Underwhelming campus experience

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard

Right. I went there. Tell me exactly what was disappointing. Oh Yeah, you're the mom who complained about brown grass in Harvard Yard not realizing the protesters had slept on it for months.

There is nothing disappointing about going to Harvard. But I imagined it would look amazing and most of the buildings didn't. Also, felt like a tourist trap sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA

It's a world unesco site. And Poe's room is on display. And Montecello. And the vineyards around C'vile. And the beauty of the countryside. If you can't appreciate any of that then the problem is you so I can tell your kid didn't get in. Take your sour grapes elseshere.

World unesco site doesn’t make something pretty. Why you’re the only one defensive on this thread should really be called to question.

[Anonymous]

We’re another vote for U Richmond being underwhelming.

[Anonymous]

Syracuse. With the exception of one nice building, it was ugly. And the surrounding area was sketchy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard

Right. I went there. Tell me exactly what was disappointing. Oh Yeah, you're the mom who complained about brown grass in Harvard Yard not realizing the protesters had slept on it for months.

DP. My kid wants to study math and we went to what I believe was the math department, and it seemed like a crummy afterthought. Very unimpressive. Other buildings were much nicer.

I’m laughing at the Yale comment. 😅

Well it’s not exactly like Kline tower is an architectural marvel. Most math departments are put into decrepit buildings, since math majors really only need old blackboards and textbooks. A school where this is very obvious is UT: look at their math building then look at their engineering building. Night and day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA

It's a world unesco site. And Poe's room is on display. And Montecello. And the vineyards around C'vile. And the beauty of the countryside. If you can't appreciate any of that then the problem is you so I can tell your kid didn't get in. Take your sour grapes elseshere.

World unesco site doesn’t make something pretty. Why you’re the only one defensive on this thread should really be called to question.

+1000
UVA boosters are always so aggressive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard

Right. I went there. Tell me exactly what was disappointing. Oh Yeah, you're the mom who complained about brown grass in Harvard Yard not realizing the protesters had slept on it for months.

DP. I attended a nearby university that is not renowned for its beauty. But Harvard, for a school that's been around since the 1600s, is the definition of underwhelming. And Harvard Square is pretty corporate blah these days too. They've had more than 400 years to put together a decent campus. And this is it? Lame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale is like a weird Potemkin Village or movie set.

I wish I were jaded enough to toss out such a comment. Yale seemed magical to me as a visitor.

DP. A lot of people find it magical. I really struggled to enjoy the tour and found it extravagantly tasteless and a bit dull (which is a strange mix I wasn’t expecting). The auditorium they sent us into just seemed large but also rundown. We got to tour DC’s department and a residential college, since DC has a few upperclassmen friends there and neither of us were too impressed.

Strange, because DC now goes to Princeton and we both love the campus- which is admittedly quite similar.

I’m the poster you’re responding to and I went to Princeton.

When I first visited Princeton I was young and wide-eyed and thought it was amazing. However, when I later visited Yale I thought it was awesome and had a buzz Princeton lacked. Looking back now, I think the Princeton campus as a whole is nicer but that the individual buildings and quads at Yale are more impressive.

But, again, I’m a pushover…generally find things to like at every college campus and would love to be a student again (apart from the all-nighters to finish my thesis).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard

Right. I went there. Tell me exactly what was disappointing. Oh Yeah, you're the mom who complained about brown grass in Harvard Yard not realizing the protesters had slept on it for months.

DP. I attended a nearby university that is not renowned for its beauty. But Harvard, for a school that's been around since the 1600s, is the definition of underwhelming. And Harvard Square is pretty corporate blah these days too. They've had more than 400 years to put together a decent campus. And this is it? Lame.

Haha agreed. I thought Harvard was gorgeous…on the other side of the Charles River. I also privately disliked walking into the gates and immediately seeing Ken Griffin’s name on a building; yes, he’s a massive donor but also…

[Anonymous]

Penn was meh. But maybe there were nicer parts of the campus we didn't see...we toured at the height of the Israel protests and I think they confined us to a smaller area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale is like a weird Potemkin Village or movie set.

I wish I were jaded enough to toss out such a comment. Yale seemed magical to me as a visitor.

DP. A lot of people find it magical. I really struggled to enjoy the tour and found it extravagantly tasteless and a bit dull (which is a strange mix I wasn’t expecting). The auditorium they sent us into just seemed large but also rundown. We got to tour DC’s department and a residential college, since DC has a few upperclassmen friends there and neither of us were too impressed.

Strange, because DC now goes to Princeton and we both love the campus- which is admittedly quite similar.

I’m the poster you’re responding to and I went to Princeton.

When I first visited Princeton I was young and wide-eyed and thought it was amazing. However, when I later visited Yale I thought it was awesome and had a buzz Princeton lacked. Looking back now, I think the Princeton campus as a whole is nicer but that the individual buildings and quads at Yale are more impressive.

But, again, I’m a pushover…generally find things to like at every college campus and would love to be a student again (apart from the all-nighters to finish my thesis).

I definitely can see this! I like a less busy campus and am admittedly a bit picky with my architecture. My favorite campus is probably Williams, because it reminds me so much of Dartmouth without the palatable wealth (I’m an alumna, please don’t bite!). I love the idea of quiet on a campus and open land where you can sprawl out and privately read! The gardens of Princeton stole my heart a bit

[Anonymous]

The Free Palestine University

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard

Right. I went there. Tell me exactly what was disappointing. Oh Yeah, you're the mom who complained about brown grass in Harvard Yard not realizing the protesters had slept on it for months.

DP. I attended a nearby university that is not renowned for its beauty. But Harvard, for a school that's been around since the 1600s, is the definition of underwhelming. And Harvard Square is pretty corporate blah these days too. They've had more than 400 years to put together a decent campus. And this is it? Lame.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yale is like a weird Potemkin Village or movie set.

+1, as someone who got a degree from Oxford, seeing the American attempt at it for the first time was supremely disappointing. I like Harvard’s campus, because it’s very for-it’s-time and distinctly American.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale is like a weird Potemkin Village or movie set.

I wish I were jaded enough to toss out such a comment. Yale seemed magical to me as a visitor.

meh. I grew up around great West Coast land grant universities and everything about Yale seemed fake.