<p>We recently visited UVA for the official tour and welcome session. As an alum, I've talked up UVA for our children and given them the typical spiel about this being a great liberal arts college. For years, I've talked about how special UVA is. So I can't believe that now after 2 different tours there that their impression, and mine, is completely the opposite. We had a one on one with someone in Admissions who was so cold and rude. No one goes to a UVA tour thinking it's easy to get in, so why continually repeat that to applicants?
We went on the official tour this week and it was easily the worst of the 5 college tours we've been on so far. The opening session was staid and uninspiring, then left on the grounds tour by someone who continually highlighted perceived negatives (e.g., "the food here is a 5 out of 10", "crime happens here just like in any big city") and continued to butcher the English language (e.g., "He should have went..."). Are other people having similar negative exposures to UVA or have we just had 2 bad luck of the draws? All of the other colleges we are visiting are similar academically so all are as selective, or more so, than UVA but their staff and guides have come off as so pretentious that it's left this alum feeling like it is not the right choice for our kids. </p>
<p>DS had a great tour a few months ago. A few years ago, alums and some students were unimpressed (and upset as you are) about UNC-CH not showing well. So it happens. I went on a CMU tour about 3 years ago that was terrible.We had a very bad Syracuse tour and a bad Fordham tour, neither I blame on the school. It happens. </p>
<p>The one official tour I went on three years ago spent too much time on the Secret Societies. They really don’t matter to most students. </p>
<p>In the original post, I’d be more concerned about a rude professional than an occasional weak student tour guide. </p>
<p>A student tour guide can build some credibility with the families by admitting that some things are not perfect. According to some past surveys, the dining food is not the strongest aspect of UVa. However, it was unusually good when the parents were served a meal for summer orientation.</p>
<p>About 4 years ago, the admissions person finally showed up 20 minutes late while we sat in a auditorium with work stuff (being renovated). Proceeded to be so offhand and unhelpful to the point of being rude. The walking tour was fine but the initial college lecture was such a turn off you wondered why anybody would bother to apply.</p>
<p>I’m really sorry to read this. HoosMom, I hope you filled out a feedback card when the tour dropped you off at Peabody. We are very interested in the notes people write on those cards. A senior staff member reviews them and then makes sure the admission counselor who gave the session sees the comments. The same is true with the comments on the bottom half of the slip, about the tour guide.</p>
<p>To echo what Charlie wrote, we feel strongly about not promising that UVa is something that it isn’t. At college fairs, I have heard counselors from other schools tell students “sure, you can do that!” while I might say “in theory, you can do that, but it will be very difficult and might require you to take some courses over the summer” to the same question. I think our style contributes to the 97% retention rate. There’s a culture of “yes” in the admission world that worries me sometimes. </p>
<p>Just to circle back, the comment cards are really critical to us. If you didn’t fill one out, please email us (<a href=“mailto:undergradadmission@virginia.edu”>undergradadmission@virginia.edu</a>) with the date and time of the session/tour and your feedback. We don’t track interest, to the email won’t be connected to the student.</p>
<p>Obviously, I’m more than happy to answer any questions you or your student have down the line.</p>
<p>Dean J, thank you for your response. We ended up dropping off the tour at the Lawn because it was so bad and our guide said she was only walking everyone back to Newcomb Hall to say goodbye anyway. So I didn’t fill in a comment card but would be happy to share more with you via email if you’re interested.
You can tell from my CC login name (that I’ve had for a couple of years now) that I’m a loyal alum. So the negative impression wasn’t formed overnight. At no time during our visits has anyone affiliated with the school (student or employee) talked about WHY a student should want to go to UVA. There are hundreds of excellent colleges to choose from so I feel that each college should highlight why a student would want to go to one over another, in addition to the stark realities of the admissions process.
In the past week, we’ve also been to UMD and William and Mary- and we’re alum from all of them between undergrad and grad work. W&M is just as selective as UVA but they were so welcoming and warm. Really stark contrast to the attitude we’ve encountered twice at UVA. If staff aren’t taking tours at other colleges, I’d encourage them to see how other colleges are presenting themselves. Lots of enthusiasm, interaction, and what makes that school special. </p>
<pre><code> I am a future UVA student and agree entirely with what HoosMom stated. My tour of UVA last year was dismal. The woman speaking at the info session was very reserved and not particularly friendly, and constantly talked about how hard it is to get into UVA. Also, the info session she gave was very formal; there were no jokes or any comic relief. It portrayed UVA as a bit elitist and cold. I agree with HoosMom: there needs to be much more enthusiasm and interaction when speaking to students.
