what "good" college did you attend but would not necessarily recommend to your kids or others?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Colgate University, no way I would send my student there. Education was decent though not exceptional. But man, the isolation was terrible. Then add long, dark winters and heavy Greek life. I can list 100+ schools that offer the same education with better climate and proximity to cities, culture, etc. Even if your student were someone who wanted a more rural campus, there are many others that offer that option better than Colgate.

Was terrible for my best friend at the time for all the reasons you listed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/freshmen-least-most-likely-return


Most of the top schools have exceptionally high retention rates. There are always going to be those who complain about their experiences. The vast majority of students attending the schools listed above at the upper end of the spectrum must be doing something right. Take that into consideration when reading these comments.

This is a great reference.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA 99%
University of Chicago Chicago, IL 99%
Columbia University New York, NY 98%
Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD 98%
Northwestern University Evanston, IL 98%
University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 98%
Brown University Providence, RI 97%
California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA 97%
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 97%
Cornell University Ithaca, NY 97%
Dartmouth College Hanover, NH 97%
Duke University Durham, NC 97%
Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA 97%
Northeastern University Boston, MA 97%
Rice University Houston, TX 97%
University of California--Berkeley Berkeley, CA 97%
University of California--Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 97%
University of Florida Gainesville, FL 97%
University of Michigan--Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI 97%
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 97%
University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA 97%
Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN 97%
Georgetown University Washington, DC 96%
Stanford University Stanford, CA 96%
University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 96%
University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 96%
Villanova University Villanova, PA 96%
Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO 96%
Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA 95%
Tufts University Medford, MA 95%
University of Georgia Athens, GA 95%
University of Maryland--College Park College Park, MD 95%
University of Rochester Rochester, NY 95%
University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 95%
University of Wisconsin--Madison Madison, WI 95%
William & Mary Williamsburg, VA 95%
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA 95%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/freshmen-least-most-likely-return


Most of the top schools have exceptionally high retention rates. There are always going to be those who complain about their experiences. The vast majority of students attending the schools listed above at the upper end of the spectrum must be doing something right. Take that into consideration when reading these comments.

OP here.

There is a HUGE gulf between not recommending a school to your kid and hating it so much that you dropped out. Good grief.
I'm not going to enthusiastically suggest my daughter go to CWRU. I think she can have a better experience elsewhere. However, I wasn't miserable enough that I dropped out and moved home or transferred. The vast, VAST majority of students will stick out a less-than-ideal experience (especially at a competitive school).

+1. Transferring is hard, for a number of reasons, and IMO the decision to leave a top college is a particularly fraught one. Most kids have worked very hard to get there, and as a group they are accustomed to pushing themselves through difficult circumstances. Most of them place a high value on attending a top school, but many of those schools are full of competitive, striving students. If you decide that's not the atmosphere you want, where do you transfer to? There aren't many students who want to leave Chicago to go to UIUC, even if doing so would make them happier. So they stay at Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/freshmen-least-most-likely-return


Most of the top schools have exceptionally high retention rates. There are always going to be those who complain about their experiences. The vast majority of students attending the schools listed above at the upper end of the spectrum must be doing something right. Take that into consideration when reading these comments. [/quote]

+100
Excellent point
If some of the schools mentioned in this thread were that bad why do they have 95/94% retention rates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown - Graduated in 1989. The school hasn't repaired, replaced or updated one single thing since I was there. Even the graffiti is still there. The same old broken stair railing too !!

They updated some rooms in White-Gravenor. there is tons of new construction since 1989. TONS!

But the old crap is still old and crappy. Yep a few rooms here, a sports field there. It's so very run down for the price. I literally noticed some of the exact same issues from 1989.

As someone who worked at Georgetown for a long time, I can say unequivocally that the campus is a dump. The school is notorious for under-investing in its physical plant. Sure, they put up new buildings once in a while (and have eradicated all green space except Healy Lawn in the process), but they don't maintain their facilities. Academic buildings and residences alike suffer from a myriad of plumbing, sewage, mold, and pest issues -- issues that only grow worse over time.

My kid is deciding between Georgetown and Notre Dame. Not a Catholic but coincidentally turned out that way.
Visited Georgetown and was not impressed that much.
Visiting Notre Dame in two weeks. Hope it turns out better.

Night and day, literally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Colgate University, no way I would send my student there. Education was decent though not exceptional. But man, the isolation was terrible. Then add long, dark winters and heavy Greek life. I can list 100+ schools that offer the same education with better climate and proximity to cities, culture, etc. Even if your student were someone who wanted a more rural campus, there are many others that offer that option better than Colgate.

Was terrible for my best friend at the time for all the reasons you listed.

