Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 12:04     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
“ VT has a hulking fortresssy military vibe.”

Yes! We felt that way about it too. We were shocked because we went in expecting to love it and because DD wants a STEM major. Nope. I felt like we were crossing Tiananmen Square when we had to cross that big military quad.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:49     Subject: Re:Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:A lower ranked school that doesn’t get a lot of love on here, but my entire family loved Rhodes. I was surprised myself.

Stunning campus, small classes and engaged teachers and students, great pre med to med school track, a service/volunteer requirement to graduate, friendly kids who are neither too conservative or too ‘woke’ seeming, and in an interesting vibrant city, Memphis. (And yes, we know there’s crime in larger Memphis, the admission tour addressed it and advises students on what areas to avoid). Dc thought she wanted a SLAC, but so many of them are in small, boring towns. This school really hit the mark in so many ways.


+1 It's a great school, and I know quite a few grads--all very nice and smart! I so think Memphis crime is a big issue that's not being adequately addressed by Memphis leaders.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:47     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
+1 on Indiana. Too bad its board is lurching to the far right. It is otherwise a great campus. Absolutely beautiful, accessible and charming.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:43     Subject: Re:Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:A lower ranked school that doesn’t get a lot of love on here, but my entire family loved Rhodes. I was surprised myself.

Stunning campus, small classes and engaged teachers and students, great pre med to med school track, a service/volunteer requirement to graduate, friendly kids who are neither too conservative or too ‘woke’ seeming, and in an interesting vibrant city, Memphis. (And yes, we know there’s crime in larger Memphis, the admission tour addressed it and advises students on what areas to avoid). Dc thought she wanted a SLAC, but so many of them are in small, boring towns. This school really hit the mark in so many ways.


Had a friend whose dd attended and hated it. Lots of issues with cafeteria and just generally left her miserable. Kid graduated early.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:41     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:I was pleasantly surprised by Indiana! Beautiful campus (I was surprised), cute adjacent college town, strong programs in business, music and foreign languages- I think it's called the Lugar center? Good hourly shuttle service to Indianapolis airport. Kids were friendly.


It’s gorgeous.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:40     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

UGA- Exceeded expectations


It's a very good school with a great campus, and Athens is a very fun town. Their honors program is top-notch, too.


Not sure if true, but I have heard that UGA also has a football team.


Lolz!!!
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:37     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Tours can be a double-edged sword. In some ways the Covid kids had it best - no pressure to tour, no getting swayed by silly things like weather or a bad guide. OTOH I know of several kids that year that wound up at really bad fits.

Surprised on the upside:
BU - good energy, great for a kid who wanted urban (but we are in NYC and I want them to leave for college so NYU was not on the list)
Wesleyan - thought it might be too woke, but there seemed to be a nice mix of kids. Small but not painfully so.
Williams - I thought the campus was beautiful (it was too small for DC)
Georgetown- so much great energy, you really felt that you were in the political center of the universe. Did not see issues with "garbage" that other posters have mentioned.
Pitt - the NICEST people and great energy.
Binghamton - everything about it felt really solid, and the in-state bargain is hard to pass up.

Surprised on the downside:
Penn - smug tour guide, overly competitive vibe, campus an odd jumble of construction.
Tufts - so painfully dreary and nerdy. I wanted this to be DC's ED choice and he wouldn't even apply afterwards.
Haverford - woke hell.

I did not go to the Chicago/Northwestern tour but DC loved both and is at one of those now.


I am curious how you can tell from a visit/tour that a school is "woke hell." I feel like they all acknowledge native lands, etc...what was it about the tour that made you feel this way? (it's on our list but haven't toured yet so this is a legitimate question and not trying to start a debate).


It's a good question. I am not allergic to all things woke, but Haverford felt very heavy handed. First, the native lands thing went on and on - like an entire history lesson. It seemed like the entire tour wound around FGLI/LGBT - like, instead of "here's the student center" it was "here's where the LGBT groups meet in the student center." Haverford also runs by honor code, which is theoretically admirable, but it seemed like in practice the students were encouraged to rat each other out, which made me uncomfortable and wonder whether kids are judged on how well they fit into the "community."
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:36     Subject: Re:Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
A lower ranked school that doesn’t get a lot of love on here, but my entire family loved Rhodes. I was surprised myself.

Stunning campus, small classes and engaged teachers and students, great pre med to med school track, a service/volunteer requirement to graduate, friendly kids who are neither too conservative or too ‘woke’ seeming, and in an interesting vibrant city, Memphis. (And yes, we know there’s crime in larger Memphis, the admission tour addressed it and advises students on what areas to avoid). Dc thought she wanted a SLAC, but so many of them are in small, boring towns. This school really hit the mark in so many ways.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:32     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Jesuit edition:

Georgetown - on paper so perfect, we couldn't believe how much we all disliked it. So much so we went back and did the tour again a few months later. Still turned off. Presentation was blah, but we could get over that. Campus was run down. Dining hall full of kids 1 per table looking at phones. So many sweatshirts from other colleges on campus (never a great sign). and Georgetown, sadly, is no longer a vibrant college area - lots of Brooklinen and Warby Parker shops.

Marquette. In Milwaukee for a wedding and took a tour. Liked it a lot, including the 1:1 tour. So good to have a safety early on we would have been thrilled with. Merit too. And Milwaukee is an underrated city. great food. great music. general good QOL

BC. underwhelmed, pretty but just felt like generic suburban kids.

