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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Loved both UVA & WM. Kid attends UVA and is super happy with all aspects of her Hoo experience. She chose it over other top admits. Virginia residents are blessed to have great in-state options.

except this board only finds somewhere between 3-5 acceptable choices. When there are quite a few more that people just don't think are good enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Forgot to mention Tufts, windy, ugly campus up on a hill, outside of Boston. DD intended to apply ED, based on paper and discussions with friends already at the school. After the tour, she didn't bother to apply

My kid didn’t like Tufts either— whether it was the unattractive Quad or the distance to Davis square or what wasn’t entirely clear to me but it got crossed off the list after a visit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown did not have enough tour guides, there were so many people per guide we couldn’t hear a single thing. The campus is nice, though.

We couldn’t hear anything because of the planes that day. Open windows and outside the tour guide had to stop several minutes. And, fwiw, we are just a few miles from campus but not under the plane path so we hear it—but nothing like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Your input really helps clarity this topic.

[Anonymous]

I thought of another school I was pleasantly surprised by - Shenandoah. Thought I wouldn't really like it, but did a tour on a performing arts preview day and thought it was a sweet little campus. Everyone was incredibly kind and helpful.

My kid wound up NOT liking it, though - didn't even apply. I think she was intimidated by the other students in her group.

[Anonymous]

Aware that this doesn't answer OP's question, but just wanted to say I've always felt that while tours can be useful, one should be cautious about drawing a conclusion like "this is the school for me" or "I can't see myself here" based on a single tour. Heck, some kids say they didn't realize how much they loved or hated a school until they'd been there for or three semesters. A visit is a nice data point but that's really all.

[Anonymous]

People here put waaay to much emphasis on the tour & tour guide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People here put waaay to much emphasis on the tour & tour guide.

Better a tour than DCUM reputation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aware that this doesn't answer OP's question, but just wanted to say I've always felt that while tours can be useful, one should be cautious about drawing a conclusion like "this is the school for me" or "I can't see myself here" based on a single tour. Heck, some kids say they didn't realize how much they loved or hated a school until they'd been there for or three semesters. A visit is a nice data point but that's really all.

Thanks mom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loved William and Mary.

Anonymous wrote:Loved William and Mary.

We didn't at all although we really wanted to! It just seemed very depressing and frankly run-down.
Tour guide didn't seem to like the school herself which didn't help.

It’s almost like it’s old or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was pretty much convinced she was going to go to ED to Williams…until the tour.

The horrible weather that day and a very stressed out tour guide talking about how intense the school was did a double whammy on her. I know that both of those factors were random fate, and who knows, if she would’ve had a beautiful spring day and an upbeat tour guide, maybe she would have applied.

A week later, we found ourselves touring. Davidson on a warm day with a lovely guide, and that’s where she is now.

+1 Davidson is an amazing place to spend 4 years! Very strong academically, friendly students, engaging and supportive professors, charming campus/town, and a variety of activities/sports to support! I'm happy for your daughter!

I think it was about 2 years ago now, a student was down to these two and there was a boyfriend going to charlotte. The parents asked for advice and everybody was like "she should absolutely go to Williams-it's a better school" I understood the concern about picking a school to be closer to a boyfriend, but in terms of the schools, I honestly thought they were both solid choices. Picking Williams just felt like it was all for the bragging rights of going to "the #1 LAC". I think Davidson is also an excellent school AND the weather is better. I think about that post so much.

I guess it depends on the type of weather and scenery you prefer. The scenery around Williams is stunning and North Carolina can be hot and humid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Our first UVA tour was a miss but it was our fault because we did it during summer (fewer students running around), it was miserably hot and humid, and we were tired having seen Wash & Lee (also miserably hot and humid) earlier in the day. But DC was up for a Jefferson Scholarship so we returned for a second tour during the school year and the experience was like night and day. Kid picked UVA over two Ivies and Georgia Tech for aerospace engineering and loves it there.

Subtle brag. Nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Loved both UVA & WM. Kid attends UVA and is super happy with all aspects of her Hoo experience. She chose it over other top admits. Virginia residents are blessed to have great in-state options.

DD had the opposite reaction to UVA. She said it felt like a giant frat-party and also felt extremely impersonal. She compared to other large, state-flagship schools, which gave off the vide of being “diploma - mills.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loved William and Mary.

Anonymous wrote:Loved William and Mary.

We didn't at all although we really wanted to! It just seemed very depressing and frankly run-down.
Tour guide didn't seem to like the school herself which didn't help.

Hated our tour at W&M. I really wanted my kid to like it but she asked to leave halfway through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was pretty much convinced she was going to go to ED to Williams…until the tour.

The horrible weather that day and a very stressed out tour guide talking about how intense the school was did a double whammy on her. I know that both of those factors were random fate, and who knows, if she would’ve had a beautiful spring day and an upbeat tour guide, maybe she would have applied.

A week later, we found ourselves touring. Davidson on a warm day with a lovely guide, and that’s where she is now.

+1 Davidson is an amazing place to spend 4 years! Very strong academically, friendly students, engaging and supportive professors, charming campus/town, and a variety of activities/sports to support! I'm happy for your daughter!

I think it was about 2 years ago now, a student was down to these two and there was a boyfriend going to charlotte. The parents asked for advice and everybody was like "she should absolutely go to Williams-it's a better school" I understood the concern about picking a school to be closer to a boyfriend, but in terms of the schools, I honestly thought they were both solid choices. Picking Williams just felt like it was all for the bragging rights of going to "the #1 LAC". I think Davidson is also an excellent school AND the weather is better. I think about that post so much.

I guess it depends on the type of weather and scenery you prefer. The scenery around Williams is stunning and North Carolina can be hot and humid.

DP. North Carolina isn’t hot and humid during the school season. I have a kid at Davidson, and he has remarked that the weather is essentially ideal.