Anonymous wrote:My daughter is scared to death of alligators/crocodiles. She's the kid who didn't go on the elementary school tour because they were going to an alligator reserve. We go to visit UF, and I am not joking, there were gators EVERYWHERE. Not just cute little statues or pictures on t-shirts. There's a literal lake/stream with gators swimming in them right on campus.

Your daughter is the finest product of millions of years of human evolution. She deserves a campus free of apex predator reptiles!

Anonymous wrote:We stayed at Ann Arbor's "The Graduate" last March - awful! We still joke about how bad it was!!

Good to know. Was it quirky? The Providence one was very wacky (sort of RISD themed). But underneath were the bones of a gracious old city hotel.

By quirky I mean the chandelier was a plastic giant clamshell, the walls had pictures of famous locals, there were unusual and loud patterns for the upholstery and textiles, etc. I would go back to that one. But my kid decided to go to Michigan and not apply to Brown.

Previous posters gave me flashbacks...I also did MBA job interviews in hotel rooms. Wasn't freaked out about it then but yeah that seems "very sketch" by today's standards.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine only wanted schools with a walkable Chick fil a

This but Dunkin.

This but Chipotle.

Anonymous wrote:One of mine only wanted to go to a school with unlimited swipes in the dining hall. Another one said no to a school if he thought the logo/design on the basketball court was "ugly." And no, my DC was not an athlete and would only be attending basketball games as a fan.

I don’t think the unlimited swipes thing is silly at all. I hear that BC freshman are so hungry all the time because they nickel and dime them at the cafeteria (and it’s really an issue for those on limited budgets).

My DS wanted to apply to WashU because he heard the dorms have Tempur-Pedic mattresses.

Anonymous wrote:I won’t say the school, but I was on a tour with my junior son last year. At one point, the tour guide, a sophomore, admitted the school had a library but she didn’t know why people went there.

So opposite University of Michigan. We LOVED the tour and had the two cutest guides. We were definitely on a library tour though - they pointed out every library and how much they studied in each one. My husband found this a definite +100, my son was neutral on it. I kept taking pictures because I love anything book related and one of the libraries was straight out of Harry Potter.
He can go to Michigan, parent-approved.

I won’t say the school, but I was on a tour with my junior son last year. At one point, the tour guide, a sophomore, admitted the school had a library but she didn’t know why people went there.

My daughter is scared to death of alligators/crocodiles. She's the kid who didn't go on the elementary school tour because they were going to an alligator reserve. We go to visit UF, and I am not joking, there were gators EVERYWHERE. Not just cute little statues or pictures on t-shirts. There's a literal lake/stream with gators swimming in them right on campus.

I don't think there are any truly fine hotels in Ann Arbor even today. I might try "The Graduate" chain's redo if I had hopes. The Providence version of that hotel chain was nice.

We stayed at Ann Arbor's "The Graduate" last March - awful! We still joke about how bad it was!!

I don't think there are any truly fine hotels in Ann Arbor even today. I might try "The Graduate" chain's redo if I had hopes. The Providence version of that hotel chain was nice.

We stayed at Ann Arbor's "The Graduate" last March - awful! We still joke about how bad it was!!

Anonymous wrote:Every time we visited a school we ate in the dining hall. My son ruled out every school that had lousy pizza or a bad ice cream selection. Can’t say I really blame him!

+1 for eating on campus - lots of schools ruled out for really bad food. It sounds silly, but they've gotta eat!

DC very particular about library lighting. Too bright is apparently disqualifying.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not necessarily funny but The Bell Tower hotel in Ann Arbor is supposedly the best hotel, and we get in our room, which totally looks like grandma's house, and even had a crystal dish with a bunch of hard candies (butterscotch and starlight mints, plus the wintergreen ones) just like grandma. I don't think they were being ironic. It was bizarre.

I am a Michigan grad and dined there once. I totally see what you mean and got a good laugh. I don't think there are any truly fine hotels in Ann Arbor even today. I might try "The Graduate" chain's redo if I had hopes. The Providence version of that hotel chain was nice.

I have always wanted to try The Statler in Ithaca but can't afford it. I am not in the $600 per night price bracket (yet). (It was late August...)

I went to Cornell Law when they did law firm on-campus interviews at the Statler. Just you, (usually) some dude and a small room with a big bed.

Similarly, interviewed for Vandy at a hotel in L.A. - just you, the interviewer and the bed sitting there. So weird. I hope those days are over.

Anonymous wrote:Every time we visited a school we ate in the dining hall. My son ruled out every school that had lousy pizza or a bad ice cream selection. Can’t say I really blame him!

never thought to do this - actually a brilliant idea

My friend’s kid ruled out a school because they kept talking on the tour about how much fun the students have at that school. The rationale was that if they had to say it multiple times, then the kids were definitely NOT having fun.