What school dropped off the list because of your visit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went to grad school at Vanderbilt sight unseen because it was the top in my field and it was a huge mistake. The women there dress up just to go to regular classes. Was so strange to see coming from a northern undergrad. For a school with such bright students it had an old fashioned, off-putting “my main goal is to meet my husband” vibe.

it's your internalized misogyny for me

I attended Vandy in the late 80’s and there was some dressing up (like for football games), but the poster has overplayed it. Vandy is very similar to UVA in its attire. There’s nothing wrong with showering before class, combing/brushing your hair, and wearing some clean clothes other than a worn T-shirt and gym shorts.

UVA alum here. Nobody dressed up for class. In fact, barely anyone dressed up to go to bars. I was so surprised by how laid back it all was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went to grad school at Vanderbilt sight unseen because it was the top in my field and it was a huge mistake. The women there dress up just to go to regular classes. Was so strange to see coming from a northern undergrad. For a school with such bright students it had an old fashioned, off-putting “my main goal is to meet my husband” vibe.

it's your internalized misogyny for me

I agree with both of you. it can be the wrong vibe for you, doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt, William and Mary,

Princeton, university of Chicago,

People keep saying William & Mary — I’d love to know why. We were going to do a walk-ourselves-around tour over spring break but maybe my daughter won’t have an opportunity to get a good enough sense of the place without a tour guide.

My kid did a summer program there and crossed it off his list based on that. The program itself was great. Many of the other boys were OOS private school DBs who were warned, and one sent home, for sexually harassing a female counselor (so much for the perceived admissions edge) and he really didn’t like that vibe I kept telling him that was a summer program problem and not a W&M problem. But, it stuck. The August weather was awful even for a DMV kid, which again I kept telling him was a summer program issue.

The big issue with the college itself for my kid seemed to be that for a DMV kid used spending parts of the year living near tourist Mecca, the charm of living in the middle of tourist Mecca wears off fast. It’s very charming to visit. But day in and day out, you’re living your life and attending college in the middle of an elaborate theater production. That point was fair.

Also dropped off:

Kenyon, which DH and I loved. Just too rural for him. I still think he would have liked it if he had gone.

Case. We made the mistake of doing a summer walk around when the admissions office wasn’t operating tours and it was just deal. I think a school year visit would have made a difference.

W&L. Did I mention private school DBs are not his cup of tea? I agree it would have been a bad fit.

Denison. Again, not what he was going for

Going on after a visit (if this helps):

Pitt— it’s not what we imagined a large state school to be. The CMU and Pittsburgh proximity was great, and the campus felt smaller than the school is.

Oberlin— it was a Kenyon add on. I think Oberlin is one your kid will love or hate, depending on how they feel about quirky, creative performing arts kids. The town was actually small and charming. I do think it’s a high poverty area and Oberlin is the economic driver. That’s not unusual for SLACs.

St. Olaf— this was the add on to Carleton and Mac. Because we were in MN, so why not. It’s hard to describe. A very special place.

[Anonymous]

Boston University- no discernible campus.

As for the W&M droppers- I have a kid there now. Loved the campus within a few minutes of being there. Tour guide was fabulous. She had lots of interactions with other undergrads while on the tour- seemed like a friendly place. As it turns out- it is the perfect place for my kid!! That said- I have a friend whose kid hated the Colonial Williamsburg proximity. There is a place for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yale. The campus is fine but the surrounding area is not.

I think the surrounding area is fantastic. I've lived there and also Cambridge. But these days Yale students don't seem all that happy as a group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boston University- no discernible campus.

As for the W&M droppers- I have a kid there now. Loved the campus within a few minutes of being there. Tour guide was fabulous. She had lots of interactions with other undergrads while on the tour- seemed like a friendly place. As it turns out- it is the perfect place for my kid!! That said- I have a friend whose kid hated the Colonial Williamsburg proximity. There is a place for everyone.

This is true as well, a lot of kids don’t like the proximity to Colonial Williamsburg which is literally adjacent.

[Anonymous]

Occidental. It was too hard to walk to anything, and the places you could walk to were pretty boring anyway. There also weren't enough quirky, artsy, interesting students.

BUT I think may people on DCUM would like it very much. The campus was pretty. The students were nice and smart. Internship opportunities abound. And it's one of the few excellent SLACs in California.

Other campuses that just seemed a bit too boring included Williams, Swarthmore, Haverford and Grinnell. The schools themselves seemed fine, depending on what you like.

