What school dropped off the list because of your visit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

How in earth dud you miss the rotunda and the lawn? It’s a world historic site

LOL, you must be new here.

Not at all! Old timer. Just can't imagine how a World INESCO site can be seen "as prisons" unless they are referring to the old men's dorms which have been torn down: From Wiki: UVA is known for its Academical Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[8][9] UVA is known for its historic foundations, student-run honor code and secret societies."

Hereford College hasn't been torn down.

Nor should it be. (fortunately, McCormick has been renovated and Alderman has been town down). Hereford college is a residential college built in 1992 and dedicated to sustainability and environmentally conscious living. Today it is dedicated to mindfulness, social awareness, sustainability (the dorm itself and the greens around it) and diversity. https://hereford.virginia.edu/. It's highly desirable because, like Yale and Harvard, Hereford is its own residential college with its own set of activities and own dining hall. The building is long and thin to make the best use of light and to simultaneously provide the largest area of green outdoor living space per dorm space on campus. It also offers singles for almost everyone, even some lucky first-year students. (I wish my kid had gotten into there instead of McCormick). Hereford was highly acclaimed by the New York Times when unveiled: The modernist architecture of Hereford College won great acclaim when the residential college was unveiled. The New York Times said glowingly "it is more different from Jefferson than anything that has been built at the University in generations, but it rises to challenge him[4]" and in a later article the New York paper seemed to imply that all of New York City was jealous of the new dorm complex, stating "but for an international city, New York is sadly lacking in contemporary world-class buildings. And the lack is especially glaring considering how many world-class talents live here. Where are the buildings that can compare in formal intelligence to... Williams and Tsien's New College at the University of Virginia?[5]". This wiki article explains how the windows are set to avoid the harsh morning sun. Note the architecture articles at the bottom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereford_College

[Anonymous]

Trinity College in Hartford CT. Campus is wonderful but it is located in a horrible area - horrible!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tufts-- just today, actually. DC already knew it was probably more suburban than they wanted, but the campus just didn't excite them-- architecture was really random, the commercial area near campus was tiny and sort of drab, and the only POCs on campus that we saw (out of many students walking around) were Asian; almost everyone was white. I know two students there who love it but it seems to be a poor fit for my kid.

Yup, agree with drab as a good description. Visited with DC over the summer and it was just so, meh. Had the vibe of an afterthought, possibly because of the neighborhood or because of the contrast to the excitement of Cambridge. DC couldn't get out fast enough and said before the car pulled away "no way." Doesn't make it bad, just my DC's experience. Fit matters, trust your gut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

How in earth dud you miss the rotunda and the lawn? It’s a world historic site

LOL, you must be new here.

Not at all! Old timer. Just can't imagine how a World INESCO site can be seen "as prisons" unless they are referring to the old men's dorms which have been torn down: From Wiki: UVA is known for its Academical Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[8][9] UVA is known for its historic foundations, student-run honor code and secret societies."

Hereford College hasn't been torn down.

Nor should it be. (fortunately, McCormick has been renovated and Alderman has been town down). Hereford college is a residential college built in 1992 and dedicated to sustainability and environmentally conscious living. Today it is dedicated to mindfulness, social awareness, sustainability (the dorm itself and the greens around it) and diversity. https://hereford.virginia.edu/. It's highly desirable because, like Yale and Harvard, Hereford is its own residential college with its own set of activities and own dining hall. The building is long and thin to make the best use of light and to simultaneously provide the largest area of green outdoor living space per dorm space on campus. It also offers singles for almost everyone, even some lucky first-year students. (I wish my kid had gotten into there instead of McCormick). Hereford was highly acclaimed by the New York Times when unveiled: The modernist architecture of Hereford College won great acclaim when the residential college was unveiled. The New York Times said glowingly "it is more different from Jefferson than anything that has been built at the University in generations, but it rises to challenge him[4]" and in a later article the New York paper seemed to imply that all of New York City was jealous of the new dorm complex, stating "but for an international city, New York is sadly lacking in contemporary world-class buildings. And the lack is especially glaring considering how many world-class talents live here. Where are the buildings that can compare in formal intelligence to... Williams and Tsien's New College at the University of Virginia?[5]". This wiki article explains how the windows are set to avoid the harsh morning sun. Note the architecture articles at the bottom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereford_College

The old Alderman dorms were ugly, but they didn't look like prisons. Certainly not a secure prison. Hereford looks like a prison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia Tech. My kid hated it, and I agreed. Way too much concrete, way too many military uniforms, and way too much “hokie this” and “hokie-that.” The tour guide actually talked about the hokie hello and how it’s customary to say hi to other students and hold the door open for the person behind you...like those aren’t typical american or even typical human customs

Yes, it means a turkey to you, but it literally means corny to everyone else. And corny, it is.

