end up making some calls. Having dedicated Freshman advisers was one of the selling points of the Engineering program, and she needs to set up the framework for her long-term goals at Pitt which include study abroad for at least one semester (ideally a full year) and participating their co-op program.[/li]
[li]Pitt’s Study Abroad policy for OOS students. OOS students have to pay the OOS tuition rate for Pitt supported Study Abroad and Exchange programs. Other schools that she was accepted to (GaTech for example) allow students to pay in-state rates when studying abroad. So the same exchange program that our flagship in-state university participates in will cost $13K more for a full year with her enrolled at Pitt (main campus). Even worse, the same policy applies to the Pitt Johnstown campus, so an OOS student at Pitt-Johnstown will pay $8k less than the main campus OOS student to participate in the exact same international program.
[/li][/ul]
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
A very valid question, but one that really deserves its own thread.
One big difference between Pittsburgh and some other schools with first year engineering programs is that Pittsburgh engineering majors are non-competitive to declare ( https://www.engineering.pitt.edu/First-Year/First-Year/Advising/Choosing-A-Major-Banner/ says “There are no limits or restrictions on how many students can enter a major. As long as freshman engineering students finish the first-year requirements and achieve a 2.0 or higher, they may enter the department of their choice.”), unlike at some other schools where first year engineering students need to meet college GPA requirements substantially higher than 2.0 or enter a competitive admission process for their majors.
Kudos to @shortnuke for clear and helpful formatting.
That’s a bummer about the scarcity of the Freshman Advisor at Pitt. One thing I have been extremely please about at Bowdoin is the faculty advisors. They are all full tenured professors. Bowdoin structures it so you have to meet with them to even submit your semester class requests so you will meet them at least twice a year but as often as you want. No difficulty meeting with them whatsoever. You also get one for each major you declare. My son’s Freshman advisor got him an amazing campus job, unsolicited, and his major advisor,arranged for him to be offered a paid summer research fellowship. He didn’t even ask – he only found out after the fact she had been responsible. That kind of proactive help is fantastic. At UCLA in my day there was no such thing as a faculty advisor for undergrads and you didn’t even have an administrative counselor – if you needed anything you had to make an appointment with someone different every time. Big school, little school I guess.