What are your child's "trivial factors" in college selection?

[Davidabb84]

For those of you who consider college in a small town as your best/only option, have you made a plan for when/if you get very sick?

I'm going to a big school in a small town. The health center is open 24/7. The school I mention that was in West Nowhereville had their own Ambulance and EMTs because of the isolation. Like I mentioned I have a medical condition so of course I planned for when I get very sick.

Poorer kids in the USA as we speak would love to go to any college, food selection, type of soft drinks sold on campus, and proximity to McDonalds be damned.

I don't know about "easier," but SteveMA is right. An impoverished, academically motivated student could get great financial aid, full tuition scholarships, etc. to almost everywhere. Average students still have their pick of state schools with the same benefits. I know someone who is very poor and lives in Section 8 housing (aka "the projects") who was very motivated and made good grades. Between scholarships and aid she's going to Duke for absolutely free, no loans at all. Obviously this can't happen for every student, but poor students who are college-bound can still make choices.

[treefingers]

My so-called "trivial factors" were...

- Not located in the suburbs.
- Open curriculum, or few distribution requirements (though this might actually be an academic factor, w/e).
- Politically active/informed student body.
- No Greek life, or Greek life that doesn't dominate campus.
- Small school/classes.
- Students who are genuinely interested in learning rather than just getting As/graduating.
- More liberal than my high school.

[Willd1]

My trivial factors:
- Food supplied by someone other than Aramark
- Preferably old (Ideally a colonial college)
- Gothic or Colonial architecture
- Very welcoming when I visited
- Greek life
- East Coast, California, or Texas
- Strong undergrad focus - not necessarily a LAC
- Near but not in a city

[Davidabb84]

Food supplied by someone other Aramark

When I went to Guilford College, the tour guide mentioned that they'd just switched from Aramark to a local catering company, and everyone on campus was a LOT happier. She also mentioned that apparently, Aramark proudly serves the North Carolina Department of Corrections. So yeah, it's prison-food quality.

My high school had their food supplied by Chartwells, which also apparently feeds UNC-Charlotte. I wasn't ever considering that school but if I was I'd stay FAR away after finding that out. My school runs it's own food services, and after being able to eat a couple meals on a normal (non-orientation or open house) school day, I'm very impressed with their quality.

[Fullofpop]

Personally I'm tired of living in the flat, nasty, hot Central Valley. All of my schools are located along the coast. I managed to justify this because of my interest in marine biology. See, it makes sense to be near the ocean...

[oldfort]

Bubble tea and Indian food. Williams and Yale got eliminated by D2 because of those 2 factors.

[livesinnewjersey]

My D2 chose high tiered schools after that the criteria evolved when she stayed overnight at several schools with various friends. She realized that there seemed to be 2 types of Sat night parties.

1. Schools where the kids left campus to go to bars or take taxis to go to house parties

2. Schools where the parties took place essentially within walking distance at off campus apts or frat houses.

She wanted the cheaper version - walking distance frat parties

[LBowie]

The quality of the lawn was my son's semi-joke requirement. (in other words, he was kind of serious about it.) And no Gothic architecture.

[melody10511]

Some of my trivial ones:

- Good nightlife IN AND OUT of the campus. I love going around at midnight when it's all cold and dark, but I don't want the place to be empty.
- Must be in a famous city where lots of bands drop by for concerts.
- Has ANY kind of rivalry with a school that's equally impressive. This is one reason why I would kill to attend either Harvard or Yale.

Edit: Additionally, it's a pretty big plus if beach-related activities are NOT dominant. This is one reason why I'm not looking at most Californian schools at all.

[momsings]

oldfort--because they had those or didn't have those? .

[oldfort]

Because they didn't have bubble tea or good Indian food.

[hopeyoudance95]

I'm not a parent, but I'll just share mine because this is a cool thread.

- Little to NO Greek life
- AC preferable, but not a make or break deal.
- Cold winters (grew up in Ohio an sadly forced to move to the south, dying of heat)
- East Coast
- Proximity to a hospital or having an extensive 24/7 healthcare system.
- Urban setting or small city/proximity to a city
- An abundance of science programs
- Away from disaster prone areas... Hurricanes (Florida), tornadoes (tornado alley), earthquakes (California), forest fires (Texas, Colorado, Midwest).

[UDUBHUSKIES]

I'm not a parent either, but
-Big City (400,000+ or around that)
-Good Vegan, Thai, and Indian food
-Diversity
-Liberal Politically

[bclintonk]

Originally Posted by oldfort

Bubble tea and Indian food. Williams and Yale got eliminated by D2 because of those 2 factors.

I'm surprised. There's not much in Williamstown, but one thing it does have is an Indian restaurant that a lot of people think is pretty good. DW and D2 reported having a pretty good meal there about a year ago.

And I recall a number of Indian restaurants in and around New Haven. Though I haven't been there recently, I'd be surprised if there weren't at least a couple of decent ones given the ethnic diversity of the New Haven area. Perhaps not in immediate proximity to the Yale campus, but Yalies ought to get out more.

As for bubble tea, I'm certain it's available at a number of places close to the Yale campus. I wonder if perhaps your D2 just didn't like Yale for other reasons and didn't look very hard to find these things.

[DrGoogle]

1) near civilization, aka shopping center
2) near a subway