<p>If you do not mind sharing your child's positive experiences with new parents going through the process. It would make the road a little less bumpy! </p>
<p>Please state where you child is attending and what has been the best surprise so far.</p>
<p>Thank you all for sharing.</p>
<p>I have recommended my D’s school on this board, quite a bit, since I think it is underappreciated.
D goes to Marquette in Milwaukee, a midsize, Jesuit school.
Pleasant surprises: the compact, attractive urban campus; the pleasures of Milwaukee; VERY strong academics in her field (health sciences) – she is plenty challenged (strong in engineering, business, and communications, too); beautiful study spaces, like the library, that the kids really use; and the fact that they didn’t lie about how important community service is and how much the kids get involved and like it – D is currently involved in two weekly service projects and tells me about them constantly. Also, though there is plenty of partying and social life for those who want it, (and often D does), Greek life is very small (about 4%, I think) and certainly doesn’t dominate campus in any way.
Now the cons: Freshmen dorms are older and small, food is only average, and kids tend to be “preppy” (for those who don’t want that, that’s worth noting, I guess).<br>
Oh, and if you don’t love basketball . . . you will!!</p>
<p>My daughter is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, and I recommend it often. It offers an urban campus that actually has grass and places to hang out in nice weather, and a great location in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh right next to Carnegie Mellon. </p>
<p>Lots of things to do on or off campus, choice of local restaurants including Indian, Japanese, Italian, Middle Eastern, etc. (Access to good food is very important to D.) Strong offerings in the health sciences including a top-ranked nursing program and physical therapy, psychology, Japanese, engineering, philosophy (nationally ranked No. 2 or 3), linguistics, etc. </p>
<p>Sports are big, for those who like that, but it’s okay if someone doesn’t follow football or basketball. Kids seems to be low-key and friendly, many Pa. natives, but with 30% of the student body from out of state. My daughter has been impressed with all her professors so far. Pitt can be generous with merit money too, although it’s hard to predict in advance who’s going to get what. I definitely recommend Pitt for the kid who wants a large school in an urban environment but still wants a true campus feel.</p>
<p>Biggest surprise is how good the advising has been. Really caring and on-target.</p>
<p>James Madison University
Beautiful campus, lots of school spirit, strong academics- what’s not to like? OOS tuition is reasonable too!</p>
<p>I would recommend and have recommended my son’s school, the University of Maryland at College Park. I was far more impressed with it than I ever expected it to be, and my son’s experience there was surprisingly personalized for such a large school. The proximity to Washington, DC; the presence of big-time sports; and the availability of many honors and special interest programs for freshmen and sophomores are big selling points for UMCP, as is the substantial amount of merit scholarship money available to top in-state students. When I talk about UMCP, though, I try to remember to point out that the area immediately surrounding the campus is not the nicest and that theft is a problem, both on campus and in the vicinity. </p>
<p>I also recommend my daughter’s school, Cornell University, if it seems right for the student. But Cornell is not right for everyone. For those students enrolled in its larger colleges, it can be a very impersonal place unless the student makes the effort to get to know professors, join activities, etc. Also, Cornell’s location is a drawback for some – not just because of its isolation but because getting in and out of Ithaca by mass transit is difficult. Prospective Cornellians also need to be aware that the dorms (and even the Greek houses) do not have enough spaces to house the entire student population. If you go to Cornell, you WILL live off-campus at some point (and you will need to sign a lease almost a year in advance); some students consider this a drawback. On the other hand, Cornell has made huge strides in recent years in terms of improving the freshman experience; its strong academic reputation is justified; and the variety and quality of its academic and extracurricular offerings are extraordinary.</p>