Michigan, Wisconsin, UCLA and Washington all seemed nice but too big for my kid.

Colleges where the visit elevated our view included Wesleyan, Amherst, Oberlin, Beloit, Lawrence, Carleton, Macalester and Puget Sound. Some of those (Wesleyan, Oberlin, Beloit) were in small cities and towns but the campuses were lively, which makes up for a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
UVA.

DC is in at Columbia.


Sounds like a humble brag, not a drop based on a site visit.


Nope. DC wanted an urban feel.

Definitely a brag, not that humble. The question only asked which schools dropped off the list.

[Anonymous]

Wesleyan (depressing)
Lehigh (didn't like the overwhelming Greek life presence, uninspiring tour guide)
Boston College (big student info session with 10-15 students wtih all white students - couldn't they find a single student of color to participate?, horrible tour guide, boring surburban campus)

All three of these seemed like great matches on paper but immediately off the list after a visit.

[Anonymous]

Bucknell--the presentation by the admissions office was abysmal and it's very isolated. Neither parents nor kids liked it. Unfortunate b/c we keep hearing good things about the academics.

William and Mary--the presentation by the admissions officer was superb and we all liked the campus; but the kids didn't like Williamsburg, finding it too small and dull. Disappointing for parents.

[Anonymous]

Villanova - nice campus, but culture and environment was too outwardly Catholic to us (as compared with Georgetown).

UMCP - same comments about the architecture and depressing mood of the campus. Also the fact that moment your car stops in College Park a traffic cop runs over to slap a parking ticket.

VT - everyone seemed happy but the central space feels and looks like a Gothic prison

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale. The campus is fine but the surrounding area is not.

I think the surrounding area is fantastic. I've lived there and also Cambridge. But these days Yale students don't seem all that happy as a group.

We only drove around a little and didn't like the area surrounding Yale. The streets within walking distance of the admission office are good. Cambridge is a much better location in our opinion.

[Anonymous]

College park is one of the ugliest campuses I’ve ever seen, sadly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:William and Mary for my daughter, that sample dorm room they show you on the tour.... ugh not homey at all. Was a shame because if they hadn't shown the dorm room it would have climbed to do the top of the list. Loved the campus and the vibe though my daughter noticed not alot of cute boys lol.

Also Georgetown, not that we were going to get in, but we went a few times just to explore and the last time we were there almost stepped on a dead rat in the middle of the walkway. That was enough to scare my son away once he read that rats and roaches are a big problem there. I'm sure that happens everywhere but it was a turnoff lol

So both you and your son applied? If you both got in, was the plan to be roommates?

Why are you so offended by that that you need to point it out on every thread? I get it... Your kid does everything on their own and is paying on their own too....or you are paying but it's still only their experience alone...or it's your experience to an extent too, but only you know the acceptable way to talk about it.... Just stop. Parents using those words does not mean their children aren't highly independent and capable. You protest to the point it makes me think you have some regrets about your hands off strategy....

NP here. THANK YOU! And regarding Pedantic Parent's long explanation above, no one asked you.

There's a lot on this thread, like almost every other, that nobody asked for. I still think using the royal we when talking about your kid's college search is pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:William and Mary for my daughter, that sample dorm room they show you on the tour.... ugh not homey at all. Was a shame because if they hadn't shown the dorm room it would have climbed to do the top of the list. Loved the campus and the vibe though my daughter noticed not alot of cute boys lol.

Also Georgetown, not that we were going to get in, but we went a few times just to explore and the last time we were there almost stepped on a dead rat in the middle of the walkway. That was enough to scare my son away once he read that rats and roaches are a big problem there. I'm sure that happens everywhere but it was a turnoff lol

So both you and your son applied? If you both got in, was the plan to be roommates?

Do you think that is clever?

Not particularly, but that poster takes the plural to the extreme. I mean, c'mon. It's one thing to say "we were looking at XYZ school," but ti say "we were going to get in?" Seriously? It's over the top hyperinvestment.

haha since I don't actually spend all day sitting at my computer finally getting back on to see all this hullabaloo about my choice of the word "We". You are just so witty it's overwhelming. In fact, the reason I said "we" is that I actually have twins so when WE went college touring, it was out whole family and I tend to think in the collective when responding since I'm speaking for two. I suppose in order not to offend you all I could have said "my twins" but why spend 7 letters when 2 will do the same?

You sound like Ted Cruz the way you backtrack. Sorry, it still isn't "we."