<p>I'd have to go with how compact the campus is. If a college is spread out, a student could spend a lot of valuable time each day walking to/from classes, the library, or the dining hall. Or waiting for a bus. Long distances also exacerbate the effects of bad weather (ile., if a place is snowy, rainy, cold, or hot, the negative impact of that weather rises with the amount of time a person has to spend outside).</p>
<p>I’ve been surprised to hear about how much dining options matter to students once they get on campus.<br>
I know a student who hates an otherwise great LAC because there is only one dining hall and everyone eats three meals a day in that hall.
I know another student (male water polo player) who is hungry all the time at a school where the dining halls close between meals and he is having trouble getting enough food every day.</p>
<p>“4-1-4” academic calendar schedule. </p>
<p>Translated: First Semester ends mid-December. January is its own one-month opportunity; Second Semester runs from Feb-May. </p>
<p>Academically: On 4-1-4 students press to complete coursework in early Dec but enjoy Christmas holiday free of exam/paper pressure. </p>
<p>January can be a great opportunity, on or off-campus, to shadow careers, travel, work or do special academic projects/independent study. Some colleges offer one entire course in 3-week intensive fashion (5x/week, all morning…) taught by regular faculty. Thus a 3-course credit can be gained in one month. Sports practice for spring teams. OR…college provides nothing, just “bu-bye” until February. </p>
<p>Financially: What’s the college dorm/dining hall fee structure for January? Are dorms open or locked? If students reside on campus through January, is dining hall service open for students or are students (many without cars) expected to “fend” to eat by cooking in dorm lounges etc. Extra costs to families if kids stay on campus that month?</p>
<p>One thing we never thought about was semester vs. quarter. Ends up D1 is on the semester system and S2 is on the quarter system. I would say the advantage to the semester system is that you are done in May (and have first dibs on summer jobs) and only have to go through finals twice a year. For the quarter system, you start later, you can enjoy your spring break because the quarter is over, and if you don’t like a class it is over in 10 weeks. But it is very easy to get behind and you have to go through finals (and pick classes) three times.</p>
<p>Agree about semester vs. quarter. Quarter goes too fast for me academically.</p>
<p>We figured that going to a smaller college with a big frat scene when you don’t plan on joining or participating wouldn’t be a problem because you could always “find your own people.” Turned out to provide for some rocky times. Not to say that kid would have chosen a different school, but it’s something that I would take more seriously now when it comes to fit.</p>
<p>I like Michigan’s trimester system. You can easily take as many credits in Spring and Summer as you can in Fall and Winter, where as at most schools there simply isn’t time. I don’t think that should really be a major attraction though, considering there aren’t many course offerings during the spring and summer. </p>
<p>But I agree that people should look at the hours the dining hall are open. The dining halls where I go close pretty early, so if you’re used to eating late then you’ll need to adjust your schedule. Most should be able to adjust to new hours, but still might be something to consider if you’re broken between two schools.</p>
<p>Personally I like to see just one or mostly one type of external building material on buildings in an area (like all brick, or all stucco, not a mix of the two). It just seems really ugly to me if it’s mixed. </p>
<p>How long of a walk it is to off campus food. Inevitably if all you’re eating is what you can get on campus you’ll get sick of it no matter how good it is. </p>
<p>How many open seats a class has. It’s a big hassle to have to get overrides for classes because they filled up before you were allowed to register. This I think is much more important than the actual class size. I’ve found that it’s okay to ask questions in any lecture of less than 150. </p>
<p>Department specific, if you have any way of checking the withdrawal rates of major classes, it’s worth checking.</p>
<p>For girls? Food. They don’t think about the food the way the boys do when they are touring the schools. But, ohhhhh do they complain if it is bad.</p>
<p>This is a great question for a thread. </p>
<p>Though I agree that how spread out the campus is can really enhance the effect of bad weather, I don’t see how walking is lost valuable time. It’s valuable exercise, which is easily as important as anything else one has to fit into their day.</p>
<p>I think an under-appreciated feature is the ‘hassle factor’ on campus. How much is it a hassle and time drain to get things you need. How good is the bookstore? The availability of resources in the library and the interlibrary loan system? How bureaucratic is the environment? The ease of registering? The typical wait in the healthcare center? The responsiveness of the financial aid department when you need a new form or a question answered? </p>
