Anyone touring top schools and finding then all to be dumpy and unimpressive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Half the kids at these schools get zero financial aid. So for 100k, I think the dorms should be mold-free

+2 I vote for dorm upgrades over more financial aid 100%. We are full pay and find it irritating that a $85,000 price tag does not provide a healthy, clean living environment.

No one is making you pay.

Send your kid to high point then. Steakhouse and a lazy river! There are choices for everyone, make the choice that is right for you. Did you not see the dorms before you applied?

Can you please read the thread? There is a real, visible middle ground between steakhouses and collapsing dorms. I actually think the comment you responded to presented it-healthy, clean living environment. That is not something that requires High Point.

How about you read it first, starting with the title. Nothing about health, all about aesthetics. The health thing spun off once the preposterousness of the “I am entitled to demand fancy dorms for $90K” point was illustrated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Half the kids at these schools get zero financial aid. So for 100k, I think the dorms should be mold-free

+2 I vote for dorm upgrades over more financial aid 100%. We are full pay and find it irritating that a $85,000 price tag does not provide a healthy, clean living environment.

No one is making you pay.

Send your kid to high point then. Steakhouse and a lazy river! There are choices for everyone, make the choice that is right for you. Did you not see the dorms before you applied?

I love that PP thinks anyone cares about her say or "vote." There is such a sense of entitlement on this board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Half the kids at these schools get zero financial aid. So for 100k, I think the dorms should be mold-free

+2 I vote for dorm upgrades over more financial aid 100%. We are full pay and find it irritating that a $85,000 price tag does not provide a healthy, clean living environment.

No one is making you pay.

Send your kid to high point then. Steakhouse and a lazy river! There are choices for everyone, make the choice that is right for you. Did you not see the dorms before you applied?

I love that PP thinks anyone cares about her say or "vote." There is such a sense of entitlement on this board.

I can’t believe people are getting pissy about people saying dorms should be healthy, clean and mold free. My kid’s dorm room had patches of black mold that would grow on the ceiling and also near the air conditioner unit. Maintenance would come scrub it off and it would return a month or so later. Constant coughs, bronchitis, colds and runny noses all year. We pay $87,000 a year. I do not think is it entitled to assume that this price tag would provide a better living situation. I am not asking for brand new, but just more livable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Half the kids at these schools get zero financial aid. So for 100k, I think the dorms should be mold-free

+2 I vote for dorm upgrades over more financial aid 100%. We are full pay and find it irritating that a $85,000 price tag does not provide a healthy, clean living environment.

No one is making you pay.

Send your kid to high point then. Steakhouse and a lazy river! There are choices for everyone, make the choice that is right for you. Did you not see the dorms before you applied?

I love that PP thinks anyone cares about her say or "vote." There is such a sense of entitlement on this board.

I can’t believe people are getting pissy about people saying dorms should be healthy, clean and mold free. My kid’s dorm room had patches of black mold that would grow on the ceiling and also near the air conditioner unit. Maintenance would come scrub it off and it would return a month or so later. Constant coughs, bronchitis, colds and runny noses all year. We pay $87,000 a year. I do not think is it entitled to assume that this price tag would provide a better living situation. I am not asking for brand new, but just more livable.

I'm certainly not pissy and agree that colleges should deal better with mold, but I laugh at the idea that people here seem to think they have any insight as to how college finances are allotted and how/where money is procured/spent, and it's totally laughable to suggest tgat some random person has a "vote," especially since most don't have a kid at these colleges. And, the whole premise of OP is ludicrous. You and maybe 1 other have kid of hijacked this to focus on an issues that a few students at every college have. That is a little different from OP 's whine at elite schools her kid probably won't get into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a rising senior and have been doing the rounds of many top 25 schools (universities and colleges). We started with safety schools last year and then junior year grades came back so this summer we've been touring some top schools. My kid is trying to figure out an ED.
We have a rising junior as well so we have a couple of kids with us.

