What school dropped off the list because of your visit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohio state. Oops, sorry, THE Ohio state. We stopped by for a self-guided tour. Very nice student union, but the joke about Michigan that our family friend dropped in the admissions office as a test drew daggered looks from all 6 people there. Saw similar intensity about hatred of Michigan touring the campus. Just a little too intense of a sports focus for both of our DCs.

Harvard. The campus is just sprawling throughout Cambridge. DC didn't like the scattered dorms, where the athletic facilities were, and the hodgepodge for different parts of the school. Liked the Law School area.

Princeton had a highly desirable program, and the campus was nice enough, but the whole eating clubs and academic plan just weren't what was expected. And then being in the middle of nowhere was not appealing to my DC. 1 hr train to either Philly or NYC wasn't a benefit.

Yale - as previously said, nice campus, surrounding area severely lacking.

UPenn actually rose on the list, but I can see why it would drop off some people's lists. It was more compact and dense than expected, with good access to the city, which was a plus for my DC.

I think there are two main things that can come from a visit - obviously the actual campus and campus feel, but also some nuances about student life and academics that are hard to tell from the website and online tours. Better if you whittle the list before you apply, but sometimes after you have admission offers, the tour ends up being the deciding factor.

LOL didn't like Harvard, Yale or Princeton but liked Penn. Sounds like a realist setting herself up for rejections. Don't blame her.

PP here. Didn’t include results lest I be accused of bragging, but then you had to be typical DCUMer. DC was accepted to Princeton and UPenn, but not the desired program. They picked a different top 20 school- ironically one that other posters indicated their DCs didn’t like. The point is, just because it’s a prestigious school doesn’t mean it’s a good fit for all kids, even if they are qualified.

Sure they did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here they are along with DS's "reasons" for eliminating it:

Lehigh-gross area around school
Oberlin-ugly buildings and "nothing" downtown
Wm & Mary-too touristy surrounding area and campus too boring, all buildings look the same
UNC - the tiniest dorms he's ever seen
UVM - everyone looks the same

Keep in mind these are his observations

So which schools did DS like?

[Anonymous]

Tulane - it was a dump

[Anonymous]

Elon felt like a community college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Elon felt like a community college

??? How so??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elon felt like a community college

??? How so??

Those were the words of my son

[Anonymous]

Thought D would love Clemson and after the tour finished she said it was way to preppy

[Anonymous]

Pitt - we didn’t see what all the fuss was about. It’s pretty much just the tall building shown in all the promo materials. Nope.

Oberlin - groups of musical theater-types bursting into show tunes. Very obviously liberal students. Middle of nowhere. No way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is different now with virtual visits but what school did your kid think they would love but then the visit turned them off?

U Penn - in a ghetto - police everywhere
Georgetown - DIRTY, full of trash every time, building totally run down
Ohio State - just way too big

LOL, you must live a very sheltered life if you think U Penn is in the ghetto. Go a couple miles west of campus, now THAT's a ghetto.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohio state. Oops, sorry, THE Ohio state. We stopped by for a self-guided tour. Very nice student union, but the joke about Michigan that our family friend dropped in the admissions office as a test drew daggered looks from all 6 people there. Saw similar intensity about hatred of Michigan touring the campus. Just a little too intense of a sports focus for both of our DCs.

Harvard. The campus is just sprawling throughout Cambridge. DC didn't like the scattered dorms, where the athletic facilities were, and the hodgepodge for different parts of the school. Liked the Law School area.

Princeton had a highly desirable program, and the campus was nice enough, but the whole eating clubs and academic plan just weren't what was expected. And then being in the middle of nowhere was not appealing to my DC. 1 hr train to either Philly or NYC wasn't a benefit.

Yale - as previously said, nice campus, surrounding area severely lacking.

UPenn actually rose on the list, but I can see why it would drop off some people's lists. It was more compact and dense than expected, with good access to the city, which was a plus for my DC.

I think there are two main things that can come from a visit - obviously the actual campus and campus feel, but also some nuances about student life and academics that are hard to tell from the website and online tours. Better if you whittle the list before you apply, but sometimes after you have admission offers, the tour ends up being the deciding factor.

LOL didn't like Harvard, Yale or Princeton but liked Penn. Sounds like a realist setting herself up for rejections. Don't blame her.

PP here. Didn’t include results lest I be accused of bragging, but then you had to be typical DCUMer. DC was accepted to Princeton and UPenn, but not the desired program. They picked a different top 20 school- ironically one that other posters indicated their DCs didn’t like. The point is, just because it’s a prestigious school doesn’t mean it’s a good fit for all kids, even if they are qualified.

Sure they did.

What on earth did you miss about Harvard? The signs are not sprawling and all over the place. It’s based on the Oxford House system. All the freshman are together in Harvard yard within spitting distance of each other. You then select the House (like an oxford college) to live in for the next three years. It’s the best part of Harvard! And the law school (where I went) is in the area just north of the Yard. They feel identical.

[Anonymous]

“Dorms” not signs.

[Anonymous]

Villanova - too small

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Denison, on paper and visiting it seemed like an amazing school. But my DC couldn’t get over how dressed up/preppy the students were. Knocked off her list.

It is an amazing school.

[Anonymous]

I wrote off Columbia because of their super intense Core curriculum that leaves less time for electives or double majors. Went to Barnard which has all the benefits of Columbia without the core curriculum (and also a stronger community feel).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohio state. Oops, sorry, THE Ohio state. We stopped by for a self-guided tour. Very nice student union, but the joke about Michigan that our family friend dropped in the admissions office as a test drew daggered looks from all 6 people there. Saw similar intensity about hatred of Michigan touring the campus. Just a little too intense of a sports focus for both of our DCs.

Harvard. The campus is just sprawling throughout Cambridge. DC didn't like the scattered dorms, where the athletic facilities were, and the hodgepodge for different parts of the school. Liked the Law School area.

Princeton had a highly desirable program, and the campus was nice enough, but the whole eating clubs and academic plan just weren't what was expected. And then being in the middle of nowhere was not appealing to my DC. 1 hr train to either Philly or NYC wasn't a benefit.

Yale - as previously said, nice campus, surrounding area severely lacking.

UPenn actually rose on the list, but I can see why it would drop off some people's lists. It was more compact and dense than expected, with good access to the city, which was a plus for my DC.

I think there are two main things that can come from a visit - obviously the actual campus and campus feel, but also some nuances about student life and academics that are hard to tell from the website and online tours. Better if you whittle the list before you apply, but sometimes after you have admission offers, the tour ends up being the deciding factor.

LOL didn't like Harvard, Yale or Princeton but liked Penn. Sounds like a realist setting herself up for rejections. Don't blame her.

PP here. Didn’t include results lest I be accused of bragging, but then you had to be typical DCUMer. DC was accepted to Princeton and UPenn, but not the desired program. They picked a different top 20 school- ironically one that other posters indicated their DCs didn’t like. The point is, just because it’s a prestigious school doesn’t mean it’s a good fit for all kids, even if they are qualified.

Sure they did.

What on earth did you miss about Harvard? The signs are not sprawling and all over the place. It’s based on the Oxford House system. All the freshman are together in Harvard yard within spitting distance of each other. You then select the House (like an oxford college) to live in for the next three years. It’s the best part of Harvard! And the law school (where I went) is in the area just north of the Yard. They feel identical.

According to most on DCUM, living off of campus is better.