<p>UGH! Based on all the books, ratings, articles @etc., I was expecting something special… This visit was special, but not in a good way. Incredibly rude and arrogant admissions rep. rambled on incoherently for a bit, blathered on inanely and answered none of the group’s questions without some sort of snarky, off-putting slant. His big joke (which went on far too long) was that B students became unhappy when some rating set them up as the happiest students in the ivies. Lame. Tour was led by marginally more pleasant and sincere student who, when asked about science offerings, gave personal history of weeding out from pre-med ranks and planned move to pre-law. Ugly, dank, dusty large hall hung with creepy (and very dusty) portraits presented as “largest public space on campus” with pride. Student reported that on-campus food and housing were difficult and unpleasant/bland. A real disappointment. Other than the ivy rep and cool liberal rep., the only thing B seems to have to recommend it is proximity to Boston and NYC. Both admissions folks and students met gave off a distinctly unpleasant vibe. Hard to understand the draw of this place and the rep, but perhaps the great profs and superior student body make up for the substandard facilities and wacky admins.</p>
<p>Hmm. It’s sad you feel like that. I went to an info session/tour before my matriculation and it was quite pleasant, imo. I don’t really know what you mean as “ugly, dank, dusty large hall,” but it sounds like Brown isn’t your place. I prefer Providence over New York and Boston. It’s all a matter of preference.</p>
<p>Probably saw Sayles. Sayles is nice when lit and used in the right way, but it definitely gives off a creepy vibe.</p>
<p>It’s a shame that you didn’t take much from the tour, but so it happens. Sometimes it’s a “gut instinct” thing, and no school is for everyone. Honestly, I was told in high school that two things that can really shape students’ impressions of a school are the weather on the day they visit and the attractiveness of the tour guide. Don’t take that literally, CC, but it’s surprising that those things can have an impact.</p>
<p>I’m not overly fond of Sayles. Like swim2daend, I prefer Providence to Boston and NYC. The administration is pretty out there, though having spent some time in that role this summer, I’ve determined that it’s probably best for them to be disinterested in an individual student’s problems. On campus food is decent, housing is passable but nothing exciting. I’m sorry you weren’t fond of Brown, but if it’s not right for you, it’s not right for you.</p>
<p>@thefunnything: I completely agree with those two things that really shape a student’s impressions of a school! Especially the latter…hmmm, maybe “that” was why I fell in love with <em>cough cough</em> Yale so quickly (and without seeing much of the campus)! Wow, maybe the attractiveness of a tour guide really does hold some truth…for me at least.</p>
<p>I don’t mind admitting that I found my tour guide extremely attractive, and briefly after that tour I officially decided on Brown. I never considered that there could be a correlation… Interesting!</p>
<p>imroku,</p>
<p>I understand you are disappointed in Brown, and it may not be for you. This being said, you may have simply visited at the wrong time / talked to the wrong people. After August 6th, Brown is practically dead because summer housing is closed and most everyone living off-campus has also gone home to see their families. Most people still on campus to put it quite bluntly have no life. Yes, this means tour guides too. I love Brown, but I was also disappointed in my visit. My info session admissions officer sounds a lot like yours - did you get Elisha? One thing to understand about the guy is he’s been doing this since 1998 so he’s very jaded. </p>
<p>Brown’s professors and student body as well as open curriculum definitely make up for any shortcomings in food, housing, or administration. Still, food and housing really aren’t that bad, and administrations everywhere are a bit wacky.</p>
<p>Never met Elisha, but in my eyes, he’s a God! (Thanks to him, I got in off the waitlist 
)</p>
<p>But in all seriousness floatingriver, I’ve heard similar sentiments about Elisha from people who do know him and have worked with him. I’m sure admissions must get old after a while…</p>
<p>I don’t know what “difficult” on-campus housing is exactly, but in my experience, it hasn’t been difficult. What other school makes it possible to live in a single starting from sophomore year?</p>
<p>Yeah, my visit at Brown was amazing while my visit at Yale was incredibly underwhelming and convinced me not to apply. Different strokes for different folks.</p>
<p>My best advice to anyone visiting colleges is definitely to visit while it is in session, and take the tour and information session with a grain of salt. After you visit enough colleges, they all start to be the same. To really get to know a college, talk with students. Ideally, you should stay over. I didn’t realize this til my last college visit. If I hadn’t done Summer@Brown I definitely would not have chosen Brown. Also, sometimes it is something completely inconsequential that shapes your perception of a place like the food you ate at a local restaurant, so be on the lookout for that too.</p>
<p>Definitely no school is for everyone, but I was concerned, too, that a brief visit and info session is most of what you have to make such a big decision. When my son did not like a school, it seemed to be based on almost nothing. Liking a school had more to do with the students who were there, but he couldn’t really find that out until after he was admitted. </p>
<p>By the way, I thought our tour guide at Brown was a bit arrogant, but my son liked him. Also he spoke from the heart about an academic experience he had had which was very touching and genuine. I think he was almost in tears as he relayed it.</p>
<p>D met Elisha this summer when Brown/Yale/MIT toured Governor’s Schools. Enjoyed him and felt inspired based on his presentation and personal recommendations of things to see and do during our recent visit. </p>
<p>D loves Brown AND the other three schools we visited for different reasons and can see herself happy at any one of them. She also noted drawbacks of each school. She’s taking our advice, probably gleaned from CC, to wait and see who loves her first.</p>
<p>Our least favorable visit was Yale because of the attitudes of some of the people we encountered at the school and around the city. Understandably Admission staffs get tired of the summer crowds and repeated questions. Some handle it better than others. Some schools provide more welcoming space than others. Once admitted, Admissions is part of a school most students never interact with again. Our visits were to help compare school settings once D finds out who accepts her. We did skip visiting one very urban school because she decided New Haven is as urban as she can manage.</p>
<p>On our tour we made a quick return to Providence for Waterfire - a magnificent experience - and during both of our visits could not figure out the reason for negative comments about Providence. Please enlighten.</p>
<p>^It’s not NYC. And it’s not Boston. That’s about as negative as I’ve heard people get about it. And it used to be (before Buddy Cianci) a really run-down, crime-ridden sort of city. But he instituted a sort-of “renaissance” for the city (from what I understand), and personally I’ve yet to feel unsafe in Providence.</p>
<p>My family and I did “le grand tour” of 8 northeastern schools this summer and I had the same experience as poster did at Brown. I wanted to love it so much but the visit was probably one of the two worst that we did. I am not sure it is my top target any more.</p>
<p>The person who greeted us in the Admissions office was not at all friendly, sort of snotty;
I think we had the same awful presenter. And our tour guide was kind of weird, off in his own world, and not a particularly good advocate of Brown. And yes, Sayles Hall was sorta creepy. I had this vision of Brown as laid-back and cool, and just seemed sort of sloppy and weird.</p>
<p>Ironically, Yale, which had not been high on my list for whatever reason replaced Brown as my dream school. Everything we experienced there so professionally done; literally every student and staff member we met was down-to-earth and kind; the campus was stunning; our tour-guide (a gorgeous guy) was so cool and funny and informative; students we ran into were soooo helpful.</p>
<p>Maybe we would have had a differnent experience on a different day, who knows?</p>
<p>Eh, some people don’t like Brown. Whatever.</p>
<p>You go there for the education, not for your taste in portraits or food.</p>
<p>My visit there, including the two classes I audited, was the reason I go there now.</p>