What school dropped off the list because of your visit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:not this year, but UVA. Bubbly sorority girl tour guide totally turned my daughter off. I'm sure there is a crowd that isn't like that, but she was really completely turned off.

That really is a bummer how the tour guides could have such a negative impact. Our UVA tour guide was a 3rd year who had transferred from U of Miami (FL) and he was super excited to be there, really just loved the school and the energy coming from him really just drove the positive impression home. That said, there are certainly bubbly sorority girls at UVA so if your kid doesn't like that, well best she find that out early I guess!

Our W&M guide was also awesome, I think he was an actor or something (can't recall) and he was just super high energy and in love with W&M that it also almost won my daughter over (until the dorm tour).

[Anonymous]

My daughter looked primarily at lower-tier Virginia schools (i.e, not UVA, W&M, Tech). After touring, she hated:

JMU--central campus is gray and dismal looking, campus split by a highway. Just didn't feel as warm as other campuses.

Longwood. We were hoping this was a hidden gem, but alas their Open House was amatuerish and the students we met seemed very provincial.

Mixed feelings about VCU School for the Arts. She (and I) didn't like that the arts program was scattered among several buildings at the edge of the campus. I worried about her safety traveling around at night; she was expecting more cutting-edge facilities and equipment. But she loved the vibe of the art students and the main part of the campus.

Pro Tip: If there's a school you really want your kid to love, don't go on dismal day. It's amazing how much weather affects their opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

+2 Great way to describe what my kid felt. Absolutely HATED the feel of W&M.

Our daughter reacted that way to UVA. Huge campus of kids all walking alone and frowning at their phones is what she saw. The fabled lawn was a gross mud pit and she was puzzled by the most sought after rooms not having bathrooms. The downtown mall seemed too far away from campus

GMU was an overwhelming number of people in a very small space. Students were asleep in chairs all over the place. The dorm we toured smelled awful. There were just too many people and not enough room. People seemed to be talking at each other not to each other. Our daughter said she felt anxious just visiting.

When we went to WM, the kids were walking together in big clumps and talking to each other. More than once, one group found a second group and continued on their way. Kids were wearing WM sweatshirts, t-shirts, etc. More than one group of students said hello to our tour guide and the students in the group. There were also a lot of dogs getting walks on campus (this was a big selling point). She also liked that she could walk or run in relative peace around the lake and in CW - and that there were good, cheap eats, coffee, and boba tea within a block of campus. We never gave a second thought to the mock dorm room - that dorm isn’t even a freshman dorm. Our daughter fell in love on her first visit.

[Anonymous]

UVA and William & Mary

Wasn’t too surprised (for her) about UVA but was surprised about W&M. I asked her to apply to both for IS tuition. She intentionally half-assed her essays to both; more for UVA than W&M. When she found out she didn’t get into UVA, she just chuckled.

She never had a thing for UVA. Knows a lot of students who have attended and didn’t like most of them. She was top 5% in SAT at her school (top 20 out of 400) with tons of leadership EC’s. Heard too many stories about the test banks in the Greek houses, the “girls with pearls”, and the rampant cheating. I know UVA has their “honor code” but it’s more that students won’t report each other because of the expulsion policy, so it’s “don’t ask, don’t tell”. Interestingly, all her friends at the main VA schools (UVA, VA Tech, JMU, VCU; not so much at W&M) have described the cheating as widespread.

W&M is the one that surprised me. It was more the tour guide gated being there and the horrible dorms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boston University- no discernible campus.

As for the W&M droppers- I have a kid there now. Loved the campus within a few minutes of being there. Tour guide was fabulous. She had lots of interactions with other undergrads while on the tour- seemed like a friendly place. As it turns out- it is the perfect place for my kid!! That said- I have a friend whose kid hated the Colonial Williamsburg proximity. There is a place for everyone.

This is how DC felt about Brown University's campus. Had to walk thru town to get to athletic fields. To be fair this was based on a self-tour.

[Anonymous]

Ursinus-nothing stood out. Very strip mall environs. Bit of a pre-professional/business feel (which is fine but not a good fit for my kid)

Allegheny--seems long a strong program but the town was BEYOND sketchy

ConnCollege--campus was pretty, town was also very sketchy. Other applicants were over the top preppy.

