Which DC, MD, and VA colleges or universities gave you pause/made you hesitate because of concerns?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS was accepted at UMD, GWU, W&M and St John's College in Annapolis.

American University gave me pause, and he did not apply there, since there is a well-known history of WWI chemical weapons testing on campus and in the surrounding Spring Valley neighborhood. I was concerned about exposure to carcinogens and other toxins, since reading a series of articles from a few years ago. Here is one of them:

https://washingtonian.com/2013/02/28/the-toxic-waste-pit-next-door/

Since my kid is at AU, I researched it extensively (and I mean extensively ). Went as far as testing dorm water on my own, looking at cancer occupancy reports (whatever I could find), etc. In short, it’s not a concern.

My house has radon and arsenic treatment installed, so I am somewhat familiar with what to look for. AU’s area is fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS was accepted at UMD, GWU, W&M and St John's College in Annapolis.

American University gave me pause, and he did not apply there, since there is a well-known history of WWI chemical weapons testing on campus and in the surrounding Spring Valley neighborhood. I was concerned about exposure to carcinogens and other toxins, since reading a series of articles from a few years ago. Here is one of them:

https://washingtonian.com/2013/02/28/the-toxic-waste-pit-next-door/

Cannot fathom nor relate to this level of paranoia. Your precious child will be just fine and the chemicals that they put into their body voluntarily through food, drink and drugs will almost certainly have a longer half-life than neighborhood toxins.

[Anonymous]

UMD-CP gave us pause due to its size and impersonal feel. Honestly it just seemed like a huge diploma-mill. And the surrounding neighborhood is not great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reports of jet noise over Georgetown have made me want to look more into the quality of life there.

The constant din of police sirens gave us pause when touring Loyola Maryland recently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JMU is a drunken party, from Wednesday to Sunday every week. For students who are able to balance things, it can be a great place. But if your student might go bananas with the freedom, think twice. It seems like it checks all the boxes for kids shut out of UVA/W&M/VaTech (and UMD), but it has its negatives too.

If you can’t trust your child not to “go bananas with the freedom” at any college you’ve failed as a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reports of jet noise over Georgetown have made me want to look more into the quality of life there.

The jet noise was really noticeable to me when DD and I toured Georgetown in January. Planes right overhead on the regular!

I asked her if it would bother her and she said it would not.

Now the rats, though...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UMD-CP gave us pause due to its size and impersonal feel. Honestly it just seemed like a huge diploma-mill. And the surrounding neighborhood is not great.

It's a bummer that UMD does not have a pleasant college town like Iowa City, Madison, Bloomington, etc. And I also get an impersonal vibe. Some people go to Towson or St. Mary's because of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JMU is a drunken party, from Wednesday to Sunday every week. For students who are able to balance things, it can be a great place. But if your student might go bananas with the freedom, think twice. It seems like it checks all the boxes for kids shut out of UVA/W&M/VaTech (and UMD), but it has its negatives too.

If you can’t trust your child not to “go bananas with the freedom” at any college you’ve failed as a parent.

Plus, not everyone is getting drunk, not everyone is a boor. The loud parties get the attention. Nobody notices the kids sitting around quietly talking or watching a movie, and nobody notices the kids studying. But yes it's a social school with a strong alumni network, so it's good to put yourself out there a little.

And as someone who went to a known party school in the eighties, I still remember conversations I had at keg parties about many subjects, politics, books, phd students talking about their research, etc. I get so tired of the idea that a party in a college town is automatically a mindless free for all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reports of jet noise over Georgetown have made me want to look more into the quality of life there.

You can't be serious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS was accepted at UMD, GWU, W&M and St John's College in Annapolis.

American University gave me pause, and he did not apply there, since there is a well-known history of WWI chemical weapons testing on campus and in the surrounding Spring Valley neighborhood. I was concerned about exposure to carcinogens and other toxins, since reading a series of articles from a few years ago. Here is one of them:

https://washingtonian.com/2013/02/28/the-toxic-waste-pit-next-door/

Cannot fathom nor relate to this level of paranoia. Your precious child will be just fine and the chemicals that they put into their body voluntarily through food, drink and drugs will almost certainly have a longer half-life than neighborhood toxins.

Your reaction makes no sense. Some families living in that neighborhood have had multiple cancers in their households that are not explained by genetics. The long-term, in-depth studies have not yet come out.