The more of these schools we tour, the less impressed I am. They're sort of all a bit falling apart, poorly maintained, with pretty odd students (tour guides, summer students and especially touring students alike--don't jump all over for for saying this--being brutally honest), little sense of community, same-old, same-old stuff about study-abroad, etc. Many have very large class sizes, etc.

I feel like we're (kid and parent alike) are supposed to love these schools and want to pay $90K for them and my kids can't find one they really like. I very, very, very much feel like we're being sold a product that we're supposed to want to buy because of prestige and name but when we see the product up close it doesn't look great and I feel like a sheep lining up to say "yes sir. let me put my kid through mental/emotional twister for a 5% chance of being admitted to your school and then I will gladly pay you $90K for the honor. Yes sir." It just feels... gross. Maybe not gross but yucky. My kids are like, "well I didn't really like this or that here but I could probably make it work." They too feel the pressure to LIKE these places. The Almighty XYZ or ABC school! It's supposed to be their dream!

Please don't jump on me. I know it's summer and we're not seeing the universities at their best but ugh. They're all kind of disappointing. I can't be the only one who feels this way? (I'm not going to name university/college names because then this post will turn into a giant thread about whatever school(s) I name.

Interesting. After visiting some elite private schools, I gained a greater appreciation for state schools.

At a state school, one can usually get a single dorm room if one is prepared to pay a little extra, while one generally has less control of one's dorm situation at a private. The residence halls at the state schools we visited were generally nicer, and the food was usually as good as or better than at the private universities. State schools often have more mental health resources and accommodations for kids with issues. One of my kids went to a very good OOS state university (engineering), and another to an elite private SLAC (biology and social sciences). My state university kid lived much more comfortably in air-conditioned dorms with laundries and kitchens in every residence hall, and the food was excellent. My SLAC kid lived in dorms without A/C and with decrepit bathrooms, had to lug their laundry to a different building, and was underwhelmed by the dining hall offerings. Of course, academics are more important than lifestyle, but people need to be comfortable. Both received excellent educations.

My SLAC kid had the advantage of being at a tiny school, meaning they enjoyed small class sizes and received lots of individual attention and support. My state school kid may have learned more though, because they took a very demanding program with a heavy course load. My state school kid earns about double what their sibling earns, primarily due to being an engineer. The state school kid also had better research opportunities.

One advantage of the private school, imo, was that my DC had friends with unusually supportive and nurturing parents. This was a huge advantage to my SLAC kid's social life as my kiddo was always welcome to visit friend's homes (in fact, they had several "second homes"), and the kids themselves were generally more self-confident and polished. My DH and I bonded with several of private school DC's friends' parents, who are now close friends (people we vacation with), while we hardly know the parents of state school DC's friends.

I've read that state and elite private schools are no longer very far apart in terms of quality of education. They often use the same books and cover the same material. Some state schools have excellent honors programs/colleges. Studies suggest kids with similar stats have similar outcomes, regardless of where they go to school. That said, a degree from Stanford or Williams must open doors and confer a sense of self-confidence. Good luck with the college search! I know how stressful that process can be!

Thank you for sharing this! So helpful as I have several kids heading off to college in the next few years.

PP here. Thank you! I'm glad it was helpful. I should also have mentioned that state school kid had a single (air-conditioned, fairly large) throughout the three years they lived on campus, while SLAC school kid was in a small double (no A/C) for those three years (they both lived off-campus senior year). I don't know if it had anything to do with sharing a tiny, hot room and the sleep disruptions that come with a double, but SLAC school kid was frequently ill, while state school kid never got sick. In the fall, we will be paying extra for a single with private bathroom at a state school for our disabled DC.

[Anonymous]

The biggest problem in dorms is that clueless Freshman and Sophomores live in them--they leave damp clothes and towels piled up, open food around, etc. Even in the newest most glorious dorms you're going to get mildew, mold and infestations. Add that to older buildings and here we are.

