Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent who was stunned at my kid’s immediate and intense dislike of CU Boulder. I thought it would be their dream school - kid is outdoorsy, loves to hike and ski, cousin goes there. Nope, said they hated the architecture, it felt too big, and it was too white.

Is it the same person who keeps calling schools "too white"? Imagine if we did that using other races/ethnicities. Cut it out.

lol. I thought “too big” and “too white” both referred to the architecture. I’ve never been there, so I was picturing big, ugly, white buildings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another parent who was stunned at my kid’s immediate and intense dislike of CU Boulder. I thought it would be their dream school - kid is outdoorsy, loves to hike and ski, cousin goes there. Nope, said they hated the architecture, it felt too big, and it was too white.

My kid felt exactly the same way. Without the racist part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We no longer live in DC, but when our daughter was contemplating going back for college, we were surprised at how much she liked American.

The admissions’ presentation was just the right length, and the AO gave subtle tips for getting in. We were randomly split into tour groups, so it would have been nice to have been with a guide who was in the same school or program that DC was interested in, but the guide we ended up with was terrific. She was enthusiastic and involved and had taken full advantage of her time at American and in DC. The tour covered most of campus, and our daughter walked with her several times to ask questions in between formal stops.

My husband and I are both Georgetown grads, and our daughter had been on campus multiple times, but it just never grabbed her the way it did us. We did the formal tour during a week when many East Coast high schools were on spring break, so the entire ICC auditorium was full. The presentation was fine, and the tour guides were also fine, but our group was really too large to get a very intimate tour experience, which didn’t help our cause. Both my husband and I knew the moment we stepped onto campus (many years ago) that Georgetown was “our” school, but it just wasn’t the right fit for our daughter.

The school she hated was GW. Boring presentation, and the school was just too urban and lacking a campus for her taste. A totally checked out (second semester senior) tour guide sealed the deal, and we bailed on the tour before it was finished. I thought she might like the fact that GW is right in the heart of everything, but boy, she did not.

I felt the exact same way about our visits to GWU, Georgetown and American. I didn’t expect to like American as much as I did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another parent who was stunned at my kid’s immediate and intense dislike of CU Boulder. I thought it would be their dream school - kid is outdoorsy, loves to hike and ski, cousin goes there. Nope, said they hated the architecture, it felt too big, and it was too white.

Lol, this was me back in the day with American. My parents joked for years that it was the one school I got out of the car and was like, "no, I will not attend this school. I want to leave. It's ugly." I hated how incoherent the architecture felt. My parents were trying to cajole me into it, "this is a safety with merit aid, you HAVE to give it a chance...it could be FREE" Nope. It went downhill fasy from there as the tour guide was a disaster and also kind of sad. She was a totally emaciated anorexic who felt compelled to insert her sick, toxic thoughts into the tour multiple times ("the food is disgusting, I'd never eat that fatty slop" "vending machines, that's why people gain the freshman 15...or 40!!!") And could not answer a single academic question. Just astonishingly inappropriate. Everyone on the tour seemed like they were looking at it as a super reach which shouldn't indicate anything but to teen me I was like, "holy crap would this be my peer group?!" I flat out refused to submit an application. Obviously as an adult that's all ridiculous and American is a perfectly fine place, but I am accepting of thise visceral reactions!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really wanted to love USC.. such great [b]cali [url]weather. The campus was ugly and looked like an "institution". All that $$ and no charm.

Please. Native Californians hate that term. Google it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Liked more than expected:
Middlebury: didn't think a rural LAC would be the thing for our DD, but we had a great tour and were impressed by the facilities and natural beauty. DD spent the night with a friend and liked the evening vibe (Thursday night): everyone was studying hard but still socializing a bit in the dorm for a few hours and then a crew went stargazing and talked for a couple hours.

Amherst: Really bad admissions session, but loved the campus and had a tour with an incredibly personable but humble guide. He talked about the rigorous workload but also normalized getting help and support (talked about how he goes to the writing center for support for every one of his papers).

Tufts: Good admissions session - it was in a windowless room with zero visuals as someone else mentioned but the AO did an improv-style presentation that we found engaging. DD loved it. Liked the campus fine, and saw kids everywhere hanging out on the lawn, talking in groups, etc. Tour was pretty good - talked a lot about all the interests kids there have and how they support each others' interests and study together/collaborate rather than compete.

Carleton: Similar positives to Middlebury described above, but atmosphere seemed possibly less cliquish. We liked every student we met there - they looked you in the eye, were friendly, and seemed to love their school in a way that just seemed genuine and not a "sell." Another school where all the students talked a lot about getting support from the Academic Success Center, going to office hours, etc. in a normalizing manner. DD learned that the party scene is very tame, but decided she's okay with that.

Brown: No formal tour, but loved the campus and surrounding area.

Liked less than expected:
BU: The admissions session featured a student who was entertaining but who kept talking about how he can't decide on a major, decided to take classes on wine-tasting, etc. - got a lot of laughs but came off feeling like a frat boy caricature. Not for our DD. The campus was about as expected - DH and I liked it but DD thought "It seems just like high school" (large urban public). We thought the Honors College might be a fit, but after a little research decided it was too small for DD as a living community and maybe not her people.

Dartmouth: The info session was fine. Tour guide had a strange spiel - she kept focusing on safety, blue lights, alcohol poisoning, hospitals, etc. and ran out of time to take us into the library. DH is an alum and really felt the tour undersold the school - didn't take us into the library, for instance, which he loves. The Greek system was a turnoff to DD, especially when she heard that a majority of students participate. No judgment, just not what she wants.