Swarthmore--my kid also noticed that people traveled alone, and no friendliness was expressed to the tour guide by passers-by (which was not the case at other schools). Also, our guide gave the impression of being very competitive and intense. When one mom asked what the students did to relax, he said, "Swatties don't relax."

Sorry to be negative. We saw many schools she loved, but the OP asked for schools that went down in OUR estimation, based upon the visit.

[Anonymous]

I guess that’s why no W&M here. Kid is allergic to dogs of all kinds and their dander.

[Anonymous]

Duke. The fratty vibes, the pretense; we just did not mesh well with the atmosphere, and we had also heard while there that there is somewhat of a long tradition of sexual assault and racist incidents at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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; too preachy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt, William and Mary,

Princeton, university of Chicago,

Do you hate beautiful campuses?

I was unimpressed with Princeton also. For the money you would think they would hire lawn service. It was weedy, overgrown and the bathrooms were filthy!

[Anonymous]

UVA Engineering tour. One parent is a UVA alum and DC wants an Engineering school at a large southern university, but UVA just felt so flat especially in comparison to the incredibly dynamic and engaging Engineering tour at VA Tech.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter looked primarily at lower-tier Virginia schools (i.e, not UVA, W&M, Tech). After touring, she hated:

JMU--central campus is gray and dismal looking, campus split by a highway. Just didn't feel as warm as other campuses.

Longwood. We were hoping this was a hidden gem, but alas their Open House was amatuerish and the students we met seemed very provincial.

Mixed feelings about VCU School for the Arts. She (and I) didn't like that the arts program was scattered among several buildings at the edge of the campus. I worried about her safety traveling around at night; she was expecting more cutting-edge facilities and equipment. But she loved the vibe of the art students and the main part of the campus.

Pro Tip: If there's a school you really want your kid to love, don't go on dismal day. It's amazing how much weather affects their opinion.

I posted above about WM, GMU, and UVA. We visited JMU as well and got it on a glorious blue sky perfect day so the quad was beautiful. I felt the bigness of the campus and the smallness of the town, but my husband is an alum and would move into the worst dorm room on campus in a heartbeat. He loves JMU so she definitely sees it through his lens. The admissions folks are fabulous - really top drawer. We also were all blown away by UREC and the campus commitment to physical health and well being. We would have all been happy if she ended up there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Princeton, you would have needed the jaws of life to pry the stick out of the guide’s ass

you let one person taint your impression of an entire school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Duke. The fratty vibes, the pretense; we just did not mesh well with the atmosphere, and we had also heard while there that there is somewhat of a long tradition of sexual assault and racist incidents at the school.

I don't know if it's changed but when I visited Duke (as an already admitted student vying for the Angier B. Duke Scholarship) the frats were given space in some of the gothic dorms close to the center of campus.

I inadvertently walked on a sidewalk outside one of the frats and some bro leaned out, yelled an obscenity at me, and dumped a beer within a few feet of where I was walking.

Turning Duke down a few months later gave me a great deal of pleasure. It seemed like a facade - Ivy exteriors and State U. behaviors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA and William & Mary

Wasn’t too surprised (for her) about UVA but was surprised about W&M. I asked her to apply to both for IS tuition. She intentionally half-assed her essays to both; more for UVA than W&M. When she found out she didn’t get into UVA, she just chuckled.

She never had a thing for UVA. Knows a lot of students who have attended and didn’t like most of them. She was top 5% in SAT at her school (top 20 out of 400) with tons of leadership EC’s. Heard too many stories about the test banks in the Greek houses, the “girls with pearls”, and the rampant cheating. I know UVA has their “honor code” but it’s more that students won’t report each other because of the expulsion policy, so it’s “don’t ask, don’t tell”. Interestingly, all her friends at the main VA schools (UVA, VA Tech, JMU, VCU; not so much at W&M) have described the cheating as widespread.

W&M is the one that surprised me. It was more the tour guide gated being there and the horrible dorms.

Keep telling yourself it was the essay that locked her out. My kid (a UVA student) wrote a half-assed essay too.

It's so funny that 50,000+ students are applying to a school that post after post after post insists that they struck the school off their list! So much sour grapes.