[Anonymous]

It's so incredibly expensive to build and renovate new campus spaces. William and Mary is in the middle of an extensive plan to build new/renovate/demolish old spaces. What the school is getting is fabulous, but Phase 1 that is being completed now is costing $320 million. That money may be hard to get for some schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's so incredibly expensive to build and renovate new campus spaces. William and Mary is in the middle of an extensive plan to build new/renovate/demolish old spaces. What the school is getting is fabulous, but Phase 1 that is being completed now is costing $320 million. That money may be hard to get for some schools.

W&M is paying out of pocket for dorms they're renovating but the new dorms are actually a public private partnership - might be a good option for colleges with less funds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For high-achieving students who don't want to suffer in a cramped dungeon with no A/C, Alabama's honors dorms are the nicest college housing I've ever seen, bar none. They're more like luxury apartments. Freshmen can live in them, too.

Ha! I googled their dorms to see what you are talking about. I wanted to see pictures. I look at pictures for Ridgecrest South (listed as an honors dorm). in one of the pictures, the student has the Maryland flag on the wall.

A couple years back, there was a legendary (or infamous depending on your perspective) DCUMer whose son was in the honors program at Alabama, allegedly on a full ride. The poster claimed their kid had high stats and got into more competitive schools but chose Alabama for the full ride, luxury dorms (which they usually described in detail), and attractive girls (although I believe the term the poster preferred was "coeds"). They signed off every post with "Roll Tide!" Just a hilarious poster. That kid should be at least an upperclassman if not an alum by now.

I remember that poster. I thought it was some dad working through his middle age crisis with his fictional dream sequence.

The dorms at Alabama are top notch. Put other schools to shame on how luxury they are in comparison.

I encourage you all to send your lovely children to SEC schools where the dorms are luxurious. We'll be fine without A/C or an indoor lazy river in New England.

Why so snarky about people wanting their kids in a nice environment for, someone has to say it, NINETY THOUSAND DOLLARS PER YEAR? It really isn't a flex to say your expensive private school with billions in the bank can't provide well for its students.

The demand for these kinds of luxuries help explain why the schools are $90,000 per year. My dorms at Stanford were cinder-block post WWII or aging frat/sorority houses built in the 1940s and converted to dorms.

[Anonymous]

Yes - toured TUFTS recently and was so not impressed. Boring info session, bad tour that didn’t take you into any classroom or the library. It didn’t seem to have any pride or school spirit. Big letdown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured almost every T15(all but stanford and Caltech) and found them all great, and they all emphasized small classes. All my kids attend a different one of these schools and find them intellectually stimulating with less than 1/4 of their classes over 40, including stem. We never toured any school outside of T25 that was not W&M or VT or W&L, so we did not see the big schools with the pretty pools and fancy dorms we have seen online. We were looking for academics and found the only ugly/dumpy one to be MIT, yet loved the intellectual vibe of our quirky tour guide. similar-vibe tour guides were WM Hopkins and Brown, but did not select the final schools based on love of tour. People do not pick T15s for beauty, they pick them for academics: faculty, peers, smallish classes. To each his own.

Students definitely expect glamor from T15 campuses. Most also have massive classes, all it takes is talking to someone who isn’t a tour guide

My kids are at different ivy/T15 private. They each have friends at others. There are no “massive” classes. The biggest is around 200, none of mine have had more than one 200 person class, even for premed. They have all had the majority of classes less than 30, some less than 10 people. William&Mary is the same that is why it is the “public ivy”.

+1
My kid is at a top 10. Most of his classes are small. A few are larger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured almost every T15(all but stanford and Caltech) and found them all great, and they all emphasized small classes. All my kids attend a different one of these schools and find them intellectually stimulating with less than 1/4 of their classes over 40, including stem. We never toured any school outside of T25 that was not W&M or VT or W&L, so we did not see the big schools with the pretty pools and fancy dorms we have seen online. We were looking for academics and found the only ugly/dumpy one to be MIT, yet loved the intellectual vibe of our quirky tour guide. similar-vibe tour guides were WM Hopkins and Brown, but did not select the final schools based on love of tour. People do not pick T15s for beauty, they pick them for academics: faculty, peers, smallish classes. To each his own.

