Colleges you/child crossed off the list after visiting

Parents Forum
3341

<p>Oh, lake effect snow doesn’t happen regularly. Perhaps a couple times per winter. But when it does happen, it looks something like this <a href=“Burlington Free Press: Latest News in Burlington, VT”>Burlington Free Press: Latest News in Burlington, VT;

<p>EDIT: This is a snowfall map for Illinois. So Chicago doesn’t get it too bad, but you can see the difference on the shoreline. <a href=“http://www.arlingtoncardinal.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/NWS-Snowfall-map.jpg[/url]”>http://www.arlingtoncardinal.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/NWS-Snowfall-map.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Cool DavidSSabb94!</p>

<p>The most impressive amount of snow I have been in was driving a back hiway going to Kirkwood outside of Lake Tahoe. The wall of snow that had been shot up on the side of the road by the plow was about 20 feet high. You felt like you driving through a white tunnel with an open top, for miles.</p>

<p>This is from a 2004 storm in NY but it felt like this</p>

<p><a href=“http://highmarketsports.com/jan04a.jpg[/url]”>http://highmarketsports.com/jan04a.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>JHU crossed off the list after this Saturday’s visit during their Hopkins Preview. You can read my visit report for full details but suffice it to say when you try to entertain 1000 people in a 3-hr time window, put them in an auditorium for 2 hrs of presentations without breaks…we don’t get a warm fuzzy feeling.</p>

<p>Tour was in groups of 50, constantly backing up behind other groups at every pt of interest. No tour of dorms or existence of a student union, claims that we can’t go into particular buildings because the guide doesn’t have key access (with 1000 people there, couldn’t someone just leave doors open?) Now, we personally don’t know Baltimore but we know there are sketchy neighborhoods - we found some of those on our way (via GPS) to a lunch place that was zagat rated (not inner harbor which I thought was more a tourist destination). Well, just a few short blocks south of campus put us into sketch and it only got worse as we approached this restaurant - which we drove straight past and back onto the highway.</p>

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<p>What a shame that your JHU visit was so crowded and handled so badly. Our visit was great, even though it was raining. The parking garage is in the same building as admin., so no sprints across campus with maps to find the admin building. The info session was comfortable, informative and relaxed. And the tour was great. We were not allowed to see a dorm, as was the case with a lot of colleges, unfortunately. But we saw the interior of many other buildings, including the library, fitness center, engineering building, and a few others which I can’t remember. Baltimore has some great areas, but there are, of course, unsettling areas near the school. If the academics and types of kids are right for your child, I wouldn’t let the info session deter you. It wasn’t right for my child, but that was only because of his particular major - not the neighborhood or school.</p>

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<p>For security reasons, many colleges now only let students and parents see the inside of an occupied dorm after the student is accepted. The reason is they have no idea what kind of person is showing up for a regular admissions tour.</p>

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<p>No need to defend JHU or any college here, this was our experience and whether it was crossed off the list because they didn’t serve kimchi in the cafe or whether birkenstocks were way too prevalent, it is what it is - simply our experience. To that end - JHU invited in 1000 people (there was pre-registration, this was not a “drop in”) and handled them in a way that maybe you didn’t get a warm fuzzy. I know many colleges don’t allow larger group days to view dorm room (and face it, they all look the same after a while don’t they?) but that affects your visit - where you are attempting to envision yourself there, smell the place, look for weeds in the garden, look for potholes on the street, look for happy student faces that reflect your own… Heck, PSU shows you a “sample dorm room” regardless of whether they are hosting 50 or 500. Just an observation and if anyone was planning on attending one of these “Hopkins Preview” events, they might want to instead try a normal weekday info session and tour and skip the larger events. </p>

<p>I think this thread was fun when we all got to laugh about the snap and often idiotic judgements of 17 yr olds of why a place wasn’t somewhere they wanted to go. Lately, there’s always someone feeling a need to offer a rebuttal or defend the institution. (ps. and yes, there were weeds in their flower beds, I almost compulsively bent down to pull them out)</p>

