Anonymous wrote:Northwestern. DD hated it from the moment we stepped on campus. No smiling students anywhere, cafeteria was too "weird" (her word not mine), and our tour guide was a disaster. Not that it would have mattered, DD knew she wouldn't apply before we took the tour.

For the record, and I shared none of this with DD until after all applications were in because, her college experience, not mine, I thought the campus lovely, the food delicious, and had I been the college student, absolutely would have applied!

Anonymous wrote:<<I got my phd at Cornell >>

World of difference from being an undergrad. Tier 1 research schools exist to get grants and churn out peer-reviewed papers, that will bring honor (and more grants) to the school. Doctoral students are very much part of achieving those goals. (And this is coming from a tenured professor.)

The previous poster admitted that elite schools may well have amazing education, but they do not offer UNDERGRADUATES the individual attention that SLAC schools do. My DC is publishing her second peer-reviewed paper this summer, as a sophomore at a SLAC. At Cornell, that opportunity would probably go to a grad student.

My DC hopes to attend a Cornell-like grad school, but is VERY content with her choice for an undergrad environment. No one has to be RIGHT in this discussion...different options offer different benefits and disadvantages. Depending upon the student, they can all offer a great education.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is interested in going into a very specific major. Researching schools in advance, we both thought one particular school would be “perfect” for her. Our experience with the school including the virtual visit was so bad that she’s thinking of not applying. On paper the university sounds great and has great reviews.

I’m just trying to reconcile this in my head with I am reading with what we experienced. We tried to make an appointment to visit the University back in Jan (pre-COVID). We started off on the wrong foot because we wanted to meet with an academic advisor in the department my DD will be majoring in. I called and got a very snippy receptionist who told us who to contact. DD contacted and didn’t hear back for a week. DD sent a follow up message requesting a meeting. Person setting up meeting with academic advisor made DD feel like she was impatient. FWIW- all the other schools she set up meetings with got back with her Within 24 to 48 hours. Due to COVID visit was understandably cancelled. They offered a virtual tour. It was horrible. The AV was poor, they had technical difficulties and we were unimpressed with the admission rep. We met with the academic advisor later and she cut of off and was downright rude. My daughter was in tears after the virtual visit.

I’m sure if I posted the name of the school people here would say that’s an amazing school For the major- yet our experience was anything but. The school went from being a top choice for DD to I don’t think I should apply.

I am just wondering if others had similar experiences with colleges letting them down pre-admissions but applied anyway and went. My thought is if they can’t treat DD well when she’s a prospective student, why should I think they will treat her any differently if she were to be accepted?

As a tenured faculty member, I can tell you that universities are big places with lots of employees. I've barely even known the admin people who do work for ME, let alone those who do work for students. I couldn't name a single person in the academic advising office. Admissions rep? This is probably somebody who otherwise would be an insurance salesman. There can be a huge disconnect between the quality of classes and extracurricular activities that make up a "program" or "major" than two nobody administrators. Public or Private, universities are large bureaucracies. COVID aside (which might explain part of this), there are some wonderful people and there are people who should not be employed in any job. This was true even at an ivy league university I worked at. The campus experience is defined by interactions with 100 different people before your child graduates. I would be mortified to know that I put all this effort into designing courses that are excellently reviewed only to have it ruined by some incompetent advisor or admissions rep. I would just look at reviews or talk to students who went through the programs before you make any decision. That would be wayyyyyy more reliable than your brief experience with a very small sample (almost doesn't deserve to be called a sample) of low level grunt employees. Finally, don't forget that most "academic advisors" job is literally to look down a pre-printed list of courses that satisfy requirements and tell your student, "Durrrrr you can take A, B, or C." You might as well make a university decision based on how helpful the barista was at the campus starbucks.

Holy crap you come off as a huge jerk in this post, can you hear yourself?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a college professor. While this school may indeed be full of deeply unpleasant people, please know that universities are in a bit of a panic. They are trying to finish out the semester, but they don't have access to facilities for proctored exams. Some students want to take the exam later; others want take home exams. All of this requires meetings, rewriting exams, and paperwork.