Were outdoorsy types happy at colgate? If you like to ski, skate, hike, run, backpack, kayak, etc....is it a good option?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Colgate University, no way I would send my student there. Education was decent though not exceptional. But man, the isolation was terrible. Then add long, dark winters and heavy Greek life. I can list 100+ schools that offer the same education with better climate and proximity to cities, culture, etc. Even if your student were someone who wanted a more rural campus, there are many others that offer that option better than Colgate.

Was terrible for my best friend at the time for all the reasons you listed.

Were outdoorsy types happy at colgate? If you like to ski, skate, hike, run, backpack, kayak, etc....is it a good option?

It's a good option if you are a binge alcoholic and plan to make that your personality for four years.

[Anonymous]

Penn. Much too pre-professional. Too Greek. I did not recommend it to my kid. I didn’t really think about it when I applied and how it would affect the vibe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penn. Much too pre-professional. Too Greek. I did not recommend it to my kid. I didn’t really think about it when I applied and how it would affect the vibe.

My child has 2 freshman friends there this year and they both hate it. I know, sample of 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Michigan

-- overwhelmingly huge; over 50,000 students, 30,000 undergrads
-- dovetailing above, bureaucracy is bloated beyond belief; it's daunting and exhausting
-- bottom 20% of LSA are legitimately dumb
-- location is cold and grey most of the school year
-- Mid-Michigan is dreary and isolated; spare me the Ann Arbor "great" college town rankings nonsense
-- Greek life and pseudo pro sports control campus
-- Lots of cocaine use
-- Everyone from out of state was rejected from all private top 20s and the top UC campuses, so they have an obnoxious insecure chip on their shoulder
-- dovetailing above, there's a lot of over-the-top and tacky bragging and flashing of money

If you truly seek a school environment like Michigan, I'm not sure why you wouldn't just go to USC. Or even Georgia, Clemson, UNC, Texas, UVA, Alabama. Honestly, nobody cares about Michigan's "top 30" standing, our BA/BS degrees are treated like any other large public university.

Funny, I have a kid there now and their experience seems to be radically different than yours. They LOVE it, are doing very well academically and have had great research and internship opportunities through the alumni network.

Nobody calls their baby ugly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard. The opposite of nurturing. Very sink or swim. Lots of teaching by graduate students.

+1 I opted for Harvard over Pomona, and regret it. Focused on excellent LACs for my kids.

+2 re Harvard. Discouraged DC from applying. I had an okay time but a lot of my friends were completely miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VA Tech Engineering.
I recommend my kids to go out of state and explore.

Is this the only reason? Did you otherwise like it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown - Graduated in 1989. The school hasn't repaired, replaced or updated one single thing since I was there. Even the graffiti is still there. The same old broken stair railing too !!

They updated some rooms in White-Gravenor. there is tons of new construction since 1989. TONS!

But the old crap is still old and crappy. Yep a few rooms here, a sports field there. It's so very run down for the price. I literally noticed some of the exact same issues from 1989.

As someone who worked at Georgetown for a long time, I can say unequivocally that the campus is a dump. The school is notorious for under-investing in its physical plant. Sure, they put up new buildings once in a while (and have eradicated all green space except Healy Lawn in the process), but they don't maintain their facilities. Academic buildings and residences alike suffer from a myriad of plumbing, sewage, mold, and pest issues -- issues that only grow worse over time.

Yup, surprised nobody has shared this Instagram account yet. A good picture of what awaits the new Georgetown freshman. https://www.instagram.com/p/CTKhM5sAJQ_/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown - Graduated in 1989. The school hasn't repaired, replaced or updated one single thing since I was there. Even the graffiti is still there. The same old broken stair railing too !!

They updated some rooms in White-Gravenor. there is tons of new construction since 1989. TONS!

But the old crap is still old and crappy. Yep a few rooms here, a sports field there. It's so very run down for the price. I literally noticed some of the exact same issues from 1989.

As someone who worked at Georgetown for a long time, I can say unequivocally that the campus is a dump. The school is notorious for under-investing in its physical plant. Sure, they put up new buildings once in a while (and have eradicated all green space except Healy Lawn in the process), but they don't maintain their facilities. Academic buildings and residences alike suffer from a myriad of plumbing, sewage, mold, and pest issues -- issues that only grow worse over time.

Yup, surprised nobody has shared this Instagram account yet. A good picture of what awaits the new Georgetown freshman. https://www.instagram.com/p/CTKhM5sAJQ_/

Oh my god.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke. So insanely pompous, and the kids there wear their pretense on their sleeves. Also extremely "white". Racism and micro-aggressions are fairly standard, and the Greek life only magnifies those issues.

+1 And too lax bro-y. I know it's harder to get into now but seems like the entitled rich kid frat culture is still dominant.

Did you actually attend?