The first-year first semester girl who gave my tour (older students, more familiar with the school, would probably be better tour-givers) complained about how bad the food was, and generally didn’t give a good tour. At other schools (W&M was one that stood out), the admissions officers were warm, friendly, and had a sense of humor. It’s unfortunate that I didn’t fill out a review card at that time. The sense of elitism is something UVA really needs to get rid of. I’m just lucky that I had a great experience at Days on the Lawn, which drew me to UVA, though it wasn’t particularly more friendly.
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<p>Yeah. UVA’s tour was the second worst of the ones we went to (JMU… lol). Our tour guide was great, but everything in the auditorium was a little dry. No excitement for the school at all. The info was all solid stuff though. </p>
<p>The students who tour during the year are different than over the summer… I also remember them talking about UVA being selective however it was information I needed to know and so I appreciated the honesty. Again to echo DeanJ, I was part of that 97% retention rate so how they said things must have been okay with me. ;)</p>
<p>We’ve been on several UVA tours over the years, and all of them have been positive. My youngest attended ITE this week and went on another tour while there. She had only positive things to say about the tour guide and the tour. She said the admission person stated the same things we’ve heard before both from the Legacy folks and previous admissions personnel. </p>
<p>I honestly think it is hit and miss with tours. We had a tour guide leave behind a bunch of us at a very outstanding liberal arts college in New England over spring break. And the student doing the admission session was very dry. We looked past those things and considered what the school has to offer and took ourselves on our own tour and talked to students there.</p>
<p>As for UVa, we could not be more pleased. At parent orientation we were told that UVa offers many opportunities, but students have to be assertive and go after them. Our older daughter is a PPL major who has been able to study with a small cohort of students in New Mexico and is studying abroad at Oxford for six weeks this summer. The food in the dining halls is not always the highest quality, but that’s true at other schools too:). </p>
<p>Just to emphasize what I wrote before…</p>
<p>If you didn’t fill out a feedback form when you visited, please feel free to email us (<a href=“mailto:undergradadmission@virginia.edu”>undergradadmission@virginia.edu</a>) with the date and time of the session/tour and your feedback. We don’t track interest, to the email won’t be used to identify you.</p>
<p>
Tough room! The tour was the second worst of those you took, but the tour guide was great? Our tour guides have always gotten great reviews…which is why I’m so interested in detailed feedback. Please email us!</p>
<p>I toured the grounds a year ago during spring break and absolutely loved it. The admissions officer was really funny and the part in the auditorium wasn’t boring at all. My tour guides (two of them led my tour) were fantastic and really tried to highlight everything. They told us why they decided to come to UVa and what they think the best parts of the university are. It was actually my favorite visit out of the 4 other colleges I’ve visited thus far. I guess it just depends. Sorry to hear about those who didn’t enjoy it. </p>
<p>Before I visited UVa, it was relatively low on my list for colleges I might want to apply to. After visiting, it’s now one of my top choices.</p>
<p>I’m so sorry that you got a crummy tour…I’ve been there, done that, and it was the worst. I actually started giving tours at the e-school as part of the SEAS E-Guides group because I had a semi-sad experience when I was looking at transferring. I had a few parents come up to me after tours thanking me for such a great insight because the U-Guides (larger school-wide student-led tours) felt scripted and formal, yet I had other parents comment before a tour even began that they had high expectations for the SEAS tour because the U-Guides one was so great. Like others have said, I think it can really come down to who did the tour that day, who was in the group with you, and quite frankly, how the tour guide was feeling that day (I know I led a few tours while being bummed out by something overjoyed about something, or stressed, or just plain tired after a day of classes)</p>
<p>While I by no means support a parent influencing their child’s college decision, perhaps you could tell a few stories and do your own “tour” after letting your S/D do a little more research. Also, you could look into tours of the individual schools or do a Monroe overnight visit. Or maybe even shoot for another visit, and try a different day of the week if possible.</p>
<p>It’s always disappointing to hear of someone’s negative experience at a place your own child loves. While tours do very much depend on the day, the people involved, the weather, etc., and rationally we know there’s much more to a school than you’ll glean from a 4 hour visit, it really is, as has been said, amazing just how important the tour is for an incoming student. A school can be a perfect fit on paper, and from others’ reviews, and then just seem horrible for a student on a tour - while the exact opposite can be true as well, where the tour shocks you in a positive way.</p>
