Reading through some of these threads I’ve noticed quite a few people have a “Sword they’re willing to die on,” the proverbial “Line in the Sand” and even some comical reasons that a College is a definite No. It might be politics, or snow, or I even read there were too many trees on one campus! So, serious or funny, what is your best reason not to apply to a college?
I will start: My kid didn’t want to go to college in a town without a Target. I thought that was a strange criterion, but easy enough to work around…
Our oldest eliminated states on major fault lines, and states known to have brwn recluse spiders. I supported these because it seemed like any way to make the list smaller was good! Also, no connecting flights and/or very long drives, either from home or airport. With the types of schools wanted, that worked as well.
*they can be anywhere these days, of course; had to replace with asterisk as college was tagged
I figured there were enough schools in the east that I told our guys, “East of the Mississippi.”
Middle son applied to WUSTL. When we visited it I told him we’d drop him off at the bridge and he could walk across.
He also applied to Baylor (free, and slightly appealing to him), but we never got around to visiting that one once he found he was more than happy enough with closer options. It would have been a longer walk from the Mississippi river anyway.
But in general, no restrictions.
Oldest knew which college he wanted, got in with enough money to make it affordable, and went there.
Youngest selected a few to visit, picked one and only one he wanted after visiting, got enough money to make it affordable, and went there.
Middle ended up selecting based upon his visits too. Emphasis on sports rather than academics was a turn off. Talking research while at some sort of music related college club made the sale (and affordable).
I think some of the “Best” reasons I’ve heard recently… School Colors - Sorry Wyoming (yellow/brown) and Mascot (No Thanks RISD… Scrotie???)
I also think it is crazy to pick a college because of a another person, ex. celebrity/bf/gf etc.,
OU has the only all-you-can-eat Chick-Fil-A
I also would choose not to go to a college because of creepy crawlies or snakes. I just can’t do it. That makes New Zealand and Hawaii very appealing! Ha
This pertains to post undergrad plans. My kid who is graduating from college in May has made an excel list of potential rentals for the move back home. In addition to the usual factors such as rent and number of bedrooms and bathrooms, it lists distance to the job and distance to the nearest In N Out.
My DS24 wants to attend a campus where ideas are debated but instagram-style protesting is not popular. He overreacts a bit to political activism/rallies/protests based on where we lived during a significant portion of his middle childhood and the experience with big activist movements that we had at our home there. It scares him even when it’s just for the camera.
For my son, it was “bro culture” & anywhere Greek/frat heavy. He decided against a school with a generous offer because of it. It worked out though. After an admitted student day at another favorite school about a week later, he loved that one even more. Equally generous aid & no Greek life! He’s been very happy!
Too much Pope. We visited two, very different, Catholic schools. Every time D23 saw a picture of the Pope (and there were lots of them) she would look at me and shake her head. And so hundreds of Catholic colleges were eliminated from her search.
For my D the first criteria was size of college as she definitely wanted to attend a LAC (we took her to one mid-sized college just to see another option but when we were in the car she said "Just so you know, I’m not going here.) At the LACs she looked for fit (some were “too preppy, too artsy”, etc.) as well as a strong science program.
Size was also a criteria for S. He was more open minded to start the process but after looking at some different options he found he preferred mid-sized, preferably urban universities with an undergrad business school. He also steered away from big frat schools and wanted to be within driving distance of home.
Our first tour was a small LAC and when she got in the car after the tour, the first thing she said to me was, “Please don’t make me look at another one of these!”
She grew up taking advantage of the amenities of a nearby Big 10 university and, in her mind, college WAS a big campus with a huge football stadium. She just didn’t realize it until she actually got a look at small and medium sized campuses.
S25 and I had our first real college talk last night. He wants a small school, with a strong business program, not too hot, with a huge climbing gym/team and an accessible walkable from school town. So basically an imaginary place.
New territory for us as D23 thought everywhere was great.
