<p>Purdue is going to cost you less, but its engineering programs are comparable. If you’re interested in the humanities, Michigan is much stronger.</p>
<p>Agree with the town comparisons. Slight plus for Purdue that it’s easier to get to Chicago from W. Lafayette than from AA. (You can get to Detroit easily, but…then you’re in Detroit.)</p>
<p>Don’t know anything about Purdue, but if you’re looking for a big university with so much life where something is always happening, and an awesome college town like no other, then UMich is the place. Plus the academics are very strong there. But it’s also very easy to get lost there - 40,000 kids is a lot. She’ll be in lectures with 200-300 other kids, which can be daunting - of course, there are always smaller discussion groups. But she will have to go out of her way to get to know her professors.</p>
<p>As for the winters - yes, it’s cold, I’m not gonna lie. It sometimes goes below freezing. Buy a parka, a hat, gloves, and a scarf. She’d be doing a lot of walking - the campus is huge, so she’ll want to stay warm while she’s running between classes (or taking the bus). But I wouldn’t worry about it - all the kids get used to it. There are so many things to love about UMich, that weather is just overlooked, unless you’re traying (or whatever they do now)…</p>
<p>Blakey – I’m laughing at the last paragraph of your post about the speaker-series-obsessed interviewer at CMC. But I’m kind of hoping my firm hires him – our lunch speakers have been a bit dull lately. Too many politicians and e-discovery providers. We could use someone with a passion for speaker-programming around here!</p>
<p>On a serious note, I hope you encouraged your son to write to the CMC admissions department to describe his experience. They need to know that one of their interviewers is turning potential applicants off.</p>
<p>My hubby went to Purdue. There are tunnels underground that connect many of the buildings. I know my husband used these when the weather was not the best. He was an engineer that completed his master’s through the Krannert executive program. Excellent program.</p>
<p>Blakey: My hunch tells me the questions on how a potential applicant would program a speaker series was to determine whether said applicant would select the ‘correct’ type of speakers…ones with the ‘correct’ point of view.</p>
<p>S knock USC off of his list after spending 1 hour on campus. Granted it was a long weekend and many students were elsewhere…but still …he was unable to find any undergrads with whom to strike up a casual conversation. The students manning the library front desk, general info kiosk and the campus store all seemed to be English limited grad students. What sealed the non-deal was as we were leaving campus, a group of young people wandered in from the surrounding neighborhood and one proceeded to vomit into the bushes while the others looked on with encouraging ‘street speak’.</p>
<p>DD and I rejected Olivet Nazarene after getting a cult like anti-catholic vibe there. Now if I could only get them to stop calling the house.</p>
<p>Also crossed off Winona State (MN). Liked the campus but not the surrounding town. The admissions office was not very friendly either.</p>
<p>U of I @ Springfield also got crossed off for no reason other than its small size. It’s a beautiful campus and DD loved the buildings but ultimately felt it wasn’t active enough.</p>
<p>What’re people’s thoughts on Michigan State?</p>
<p>^^If you want thoughts about MSU, you would be better off starting a new thread. This thread is for schools people crossed off their lists as the result of a visit, for whatever reason.</p>
<p>Interesting, dietz. We thought USC the most beautiful campus of all those we saw. My D is now a student there, has a ton of friends hailing from all over the world and loves it.</p>
<p>Snowdog: I know many many people and many of DS’ friends who absolutely LOVE USC. I personally react really strongly to the ‘vibe’ of a space. When DH and I were looking for our first home it would drive him crazy that I’d get as far as the entry hall in some homes and simply know I did not want to live there. In the case of USC…I think my response is due to the flatness of the campus. Guess it’s a good thing we have enough differences and a lot of choices.</p>
<p>Catholic U. Even though we’re looking at several Jesuit schools, CU seemed like a throwback to the '50’s. Very few students were around and there wasno sign of campus-life such as clubs, speakers or activities.</p>
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<p>Cannot comment on Wesleyan comparison, but I have a close friend who recently moved to Brunswick from Hoboken, NJ, who had season tickets at Carnegie Hall, BAM, et al, and he is as happy as a clam attending zillions of concerts, theater productions, hockey games, volleyball games, and other events at Bowdoin at a fraction of the cost. Brunswick is a delightful town. (Goes to things in Portland also. Portland is a wonderful place. 
