For fun: first impressions of colleges based on tours...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this an American thing to choose a college based on kids impressions from a campus visit? I am a immigrant and this feels so strange and random to me.

If my kid is going to spend 4 years and I'm going to spend $100,000+ on something, my kid's feelings at a school are something to consider.

But these first impressions are so irrelevant to the product you are paying for.

I disagree. And with many schools to choose from, how else should a kid pick where to go? If a kid just gets a "not the right place for me" vibe from a visit, would you double down and drop $100,000+ and insist he goes there anyway? Take a risk that he is miserable, becomes depressed, and ends up flunking out?

How else you would choose? You can consider graduation rates, graduates salary, where they go after college, class sizes, college reputation, resources, faculty caliber, aid, merit scholarships, etc, etc.

You would consider those criteria when building a list of colleges to apply to (and visit) but when it comes down to Amherst vs. Williams or Michigan vs. Wisconsin none of those are meaningful differentiators so leave it up to your child’s instinct.

Just admit a weekend trip to Williams or Amherst is a lot more fun than nagging your DC to write supplemental essays for both. The probability that your kid ends up with a real choice between the two is tiny.

No dear, the choice is which school to apply ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think now that so may kids apply early decision or maybe single choice early action...they have to narrow it down to one top choice so a visit can be important.

Kind of makes sense from that perspective

Yeah, and they are forced to narrow it down from a lot of very good similar schools that they have similar chances of getting into--so the criteria become whether they have the right number of trees, the right balance of hills and flatness, but not so right that it doesn't turn into a Hallmark movie set etc. Which are all just signals of some kind of gut reaction.

For my kid choosing ED we also did some exercises to get at their gut feeling:

Think of two options and name 1 heads and 1 tails, now flip a coin and when you look at it are you happy with the result?

Picture yourself in front of 3 doors each of these 3 schools you're considering. Decide which door to walk through and picture yourself at the school. Does this decision feel good/right to you?

It was helpful in them getting to know better what they thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this an American thing to choose a college based on kids impressions from a campus visit? I am a immigrant and this feels so strange and random to me.

If my kid is going to spend 4 years and I'm going to spend $100,000+ on something, my kid's feelings at a school are something to consider.

But these first impressions are so irrelevant to the product you are paying for.

I disagree. And with many schools to choose from, how else should a kid pick where to go? If a kid just gets a "not the right place for me" vibe from a visit, would you double down and drop $100,000+ and insist he goes there anyway? Take a risk that he is miserable, becomes depressed, and ends up flunking out?

How else you would choose? You can consider graduation rates, graduates salary, where they go after college, class sizes, college reputation, resources, faculty caliber, aid, merit scholarships, etc, etc.

You would consider those criteria when building a list of colleges to apply to (and visit) but when it comes down to Amherst vs. Williams or Michigan vs. Wisconsin none of those are meaningful differentiators so leave it up to your child’s instinct.

Just admit a weekend trip to Williams or Amherst is a lot more fun than nagging your DC to write supplemental essays for both. The probability that your kid ends up with a real choice between the two is tiny.

No dear, the choice is which school to apply ED.

If your kid can play for one, the odds are they can play for the other

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this an American thing to choose a college based on kids impressions from a campus visit? I am a immigrant and this feels so strange and random to me.

If my kid is going to spend 4 years and I'm going to spend $100,000+ on something, my kid's feelings at a school are something to consider.

But these first impressions are so irrelevant to the product you are paying for.

I disagree. And with many schools to choose from, how else should a kid pick where to go? If a kid just gets a "not the right place for me" vibe from a visit, would you double down and drop $100,000+ and insist he goes there anyway? Take a risk that he is miserable, becomes depressed, and ends up flunking out?

How else you would choose? You can consider graduation rates, graduates salary, where they go after college, class sizes, college reputation, resources, faculty caliber, aid, merit scholarships, etc, etc.

You would consider those criteria when building a list of colleges to apply to (and visit) but when it comes down to Amherst vs. Williams or Michigan vs. Wisconsin none of those are meaningful differentiators so leave it up to your child’s instinct.

