Anonymous wrote:Would you move to a home/town you had never seen?

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Anonymous wrote:Why do NOVA posters insist that "nobody" can get into UVA from NOVA? According the SCHEV UVA accepted more than a third of FCPS applicants and a similar number from Arlington, Alexandria and Loudoun. That's a lot of nobody.

Poster 15:35 has it right. People are frustrated. But if UVA’s character changed to admit more students or less qualified ones, it wouldn’t be the institution that many covet. Also, too many want to use it as a fallback after getting rejected from a “better school” or after they realize that the “better school” isn’t worth the incremental cost.

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Anonymous wrote:The negative vibes on my lengthy visits post are upsetting. These are my kids impressions of their campus tours and remember they were seventeen or so. My comments followed. The Wahoo who responded so negatively may not have read that my son who did attend law school at UVA loved it as I duly noted. His jab at the chip on my shoulder about W&M maybe did not catch that three out of four of my children were not impressed with their visit. The Duke responders should register that I was still in favor of them applying . This thread was about visits to colleges..not the schools themselves. Everyone kindly sip your wine and back the fork off.

I wouldn’t sweat the nutty parents on DCUM, particularly those that crawl out of the woodwork anytime UVA comes up. I commented once that my kid wanted a west coast SLAC, so didn’t apply to UVA, and a dozen UVA alums jumped in to say variations of « sorry your kid didn’t get in ». I think most people who go to UVA are lovely people, but there are alums on DCUM doing the school a real disservice by being so nutty.

you do realize that most of those people are in fact UVA haters, just looking to stir up trouble and give UVA a bad name. Most of the time, the haters are the ones that bring up UVA at all, doesn't take a genius to see what's going on here.

So you are saying they bring UVA up just to get people ticked off at UVA? Perhaps. Tough to say.

DP - No, it's not that they are "ticked off" - it's because either they didn't get in, or a child didn't get in, or, like us, we learned sophomore or junior year that there was no point in even applying because our kid didn't have the necessary stats. There's only 3750 slots and just under 50,000 applications this year. Many of the ED and EA slots went to first-generation, URM, Blue Ridge Scholar, athlete, low-income, legacy, spectacular TJ kids, so the folks you have just good, well-performing unhooked kids are out of luck. Someone worked out that there are 38,000 applications left for 200 positions or something impossibly difficult like that. So we pay taxes but never even applied in-state to UVA (DD went to another VA school). So the pattern I see is that when someone can take a potshot, they do, but it's usually sour grapes. The other flagships are much larger so there's less rancor, plus Virginia parents really want to take advantage of the in-state tuition unless they have adequate savings (which personally is very difficult to do for three kids at SLACs at $80K a year, like my own). And, due to Covid, more families than ever need to take advantage of in-state offerings.

This is the truth. Also, previous year's stats for any university are going to be completely irrelevant in our pandemic year. It is goddamn chaos out there now.

Anonymous wrote:Why do NOVA posters insist that "nobody" can get into UVA from NOVA? According the SCHEV UVA accepted more than a third of FCPS applicants and a similar number from Arlington, Alexandria and Loudoun. That's a lot of nobody.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:The negative vibes on my lengthy visits post are upsetting. These are my kids impressions of their campus tours and remember they were seventeen or so. My comments followed. The Wahoo who responded so negatively may not have read that my son who did attend law school at UVA loved it as I duly noted. His jab at the chip on my shoulder about W&M maybe did not catch that three out of four of my children were not impressed with their visit. The Duke responders should register that I was still in favor of them applying . This thread was about visits to colleges..not the schools themselves. Everyone kindly sip your wine and back the fork off.

I wouldn’t sweat the nutty parents on DCUM, particularly those that crawl out of the woodwork anytime UVA comes up. I commented once that my kid wanted a west coast SLAC, so didn’t apply to UVA, and a dozen UVA alums jumped in to say variations of « sorry your kid didn’t get in ». I think most people who go to UVA are lovely people, but there are alums on DCUM doing the school a real disservice by being so nutty.

you do realize that most of those people are in fact UVA haters, just looking to stir up trouble and give UVA a bad name. Most of the time, the haters are the ones that bring up UVA at all, doesn't take a genius to see what's going on here.

So you are saying they bring UVA up just to get people ticked off at UVA? Perhaps. Tough to say.

DP - No, it's not that they are "ticked off" - it's because either they didn't get in, or a child didn't get in, or, like us, we learned sophomore or junior year that there was no point in even applying because our kid didn't have the necessary stats. There's only 3750 slots and just under 50,000 applications this year. Many of the ED and EA slots went to first-generation, URM, Blue Ridge Scholar, athlete, low-income, legacy, spectacular TJ kids, so the folks you have just good, well-performing unhooked kids are out of luck. Someone worked out that there are 38,000 applications left for 200 positions or something impossibly difficult like that. So we pay taxes but never even applied in-state to UVA (DD went to another VA school). So the pattern I see is that when someone can take a potshot, they do, but it's usually sour grapes. The other flagships are much larger so there's less rancor, plus Virginia parents really want to take advantage of the in-state tuition unless they have adequate savings (which personally is very difficult to do for three kids at SLACs at $80K a year, like my own). And, due to Covid, more families than ever need to take advantage of in-state offerings.

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Anonymous wrote:Kind of opposite of the prompt, but Mason rose significantly after our tour. The student guide was really outstanding and at ease with the students as well as the parents. And funny! I would say both UVA and Tech tours were not great. Felt like you were being herded. I had the song "Welcome to the Machine" going through my head at both places.

