Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 18:43     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
One of the most surprising things to come out of this discussion is that Notre Dame seemed like a very Catholic college in the Midwest. Didn’t see that one coming.
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 18:20     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:Flagler looked like a resort


Flagler was a pit. Run down, old. Food awful. Near the beach but the place sucked. DS took it off the list that day.
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 18:19     Subject: Re:Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Didn't enjoy Yale at all. I get the appeal for others, but the architecture seemed sad to me more than anything. We got to tour residential colleges, since DS's friend goes-the interiors were very nice. The actual city was terrible and is the only city I have ever been assaulted in. Students had stories of others being assaulted, and there was a surprising amount of homeless people near campus. Not my go-to atmosphere, but I am more into the liberal arts college look.

We had amazing tours at Smith, Pomona, and Berkeley!
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 18:10     Subject: Re:Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Wake Forest - expected it to be prettier. Felt sterile and monotonous.

Yale - visited twice. So in love with it, though realizes it’s a pipe dream. Campus feel with stunning architecture.

BU - thought daughter was going to love it, but she felt like it was bland and depressing.

Hamilton - middle of nowhere but she still liked the cozy feeling and the beautiful uniformity of the campus.

Georgetown - didn’t love the “bro” feel and sense of wealth all around.


Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 16:48     Subject: Re:Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We love JMU’s campus. Not too big and not too small. My son wants to major in business so would spend most
Of his time of the “pretty” side of campus though!!

What's the pretty side? Bluestone quad and Lake or new buildings and arboretum?


I want to know the same. When I was a tour guide there we only toured on the quad side but that was a long time ago. I think that is the "pretty side" but I may be biased.
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 16:47     Subject: Re:Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We love JMU’s campus. Not too big and not too small. My son wants to major in business so would spend most
Of his time of the “pretty” side of campus though!!

What's the pretty side? Bluestone quad and Lake or new buildings and arboretum?


I didn't think either side was pretty

I guess you weren't PP.
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 15:09     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:UCLA and USC tours on the same day.

Expected to prefer USC but UCLA was more impressive in every way. Blew past expectations


Did you go inside any buildings? That’s where UCLA fell apart for us, beautiful on the outside, government quality on the inside.


Consistent with being a public university.
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 14:52     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Georgetown was really run down and even their very new building looked so blah right in the middle of campus. What a swing and a miss. Also I think someone else noted so very boring Georgetown (neighborhood) is now. Not oriented to the college at all


Agree about the campus but Georgetown itself is a great location, and while you may think it’s a shadow of its former self, students from all over the country will be enamored by its history and energy.


I just find it scrubbed of all personality. the housing is charming, but it's all chain stores now. I think there's even a Chick Fil A on Georgetown's campus. like in the middle of it.


The housing is NOT charming at GU. At least not my kid's dorm.


They meant the neighborhood- not the school/campus
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 14:46     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:ND felt like a middle class country club in the middle of Indiana. which I guess it is?

Yale was insanely pretty.

Harvard needs to spend a tiny bit of their billions on landscaping. muddy, flooding, giant puddles and dirt for lawns. plaint some bushes, guys. add some drainage.


Notre Dame felt like a very Catholic school in the Midwest. Which it is. But a very nice campus with very nice kids.

WashU is the country club school. All that's missing is the golf carts.

Harvard is very underwhelming.


Attended WashU orientation in August. Upon request, staff drove parents and incoming students in golf carts. Beautiful campus and dorms. Friendly and collaborative student body. Great academic and life support from the Student Affairs Office. Forest Park is a great (mostly free) next-door recreational resource. The surrounding Delmar Loop and Clayton area is nice and safe, but less so farther out. Although a bit stifling (high temp and humidity), the weather was ok in August. Less predictable in the spring (tornadoes) and could be bitterly cold in the winter. Frequent reasonably priced direct flights from/to DC area, but need to book at least 3 weeks in advance. WashU is one of the handful of T20 schools providing dozens of full tuition merit aid for outstanding candidates.
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 14:44     Subject: Re:Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:Ithaca - gorgeous campus, great town. But decided not to apply because the school is really five distinct little colleges and unless you are planning to study something like music or broadcast journalism it didn't seem like a great fit. very hard to change majors and not the place for a kid who doesn't know exactly what they want from day 1.

Hobart - beautiful campus, really great tour. very impressive to parents. kid found it way too remote and wasn't interested

RIT - way more than an engineering school. lots of interesting majors but turned off by the location. Rochester is really dreary for months at a time and the campus is far removed from town

Bowdoin - very boring presentation that went on for too long. the actual tour was good though. this school has done a lot to shed its "bro culture" that it carried for long after it went coed



My kid didn't like Bowdoin at all. Too remote.
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 14:43     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Georgetown was really run down and even their very new building looked so blah right in the middle of campus. What a swing and a miss. Also I think someone else noted so very boring Georgetown (neighborhood) is now. Not oriented to the college at all


Agree about the campus but Georgetown itself is a great location, and while you may think it’s a shadow of its former self, students from all over the country will be enamored by its history and energy.


I just find it scrubbed of all personality. the housing is charming, but it's all chain stores now. I think there's even a Chick Fil A on Georgetown's campus. like in the middle of it.


The housing is NOT charming at GU. At least not my kid's dorm.
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 14:41     Subject: Re:Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We love JMU’s campus. Not too big and not too small. My son wants to major in business so would spend most
Of his time of the “pretty” side of campus though!!

What's the pretty side? Bluestone quad and Lake or new buildings and arboretum?


I didn't think either side was pretty
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 13:40     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:ND felt like a middle class country club in the middle of Indiana. which I guess it is?

Yale was insanely pretty.

Harvard needs to spend a tiny bit of their billions on landscaping. muddy, flooding, giant puddles and dirt for lawns. plant some bushes, guys. add some drainage.


Trump withheld that part
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 13:25     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:I went to a campus that is frequently on the most beautiful lists, and it absolutely made a difference to me. It felt safe and comfortable, and I felt so lucky to get to walk around that place daily.


+1
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2025 13:23     Subject: Schools you toured that you were surprised you liked or didn’t like?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Georgetown was really run down and even their very new building looked so blah right in the middle of campus. What a swing and a miss. Also I think someone else noted so very boring Georgetown (neighborhood) is now. Not oriented to the college at all


Agree about the campus but Georgetown itself is a great location, and while you may think it’s a shadow of its former self, students from all over the country will be enamored by its history and energy.


Which part of Georgetown's history are you enamored with? Slavery?
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/us/georgetown-university-search-for-slave-descendants.html