Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?

[Anonymous]

Does your DD like Swat? (Mine is strongly considering EDing there)

[Anonymous]

I thought Furman’s campus was beautiful.
Davidson wasn’t as attractive as I thought it would be but I loved that our tour guide seemed to know a lot of people we passed by during the tour.

[Anonymous]

Not impressed by UVA tour.
VT tour was 100% better.
Kid still ended up at UVA and loves it there!

[Anonymous]

DS was blown away by Duke, Davidson, Haverford and Pomona. All these schools exceeded expectations with fab tours and exceptional campuses.
DS was disappointed with Pitzer, CMC, Wesleyan and Richmond. In these cases, we had crappy tour experiences. It’s interesting how much influence the tours have on one’s impressions of schools.
The absolute worst tour was at William & Mary. But, the campus made up for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Loved: Brown, Lafayette, and Carleton.

Liked: Haverford, Penn, Amherst, Williams, Hamilton, and Yale.

Meh: Harvard, Wesleyan, Vassar, Lehigh, and Cornell.

Did not like: Tufts and Swarthmore.

My DD ended up at Swat, and I still don't like it. It has a dreary and serious vibe (the campus is beautiful, though). DS is headed to Carleton, which is kind of nerdy like Swat but seems to have an air of conviviality that Swat does not.

Very much my impression of both. Every Carl I've met absolutely loved their undergraduate experience. My kid was dead set on a WASP school (which I was okay with because NPC indicated we'd get aid there), but I was so impressed by Carlton. Swat is a fabulous school for the right kid, but does have a different vibe.

[Anonymous]

South Carolina - very pleasantly surprised by how pretty the campus was

Davidson - quirkier than we thought and town was teeny tiny

Clemson - not super pretty but the vibe was a happy one and the lake was a bonus

Furman - there were fires nearby when we visited so it was super smoky but it did seem pretty and the golf cart was fun

Duke - seemed very somber between the Gothic architecture and vibe of the kids

Wake - very pretty but homogeneous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Loved everything about Auburn.

+1 Great school!!

[Anonymous]

Surprised we liked:
-Binghamton: Campus was nicer than we'd imagined based on reviews, and the vibe felt relaxed.
-Clark U: Brimming with intellectual energy, at least in my dc's desired field (STEM). Seemed like a place where a bright student would really be seen, would receive personal attention, and would be given opportunities to shine.
-Muhlenberg: Campus was lovely, tour guide was great, and everyone we interacted with gave us a good feeling. Hard to explain, but the "vibe" was just good.
-Fordham Rose Hill (Bronx): Campus is gorgeous! Totally its own enclave, and beautiful in a classic way. Students seemed earnest and smart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not impressed by UVA tour.
VT tour was 100% better.
Kid still ended up at UVA and loves it there!

Yes, I always caution people to take the tours with a grain of salt. Sometimes the tour guides and admissions presentations just suck, which may not be representative of the school at all.

[Anonymous]

Schools that send their tours in opposite directions I immediately view more favorably than schools that send all their tours in the same direction so all tour guides are talking over each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:South Carolina - very pleasantly surprised by how pretty the campus was

Davidson - quirkier than we thought and town was teeny tiny

Clemson - not super pretty but the vibe was a happy one and the lake was a bonus

Furman - there were fires nearby when we visited so it was super smoky but it did seem pretty and the golf cart was fun

Duke - seemed very somber between the Gothic architecture and vibe of the kids

Wake - very pretty but homogeneous

Davidson isn't "quirky." Town is very small but so cute and all shop owners very friendly.

[Anonymous]

U of Richmond had been hyped so much to us and we found it super focused on the business school and didn't like that the main undergrad hangout area seemed to be on the concrete outside the dining hall. The lake was pretty but not really integrated. The dorms also seemed dark and a little depressing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:South Carolina - very pleasantly surprised by how pretty the campus was

Davidson - quirkier than we thought and town was teeny tiny

Clemson - not super pretty but the vibe was a happy one and the lake was a bonus

Furman - there were fires nearby when we visited so it was super smoky but it did seem pretty and the golf cart was fun

Duke - seemed very somber between the Gothic architecture and vibe of the kids

Wake - very pretty but homogeneous

Davidson isn't "quirky." Town is very small but so cute and all shop owners very friendly.

People can have different opinions than you. Perhaps you’re quirky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brown - we didn’t like it.

Wesleyan. Assumed it would be too woke for dc, but dc loved it

"too woke" no one at Wesleyan wants your DC their parents are stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Surprised we liked:
-Binghamton: Campus was nicer than we'd imagined based on reviews, and the vibe felt relaxed.
-Clark U: Brimming with intellectual energy, at least in my dc's desired field (STEM). Seemed like a place where a bright student would really be seen, would receive personal attention, and would be given opportunities to shine.
-Muhlenberg: Campus was lovely, tour guide was great, and everyone we interacted with gave us a good feeling. Hard to explain, but the "vibe" was just good.
-Fordham Rose Hill (Bronx): Campus is gorgeous! Totally its own enclave, and beautiful in a classic way. Students seemed earnest and smart.

Muhlenberg is a pit. Just yuck. They do have some good 3/2 programs but the campus, location and size of school are yuck.