tell me about colleges that didn't make your kid's list

[Anonymous]

Colby: feels like a “rich kids summer camp”. All the students looked like out of work J Crew models.

Brandeis: amazing school. Campus looks like an office park. DS wouldn’t get out of the car.

Tufts: gorgeous chapel. Campus felt odd with the large hill/ drop to one side. Felt a little out of the way from the fun of Boston.

U Chicago: amazing gothic feel. Harry Potter-esque. Talked to students who all laughed at the “where fun goes to die” reputation, DS decided not to apply.

Northwestern: sleeting rain the day our DS toured. Turned him off. Watched a bunch of videos on YouTube when we got home to see what it looked like when the sun was out. Ended up going there and is having the time of his life. Campus is beautiful, the lake is gorgeous, and Evanston is like a “much bigger, way cooler, funkier, version of Bethesda.”

[Anonymous]

Vanderbilt: tour guide told us all the kids dressed up in test days (sports coats and dresses) and same for sporting events. Not sure if it’s true, but big turn off for our DC raised DD.

[Anonymous]

John’s Hopkins: felt very disjointed. Strange panel session. My DD said it “felt creepy.”

[Anonymous]

Hoping my DD would love Syracuse. Was planning to ED pre visit. When she got there, was turned off by the surrounding areas to campus and left feeling a little “bleh.” I was bummed because the program for media is strong, but DD said she “couldn’t imagine living there for 4 years.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt: tour guide told us all the kids dressed up in test days (sports coats and dresses) and same for sporting events. Not sure if it’s true, but big turn off for our DC raised DD.

Test days? I went to Vandy, that is nuts.

[Anonymous]

This thread is amusing and reminds me that for even important life decisions the “facts” that seal the deal are quite arbitrary and idiosyncratic impressions.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DC thought Amherst and Wake Forest were beautiful but too precious/insulated.

Driving into Wake felt like entering a country club, complete with a guard house and gate.

It's absolutely beautiful - gate only at one entrance. There are many.

DP. We did a driving tour of over a dozen colleges this summer. Wake was the only campus that wouldn’t even let you drive through.

NP. A few years ago we were near Princeton and thought we'd drive through campus and you weren't allowed to drive through. Hmm. Wake Forest and Princeton. Never thought I'd type those two in the same sentence.

I don't get this idea that one should be able to"drive through" campus. When we have gone to Princeton, we have parked either in the town or in one of the giant parking lots, and walked around. Why do you need to or want to drive through?

You can’t drive “through “ Princeton like you can’t drive through Harvard . PP doesn’t know what she’s talking about and making judgements. Not uncommon for DCum. A lot of the older schools were built in the railroad and buggy days so of course you can’t drive through them. And why would you want to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt: tour guide told us all the kids dressed up in test days (sports coats and dresses) and same for sporting events. Not sure if it’s true, but big turn off for our DC raised DD.

Test days? I went to Vandy, that is nuts.

When I went to grad school there I was so baffled by how the undergrads dressed up so often, on what seemed like regular days. I had gone to a college up north where everyone wore puffy coats and sweats to class so I was confused. I had a few classes with some undergrads and there was a throwback vibe of “I’m always on the hunt for my rich husband” among many of female students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA. There is something just so sinister about Charlottesville. I can’t put my finger on it.

the southern gentlemen who want to preserve ol virginny, perhaps?

[Anonymous]

I’ll post for the parents of a solid A/B, one varsity sport, SAT deferred in-state FCPS grad:

IUP - Indiana, PA. Too small. Rough winter weather. Unattractive campus. Not an easy trip back and forth to home.
Offered nice tuition reimbursement to offset OOS costs. Still expensive to send OOS.

U of Mary Washington: too small. No football team (to watch), but a consideration as a safety. No Greek system a plus. Student heard it’s very quiet on weekends and many students leave campus. Con for my student.

GMU - too close to home. Wanted to go a bit further away. Would have lived on campus - nice dorms. Too large for our student.

[Anonymous]

University of Miami - Lackluster campus for a school that would cost us >$70k a year

Fordham - Schools in NYC weren't a good fit

Sewanee - Way too preppy and rural

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DC thought Amherst and Wake Forest were beautiful but too precious/insulated.

Driving into Wake felt like entering a country club, complete with a guard house and gate.

It's absolutely beautiful - gate only at one entrance. There are many.

DP. We did a driving tour of over a dozen colleges this summer. Wake was the only campus that wouldn’t even let you drive through.

NP. A few years ago we were near Princeton and thought we'd drive through campus and you weren't allowed to drive through. Hmm. Wake Forest and Princeton. Never thought I'd type those two in the same sentence.

I don't get this idea that one should be able to"drive through" campus. When we have gone to Princeton, we have parked either in the town or in one of the giant parking lots, and walked around. Why do you need to or want to drive through?

You can’t drive “through “ Princeton like you can’t drive through Harvard . PP doesn’t know what she’s talking about and making judgements. Not uncommon for DCum. A lot of the older schools were built in the railroad and buggy days so of course you can’t drive through them. And why would you want to?

This is so typical of DCUM — sustained focus and outrage over an insignificant detail. I agree that you can’t drive through the heart of most college campuses, but most can be seen, at least in part, from a vehicle, which seemed like a good thing to do during peak covid when all the tours had been canceled. I’m the pp re: Wake, and point wasn’t about the “drive,” it was that Wake was the only college we encountered (even during covid) that had a manned security gate with a very large sign that said “No Visitors Allowed on Campus.” I’m sure there are others that did this, but the school gave off a very unwelcoming country club/exclusive resort vibe. Wake is in suburban-looking area, and the entries to campus that we saw were on major streets with no parking, and there was not an obvious place to park and sidewalks to walk into campus on, even had we been inclined to ignore the sign that told us not to.

[Anonymous]

Any college in the DMV

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any college in the DMV

same here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt: tour guide told us all the kids dressed up in test days (sports coats and dresses) and same for sporting events. Not sure if it’s true, but big turn off for our DC raised DD.

Test days? I went to Vandy, that is nuts.

When I went to grad school there I was so baffled by how the undergrads dressed up so often, on what seemed like regular days. I had gone to a college up north where everyone wore puffy coats and sweats to class so I was confused. I had a few classes with some undergrads and there was a throwback vibe of “I’m always on the hunt for my rich husband” among many of female students.

That is actually very smart of these girls. They’ll never again have so rich a pool from which to pick.