If you said that long-term residents of Spring Valley should be more concerned than transient dorm residents, OK, I can see that point. But to dismiss concerns out of hand just makes you look uninformed about environmental sources of carcinogens. For example, radioactive fallout in Europe from Chernobyl have made some regions dangerous for mushroom consumption, as far away from the explosion as eastern France. Even today, since decaying isotopes stay toxic for an extremely long time. They're not blaring that on the news, are they? And they're not likely to. Here we have toxins contaminating the ground, and they're not going to be eliminated any time soon if the government did a cursory clean-up and now refuses to acknowledge anything further needs to be done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JMU is a drunken party, from Wednesday to Sunday every week. For students who are able to balance things, it can be a great place. But if your student might go bananas with the freedom, think twice. It seems like it checks all the boxes for kids shut out of UVA/W&M/VaTech (and UMD), but it has its negatives too.

I could easily say the same about UVA, both from having gone there as well as having some current relatives there.

Many, many schools have this behavior. UVA’s scene that is like this tends to get a pass because it is a more selective school as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMD-CP gave us pause due to its size and impersonal feel. Honestly it just seemed like a huge diploma-mill. And the surrounding neighborhood is not great.

It's a bummer that UMD does not have a pleasant college town like Iowa City, Madison, Bloomington, etc. And I also get an impersonal vibe. Some people go to Towson or St. Mary's because of that.

We were surprised by how remote and rural St. Mary's was. Didn't end up applying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS was accepted at UMD, GWU, W&M and St John's College in Annapolis.

American University gave me pause, and he did not apply there, since there is a well-known history of WWI chemical weapons testing on campus and in the surrounding Spring Valley neighborhood. I was concerned about exposure to carcinogens and other toxins, since reading a series of articles from a few years ago. Here is one of them:

https://washingtonian.com/2013/02/28/the-toxic-waste-pit-next-door/

Cannot fathom nor relate to this level of paranoia. Your precious child will be just fine and the chemicals that they put into their body voluntarily through food, drink and drugs will almost certainly have a longer half-life than neighborhood toxins.

Your reaction makes no sense. Some families living in that neighborhood have had multiple cancers in their households that are not explained by genetics. The long-term, in-depth studies have not yet come out.

If you said that long-term residents of Spring Valley should be more concerned than transient dorm residents, OK, I can see that point. But to dismiss concerns out of hand just makes you look uninformed about environmental sources of carcinogens. For example, radioactive fallout in Europe from Chernobyl have made some regions dangerous for mushroom consumption, as far away from the explosion as eastern France. Even today, since decaying isotopes stay toxic for an extremely long time. They're not blaring that on the news, are they? And they're not likely to. Here we have toxins contaminating the ground, and they're not going to be eliminated any time soon if the government did a cursory clean-up and now refuses to acknowledge anything further needs to be done.

There were studies done - https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/SpringValleyChemical090705/SpringValleyHCFinal083005.pdf

Nothing was identified as a problem. You can choose not to believe government employees of course. I have no reason to believe they were lying, they are not a corporation that would stand to lose billions.

As far as cancers in some families… cancers suck and I had close family members pass away from them. Sometimes there is no explanation and we are tempted to blame someone, something, anything as a coping mechanism.

AU’s water comes outside of the area, is tested for dangerous chemicals. Food is not grown on the ground. There is no radiation. No need to continue unsupported fear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMD-CP gave us pause due to its size and impersonal feel. Honestly it just seemed like a huge diploma-mill. And the surrounding neighborhood is not great.

It's a bummer that UMD does not have a pleasant college town like Iowa City, Madison, Bloomington, etc. And I also get an impersonal vibe. Some people go to Towson or St. Mary's because of that.

We were surprised by how remote and rural St. Mary's was. Didn't end up applying.

I mean St. Mary's for a small, more intimate campus atmosphere. But it is far and there is no town there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:American gave me pause. Didn’t offer any merit aid and seems to have fallen in quality.

Are you saying it has fallen in quality because you sat in the classroom and compared to when you were there or because there was no merit aid offer? I had two kids accepted to AU over the years. One got a ton of merit aid and the other practically nothing. The first kid matched what they were looking for 100% and the other did not. Different kids, different outcomes. So I suspect this might have been the case for you as well. I am sure that just like my second kid, yours is thriving at a different university that was a mutually better fit.

As far as academics and rankings, under the new president AU is moving in the right direction - just recently gained R1 status and their QS (Quacquarelli Symonds’) worldwide ranking for 2026 went up:
Social policy (No. 33): the highest top 50 ranking in the field since 2018
Politics and international studies (No. 41): the first time AU has been ranked in the top 50
Development studies (No. 48): also represents a debut appearance in the global top 50
The business school has also been on the rise. Also in the top 50 this year.