Students have dying relatives, faculty members are ill or have tiny children at home, and every day , they have to decide what maintenance is necessary (safety checks on boilers, cuttting grass in advance of fire season), and what is not.

Prospective students haven't been forgotten, but they are not at the top of anyone's priority list.

+1000 Sorry

Anonymous wrote:DC hated everything about Middlebury from the AD to the other families on the tour to what the guide had to say. It was picture perfect campus - I thought she would love it. Oh well.

Anonymous wrote:PP 12:16 that's why I'm even posting because of COVID I realize that things are probably chaotic and some schools (every other school my DD toured virtually) seemed to have their act together. This one stuck out. We booked months in advance for a junior visit and we would have understood if they needed to reschedule. Unfortunately, it's hard whether fair or not to make a good next impression after a bad (first, second and third) one.

I appreciate the insider information from staff/students about not judging a undergraduate school based on staff. Unfortunately for us, it's something hard to overlook as we do not have any experience with the school other than what we've read.

We originally like the school because it is closer than most of the other colleges (well mom does at least) and its stellar reputation in her field of choice. However, I'm thinking it might be better to expand our search to schools further away- which I don't like particularly in this crazy COVID-19 climate. If safety is her top choice after the search- she can go there. The safety is driving distance and everyone I know who has attended loves it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is interested in going into a very specific major. Researching schools in advance, we both thought one particular school would be “perfect” for her. Our experience with the school including the virtual visit was so bad that she’s thinking of not applying. On paper the university sounds great and has great reviews.

I’m just trying to reconcile this in my head with I am reading with what we experienced. We tried to make an appointment to visit the University back in Jan (pre-COVID). We started off on the wrong foot because we wanted to meet with an academic advisor in the department my DD will be majoring in. I called and got a very snippy receptionist who told us who to contact. DD contacted and didn’t hear back for a week. DD sent a follow up message requesting a meeting. Person setting up meeting with academic advisor made DD feel like she was impatient. FWIW- all the other schools she set up meetings with got back with her Within 24 to 48 hours. Due to COVID visit was understandably cancelled. They offered a virtual tour. It was horrible. The AV was poor, they had technical difficulties and we were unimpressed with the admission rep. We met with the academic advisor later and she cut of off and was downright rude. My daughter was in tears after the virtual visit.

I’m sure if I posted the name of the school people here would say that’s an amazing school For the major- yet our experience was anything but. The school went from being a top choice for DD to I don’t think I should apply.

I am just wondering if others had similar experiences with colleges letting them down pre-admissions but applied anyway and went. My thought is if they can’t treat DD well when she’s a prospective student, why should I think they will treat her any differently if she were to be accepted?

This is going to sound more harsh than it is meant, but your post reeks of entitlement. Universities are not structured or staffed to respond to the whims and demands of prospective students. Advisors and professors have their hands full serving their current students. No way they can also serve tens of thousands of needy prospective students. And then to cry after a poorly executed virtual visit in the middle of a global pandemic? That's some serious snowflake behavior. I would suggest telling your DD to put on her big girl pants, and make a decision based on bigger picture factors and not whether the school catered to her scheduling wishes and had slick AV.

This. Please don't apply to my school - your family sounds needy. Some semesters I teach 100 students, many of whom require frequent meetings outside of classes. Depending on admin assignments, I may also advise undergraduates in my major - which again requires frequent meetings. I also advise several PhD students, which takes many hours of work each week. These students are my priority. Your high school student may or may not apply, and may or may not be accepted. You are asking me to donate my own private or research time to you and your family. Perhaps the other schools assign admin work to faculty specifically to deal with prospective students (perhaps because they are more in need of applicants) - in which case the faculty's schedule has specific time assigned for such tasks.

Not the PP to whom you're responding, but in all seriousness and without snark: Have you considered trying to move to a smaller college? Where you would not have 100-student classes, at least? Or is your research something that you feel only really can be done where you currently teach? Because all the undergrad and PhD advising and your very understandable protectiveness over your "private or research time" sound like things that are not contributing to making your academic career a source of fulfillment to you. Since we can't convey tone very well in posts, I'm adding that I really do not mean that as criticism. I just hear...stress.