What school dropped off the list because of your visit?

[Anonymous]

More on William and Mary. My son is outdoorsy and did not care for that part of Virginia. He also didn't care for the political vibe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More on William and Mary. My son is outdoorsy and did not care for that part of Virginia. He also didn't care for the political vibe.

Political vibe?

[Anonymous]

NP here but neither my child nor I liked UVA after the tour. No sour grapes because he never applied but pointing out that it is possible not to like UVA and not have the reason be because you/your child didn’t get in!

Other colleges that dropped off DC’s list after the visits were Tufts and Franklin and Marshall.

[Anonymous]

Wake Forest
St Joe's (Philly)

Took two of my kids and they both HATED these schools and wanted to leave before the tour was complete!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:William and Mary for my daughter, that sample dorm room they show you on the tour.... ugh not homey at all. Was a shame because if they hadn't shown the dorm room it would have climbed to do the top of the list. Loved the campus and the vibe though my daughter noticed not alot of cute boys lol.

Also Georgetown, not that we were going to get in, but we went a few times just to explore and the last time we were there almost stepped on a dead rat in the middle of the walkway. That was enough to scare my son away once he read that rats and roaches are a big problem there. I'm sure that happens everywhere but it was a turnoff lol

So both you and your son applied? If you both got in, was the plan to be roommates?

Do you think that is clever?

Not particularly, but that poster takes the plural to the extreme. I mean, c'mon. It's one thing to say "we were looking at XYZ school," but ti say "we were going to get in?" Seriously? It's over the top hyperinvestment.

haha since I don't actually spend all day sitting at my computer finally getting back on to see all this hullabaloo about my choice of the word "We". You are just so witty it's overwhelming. In fact, the reason I said "we" is that I actually have twins so when WE went college touring, it was out whole family and I tend to think in the collective when responding since I'm speaking for two. I suppose in order not to offend you all I could have said "my twins" but why spend 7 letters when 2 will do the same?

You sound like Ted Cruz the way you backtrack. Sorry, it still isn't "we."

haha ok... boy i wish this board wasn't anonymous so I could avoid the people just looking to stir up trouble. You sound like an absolutely miserable human being and i pity your poor kids.

+100
“WE” all do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sewanee

What was there to dislike on sight at Sewanee? Presumably you knew it was rural?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt, William and Mary,

Princeton, university of Chicago,

Do you hate beautiful campuses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:William and Mary for my daughter, that sample dorm room they show you on the tour.... ugh not homey at all. Was a shame because if they hadn't shown the dorm room it would have climbed to do the top of the list. Loved the campus and the vibe though my daughter noticed not alot of cute boys lol.

Also Georgetown, not that we were going to get in, but we went a few times just to explore and the last time we were there almost stepped on a dead rat in the middle of the walkway. That was enough to scare my son away once he read that rats and roaches are a big problem there. I'm sure that happens everywhere but it was a turnoff lol

So both you and your son applied? If you both got in, was the plan to be roommates?

Why are you so offended by that that you need to point it out on every thread? I get it... Your kid does everything on their own and is paying on their own too....or you are paying but it's still only their experience alone...or it's your experience to an extent too, but only you know the acceptable way to talk about it.... Just stop. Parents using those words does not mean their children aren't highly independent and capable. You protest to the point it makes me think you have some regrets about your hands off strategy....

Ok, I'll tell you how it worked for us. Our kids were practical. Each knew that wherever he or she ended up would be fine, and that if not they'd just transfer or whatever. They were looking for a college, not a spouse. So, each came up with short (four or five) and reasonable lists of where they wanted to apply, knowing in advance what we were willing to pay for (no second tier overpriced private liberal arts schools, for example). Once they made their lists, we suggested a couple additions here and there of similar schools. If the kid said they weren't interested, we were fine with that (one UVA applicant wouldn't even consider WM, for example, and another thought in the reverse). Only one of our kids had any serious interest in extensive college touring before applying, so we took that kid and a couple friends interested in the same/similar schools on a road trip, dropped them off on the campuses, and went our own way and didn't take the tours ourselves. Then, when each kid chose where to apply, they did the applications completely by themselves -- including essays, with zero input from us. Then, once accepted, they made the decision where to go themselves. So, in a very real sense, "we" didn't apply and "we" certainly didn't get in or not get in. "We" offered a few suggestions, to be sure, and "we" drove them around when requested, and "we" paid the tuition. I really think this is how it's supposed to work, sorry.

TL; DR

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wake Forest challenges the students. Absolutely superb school!