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<p>

I am not surprised. </p>

<p>I too love the reasons why parents and students decide against a school. I mentally add “YMMV” to each post and then move on.</p>

3348

<p>As regards the UVA “chapel” issue, this is a huge coincidence.
The timing of the creation on my CC account was partly to post about my recent visit to UVA.</p>

<p>Without any prompting by me, the first thing my daughter mentioned when we arrived was how odd it was which building was selected to start the tour.</p>

<p>And, despite what it may be called, let’s all understand that it is a church:</p>

<p>• It was built as a church (“by 1835, the University faculty had selected the site south of the Rotunda at the end of the Lawn … to create a Gothic church” ).
• The applicable building code is for use as a church.
• There is a cross on top of the structure.
• The stained glass windows are images of “Saint Luke” and “Saint Mary.”
• Sunday services were conducted there by a rotation of Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist clergy.
• A University of Virginia report states that the building: “differs greatly from most other historic churches.”</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/architectoffice/pdf/chapelhsr.pdf[/url]”>http://www.virginia.edu/architectoffice/pdf/chapelhsr.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It’s a church.</p>

<p>The designation “Non denominational” here means no specific or particular Christian sect. It does not mean “multi faith.”</p>

<p>The fact that UVA is clueless about using that building as an initial gathering place for prospective students and parents is not surprising at all.</p>

<p>As regards the UVA “chapel,” this is a huge coincidence.
The timing of the creation on my CC account was partly to post about my recent visit to UVA.</p>

<p>Without any prompting by me, the first thing my daughter mentioned when we arrived was how odd it was which building was selected to start the tour.</p>

<p>And, despite what it may be called, let’s all understand that it is a church:</p>

<p>• It was built as a church (“by 1835, the University faculty had selected the site south of the Rotunda at the end of the Lawn … to create a Gothic church” ).
• The applicable building code is for use as a church.
• There is a cross on top of the structure.
• The stained glass windows are images of “Saint Luke” and “Saint Mary.”
• Sunday services were conducted there by a rotation of Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist clergy.
• A University of Virginia report states that the building: “differs greatly from most other historic churches.”</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/architectoffice/pdf/chapelhsr.pdf[/url]”>http://www.virginia.edu/architectoffice/pdf/chapelhsr.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It’s a church.</p>

<p>The designation “Non denominational” here means no specific or particular Christian sect. It does not mean “multi faith.”</p>

<p>The fact that UVA is clueless about using that building as an initial gathering place for prospective students and parents is not surprising at all.</p>

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<p>For my performer D:</p>

<p>FSU: Off the list due to surrounding area being downtrodden and general vibe from students on campus. Also, weirdly, the circus tent bothered us.</p>

<p>IU: Off the list due to the cemetary right in the middle of campus and stories about the haunted hotel. True or false, the stories did the trick.</p>

<p>PACE: My D didn’t cross it off her list after visiting, but I did. No campus. Felt like we were in an office and not a college to me and very unorganized. For the $$$, I just couldn’t see it.</p>

<p>For my scientist/engineer S (worst visit ever in 2008)</p>

<p>Harvey Mudd: Rampant drug references while on our tour. The kicker was the dorm they took us too…bong on the coffee table, LARGE dish of condoms by the door, bar the likes my military father-in-law had never experienced, and stripper pole in the corner! I had fears of contracting a disease just by being there!! Sadly that ruined the entire school for all of us despite it’s stellar academic reputation.</p>

<p>Would be interesting to see a thread looking at the colleges people got excited about after visiting…ELON, TCU, Ball State, UC Davis, USF, Pepperdine, and Chapman.</p>

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<p>Somewhat related- This has to do with my son’s reasons for choosing his safety school, Univ of Georgia. He came up with this on his own, and I was pleased. I thought he would enjoy the environment (had a shot at honors) and the athletics, and while he wasn’t going to be a top recruit in his sport (they get Kenyans), he could probably have competed there. I even ordered up a t-shirt! Turns out he chose it because Tucker Max thought the prettiest girls were there! If you don’t know who Tucker Max is, google him. He’s a young adult who has written obnoxious books which appeal to high school and college kids since they are filled with sexual humor. He is very bright and went to UChicago (he thought all the girls were ugly) and Duke law school. My son adored him for years and they even went to the same boarding school (not at the same time). It really burst my bubble about the UGA choice!</p>

