What school dropped off the list because of your visit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tulane (don’t like vibe; very DMV; no real town outside French Quarter)
U Penn (students too stressed and rushed; terrible tour)
William & Mary (college town far too small but greet tour guide)
U Michigan (presentation too arrogant)
Georgetown (disliked campus; too close to home, but good tour)

? I don't think that's true, but maybe you didn't have a chance to really explore? There are so many cool areas of NO outside of the Quarter. Or do you mean it doesn't feel like a downtown outside the quarter? That's fair.

+1. Did you have a chance to drive around St. Charles Street, Magazine Street, Audubon Park, etc.? There’s a lot in the Uptown area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First world problem if there ever was one: DCUMers who are arguing over when Harvard dorms were built.

Facts need to be facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe there is a difference between high-achieving students and everyone else. Generally, high-achieving kids want to go to the best academic school they can get into and their family can afford. Period. If the kid gets into Harvard, it doesn't matter what the food tastes like, whether or not the dorm is air conditioned, or if there is a nearby Starbucks. IT DOESN'T MATTER. However, if the goal is to get an average education at one of 3,000 schools across the nation, perhaps, food, dorms, recreation facilities, sports teams, etc. matter. Just keep in mind, you're paying for an eduction, not a country club. Sure, if you can have both, so be it, but it's sad if you're selecting a school based on comfort over learning, IMHO. But, to each his own.

Spoken like someone who had zero fun in college and definitely didn't get a top tier frat bid.

+1. I want to clear up something about Harvard (and Yale, too). The Harvard freshman all get to live in Harvard Yard. This is THE most historic and most photographed area of the campus. The dorms were built in 1670. They are historic and very meaningful to the students who live there. They are well-kept (the year I was there, the ivy had to come down - sad day - because it was destroying the ancient grout). All freshman can open their windows and yell at friends down in the Yard or across the Yard. And yes you CAN have window air conditioners if you need them. And heaters. I had my own fireplace and made a fire every night. The food is fine but the Yard is closer to Harvard Square than any other place on campus so you are a short walking distance to some of the best burgers I've ever had in my life (one was featured on Triple D). You also have many dining options back on campus. After freshman year you select one of the Houses to live in and live there for the next three years. Almost everyone has its own ballroom, library, sitting rooms, study halls, etc. This (Harvard Yard) and the Houses is a great way to make friends.

As to Yale - much the same thing - my DC spent a summer living in a garret room in one of the Residential Houses. There you go right into the Residential House - much like Oxford and Cambridge and their colleges. There was no A/C there but the summer coordinators had free fans sitting on the lawn for pickup. And most of the rooms are singles. And have fireplaces. Again, it's considered a matter of pride as to which Residential House you are in and the age of those rooms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard%E2%80%93Yale_sister_colleges

Th

No Harvard dorms were built in 1670. This is Cambridge in the U.S., not Cambridge in the UK. Harvard's oldest building is Massachusetts Hall from 1720. The Houses at Harvard and Colleges you see at Yale are predominately from 1920s and 1930s and later.

Wrong - the dorms in Harvard Yard were built in 1720. But you are missing the point. To live in them is history and no one cares about lack of a/c or other things. It's the experience of living in the Yard with all the other freshmen that makes it so special.

I don't have a point other than to point out that the person who said Harvard dorms were built in 1670 was off by a minimum of 50 years. The oldest one solely used as a dorm today was built in 1763, which is 93 years after 1670. The oldest of the river houses, for sophomores and up, dates from 1930.

Aren't you all missing the point here What fools these posters are

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First world problem if there ever was one: DCUMers who are arguing over when Harvard dorms were built.

Facts need to be facts.

These days there are alternative facts.

[Anonymous]

U Penn - too many bike police - too city - too much crime around
Georgetown - Crumbling buildings, trash everywhere, homeless on campus
UVA - brick building look like prisons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First world problem if there ever was one: DCUMers who are arguing over when Harvard dorms were built.

Facts need to be facts.

These days there are alternative facts.

Kinda like no crisis at the border.

[Anonymous]

UVA. Loved the campus so beautiful. Admission only to do many schools. And to Greek life. I felt the attitude would be a problem. Very hard to rise to the top of 21,000 students. Then DC got full ride elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My takeaway from most of this thread is that tours are unhelpful. Though people like to talk about “fit,” I think it’s largely bogus. A lot of kids - maybe most - get to their school and find good and bad points, but most adapt after finding some friends and especially after they decide on a major. Social and academic structure becomes their friend, memories are made, and degrees are obtained. As many have said, tours artificially influence kids, which may lead to a decision that becomes a mistake. It’s important to understand that for teens (they’re really not adults) this is a big emotional decision, as much as an academic one. That means many are looking for comfort, which they may find on a tour but later regret using as an over-weighted criterion.

