<p>I find it interesting Northwestern hasn’t even made the “why I didn’t apply” list for anyone yet. Is it just that its so far removed from the consciousness of most applicants?</p>
<p>^I did suggest this to my daughter and she refused to apply. So here is one for not applying to Northwestern. Not sure what was the reason.</p>
<p>No in-state schools or schools that are really close. I want to see some new places.</p>
<p>BU, no real campus or place to relax.
Ivys, couldn’t get in but i don’t like the suck up prestige thing either.
WPI-too nerdy</p>
<p>LOOKING AT:
Villanova
Lafayette
Northeastern</p>
<p>^top 3 in no particular order</p>
<p>I like this thread! :)</p>
<p>No big state schools-- I visited UMaryland and UDelaware, and those turned me off to the idea of a big sports-oriented school. So that means UMich and UVA were crossed off the list.</p>
<p>Not Brown-- I loved the school on paper, since I thought the hippie, liberal vibe would be perfect. Unfortunately, I felt like the whole place was pretentious when I visited. Too much “blind liberalism” anyway- I like places where people think.</p>
<p>Not Williams (too athletic), Haverford (too athletic, too many women in the area), Amherst (too pretentious), or Tufts (too… something just wasn’t right there for me).</p>
<p>Not Colby (too far away and isolated), not Bates (the town was run-down). Not JHU (too science-y), and not Chicago (don’t like the curriculum). Not G-town or BC (based on religious preference).</p>
<p>And nothing too conservative. :)</p>
<p>How is Amherst pretentious?</p>
<p>My D nixed Williams (“if I wanted a small school in the middle of nowhere, this would be perfect”), Maryland (too big, too “southern”), Northwestern (Evanston too “manicured”), U-Rochester (would not get out of the car).</p>
<p>Otherwise she’s been fairly reasonable about the whole process. ;)</p>
<p>Princeton: it’s in new jersey ;-)</p>
<p>Not considering darmouth, brown, columbia, cornell, stanford, mit</p>
<p>D did not consider Colgate, as toothpaste? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>
that was one of my major problems with P, too… :p</p>
<p>orchestramom,</p>
<p><a href=“Evanston%20too” title=“manicured”>quote</a>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>just out of curiosity, what do you mean by manicured?</p>
<p>haha, no one understands, “Hannah, when you say, ‘I go to Princeton.’ no one thinks ‘that’s in New Jersey’” But, you know, I do.</p>
<p>For me it was Wash U. I should have liked everything about it- close to a city, not too big and not too small, had the majors I wanted, plenty of scholarships and not just for super-amazing athletes, minorities, or people who had already cured cancer. But when I visited, for whatever reason, I just did not like it. I think that for some reason it reminded me of high school, which I definitely do not want in college. Great school, just not for me.</p>
<p>I didn’t even consider any of the Ivies because of their locations. I felt that, for an international affairs major, why would I spend my time at Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, etc. in the middle of nowhere when I could choose Georgetown, with an amazing reputation at SFS, in the middle of DC where int’l. affairs actually HAPPENS. </p>
<p>Also, rural schools turn me off.</p>
<p>^ Harvard isn’t exactly in the middle of nowhere… it’s in the heart of the athens of america. And Columbia’s also in the first city of america, where the UN headquarters is.</p>
<p>I’d rather not be near Boston, and compared to DC I consider it nowhere. And Columbia would be okay as far as location but it just never struck me as a “me” kind of school.</p>
<p>DC is a big deal for me as well because of the opportunity for internships during the schoolyear because I don’t really have money to stay somewhere and to one in the summer.</p>
<p>My S rejected (in most cases after visiting):</p>
<p>Cornell–didn’t like the campus
Columbia–didn’t like the campus and the fact that everyone was wearing black and had their NYC game face on. (“Too grown up.”)
Princeton–eating clubs and general eh-ness
Reed–too quirky, heard it has a “frat” where people scavenge for their food
Northwestern–too pre-professional, not intellectual, too Big 10, too fratty
Haverford–too small
U Mich–too big, in Michigan
Tufts–not exciting
Amherst–Campus “too small.” In general, “like Brown, but Brown is better.”</p>
<p>^^GD016 post #36:</p>
<p>“manicured” was D’s term, not mine. Evanston is beautiful, prosperous, and affluent, and the setting by Lake Michigan is unparalleled. It’s just that my D prefers a little more “urban grit.” :)</p>
<p>D2 was really gung ho on Carleton until she visited and saw a group all dressed up in period costumes and role playing with swords and shields. That apparently is it for her. She is very quiet and just stated that it wasn’t her type of place. I was disappointed and am hoping she changes her mind by next year.</p>