Yep. It’s corny. Not my thing at all. However, it’s also nice. And when you’re coming out of the DMV (and wouldn’t consider all of the nice Midwest colleges) nice is a pleasant change of pace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tufts-- just today, actually. DC already knew it was probably more suburban than they wanted, but the campus just didn't excite them-- architecture was really random, the commercial area near campus was tiny and sort of drab, and the only POCs on campus that we saw (out of many students walking around) were Asian; almost everyone was white. I know two students there who love it but it seems to be a poor fit for my kid.

Davis Square?

[Anonymous]

Cornell. The whole area was desolate, gray, drab.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tufts-- just today, actually. DC already knew it was probably more suburban than they wanted, but the campus just didn't excite them-- architecture was really random, the commercial area near campus was tiny and sort of drab, and the only POCs on campus that we saw (out of many students walking around) were Asian; almost everyone was white. I know two students there who love it but it seems to be a poor fit for my kid.

Davis Square?

That was my thought too. We made a point of walking to Davis Square and while it obviously isn’t right next to campus it’s not far and the kid could weigh its value as both a lively area and access to the T/Boston.

Also I kind of liked the different types of architecture on the main quad but obviously ymmv.

[Anonymous]

We just did spring break with DD (which is more like self guided wandering around during COVID). But she came away with strong feelings. Introvert into humanities and music, which colored her view.

No to:

Tufts: I agree with PP the campus was weird and off putting. And it’s hard to described, but it felt more Greek that the numbers let on. Beer pong out of second story windows, etc.

Hamilton: nixed for the same reason as Kenyon. Just too rural for her. If you don’t have a car, literally nothing off campus is walkable. Greek system also a negative. Kids setting beers outside dorm windows on ledges to chill also made a bad impression. It feel like that with a school that rural with a Greek system alcohol and parties will make up a big piece of social life. And that’s not her thing.

Colby: it’s obvious that Colby right now is sinking a lot of money into athletic facilities. And the number and quality of athletic facilities for a small school really stood out. And did kids walking around campus with LAX sticks and Conby swim and dive shirts. And there was,UCs less emphasis on fine arts. It’s a mismatch for my kid.

Mixed feeling on Northeastern. It’s a new, sprung up in the middle of Boston campus. The metro station is a nice bonus, but we heard “it doesn’t feel like a real college campus”. She probably won’t consider GW for the same reason. Mostly, she’s undecided on the co-op program. Really likes it in theory but isn’t sure about friends constantly leaving and returning for being away 4-6 months. And isn’t sure whether taking 5 years to graduate is better than doing a gap year between college and grad school. I like the focus of giving kids skills for employment.

OTOH, really lived Brown (we’ve been clear that with a 34 ACT and a few Bs on her transcript and no curing of cancer, it’s a high reach), Boston College, Bates. Bowdoin to a lesser extent.

Loved Vassar, which makes sense. She also loves Oberlin. Likes Vasser was an hour train ride from New York, relatively large for for a SLAC ADAs a cute, walkable downtown.

Hope this helps. Not trying to put down any schools. Place like Hamilton have great academics and are great for some kids. Just maybe not my kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard. One of the most unimpressive, inarticulate tour guides we had anywhere. The overall event felt like they were phoning it in and didn't care what people thought.

Interesting- I expected to hate this tour/info session and to my surprise was really impressed by ours. It’s not like Harvard needs to put a big effort in to these tours, but I thought they did a great job. Only thing I didn’t like is the crowd size, probably at least 800 people so it really did feel like the tourist activity that it is. My dd didn’t end up applying there in the end but we both came away with a more favorable view of Harvard than we expected to.