<p>Those day to day things are hard to assess with tours, never discussed by the schools themselves, not often talked about in reviews, yet can make day to day living a frustrating experience. And in my experience schools environments vary dramatically on this issue.</p>
<p>Avoiding a college that has no classes on Fridays.</p>
<p>At a COA of $50,000 a year, I don’t think it’s a good deal to only have classes on 4 days a week. Sure it’s great for the faculty, but sure doesn’t seem like a good deal to someone paying the bill.</p>
<p>I’d also say picking a college that has enough things to do for a student without a car, but that is not an under-appreciated criteria.</p>
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<p>Whoa, some colleges have no classes on Friday? I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but which ones?</p>
<p>DD needed lots of acerage - green space, lawns, trees, water - on her campus. She felt closed in at the more compact colleges. Her college is in a rural area. </p>
<p>She did not want to attend a college where most students went home on the weekend. It might be called a “suitcase” college.</p>
<p>Great thread.</p>
<p>The biggest mistake I made when I went to college (many, many years ago) was not knowing that I was going to a “suitcase” college. That first semester was tough.</p>
<p>A very big factor to us was the extent to which upperclassmen live on campus. At D’s school, virtually everyone lives on campus all 4 years. At S’s, while not everyone does, there are certainly opportunities to – and “off campus” is literally right next to the campus dorms. I see zero appeal to the idea of an apartment when they are students. They’ll have the rest of their lives to deal with all that; I’d rather they live in dorms (or in S’s case, a fraternity if he is so inclined) and have all that taken care of for them.</p>
<p>I MUCH preferred having an apt/house near campus with friends. Much much much. No dealing with RA’s, other students being loud or obnoxious when you are not in the mood for it, making your own rules and having a kitchen you can go to at 2am and find something you want to eat. The idea of living in a dorm for 4 years makes me ill. Like prolonged childhood. YUK</p>
<p>Well, different strokes for different folks. It would take a heck of a lot of convincing for me to agree to have S live off campus in an apartment when there are plenty of dorms for the taking. There would have to be a really significant reason. Otherwise, I don’t see the point at all. To me, the college experience IS dorm (and / or Greek house) communal living, not an apartment with 1,2,3 other people.</p>
<p>Nice dormitories. I’m talking spacious rooms, private bathrooms, lots of singles, suites, and kitchenettes. With nice courtyards, gardens, and dining halls adjacent.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl, I am sure many would agree w/ you, since there are a lot of LACs w/ 4 year residents. </p>
<p>I have to agree w/ barrons on this one, though! For my D it was one of her deciding factors–the LAC she was considering touted their high rate of on-campus upperclass residents–but with one dining hall with limited hours, and only a handful of nearby off-campus dining options…that sounded awful to my D.</p>
<p>She is in her freshman year and in a dorm–has loved it, met lots of people, immersed herself in the campus but is SO ready to be in a nearby apartment with one of her new friends next fall. She can’t wait to cook, and not to have to share a bathroom with a bunch of others, etc. Not that she’s complained, she just wouldn’t want to do dorm life for more than 1 year.</p>
<p>In D’s college-town there are tons of great apartments, and it will be cheaper than the dorm. It will save a few thousand dollars; she’ll still eat on campus for 10 or so meals a week (lunches, the occasional dinner/breakfast). She’ll still work out in the gym, and go to the library and attend musical events…I don’t see what she’d be missing by getting out of the dorm!</p>
<p>Only exception to this for me might be if school is in huge city where rentals are super-costly/hard to find.</p>
<p>Not the most under-appreciated, but an important practical consideration - if travel to and from home will be via airplane: are non-stop flights available, and how easy is it and how much time does it take to get to and from the airport.</p>
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<p>Just to show that tastes differ … we really liked one LAC we saw where everyone ate in the same dining hall for all meals. It felt much more cohesive than our own uni experience, where there were multiple (maybe 6 or so) dining halls.</p>
<p>Quarter systems allow you to take more classes in a given year. And if you hate one…well, it’s only 10-12 weeks.
I enjoyed my dorm life but getting an apartment was like growing up and yes, I had the rest of my life but not in such a forgiving environment as a college town.</p>