Sure. Pick GMU over UVA based on the tour guide. Real smart of you.

and while I am sure you are one of pot stirrers on this board because she didn't say they "chose" UVA over GMU, just that they liked the tour better. I'm gonna guess not too many people turn down UVA for GMU but clearly when you are in the touring part of the college search process, you see lots of different schools, from safeties to reaches.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The negative vibes on my lengthy visits post are upsetting. These are my kids impressions of their campus tours and remember they were seventeen or so. My comments followed. The Wahoo who responded so negatively may not have read that my son who did attend law school at UVA loved it as I duly noted. His jab at the chip on my shoulder about W&M maybe did not catch that three out of four of my children were not impressed with their visit. The Duke responders should register that I was still in favor of them applying . This thread was about visits to colleges..not the schools themselves. Everyone kindly sip your wine and back the fork off.

I wouldn’t sweat the nutty parents on DCUM, particularly those that crawl out of the woodwork anytime UVA comes up. I commented once that my kid wanted a west coast SLAC, so didn’t apply to UVA, and a dozen UVA alums jumped in to say variations of « sorry your kid didn’t get in ». I think most people who go to UVA are lovely people, but there are alums on DCUM doing the school a real disservice by being so nutty.

you do realize that most of those people are in fact UVA haters, just looking to stir up trouble and give UVA a bad name. Most of the time, the haters are the ones that bring up UVA at all, doesn't take a genius to see what's going on here.

So you are saying they bring UVA up just to get people ticked off at UVA? Perhaps. Tough to say.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The negative vibes on my lengthy visits post are upsetting. These are my kids impressions of their campus tours and remember they were seventeen or so. My comments followed. The Wahoo who responded so negatively may not have read that my son who did attend law school at UVA loved it as I duly noted. His jab at the chip on my shoulder about W&M maybe did not catch that three out of four of my children were not impressed with their visit. The Duke responders should register that I was still in favor of them applying . This thread was about visits to colleges..not the schools themselves. Everyone kindly sip your wine and back the fork off.

I wouldn’t sweat the nutty parents on DCUM, particularly those that crawl out of the woodwork anytime UVA comes up. I commented once that my kid wanted a west coast SLAC, so didn’t apply to UVA, and a dozen UVA alums jumped in to say variations of « sorry your kid didn’t get in ». I think most people who go to UVA are lovely people, but there are alums on DCUM doing the school a real disservice by being so nutty.

you do realize that most of those people are in fact UVA haters, just looking to stir up trouble and give UVA a bad name. Most of the time, the haters are the ones that bring up UVA at all, doesn't take a genius to see what's going on here.

So you are saying they bring UVA up just to get people ticked off at UVA? Perhaps. Tough to say.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My takeaway from most of this thread is that tours are unhelpful. Though people like to talk about “fit,” I think it’s largely bogus. A lot of kids - maybe most - get to their school and find good and bad points, but most adapt after finding some friends and especially after they decide on a major. Social and academic structure becomes their friend, memories are made, and degrees are obtained. As many have said, tours artificially influence kids, which may lead to a decision that becomes a mistake. It’s important to understand that for teens (they’re really not adults) this is a big emotional decision, as much as an academic one. That means many are looking for comfort, which they may find on a tour but later regret using as an over-weighted criterion.

Do you have kids in college or beyond? Just curious how necessary it is to travel all over the country looking at schools. I understand popping onto campus when nearby on a trip but to purposely go all over to look at these school?

I have a senior who will attend UVA in the fall. Though he has visited the campus and is fine with it, the campus tour was never a deciding factor. For us, it was a great school, close enough to home, and the right price. I assume he’ll find his place on campus and come to love/like it, regardless of his first impressions.

I’m the poster of the first and third comment. I think too many parents hype college tours to their teens as if they were choosing a pageant dress for a coming-of-age party. To me, that over-emphasizes the emotional side of a college choice and makes it seem synonymous with one’s identity. This leads to a bloated search for “the right one,” as if the perfect school can be found and it will transform their lives. How many adults thought the same thing about their career or spouse and later became disillusioned. I’m not trying to be a jerk, or suggest that one shouldn’t be happy/excited about one’s choice. But, I am suggesting that a student’s academic record, family finances, potential major, etc. should be sufficient to narrow one’s search to a handful of options. Apply, see where your student is accepted, then visit schools, if even necessary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My takeaway from most of this thread is that tours are unhelpful. Though people like to talk about “fit,” I think it’s largely bogus. A lot of kids - maybe most - get to their school and find good and bad points, but most adapt after finding some friends and especially after they decide on a major. Social and academic structure becomes their friend, memories are made, and degrees are obtained. As many have said, tours artificially influence kids, which may lead to a decision that becomes a mistake. It’s important to understand that for teens (they’re really not adults) this is a big emotional decision, as much as an academic one. That means many are looking for comfort, which they may find on a tour but later regret using as an over-weighted criterion.

Do you have kids in college or beyond? Just curious how necessary it is to travel all over the country looking at schools. I understand popping onto campus when nearby on a trip but to purposely go all over to look at these school?

I have a senior who will attend UVA in the fall. Though he has visited the campus and is fine with it, the campus tour was never a deciding factor. For us, it was a great school, close enough to home, and the right price. I assume he’ll find his place on campus and come to love/like it, regardless of his first impressions.

I’m the poster of the first and third comment. I think too many parents hype college tours to their teens as if they were choosing a pageant dress for a coming-of-age party. To me, that over-emphasizes the emotional side of a college choice and makes it seem synonymous with one’s identity. This leads to a bloated search for “the right one,” as if the perfect school can be found and it will transform their lives. How many adults thought the same thing about their career or spouse and later became disillusioned. I’m not trying to be a jerk, or suggest that one shouldn’t be happy/excited about one’s choice. But, I am suggesting that a student’s academic record, family finances, potential major, etc. should be sufficient to narrow one’s search to a handful of options. Apply, see where your student is accepted, then visit schools, if even necessary.