What are your child's "trivial factors" in college selection?

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I’m going to a big school in a small town. The health center is open 24/7. The school I mention that was in West Nowhereville had their own Ambulance and EMTs because of the isolation. Like I mentioned I have a medical condition so of course I planned for when I get very sick. </p>

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I don’t know about “easier,” but SteveMA is right. An impoverished, academically motivated student could get great financial aid, full tuition scholarships, etc. to almost everywhere. Average students still have their pick of state schools with the same benefits. I know someone who is very poor and lives in Section 8 housing (aka “the projects”) who was very motivated and made good grades. Between scholarships and aid she’s going to Duke for absolutely free, no loans at all. Obviously this can’t happen for every student, but poor students who are college-bound can still make choices.</p>

<p>My so-called “trivial factors” were…</p>

<ul>
<li>Not located in the suburbs.</li>
<li>Open curriculum, or few distribution requirements (though this might actually be an academic factor, w/e).</li>
<li>Politically active/informed student body.</li>
<li>No Greek life, or Greek life that doesn’t dominate campus.</li>
<li>Small school/classes.</li>
<li>Students who are genuinely interested in learning rather than just getting As/graduating.</li>
<li>More liberal than my high school.</li>
</ul>

<p>My trivial factors:

  • Food supplied by someone other than Aramark
  • Preferably old (Ideally a colonial college)
  • Gothic or Colonial architecture
  • Very welcoming when I visited
  • Greek life
  • East Coast, California, or Texas
  • Strong undergrad focus - not necessarily a LAC
  • Near but not in a city</p>

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When I went to Guilford College, the tour guide mentioned that they’d just switched from Aramark to a local catering company, and everyone on campus was a LOT happier. She also mentioned that apparently, Aramark proudly serves the North Carolina Department of Corrections. So yeah, it’s prison-food quality. </p>

<p>My high school had their food supplied by Chartwells, which also apparently feeds UNC-Charlotte. I wasn’t ever considering that school but if I was I’d stay FAR away after finding that out. My school runs it’s own food services, and after being able to eat a couple meals on a normal (non-orientation or open house) school day, I’m very impressed with their quality.</p>

<p>Personally I’m tired of living in the flat, nasty, hot Central Valley. All of my schools are located along the coast. I managed to justify this because of my interest in marine biology. See, it makes sense to be near the ocean…</p>

<p>Bubble tea and Indian food. Williams and Yale got eliminated by D2 because of those 2 factors.</p>

<p>My D2 chose high tiered schools after that the criteria evolved when she stayed overnight at several schools with various friends. She realized that there seemed to be 2 types of Sat night parties.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Schools where the kids left campus to go to bars or take taxis to go to house parties </p></li>
<li><p>Schools where the parties took place essentially within walking distance at off campus apts or frat houses. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>She wanted the cheaper version - walking distance frat parties</p>

<p>The quality of the lawn was my son’s semi-joke requirement. (in other words, he was kind of serious about it.) And no Gothic architecture.</p>

<p>Some of my trivial ones:</p>

<ul>
<li>Good nightlife IN AND OUT of the campus. I love going around at midnight when it’s all cold and dark, but I don’t want the place to be empty.</li>
<li>Must be in a famous city where lots of bands drop by for concerts.</li>
<li>Has ANY kind of rivalry with a school that’s equally impressive. This is one reason why I would kill to attend either Harvard or Yale.</li>
</ul>

<p>Edit: Additionally, it’s a pretty big plus if beach-related activities are NOT dominant. This is one reason why I’m not looking at most Californian schools at all.</p>

<p>oldfort–because they had those or didn’t have those? :).</p>

<p>Because they didn’t have bubble tea or good Indian food.</p>

<p>I’m not a parent, but I’ll just share mine because this is a cool thread. </p>

<ul>
<li>Little to NO Greek life </li>
<li>AC preferable, but not a make or break deal. </li>
<li>Cold winters (grew up in Ohio an sadly forced to move to the south, dying of heat) </li>
<li>East Coast </li>
<li>Proximity to a hospital or having an extensive 24/7 healthcare system. </li>
<li>Urban setting or small city/proximity to a city </li>
<li>An abundance of science programs </li>
<li>Away from disaster prone areas… Hurricanes (Florida), tornadoes (tornado alley), earthquakes (California), forest fires (Texas, Colorado, Midwest).</li>
</ul>