<p>Son attends Virginia Tech and loves it. He loves the big school opportunities, but the campus feels more like a smaller school. Everything is self-contained on campus and walkable. The food is great. Enjoys the athletics. It has many resources available and he has been able to get help if needed. He has made many new friends and says that people are very welcoming. Campus is very pretty and they have a nice downtown. Larger stores are available just 10 minutes away. Airport transportation is about 30 minutes away. OOS state tuition is fairly reasonable also. He has nothing but great things to say about VT.</p>
<p>Our D is a freshman at Stanford and LOVES it!!! She loves her classes, her friends, the dorms and the campus. She says the food is fine, nothing special but healthy and plentiful. She actually has lost 5 pounds in her 5 weeks on campus. She says it’s all the biking. The biggest surprise for her is how accessible the professors are to the students. All of her classes are taught by professors and the discussion sections are taught by TFs. She is in a class taught by a professor that is the cutting edge for the subject and there are almost no freshmen. She loves the class. Prerequisites are not always enforced. She loves how easy it is to get the classes she wants, which is not the case for her friends in the UC and Cal State systems. </p>
<p>Her dorm houses about 100 freshman in doubles. It has an all boys floor, an all girls floor and a co-ed floor. There are two RAs on each floor- 3 of them are more specialized. One specializes in tutoring, one in health issues and the other in computer issues. Each dorm is set up this way. The Resident Fellows for her dorm are a married couple that are pediatricians at Stanford Medical. She couldn’t be more pleased with the way she was matched with her roommate. They are totally compatible- they are not friends but they get along very well as roommates. </p>
<p>The financial aid is awesome for our family. </p>
<p>The campus is a bit of a bubble. The surrounds area of Palo Alto is very yuppie, to use an old phrase. It is expensive. Most students don’t venture too far off campus for too long. Day trips to SF, boarding in Tahoe etc can be done with friends or with one of the 600 or so student clubs.</p>
<p>The University says that 96% of students live on campus- the other 4% is largely students studying abroad. Housing is guaranteed for all four years. </p>
<p>She was back home for four days with the regular flu (we are about 2 1/2 hours from Stanford) and couldn’t wait to go back to school. Her friends were texting her regularly to keep in touch and say they missed her. Her TFs emailed her all notes and assignments. We weren’t back in her dorm room 5 minutes before the RA came by to welcome her back and catch her up on the goings on. </p>
<p>I can’t imagine a more perfect place for our D.</p>
<p>I’m wondering who is going to say “no” to this question. ;)</p>
<p>University of Wisconsin- Madison. Liberal, good honors program- the best academics and city in the state (nothing in Milwaukee compares, I know both). Plenty of nonfootball/nondrinkers around. The campus is beautiful and school large enough for diversity. I was surprised my son, with whom I don’t often get along with (both strong willed…), enjoys the school as much as I did- in different ways, in a different era.</p>
<p>Ditto on septembermom’s comments from my son at Virginia Tech. Quiet, reflective kid (who I worried about being in a big state school) is thriving and loving every minute of it. Could copy and paste septembermom’s reply and add that my guy has found his academic work to be very challenging but very, very interesting and is learning a ton.</p>
<p>I would recommend both my kids schools but not for every app. I would not recommend the college I went to, although hopefully it has changed in 35 years.</p>
<p>I would recommend (and do) my daughter’s alma mater, Rice, to most applicants. It isn’t huge, so if you want big-time sports it isn’t for you. Baseball is the strong sport, but the student body doesn’t flock to the games, many of which occur after school ends for the year. That said, Rice is an awesome college experience with a great campus and many strong areas of academics (and music).
