S/O - any disappointing tours?

[Anonymous]

We visited multiple northeast colleges last summer and while most were perfectly decent, we were disappointed by two:

1. Vassar. Beautiful trees in the central part of campus but the buildings there were quite poorly maintained. Window-sills had flaking paint, and it gave the impression they were barely making ends meet.
2. Bard. We knew it had a quirky reputation, but the campus was downright ugly, both buildings as well as the "art" on the lawns. Nothing attractive about any of it.

[Anonymous]

Boston University -- focus was on internships and not one word about the classes or clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boston University -- focus was on internships and not one word about the classes or clubs.

+1. BU felt like it was really about just being in Boston than it was about the school. We felt zero school spirit.

[Anonymous]

It was in 2019, but I was very disappointed in the Georgetown tour. Buildings and dorms were in bad condition and they spoke alot about famous alumni (yes I know Bill Clinton went there).

[Anonymous]

WVU (looked at it as a safety and one that gives out a LOT of merit $$$) -- went in with low expectations and it was worse than expected. The surrounding town was depressing and downtrodden and the older part of campus was super hilly and not great. The new part of campus was okay but the split between the two was weird. Our tour guide was A+ though -- best we had anywhere.

UMD -- they seemed totally disinterested in trying to attract students. The whole experience including the campus was meh. Surprising because it seems like students like it.

[Anonymous]

I actually was surprised how much we liked Vassar. But I think that Wesleyan does a tour that does not show itself in the best light. Have toured it with more than one kid and it seems great, but not because of the tour. Second time was during last year in the last days of Covid restrictions so we could not enter any buildings. That always hurts. But even pre-Covid, they did not seem to put their best foot forward.

[Anonymous]

Princeton. The guide was disinterested and seemed to know they had no need to sell the school. He wasn't wrong though. Dartmouth seemed to emphasize how depressing the weather was, but I appreciated that because I think those winters can really blindside kids from this area.

[Anonymous]

Can we just stop with the threads that drag tour guides. Students are allowed to have a bad day. They sign up for tour duty and then life sometimes happens in the meantime.

Show some grace. Maybe we can just cut this thread?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we just stop with the threads that drag tour guides. Students are allowed to have a bad day. They sign up for tour duty and then life sometimes happens in the meantime.

Show some grace. Maybe we can just cut this thread?

I appreciate the feedback of the tours.

[Anonymous]

Amherst - was struck by how each of the 6 or so tour guides indicated their main activities were related to their ethnicity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we just stop with the threads that drag tour guides. Students are allowed to have a bad day. They sign up for tour duty and then life sometimes happens in the meantime.

Show some grace. Maybe we can just cut this thread?

I appreciate the feedback of the tours.

Then I guess you can't put yourselves in the shoes of a kid giving a tour. Or a parent of a tour guide who watches these threads fill with comments tearing them apart.

[Anonymous]

Mount St Mary’s. The tour guide was a lump on a log. Totally disinterested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we just stop with the threads that drag tour guides. Students are allowed to have a bad day. They sign up for tour duty and then life sometimes happens in the meantime.

Show some grace. Maybe we can just cut this thread?

I appreciate the feedback of the tours.

Then I guess you can't put yourselves in the shoes of a kid giving a tour. Or a parent of a tour guide who watches these threads fill with comments tearing them apart.

I don’t think people should tear apart the guides themselves but I think it’s useful to highlight aspects of the campus or the vibe that may be helpful to others. Obviously it would be foolish to choose or not choose a school based on the personality of a tour guide but some of the impressions you get on a tour can certainly be relevant.

[Anonymous]

Sarah Lawrence. Barely saw any students (on a weekday in the fall). The grounds and the buildings looked shoddy. Saw one classroom that just looked like a crappy small room with a cheap table in the middle.

Not that this mattered, but they have no bookstore with merch. It’s all online only.

DD was prepared to love it and it came right off her list.

[Anonymous]

We attended an info session and tour for Vandy during parents’ weekend where several of the parents angrily confronted the admissions person presenting because they felt he misrepresented the legacy sibling advantage. It was quite a display of entitlement. Tour guide was lovely, but was constantly interrupted by parents with older kids who attended who corrected the tour guide constantly.