Santa Clara. a little underwhelmed by presentation and kids we met, but campus is greats, loads of opportunities, best outcomes.

Fordham, way nicer than expected but def felt regional. Also great outcomes.

Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:25     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:In VA, I didn't expect to like UVA as much as I did. Loved William and Mary. Really did not like Virginia Tech.

Privates, we loved Georgetown, loved Haverford, loved Amherst. I thought son would love BC but he was so-so about it.


Same. Loved UVA and W&M. Very special campuses.

VT has a hulking fortresssy military vibe.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:23     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am now touring schools with my 4th kid, so I have been on A LOT of tours. UGA is the best tour I have been on and it isn’t even close. I wasn’t expecting to love the campus and Athens so much. Playing REM while everyone was settling into the info session gave off such a fun vibe.


+1Go Dawgs!! Athens is a beautiful small, friendly city; and UGA is beautiful and provides an excellent education!


It really was great there, from the moment we walked into the conference room we felt the enthusiasm. Our tour guides were energetic, not cheesy and engaging with prospectives. It was the only tour where a guide asked to walk side by side with each kid who was willing as we went from stop to stop. In the end my kid didn't attend b/c they got into their top program at another school (UGA didn't offer the same program), but it was definitely right up there until the end.


PP here. Glad to hear about your great experience at UGA and happy that your child found the right fit! It's wonderful when our kids are happy and doing well!
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:20     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Didn't like BU - bailed on the tour halfway through.


We had a good, engaging tour guide and the students we encountered were friendly, but you have to like an urban school. One of the top choices last year for my DS.


+1
We liked BU, but NYU didn’t really click with us.
Surprisingly, the two schools feel very different in terms of their urban setting. BU has more of a contained campus vibe, mostly students hanging around, while NYU feels busy and touristy.



BU and NYU are often paired, but this is correct, NYU is different from BU, which is more like a smaller Cal. My DS liked NYU as well, really liked how it is integrated into the urban environment, but it is polarizing.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:19     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:With #1 we toured broadly to see a variety of types of schools...

CNU - campus felt overly pristine, Greek life felt really dominant (mainly because all the tour guides were in Greek life), felt like business/"leadership" were the priorities, not sciences since none of the tour guides had a science major and none of those facilities were included on the tour. (obviously, they do have plenty for the sciences but this is her impression from the visit)


We just toured CNU and this was our impression as well. The campus is gorgeous, but inside it feels a bit like a posh hotel rather than a school. Dorms were amazing though. My child will also be STEM major and all of our tour guides were either business, english or history majors. One person was a math major. Everyone was smart and very well spoken though. Not sure if it will be the right fit for my kid though, but it is a contender.

Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:16     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
In VA, I didn't expect to like UVA as much as I did. Loved William and Mary. Really did not like Virginia Tech.

Privates, we loved Georgetown, loved Haverford, loved Amherst. I thought son would love BC but he was so-so about it.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 11:16     Subject: Re:Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:With DC1:

Wanted to Like but Hated: UVA (awful tour, snobby students both on tour and ones we know from home) and Catholic U (it’s DC, way too urban)

Wanted to like and thought OK: JMU, Franciscan

Liked way more than anticipated: Longwood, WVU

With DC2:

No, thank you (wanted to like, just didn’t): Ole Miss and Kentucky

Mom (and School field trip tour) made me do it and still hated it: UVA (after three strikes….you’re out)

Knew it would be liked (and did): VT and Auburn

Way better than we all thought: Tennessee

Still to Come (so advice and experience appreciated!): Texas A&M, LSU, Shenandoah, and ODU (loved hearing positive vibes on the last three from upthread!!)



I’m the poster who liked Shenandoah and ODU. They are completely different schools, obviously. But I hope you enjoy your visits. I think it helped that we visited for a planned event day vs just going on the everyday tour.

Thanks! That’s our “plan”. DC2 really wants the Big SEC experience (can’t you tell from the list 😜 ) but these two in-state options probably appeal the most.


Not sure ODU lives up to the SEC, but we did eat lunch in the football stadium. They have beaten Tech there a couple times

Full disclosure - my child had already attended their dance intensive twice (it was a day program vs dorming), so already knew those facilities. They never took her on a full campus tour, so it was nice to see more than just that one building. My parents own a condo on the Bay, so we are somewhat familiar with the area. The surrounding part of Norfolk isn’t the best, but the campus itself is nice and fairly self contained. The Norfolk waterfront is a tourist area with restaurants and museums. And there is of course a lot to do in the tidewater area.

Shenandoah is a small school in a nice town. Not sure about sports, though. Again, I liked it more than I thought I would. It isn’t for everyone. But it does have a lot going for it and a ton of good programs. Especially good for pre- health, as it has masters and doctoral programs, too. It is only an hour from Dulles, so close but not to close. They are good with merit money and you also can use the VTAG money. I was sad my daughter decided not to apply in the end.

Thanks for that detail. (Hope others indulge the slight derail.)

We are familiar enough with that they made the List! DC’s thoughts were — if they don’t get in or got enough merit $ to make an SEC viable, then stay much closer to home and find a fit at a significantly smaller place so the “oh-so-close” comparisons wouldn’t be as prevalent.

And, love the ODU band. Saw they at a local comp recently and they definitely have the school spirit!


A former boss had a son that attended ODU and was in marching band. Iirc, he got a scholarship to be in the band.

Actually, I think SU told us they had marching band scholarships, too. Didn’t help my kid, but as a former marching band geek, my ears perked up.