Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wake Forest was pretty horrible. Just not a great vibe at all.

It felt like a private high school. Very small.

Sheesh. Weird since it has grown since I was there in the 90s.

I knew Notre Dame was Catholic, but didn’t realize how Catholic. It was like driving up to Vatican. The architecture, icons, priests, 80% students are Catholic, etc..

Nothing wrong with it, but it’s not a good cultural fit for someone who is not Catholic.

Northeastern. The auditorium was ancient. A dean spoke and then brought an awkward student to speak of his experience he made no eye contact and looked at the floor. The campus is claustrophobically tight with zero green space.

Weather matters. If you want your kid to love a school and it is bad weather on tour day, take the tour, but schedule to visit again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA, don’t understand all the hype

The hype is only local. Outside of the DMV it is not as well regarded or known. It is a regional school in that regard.

Oh, it’s you again.

It's the parent whose kids did not get into UVA even though they had perfect 1600 SATs and they have never gotten over it.

Anonymous wrote:Wake Forest was pretty horrible. Just not a great vibe at all.

It felt like a private high school. Very small.

Every tour but one was awful. Revealed things that were necessary to know but surprisingly covered up.
On one tour, I was actually left behind and got lost. Obviously that made a very bad impression. Very good school, but that student tour guide was cold and disinterested.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA, don’t understand all the hype

The hype is only local. Outside of the DMV it is not as well regarded or known. It is a regional school in that regard.

This is complete bull

I’m surprised the “UVA is regional” poster is still around. Or it’s a kid from rival VT or UMD. UVA is the no 3 public in the US per USNWR. That’s hardly “regional” as UCLA, Berkeley snd Michigan are not regional.

UCLA, Berkeley, and Michigan are internationally well known. UVA not so much.

#125 of global universities (top 5%). I'd consider that internationally well known.

Anonymous wrote:I went to UPenn as a grad student and never understand the hate. The larger size is definitely a selling point, and the undergrads I knew had a great time socially. Locust walk is beautiful.

To us, it felt like the quintessential college campus when we toured - thought it was really beautiful.

Marymount. Didn't realize how tiny it actually is and the athletic field the size of an elementary school yard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s so strange to hear how many tour guides are poor representatives. Isn’t there usually a screening process? You would think those types would be weeded out

It's just parents not respecting that students can be different from their own. Every time I talk to parents about these "horrible" tours, they are angry, because the kid isn't some attractive blonde guy in the Econ department who is a super whizz but also a partier but not too into partying. They can't accept that some kids are shut ins, others are nerdy beyond measure, or have neurodivergence.

You need to stop being so invested about the negatives others think about job individual tour guides do just because your kid has the same job. If a neurodivergent doctor or teacher is cold and standoffish, are we allowed to have impressions about him and his practice/school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we just stop with the threads that drag tour guides. Students are allowed to have a bad day. They sign up for tour duty and then life sometimes happens in the meantime.

Show some grace. Maybe we can just cut this thread?

I appreciate the feedback of the tours.

Then I guess you can't put yourselves in the shoes of a kid giving a tour. Or a parent of a tour guide who watches these threads fill with comments tearing them apart.

New poster: but it can be a major part of a kid’s view of a school. Those views are based on valid personal experiences and are also allowed to be posted here. We ran into some teens at a school in the large auditorium before the tours began. 2 of whom we spoke to afterwards all had different guides.

1. Us: great guide, improved our impression of the school greatly.

2. Guide was flat, told few stories, and acted as if reading a script. That lack of enthusiasm transferred to the kid we knew in the tour.


3. Guide was an apparent introvert and said did not join a lot of things on campus but talked about study locations.

Before the tours began, all three teens were going to apply. After, only mine did. Tours are very important to impressions!

PS - we were recently traveling and signed up for a local tour for a school my kid had not even considered. Tour guide was an intl student and amazing. When the tour finished my kid said it is the number one sch right now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:William and Mary. Horribly dull, current students wouldn't look anyone in the eye, dreary feel all around.

Students at W&M hate the tours bc they always block pathways and academic buildings and I don't blame them.

DP. Tours block the way on all campuses. Students usually take it in stride and more often than not, smile or interact graciously. Not at W&M. One of many total turnoffs at that school.

Students do not at all care about you touring. They just want you to get out of their way.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:William and Mary. Horribly dull, current students wouldn't look anyone in the eye, dreary feel all around.

Students at W&M hate the tours bc they always block pathways and academic buildings and I don't blame them.

DP. Tours block the way on all campuses. Students usually take it in stride and more often than not, smile or interact graciously. Not at W&M. One of many total turnoffs at that school.

Students do not at all care about you touring. They just want you to get out of their way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:William and Mary. Horribly dull, current students wouldn't look anyone in the eye, dreary feel all around.

Students at W&M hate the tours bc they always block pathways and academic buildings and I don't blame them.

DP. Tours block the way on all campuses. Students usually take it in stride and more often than not, smile or interact graciously. Not at W&M. One of many total turnoffs at that school.