I do not recommend my son’s school, Penn, without some reservations. It has turned out well for him, after a rough start. It is very expensive to live at/around Penn. Yes, I know NYC and Boston are worse, but still- it is VERY expensive. It is a city school. I think the campus is great, but there are safety issues and this is something that is being handled as well as possible, but it is still a problem. The Philadelphia attitude (I grew up there, so I feel qualified to say this) can be a shock for southerners or Texans in particular. Freshman year can be quite impersonal for the money you are paying. Not all of the professors are good- especially the TAs. All that said, the quality of the students is amazing (no surprise) and as you get into upper level classes, things are a lot better. Housing is expensive and most of it is extremely awful (off-campus). Most kids leave the dorms after freshman or soph year.</p>
<p>My son goes to Rose-Hulman and I would enthusiastically recommend it to the right kid. It is a school for engineering, science, and mathematics, and they do that very very well. In many of these majors, they are ranked #1 for undergraduate colleges. They have a quarter system, which seems a good match to the curriculum. Additionally, I have been impressed with the array of humanities and social sciences offered at Rose, and my son has really enjoyed those classes and professors. </p>
<p>Rose is small, so no kid falls through the cracks. The advising system for freshman is very effective at integrating them into the community. The college has a good reputation for job placement and/or graduate school acceptance. Student life is quite varied, with something for everyone - Greeks, sports (varsity, club & spectator), theater, service, and just hanging and playing video games (high nerd quotient at Rose). </p>
<p>The campus is compact, and very pretty. School spirit and pride is very high, and it is clear that alumni value the college as evidenced from their strong financial support. (For example - the impressive theater complex was donated by an alum.) Parent support is strong.</p>
<p>Things my son does not like about Rose - not enough girls, the food, and the location, which is out in the middle of no where. (and sometimes, he has to work very very hard!)</p>
<p>My kids go to The University of Alabama. I recommend it often for a few reasons…</p>
<p>Most aren’t aware of its academics, its automatic scholarships (even for OOS), its honors programs, how agressively UA recruits the best students across the US, and how super nice the campus is.</p>
<p>Also, many people don’t know that the state of Alabama is home to the second largest research park in the US, Cummings Research Park, which has many high-tech and Fortune 500 companies. Because of CRP, Alabama has a county that has the highest percentage of PhDs in the US. Therefore, many of the Bama kids are the children of these high tech transplants.</p>
<p>
I think that sums up most schools. I imagine >90% of the parents would recommend their kids’ colleges since after all, it’s what their family chose. Unless their kid had a really bad experience that was due to the college itself, I don’t see how they’d answer ‘no’. </p>
<p>But what strongly appeals to one person might be a negative or irrelevant for another. There are lots of different types of colleges and it comes down to what people are looking for - big/medium/small, urban/suburban, big sports/non-big sports, near/far, very competetive admissions/not so competetive, has specific programs/doesn’t have specific programs, off-campus area appealing/not appealing or don’t care, expensive/less expensive, etc. I guess that’s why there are thousands of college campuses in this country. Not everyone is looking for the same thing.</p>
<p>But to directly answer the question - both of my kids were content with their choices (UCSD, UCLA) and they’ve been afforded excellent opportunities as a result of attending these campuses.</p>
<p>Son (and self): MIT. I have difficulty recommending MIT to anyone (and in fact I tried to talk my son out of it). You need to know exactly what you’re getting into with MIT. Intense. Difficult. Hard. Engineering. Not a warm and fuzzy place.</p>
<p>Daughter: Reed. Again, I think it’s important for students and parents to know what they’re getting into. It’s an intense academic environment with a serious left-wing anti-establishment overlay. The thesis is absolutely required and a lot of kids transfer as a result of that requirement (and junior boards, which is related).</p>
<p>Daughter at University of the Pacific, son at Northeastern Univ. I would and have recommended both schools but with certain privisions. I tend to send parents who have questions PMs rather than post on the boards for the schools. Particularly the NEU board is mostly students posting and it is just cleaner to PM the parent.</p>
<p>I have nothing but good things to say about my D’s experience at Boston University. Coming from Southern Cal, the change to an urban environment was very exciting for her. She has made friends at the surrounding schools - Harvard, Northeastern, etc - and has found a great group of friends at BU. She is in the school of Communications and has had no trouble at all getting classes, and has had access to various professors, deans, and graduate students who have advised her and given her direction. It is expensive, there’s no doubt - but for us its worth every penny to have the positive experiences she’s had and feel so excited about her education. There is on-campus housing all four years which is a huge plus.</p>
<p>My D is a freshman at the College of Wooster. Is it a good fit for her? Yes. Is it a good fit for everyone? No. I try to get at least some information about another parent’s S or D before I would recommend it (i.e., what they plan on majoring in, would they be OK being at a campus in a rural area, would they like a small LAC environment instead of a large university, would they be able to handle the required senior Independent Study requirement, etc.)</p>
<p>Same thing for my undergrad and grad school alma maters, and I have even recommended some of the other schools that my D visited and/or applied to for other parents - it is all about the overall fit.</p>
<p>To mom2sons: your S should be lucky R-H has girls now, my H was without while he was there, but still was a great fit for him!</p>
<p>D is a soph at Bard, where she’s having a fantastic experience. The rural campus isn’t for everyone, though.</p>
<p>S just graduated from Columbia College Chicago, which - for him - was the right school. If you’re not focused on prestige and you are looking for some specific programs where CCC is strong, this urban campus could work for you.</p>