I attended. It does. And it is. And I worked, but had plenty of free time and I was a pretty studious kid. And, I keep hearing grade deflation and disagree. I graduated phi beta kappa, was accepted at several T20 law schools and was not prepared for the writing. I think I got by on articulating good ideas and was missing some real fundamentals. I came from a crappy Southern HS and Wake let me continue to coast without being able to construct a good paper. It was an issue my 1L year. Looking back, my classes were very timed bluebook heavy and my handful of Bs were paper classes.

I’m not pursing it for my two kids for two reasons. One, we chose to leave the South and I have no desire to send my kids back. It’s not where the future is and they’d hate it. And two, Wake make the choice to compete at as National U and not a SLAC around the time I was there. Up until then, it was a lot more like Davidson with good associated law, medicine and MBA programs. I think awake lost something special when it expanded so much. They would have been better served staying SLAC IMO, but that was never going to happen with the med school being such a powerhouse.

Just my 2 cents.

Demographics and migration trends disagree with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wake Forest challenges the students. Absolutely superb school!

I attended. It does. And it is. And I worked, but had plenty of free time and I was a pretty studious kid. And, I keep hearing grade deflation and disagree. I graduated phi beta kappa, was accepted at several T20 law schools and was not prepared for the writing. I think I got by on articulating good ideas and was missing some real fundamentals. I came from a crappy Southern HS and Wake let me continue to coast without being able to construct a good paper. It was an issue my 1L year. Looking back, my classes were very timed bluebook heavy and my handful of Bs were paper classes.

I’m not pursing it for my two kids for two reasons. One, we chose to leave the South and I have no desire to send my kids back. It’s not where the future is and they’d hate it. And two, Wake make the choice to compete at as National U and not a SLAC around the time I was there. Up until then, it was a lot more like Davidson with good associated law, medicine and MBA programs. I think awake lost something special when it expanded so much. They would have been better served staying SLAC IMO, but that was never going to happen with the med school being such a powerhouse.

Just my 2 cents.

Demographics and migration trends disagree with you.

I also went to Wake. Studied hard but didn’t graduate phi beta kappa. A couple years later, I accepted a scholarship at a top 10 law school. Made straight A’s in all writing classes and still publish articles today. I’m not sure if Wake had anything to do with your experience because I actually thought Wake was harder than my law school. I also graduated law school with a higher GPA than undergrad...

[Anonymous]

DD found JMU to have too much of a party vibe. It was on the list as a safety, but fell off.

UVA felt too pretentious to her. They talked about the history and everything, but where did TJ actually go to college?

She liked W&M, and is attending there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt, William and Mary,

Princeton, university of Chicago,

Do you hate beautiful campuses?

William and Mary seemed very limiting in terms of internship opportunities in Williamsburg, a tourist town. Their examples of internships being offered to students was weak.

Vanderbilt restricted students from doing a double major across divisions so fusing majors was not possible.

For my other DC

Chicago had the worst presenter that we attended. Also had numerous requirements for graduation which was a big turn off to my narrowly focused DC.

Princeton wanted well rounded students and my DC only wants to study math and physics.

These were turnoffs to my kids. Your mileage may vary.

Nothing to do with the campuses.

[Anonymous]

William & Mary. Campus seemed to lack energy and students seemed miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Drexel. It's just so gray. It's great if you want to be an engineer, but very expensive and just didn't seem very exciting.

My kid loved Drexel even though we arrived on the tail end of the open house, which was kinda bleak -- the circus was packing up its tent, as it were. But I guess that only bothered me. We'd visited Temple beforehand and that was a no. Kid wants to be in a city, but Temple is seemed surrounded by concrete without having city advantages.

Also nos (yes, we did a swing through Pennsylvania): Bucknell (preprofessionals in the middle of nowhere), Dickinson (even further from anywhere), Haverford (living in suburbia now, doesn't want a repeat).

Liked Pitt, so I guess just a city kid.

[Anonymous]

Didn't love Villanova, Duke, William and Mary, or American U when we visited.

On the positive side, here are some that rose in our ranks when we visited, though these were not tours, just driving and walking around or attending sports events:

UVA - I know some people hate it, but my kid loved the campus, the vibe and Charlottesville.

UNC - well my kid loved Chapel Hill more than the campus, but liked the campus too We were there on a football game day and they loved the school spirit etc.

Davidson - we attended a basketball game and did a walking tour, such a cute campus, great school spirit. Very tiny though so if you don't like that, it won't appeal.

U of Richmond - gorgeous campus. My daughter is still a little sad she did ED elsewhere as it was a strong #2 for her.