<p>I’m not a parent either, but
-Big City (400,000+ or around that)
-Good Vegan, Thai, and Indian food
-Diversity
-Liberal Politically</p>

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</p>

<p>I’m surprised. There’s not much in Williamstown, but one thing it does have is an Indian restaurant that a lot of people think is pretty good. DW and D2 reported having a pretty good meal there about a year ago.</p>

<p>And I recall a number of Indian restaurants in and around New Haven. Though I haven’t been there recently, I’d be surprised if there weren’t at least a couple of decent ones given the ethnic diversity of the New Haven area. Perhaps not in immediate proximity to the Yale campus, but Yalies ought to get out more.</p>

<p>As for bubble tea, I’m certain it’s available at a number of places close to the Yale campus. I wonder if perhaps your D2 just didn’t like Yale for other reasons and didn’t look very hard to find these things.</p>

<p>1) near civilization, aka shopping center
2) near a subway</p>

<p>Turn offs:

  • An overwhelmingly politically polarized campus.
  • Weak Indian presence on campus. I’m Indian, and though I am fine with people of every race, I feel most at home in a community of Indians. It’s just a matter of comfort.There could be 30 or 300 Indians - It doesn’t matter so long as there is a “presence” on campus.
  • Overwhelming pre-professionalism </p>

<p>Turn ons:

  • Intellectualism, but with a present social scene. I’m down for partying and the traditional college experience, but I can’t stand people without intellectual aspirations.
  • Attractiveness of the student body. Obviously, this is superficial and quite inconsistent as admissions aren’t on basis of looks. But how can this be a downside?</p>

<p>I attended UC Davis. My number one priority for a college was that it was close to home. And by senior year of high school, when I heard that the reputation of one’s undergrad institution doesn’t matter much if he/she is aiming for grad school/pharm school, I wanted to go to SF State, because I live in SF (San Francisco). I thought I could get better grades there too. </p>

<p>UC Davis was my dream school up until senior year. My parents wanted me to go to UC Davis when I got in when I wanted to go to SF State by then. When I got to UC Davis, I was very unmotivated. I didn’t believe in myself because I kept thinking that everyone there was smarter than I was. I ended up getting two NP’s first quarter, two F’s second quarter, and two more F’s third quarter. I am now dismissed. </p>

<p>My adviser told me that in time maybe I, like some students who struggled, will find that the problem was UC Davis. Maybe I am much happier on semester systems. Maybe I need to be closer to home. My dad does my health problems and being able to see that he is well and healthy everyday calms my anxiety. Also, seeing my parents work hard motivates me. Or maybe I’m just making up excuses for my laziness. But I really do feel like I am more motivated, organized, and focused when I am at home. Or maybe I just learned from my failures. I don’t know, but I hope to find the root cause of my failure soon.</p>

<p>My main point is that: the seemingly “trivial” factors of a college can have dramatic effects on one’s ability to perform well academically.</p>

<p>Trivial yet important: Rock climbing wall!</p>

<p>bclintonk - I am not an Indian food lover, but H and D2 share that love. They went to visit Yale together, they picked Indian to be one meal around Yale. According to D2, it was the worst one she has ever had. Their next visit was Williamstown, D2 really wanted a bubble tea, H kept on telling her that they would look for it when they got to Williams, and D2 was disappointed. </p>

<p>I think D2 already had her mind set on where she wanted to go, and she just kept on comparing other schools with the one she wanted to go to. When I spoke to her on the phone about those schools, she couldn’t really say much other than she didn’t like them because of those trivia issues.</p>

<p>hopeyoudance95-I hope your “away from disaster areas” is not a make it or break it because there is no such place. I technically live in “tornado alley” and in over 40 years have never experienced a tornado, being that tornado alley is in the midwest, same goes for forest fires. The east coast has been one of the hardest hit areas of the country the past several years with massive blizzards, flooding, storms, etc.</p>