Harvard and Cambridge are incredible. And who decides on a school based on the tour guide? I’m surprised so many people are swayed by that instead of the feel and look of the campus.

This is stupid. I went to MIT and Cambridge is meh, nothing special. Harvard square gets boring after you have been there 3 times. I could never live in Boston. Too small, too white, racist, too cold. Summer is nice though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just did spring break with DD (which is more like self guided wandering around during COVID). But she came away with strong feelings. Introvert into humanities and music, which colored her view.

No to:

Tufts: I agree with PP the campus was weird and off putting. And it’s hard to described, but it felt more Greek that the numbers let on. Beer pong out of second story windows, etc.

Hamilton: nixed for the same reason as Kenyon. Just too rural for her. If you don’t have a car, literally nothing off campus is walkable. Greek system also a negative. Kids setting beers outside dorm windows on ledges to chill also made a bad impression. It feel like that with a school that rural with a Greek system alcohol and parties will make up a big piece of social life. And that’s not her thing.

Colby: it’s obvious that Colby right now is sinking a lot of money into athletic facilities. And the number and quality of athletic facilities for a small school really stood out. And did kids walking around campus with LAX sticks and Conby swim and dive shirts. And there was,UCs less emphasis on fine arts. It’s a mismatch for my kid.

Mixed feeling on Northeastern. It’s a new, sprung up in the middle of Boston campus. The metro station is a nice bonus, but we heard “it doesn’t feel like a real college campus”. She probably won’t consider GW for the same reason. Mostly, she’s undecided on the co-op program. Really likes it in theory but isn’t sure about friends constantly leaving and returning for being away 4-6 months. And isn’t sure whether taking 5 years to graduate is better than doing a gap year between college and grad school. I like the focus of giving kids skills for employment.

OTOH, really lived Brown (we’ve been clear that with a 34 ACT and a few Bs on her transcript and no curing of cancer, it’s a high reach), Boston College, Bates. Bowdoin to a lesser extent.

Loved Vassar, which makes sense. She also loves Oberlin. Likes Vasser was an hour train ride from New York, relatively large for for a SLAC ADAs a cute, walkable downtown.

Hope this helps. Not trying to put down any schools. Place like Hamilton have great academics and are great for some kids. Just maybe not my kid.

The brief description of your child and their likes/dislikes sounds like my DD who is at Oberlin. And with that 34 ACT she can get good money from them. I would definitely give them strong consideration. My DD has loved her peers and the opportunities she's had there and the town, while small and a bit worn down to some, is full of some really great restaurants and coffee shops and all of them are steps from campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would you move to a home/town you had never seen?

I did for college. It is temporary. Big deal. Once you make friends, the setting doesn’t matter as much. Most of the time, you are busy with classes and stuff on campus any way. You can always go abroad or somewhere else for junior year. And if you hate it, transferring is always an option. Life is what you make of it.

[Anonymous]

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.

What you call "high achieving," others would call "status-conscious." They are not synonymous.

Yes. It is well known that Harvard is not the best undergraduate education out there. But many people including me would probably choose it anyway just for the status and name recognition.

[Anonymous]

Christopher Newport. We all came away with the feeling that everything was too new/shiny. It felt fake. Like that movie the Truman Show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard. One of the most unimpressive, inarticulate tour guides we had anywhere. The overall event felt like they were phoning it in and didn't care what people thought.

Interesting- I expected to hate this tour/info session and to my surprise was really impressed by ours. It’s not like Harvard needs to put a big effort in to these tours, but I thought they did a great job. Only thing I didn’t like is the crowd size, probably at least 800 people so it really did feel like the tourist activity that it is. My dd didn’t end up applying there in the end but we both came away with a more favorable view of Harvard than we expected to.

Harvard and Cambridge are incredible. And who decides on a school based on the tour guide? I’m surprised so many people are swayed by that instead of the feel and look of the campus.

This is stupid. I went to MIT and Cambridge is meh, nothing special. Harvard square gets boring after you have been there 3 times. I could never live in Boston. Too small, too white, racist, too cold. Summer is nice though.

Cambridge is definitely not "meh." Charming, world-class city a river away from another one.