<p>Our experience may different from the “standard” tours in that last year my son toured during Days on the Lawn as an accepted honors program student. The sessions were great, the tour was great, everyone we talked with was both honest, positive, and informative. Some of the sideline things, like lunch with current students for open discussion, meetings with faculty, made for a more “realistic” feel for my son. He’s not regretted his choice to attend UVa (as an OOS) and absolutely loved his first year. </p>
<p>We toured a lot of other schools, including Stanford, Cornell, Princeton, GaTech, Vanderbilt, WashU, CMU, (and more). And UVa, while not the best tour was easily in the top 3 for overall campus tours. And it was definitely the tour that made the decision for him to attend. One of the schools started as a “this is probably where I’m going to go” before the tour and it became a “I can’t believe we wasted the money to visit” after the tour. Had UVa have been that way for him, I doubt he would have chosen it. So I understand firsthand the importance of a student’s impression of the tour.</p>
<p>It is so reassuring to hear from other parents and students who have had wonderful tours and experiences at UVA. Thanks for everyone who has taken the time to reply.</p>
<p>I would take the tour with a grain of salt. It is sometimes dependent on the students that give the tour. That said, when I toured UVA, I had similar impressions and was not very impressed despite high expectations. The information session IMO was very lecture-like and boring, highlighting common sense admission topics and barely anything about the school itself.</p>
<p>The tour was average, although it may be because our tour guide didn’t seem to be that personable and was just listing a bunch of facts and sounded a bit scripted. The secret societies study abroad options were interesting, but was a bit turned off by the mention of 200+ class sizes and the lack of air conditioning in some dorms. Overall, I ended up not applying. I’m sure UVA is a great school and you should be proud of your alma matter, but I believe the presentation style could definitely be improved.</p>
<p>In our house, UVA has always had a “prestige” about it–“living on the lawn in the steps of TJ…etc.” So we go on our first tour two years ago and were 100% underwhelmed. First, the large, cold and sterile classroom amphitheater place they had the info session included a person from admissions that was just as cold and sterile–no personality, no excitement for their job…and an underwhelming presentation. We heard at least 25 times about how hard it was to get into UVA. The rep spent more time talking about the UVA cruise ship than why my D should go to school there. Then we went on tour, where the tour guide spent about 25% of her comments focused on secret societies, about 25% on a rant about how bad the food is, about 15% talking about how far away the dorms are from everything, and the remainder talking about how unsafe campus was. We left…and all we knew was: there were secret societies, adcom reps hated their jobs, and there was a cruise ship. </p>
<p>Ironically, we went from UVA to Duke (harder to get into by far) and heard how amazing Duke was, what amazing and cool things the students were doing , how great the amenities were…oh, and it is competitive to get into too, so bring your A game on the application.</p>
<p>We returned this past Spring to UVA and had a worse tour. D #1 went to another school after first tour. D #2 and #3 won’t apply to UVA either. Sad that in the world of college marketing that UVA can’t figure out how to sell itself. </p>
<p>My daughter just graduated from UVA in May. We never visited the school before she applied; however, we did attend four accepted students’ days at selective universities. UVA’s presentation was genuine to the school’s vibe/culture – something we didn’t get as much of at the other three private universities. The fact that the band played on the lawn, the humorous discussion led by Dean Groves, the opportunity for her to attend classes in her field of study, etc. all gave her a sense of what life as a UVA student would be like. She is very observant and made comments like, “Look at how many people are studying and relaxing on the Lawn,” “Look at how many people are proud of this school and wearing school t-shirts,” “Look at these stats for graduation and job placement rates,” and perhaps her most astute observation, IMO, “Look at how many students here are laughing and smiling. At ________, none of the kids looked like they were having fun. They all looked like they had pulled an all-nighter, rolled out of bed, and were junked up on coffee; there was no balance. This school is academic, but the kids seem more balanced like me.” A few friends were puzzled at her decision to attend UVA over her other options, but in the end she went with her gut. The opportunities availed to her (Echols > double distinguished major, athlete/captain, sorority, lawnie, etc., etc.) allowed her the best of both worlds (academic and social). She has nothing but fondness for her alma mater and attributes much of her success in med school admissions to her success at UVA. </p>