Wesleyan: We know kids who go there and love it and we liked the campus fine, but found the town to be depressing. The biggest dealbreaker for DD was that she spent the night on campus and felt like people were getting high on a Tuesday while simultaneously talking about how much work they had to do that they were behind on. She wants to work hard during the week and play on weekends. Obviously this may just have been the kids she was with and not the norm at Wes though.

UVM: We saw it right after Midd, so it didn't get a fair chance. DD said the interior spaces reminded her of the airport. There was a lot to like, but DD just kept asking to leave and go back to Midd. We didn't get a formal tour because it was admitted students week but the students we talked to seemed friendly. We met the head of the "Wellness" program in the dorms and liked what he had to say. And we know some great, down-to-earth kids who have chosen UVM. I think this just happened to be the school that made DD realize she wanted an LAC.

You're either a bot or the mother of an abused child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really wanted to love USC.. such great [b]cali [url]weather. The campus was ugly and looked like an "institution". All that $$ and no charm.

Please. Native Californians hate that term. Google it

Use the word “Cali” and your application goes right into the reject pile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA was the #1 choice before starting campus visits and then we didn't even apply.

Same here. It was a weird combination of racist/nerdy. The other people in our tour group were straight nerds. My daughter could not see herself there at all.

[Anonymous]

Pepperdine is probably the most beautiful campus in the US. The small town is Malibu and there are views of the ocean from everywhere on campus! I really liked GW child hated it, we both loved American. UMD was okay too big and kinds of needs a refresh and the grass looks dry, but it is child’s first choice by far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent who was stunned at my kid’s immediate and intense dislike of CU Boulder. I thought it would be their dream school - kid is outdoorsy, loves to hike and ski, cousin goes there. Nope, said they hated the architecture, it felt too big, and it was too white.

Is it the same person who keeps calling schools "too white"? Imagine if we did that using other races/ethnicities. Cut it out.

lol. I thought “too big” and “too white” both referred to the architecture. I’ve never been there, so I was picturing big, ugly, white buildings.

😆 that’s funny.

To be honest, coming from an extremely diverse area where my white kids are the minority in their schools, it would be strange to attend a school that was overwhelmingly white students. My kids would absolutely notice such things, considering their friend groups are full of children of recent immigrants from all over the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With DC1:

Wanted to Like but Hated: UVA (awful tour, snobby students both on tour and ones we know from home) and Catholic U (it’s DC, way too urban)

Wanted to like and thought OK: JMU, Franciscan

Liked way more than anticipated: Longwood, WVU

With DC2:

No, thank you (wanted to like, just didn’t): Ole Miss and Kentucky

Mom (and School field trip tour) made me do it and still hated it: UVA (after three strikes….you’re out)

Knew it would be liked (and did): VT and Auburn

Way better than we all thought: Tennessee

Still to Come (so advice and experience appreciated!): Texas A&M, LSU, Shenandoah, and ODU (loved hearing positive vibes on the last three from upthread!!)

My DC seems similar to your DC2 in visits and applications (currently at VT). Will be curious to hear what you think about A&M - it was my idea of Hell on earth but he really liked it!

[Anonymous]

My parents moved to AZ close to my senior year and told me I could pick any state school in Arizona for college. I wasn't sure I was going to like any college in AZ because I was coming from the east coast. ASU was too spread out for me and the campus felt disjointed. I was shocked how much I liked U of Arizona. Despite the size it felt homey to me. I loved Tucson too. I really enjoyed my time there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Daughter wants to go out west. Visited Arizona and ASU first. She had thought she wanted ASU, but hated how spread out the campus was. She loved Arizona because it was a small and very pretty campus. I was surprised at how much I liked it, too.

In Cali, for the colleges she could get into, none made her jump for joy. So overall, we were very surprised that she left with Arizona as her favorite (and where we expect her to enroll).

That campus spread at ASU is no joke. When it gets oppressively hot (not just like 95 degree normal hot), it feels even worse. I remember toting a quart size bottle of water around and downing the whole thing just on the walk from dorm to class.

I have several friends who went to Arizona and they all loved it. Good luck to your daughter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Williams is s-t-u-n-n-i-n-g and tour was well run and informative, no wonder it's the #1 ranked LAC. Williamstown was also cuter than I expected too.

Wiliams, Mount Holyoke, Scripps and Princeton are possibly the 4 most beautiful campuses in the US. Just dreamy. Not that the looks of a campus should have any major influence on where DCs choose to study.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Williams is s-t-u-n-n-i-n-g and tour was well run and informative, no wonder it's the #1 ranked LAC. Williamstown was also cuter than I expected too.

Wiliams, Mount Holyoke, Scripps and Princeton are possibly the 4 most beautiful campuses in the US. Just dreamy. Not that the looks of a campus should have any major influence on where DCs choose to study.

Maybe you just love the environment, but I don’t really see how Williams is a top 4 college campus…it’s pretty meh. Agree with the others but swap Mount Holyoke with Smith.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pepperdine is probably the most beautiful campus in the US. The small town is Malibu and there are views of the ocean from everywhere on campus! I really liked GW child hated it, we both loved American. UMD was okay too big and kinds of needs a refresh and the grass looks dry, but it is child’s first choice by far.

The Pepperdine campus looks like an office park. The location is obviously sublime.