Just admit a weekend trip to Williams or Amherst is a lot more fun than nagging your DC to write supplemental essays for both. The probability that your kid ends up with a real choice between the two is tiny.

More likely than not, the applicant is choosing between two as an ED, so a visit is sort of important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this an American thing to choose a college based on kids impressions from a campus visit? I am a immigrant and this feels so strange and random to me.

If my kid is going to spend 4 years and I'm going to spend $100,000+ on something, my kid's feelings at a school are something to consider.

But these first impressions are so irrelevant to the product you are paying for.

I disagree. And with many schools to choose from, how else should a kid pick where to go? If a kid just gets a "not the right place for me" vibe from a visit, would you double down and drop $100,000+ and insist he goes there anyway? Take a risk that he is miserable, becomes depressed, and ends up flunking out?

How else you would choose? You can consider graduation rates, graduates salary, where they go after college, class sizes, college reputation, resources, faculty caliber, aid, merit scholarships, etc, etc.

Don’t be a parrot sweetheart and repeat points just made by PP
You would consider those criteria when building a list of colleges to apply to (and visit) but when it comes down to Amherst vs. Williams or Michigan vs. Wisconsin none of those are meaningful differentiators so leave it up to your child’s instinct.

Just admit a weekend trip to Williams or Amherst is a lot more fun than nagging your DC to write supplemental essays for both. The probability that your kid ends up with a real choice between the two is tiny.

No dear, the choice is which school to apply ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is everyone's child a genius?! These are all amazing schools! Congrats, parents!

Nah. Everyone else is too embarrassed to chime in with "lesser" school experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is everyone's child a genius?! These are all amazing schools! Congrats, parents!

Nah. Everyone else is too embarrassed to chime in with "lesser" school experiences.

No, I think it's more that it's bad form to criticize a school that isn't so generally well-known and regarded --the schools listed with critical comments tend to be ones that can take that criticism lightly.

[Anonymous]

Rice. A huge surprise. The beautiful campus honestly felt like a Goldilocks campus with its size and walkability. The trees and green areas felt like they were placed with purpose. We drove around and saw the busy urban nature of the Houston Medical Center, which borders the campus. But once we were in, it was so quiet and peaceful that you couldn't really sense the city. The students here were so friendly, and there was this infectious love for the place and its unique atmosphere that spread to all of us.

The Rice campus is surrounded by a border of low shrubs --- called the hedges. When Rice students graduate, they're said to go "beyond the hedges". Sweet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is everyone's child a genius?! These are all amazing schools! Congrats, parents!

To make you feel better:

Delaware -- do we have to do the tour? The color of brick here is terrible.

No we didn't do the tour.

Delaware is a great school, but often overlooked by DCUM snobs.

[Anonymous]

Liked that the UC Irvine campus is built in a circle with a park in the middle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is everyone's child a genius?! These are all amazing schools! Congrats, parents!

To make you feel better:

Delaware -- do we have to do the tour? The color of brick here is terrible.

No we didn't do the tour.

Delaware is a great school, but often overlooked by DCUM snobs.

LOL FWIW I am praying my DD gets into Delaware. Nice school, and perfect size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Liked that the UC Irvine campus is built in a circle with a park in the middle.

And has the cutest mascot - the Anteater!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is everyone's child a genius?! These are all amazing schools! Congrats, parents!

To make you feel better:

Delaware -- do we have to do the tour? The color of brick here is terrible.

No we didn't do the tour.

Delaware is a great school, but often overlooked by DCUM snobs.

LOL FWIW I am praying my DD gets into Delaware. Nice school, and perfect size.

+1, plus it’s pretty flat which is apparently a criteria for my Senior who likes to go running. They were less impressed with JMU and it’s non-flat topography.

[Anonymous]

I think U Del had some struggles with the virus. If there are any vulnerabilities in your student or that are of concern when they go home...take a hard look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Liked that the UC Irvine campus is built in a circle with a park in the middle.

And has the cutest mascot - the Anteater!!

How about UC Santa Cruz? The Banana Slugs!