I vehemently disagree. Maybe school-specific? Former volunteer campus tour guide. I regularly had enrolled freshmen recognize me on campus and belatedly thank me. But maybe I was just that good.

Most all of my tours were parents and HS students who were interested in applying but wanted that personal q and a/inside scoop/student perspective.

[Anonymous]

We just crossed Virginia Tech off our list after a visit on a beautiful sunny day. DD did not like the feel with all the big gray buildings. No tour available so we went around on our own. The provided maps were wholly inadequate for navigating around and construction made some buildings inaccessible. Military drills and large numbers of kids in uniform was a turnoff. The buildings we did go in seemed dingy and run down. Residential side was slightly better but not enough to change her feeling. She couldn’t see herself going to Virginia Tech.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just crossed Virginia Tech off our list after a visit on a beautiful sunny day. DD did not like the feel with all the big gray buildings. No tour available so we went around on our own. The provided maps were wholly inadequate for navigating around and construction made some buildings inaccessible. Military drills and large numbers of kids in uniform was a turnoff. The buildings we did go in seemed dingy and run down. Residential side was slightly better but not enough to change her feeling. She couldn’t see herself going to Virginia Tech.

It's important for spoiled young adults to be completely unaware that the military exists, so they can continue to allow other people to make sacrifices to protect them without any sense of responsibility or gratitude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My takeaway from most of this thread is that tours are unhelpful. Though people like to talk about “fit,” I think it’s largely bogus. A lot of kids - maybe most - get to their school and find good and bad points, but most adapt after finding some friends and especially after they decide on a major. Social and academic structure becomes their friend, memories are made, and degrees are obtained. As many have said, tours artificially influence kids, which may lead to a decision that becomes a mistake. It’s important to understand that for teens (they’re really not adults) this is a big emotional decision, as much as an academic one. That means many are looking for comfort, which they may find on a tour but later regret using as an over-weighted criterion.

I vehemently disagree. Maybe school-specific? Former volunteer campus tour guide. I regularly had enrolled freshmen recognize me on campus and belatedly thank me. But maybe I was just that good.

Most all of my tours were parents and HS students who were interested in applying but wanted that personal q and a/inside scoop/student perspective.

What type of inside scoop information did you provide that might have made a difference? Just curious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just crossed Virginia Tech off our list after a visit on a beautiful sunny day. DD did not like the feel with all the big gray buildings. No tour available so we went around on our own. The provided maps were wholly inadequate for navigating around and construction made some buildings inaccessible. Military drills and large numbers of kids in uniform was a turnoff. The buildings we did go in seemed dingy and run down. Residential side was slightly better but not enough to change her feeling. She couldn’t see herself going to Virginia Tech.

It's important for spoiled young adults to be completely unaware that the military exists, so they can continue to allow other people to make sacrifices to protect them without any sense of responsibility or gratitude.

I am sorry to burst your romantic bubble..but most people who join the military do so because they think it is the best FINANCIAL option open to them.

This never gets acknowledged or discussed either.

Yes, once in, they are asked to make sacrifices and some are very brave: just like fire fighters and nurses. BUT let's not pretend that a large proportion of people don't join for the benefits, job training, security or free tuition. I know what I am talking about. I work for DoD (and when people debate staying in: they debate DOLLARS, not honor or duty, trust me.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just crossed Virginia Tech off our list after a visit on a beautiful sunny day. DD did not like the feel with all the big gray buildings. No tour available so we went around on our own. The provided maps were wholly inadequate for navigating around and construction made some buildings inaccessible. Military drills and large numbers of kids in uniform was a turnoff. The buildings we did go in seemed dingy and run down. Residential side was slightly better but not enough to change her feeling. She couldn’t see herself going to Virginia Tech.

It's important for spoiled young adults to be completely unaware that the military exists, so they can continue to allow other people to make sacrifices to protect them without any sense of responsibility or gratitude.

Rather than focusing on gratitude, how about we take a hard look at US empire building and the endless wars that have resulted from abuse of the all-volunteer armed forces, mostly by civilian leadership who have never served?

[Anonymous]

Never change, DCUM. Perpetually ruining good threads with politics. Please remain on-topic.

Anyone else have a campus visit that changed their student’s perception of the school?

[Anonymous]

Harvard's tour made it obvious Harvard cared about Harvard and not undergrads. Not to suggest DC would not have gone if the tour ended with an offer of acceptance, but it was revealing enough to make DC focus on a different Ivy as first choice.