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<p>This UVA chapel discussion is interesting. We sat through a Q&A in the Princeton chapel and I did not give it a thought at the time. Honestly, I would not have minded if it were a chapel, temple, mosque, cafeteria, or gymnasium. I was glad to have a venue that was comfortable and where I could hear what was being said.</p>

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<p>I know at the accepted students events both Tufts and U. of Chicago had at least one of the student panels meet in the campus chapel. I didn’t think twice about it at the time, it was just one of many places pressed into service for all the events. But I do think accepted student events are a little different from info sessions aimed at people for whom that is going to be the very first impression of the school. Vassar’s chapel is gorgeous (and is apparently used by non-Christian faiths as well despite the presence of lots of beautiful angels. It’s used whenever they need a really large lecture area. Carnegie Mellon is one of the few campuses I’ve been to that doesn’t have a stand alone chapel building.</p>

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</p>

<p>Now see, I would think that is very cool.</p>

<p>I had never heard about the cemetary.
I Googled and it is very small.
It’s right next to the Memorial Union Building.</p>

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</p>

<p>Been there. It’s also about five times bigger than the one at UVa, as I remember.</p>

<p>If we do a tour there one day I’ll be curious to see if that’s where they put us.</p>

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<p>Many universities, both public and private, have chapels. The Naval Academy has the Main Chapel with a “stained glass window of Jesus walking on the water.” The Naval Academy also has Miller Chapel, part of the Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel.
[Chaplain’s</a> Center | Main Chapel](<a href=“http://www.usna.edu/Chaplains/main_chapel.htm]Chaplain’s”>http://www.usna.edu/Chaplains/main_chapel.htm)
[Chaplain’s</a> Center | Miller Chapel](<a href=“http://www.usna.edu/Chaplains/miller.htm]Chaplain’s”>http://www.usna.edu/Chaplains/miller.htm)</p>

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<p>GolfFather: Though small, it just didn’t fly with my D. It’s kind of hilarious actually.</p>

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<p>FSU, IU, PACE- which schools? Florida State, Indiana, ??? Please clarify.</p>

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<p>Pace is located just outside NY City. I don’t know why many posters insist on capitalizing shorter college names like Pace, Elon or even Ivy.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Amandakayak, for the timely reminder that this thread is really about letting folks vent, gossip and share things that turned them off about a college. In other words, petty or more than petty complaints. Mini-rants! Frankly, that’s what makes it so much fun to read, and to shake one’s head, once in a while, to learn what strange thing caused some family to cross a school off a list when we, ourselves, found that same sort of aspect charming. </p>

<p>Some posts may, in fact, find fault with our favorite schools, but that is the nature of this thread. I echo the suggestion that anyone who feels the need to rush in and defend a school, please be mindful that it is not necessary. Of course all the squirrels on one campus are not rushing up to students, of course the girls at one school are not all ugly, of course the lack of easy parking at one student tour day does not mean the administration of that school is doomed, but we can mostly separate the silly kid-obsessions from the thoughtful reactions. </p>

<p>As with neighborhoods some consider dangerous while others may not, as with minorities who feel uncomfortable on certain campuses–for whatever reason, as for students who are put off by any aspect of location or architecture, this thread is not really meant to invite rebuttal to any poster’s & their kid’s first impressions.</p>

<p>I am sorry when honest posters seem to take flack for joining into the spirit of this topic.</p>

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<p>I agree ,madbean,but I think part of the problem is that some of the posters lately with initial comments about crossing schools off have gone on too much. What was once a quick- this college was off the list because there was no sushi(or tour guides walking backwards ,etc.)has become many times a mini review of a school or has been a rehash of an issue (for instance , the UVa chapel thing) that someone dredges up again. It would be nice to get back to the probable original intent of the thread-not too serious.</p>