Review your spring break college visits / tours
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Anonymous
What do you mean by "bifurcated" housing? |
Anonymous
The freshmen housing is either on-campus or 1.5 miles down the road on the Newton Campus (where the law school is) and they have shuttle service to get to campus. From what was said, it creates a rivalry/camaraderie of sorts between the two housing cohorts - as those that bus in form tight bonds with their cohort since they see them every day on the bus etc. |
Anonymous
Why? You really want your kid to attend those? 
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Anonymous
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We visited 21, over two years. It was fun and interesting, because we spaced it out. Often, the schools were en route (like heading home from a camp in Maine or when visiting family north of Boston).
Dedicated trips included the SLAC’s that cluster in PA, Davidson (NC) and Cornell/Hobart & William Smith. |
Anonymous
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SMCM and MHC were nice, along with Bowdoin and Davidson.
We were underwhelmed by Cornell (big and impersonal, hilly and cold) and Ursinus (strip mall surroundings, pre-professional vibe). YMMV |
Anonymous
| We also loved the vibe at Haverford |
Anonymous
You linked to something saying that the use of coed as a noun is old fashioned. Is that what you meant to say? |
Anonymous
| Worst town was Meadville PA (where Allegheny College is located). Beyond rustbelt sketchy, and an awful drive from the DMV.. |
Anonymous
You are being too DCUM - term can be used for male OR female students. Definition 3 (and latest) |
Anonymous
That’s the definition of its use as an adjective describing something that pertains to or is used by both men and women, as in “a coed school”. That use is fine. Its use as a noun to mean a female student is old-fashioned and somewhat insulting. It comes from when all-male schools first admitted women, who were often looked down on and dismissed. *Especially* using it in combination with only praising them for looking like models, and the poster who used it sounds like a sexist bigoted grandfather. |
Anonymous
Np. Definition #3 is for the use of the word an adjective. Pp was objecting to the term "coed" as a noun. There's a difference. |
Anonymous
So when we arrived on Campus he couldn't figure out what was going on -- it was like an industrial farm? Turns out we came in "the back way" if you will. Once on campus it was very nice - so many different kinds of buildings, it was really hilly (windy and chilly) but there were so many students out and about (mid morning Wednesday). We went into a few academic buildings and everything looked fresh, again, lots of students around. The pre-med student didn't seem stressed and I don't remember her remarking that she was stressed or that school was so hard or competitive or anything like that. I think she was managing from that standpoint. Just perhaps over the whole isolation of school? The other student we met at the welcome center, he ended up running into again when we made it over to the public policy building (and met Becca) - he was excited to show us a wall there where people post about different events, panels etc. He said he had gone to one his first month or two at school, met a professor, and is now helping him with research (as a first year)! Several people in the halls as he was showing us around called out to him by name -- he was super engaged. Will be interesting to see what happens to him in the next few years?! |
Anonymous
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We also visited Syracuse (on the Wednesday after the PP who had snow remaining on Tuesday). I went to graduate school there but knew very little about the undergraduate experience. DD and I were both impressed by the ability to dual enroll (for example, Maxwell and Newhouse), the flexibility w/r/t academic programs, and the enthusiastic students all over campus. I also liked what we heard about class sizes after freshman year and I thought the campus looked much better maintained than I remembered, although that might be influenced by the bright blue sky we had that day -- in my memories it is always gray and dreary in Syracuse. DD was swayed a bit by the tour guide's enthusiasm for attending D1 sports events. I think it is likely she will apply.
Our other visits included UVM, McGill and Barnard, with Barnard the top favorite for DD but it would be a reach. Last fall we visited Haverford, Swarthmore, Temple, and Drexel -- of those we have visited, my number one school for DD would be Haverford but she has decided she is not interested in a SLAC. (With the exception of Barnard ... I think the location and relationship to Columbia mitigate its size in her mind.) |
Anonymous
Would you mind sharing more details about your visits to Bowdoin and Davidson, what you liked/didn't like? Also what are SMCM and MHC? |
Anonymous
| We visited FSU and UF over spring break. While both schools were gorgeous, FSU was definitely more so and more walkable (as the campus was more compact. UF is a much larger and widespread campus. Also, UF had a lot of construction going on. Both tours were your typical college tours (i.e. guides taking you to the major buildings, giving some explanation and answering questions). However, between the two FSU did a better job. Both tours were for admitted students and so both provided a bag with some swag (though the FSU provided better swag - including a meal voucher and socks). Despite the fact that FSU did a better job regarding the tour, my child will most likely choose UF (based on his program of interest). |