Students definitely expect glamor from T15 campuses. Most also have massive classes, all it takes is talking to someone who isn’t a tour guide

My kids are at different ivy/T15 private. They each have friends at others. There are no “massive” classes. The biggest is around 200, none of mine have had more than one 200 person class, even for premed. They have all had the majority of classes less than 30, some less than 10 people. William&Mary is the same that is why it is the “public ivy”.

+1
My kid is at a top 10. Most of his classes are small. A few are larger.

I envy both of you. DC is at a top 10 for CS. He texted an image of his course one day, and I nearly wanted to curse his college that I pay a ridiculous amount for him to be in giant halls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured almost every T15(all but stanford and Caltech) and found them all great, and they all emphasized small classes. All my kids attend a different one of these schools and find them intellectually stimulating with less than 1/4 of their classes over 40, including stem. We never toured any school outside of T25 that was not W&M or VT or W&L, so we did not see the big schools with the pretty pools and fancy dorms we have seen online. We were looking for academics and found the only ugly/dumpy one to be MIT, yet loved the intellectual vibe of our quirky tour guide. similar-vibe tour guides were WM Hopkins and Brown, but did not select the final schools based on love of tour. People do not pick T15s for beauty, they pick them for academics: faculty, peers, smallish classes. To each his own.

Students definitely expect glamor from T15 campuses. Most also have massive classes, all it takes is talking to someone who isn’t a tour guide

My kids are at different ivy/T15 private. They each have friends at others. There are no “massive” classes. The biggest is around 200, none of mine have had more than one 200 person class, even for premed. They have all had the majority of classes less than 30, some less than 10 people. William&Mary is the same that is why it is the “public ivy”.

+1
My kid is at a top 10. Most of his classes are small. A few are larger.

I envy both of you. DC is at a top 10 for CS. He texted an image of his course one day, and I nearly wanted to curse his college that I pay a ridiculous amount for him to be in giant halls.

What are the majors where kids have all these small classes in top 10 schools? I assume not popular majors like CS and Economics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured almost every T15(all but stanford and Caltech) and found them all great, and they all emphasized small classes. All my kids attend a different one of these schools and find them intellectually stimulating with less than 1/4 of their classes over 40, including stem. We never toured any school outside of T25 that was not W&M or VT or W&L, so we did not see the big schools with the pretty pools and fancy dorms we have seen online. We were looking for academics and found the only ugly/dumpy one to be MIT, yet loved the intellectual vibe of our quirky tour guide. similar-vibe tour guides were WM Hopkins and Brown, but did not select the final schools based on love of tour. People do not pick T15s for beauty, they pick them for academics: faculty, peers, smallish classes. To each his own.

Students definitely expect glamor from T15 campuses. Most also have massive classes, all it takes is talking to someone who isn’t a tour guide

My kids are at different ivy/T15 private. They each have friends at others. There are no “massive” classes. The biggest is around 200, none of mine have had more than one 200 person class, even for premed. They have all had the majority of classes less than 30, some less than 10 people. William&Mary is the same that is why it is the “public ivy”.

200 is a massive class for $90k. 30 is a massive class for $90k.

Where do you expect your kid to go and not have 30-200? Or is 30-200 “worth it” when you have a discounted price? And how do you know who is paying $90! Lots of us get need based aid and are not paying anything close to that. One of the best professors I ever had taught 300 person classes : the lectures were so well regarded students who were not registered would audit just to be there. Class size hs little to do with quality.

+1 The best class I ever took between undergrad and grad school was a lecture style class of 200.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The biggest problem in dorms is that clueless Freshman and Sophomores live in them--they leave damp clothes and towels piled up, open food around, etc. Even in the newest most glorious dorms you're going to get mildew, mold and infestations. Add that to older buildings and here we are.

Precisely.