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<p>This thread has slipped all the way to page 6. I am moving it back to the top so that its visible. Many of the comments have been interesting and informative.</p>
<p>I’m not a parent (current HS senior here!) but I’ve read through a lot of this thread, and I’ve done my fair share of visits so I wouldn’t mind sharing my impressions.</p>
<p>GWU- felt similarly to how a lot of other posters feel. Didn’t like that there was no real campus. 3 kids from my HS have gone there in recent years, but they all transferred out, which makes me nervous. Won’t apply.</p>
<p>Penn State- literally, you’re on the highway driving past farms and cows and hay bales and more farms, and then all of a sudden there’s a giant football stadium. I didn’t like that. Won’t apply.</p>
<p>Pitt- very urban campus without sacrificing green space. I really liked it! I’ve applied and been accepted, but I probably won’t go- too close to home.</p>
<p>American- HATED it. On our tour, a group of kids walked by and yelled “Get out while you still can! This is a hell hole!” I also felt like it was too focused on getting kids off campus for internships and study abroad rather than what goes on in the classroom. Won’t apply.</p>
<p>U of Maryland- a really beautiful campus, but very large. It reminded me of Hopkins meets UVA and I was pleasantly surprised. College Park is cute. I’ve already been accepted to my safety schools so I won’t apply.</p>
<p>Georgetown- spent 2 weeks there for a summer program, and I loved it. It’s very hilly, but the on-campus food is surprisingly good. Georgetown itself is a really affluent area, and I feel like the school is a bit too pretentious and politically focused (I know, I know, it’s DC- but still). Considering applying.</p>
<p>Hopkins- really pretty buildings, but the campus itself was almost too perfectly manicured. I saw absolutely no kids there other than the ones on tours, and it was a Saturday afternoon in June so that creeped me out. I’ve talked to 2 students who went there, both transferred and hated JHU. Won’t apply.</p>
<p>Tufts- I thought it was absolutely beautiful. I didn’t like that the campus was soooo far from the T stop (the T is like the subway in Boston). People in admissions were very friendly, and some parts of campus had great views of the city. I just get the feeling that it’s very, very liberal, which makes me feel like I’d be a bit out of place. Will apply.</p>
<p>Harvard- visited simply as a tourist but I didn’t see what the fuss was about, it certainly wasn’t that pretty. Stopped in admissions to ask for a campus map and they rolled their eyes and weren’t able to get me one. The library looked nice from the outside, but the kids walking around campus looked like they hadn’t seen sunshine in months. Dorms looked horrible. Cambridge is a cute town though. Won’t apply.</p>
<p>MIT- drove through parts of campus on a Boston tour and it actually looked really cool. Didn’t get out of the bus, so I didn’t really get a feel for it, but it did look interesting. Won’t apply.</p>
<p>Boston U- I thought it was a really neat campus. More defined than GWU, but I didn’t love it. Very urban, the T is right there which makes it easy to get downtown. Still some green space and ADORABLE townhouses for students. A very cool school, but I won’t apply.</p>
<p>Boston College- campus was too gothic. People in admissions were about as unfriendly as they could come. Asked for some info packets, they had none. Asked for directions to bookstore, they seemed confused as to why we were asking and they ultimately pointed us in the wrong direction. Too many steps and hills, and I hate that half of freshman live off campus and have to be bussed in for classes. Won’t apply.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt- my absolute dream school, spent weeks there this past summer for a program. The campus is spectacular with magnolia trees everywhere and it’s very flat which is nice. Beautiful facilities and killer freshman dorms. Very safe campus and surrounding areas are fun and nice. Medical center on campus is wonderful. Admissions office was very helpful, my tour guide was AMAZING and hilarious. I ran into him on campus a few days later and he said hi and we talked for a few minutes. Reflected very well on the school. Applying ED.</p>
<p>William and Mary- loved the campus. Williamsburg is a cute town and the campus was so green and beautiful. Loved the sunken gardens and history on campus. I wasn’t signed up to do a tour, but when I stopped by the admissions office to pick up some information, the Student Body President offered to give me and my family a personal tour (!!!). Was very impressed by the attention they gave even though it was a Wednesday afternoon in January and they surely had other things they could be doing. Will apply.</p>
<p>U of Virginia- wasn’t overly impressed. I hated how at the info session they made every kid stand up and say where he/she was from and what HS they go to. Campus was very muddy (it was January) and I just wasn’t hugely impressed. Probably will apply.</p>
<p>Woo, this was long! Guess those two years of visits have to come in handy somehow :)</p>
<p>Just starting visits with DS14. DD is at UofMich and keeps hoping he will want to be a Wolverine. </p>
<p>We visited Hillsdale College this week. We did not stay of the entire planned visit. By the time the student panel portion ended DS had crossed them off the list. I was glad because I had crossed them off before lunch ended. Beautiful campus and some great programs but no diversity of thought. The running joke was we do have a club for student democrats I think there are 4.</p>
<p>My daughter had almost opposite reactions than she expected to most schools we visited. On our trips we would go to the one she’d picked and some others nearby that the GC or someone else recommended that D didn’t want to go to. I’ll just list a few.</p>
<p>Pomona: Told me on the way to the visit that she thought she could see herself there and that she had a hunch she’d go there. While in the waiting room for the tour she texted me asking if we could leave! What!? We went on the tour anyway, and watched her getting more and more annoyed looking. Then there’s the co-ed showers with flimsy shower curtains and the difficulty of double majoring, and the atmosphere which felt too self-important preachy. Not applying.</p>
<p>But then: Visited in the afternoon, Scripps. D immediately impressed. Besides the beautiful campus, can major outside college and have a co-ed experience, but have gorgeous mansion to live in with nice women. Loved the friendly and smart guide. Loved the tour, and the IS. Had an interview and got all her questions answered by smart capable women. Applying.</p>
<p>U of Chicago. We went here because after several talks in our town, D thought she would really love to go here. Hated the urban feel, unhappy looking students, tour guide was deadly dull ( I thought all the students seemed nice, but what do I know?).</p>
<p>But then: My D did NOT want to look at NU. But since we were going to Chicago to see Uof Ch, I told her we had to see some other schools to justify the trip. FINE. Three minutes into the IS, gave me the approving looks. After a good first impression, she chose a tour guide who is majoring in her field, and asked lots of questions. Friendly smart young woman, very together. D also loved the suburban neighborhood, and the students on campus. Definitely applying. </p>
<p>The favorite: I don’t know what opinion my D had about Notre Dame before we visited, but the beautiful drive in Indiana got her into a really good mood before we arrived. There were ND parents at the hotel who were alums and who told her enthusiastically to go there. Then the friendly students on campus said the same thing. Then the tour guide spent 30 minutes after the tour telling D about her research. The campus, the students, academics, the whole feel was just the ticket. Applied EA.</p>
<p>We visited 22 schools in all, but I will stop here.</p>
<p>Don’t stop, Ruby! I want to hear more!!</p>
<p>Ruby or Rudy you must have driven a different route through Indiana than we did. Your daughter made a good decision. Good luck.</p>
<p>Parts of Indiana can be quite beautiful, especially along Lake Michigan. Even in rural Indiana there is a beauty to the changing horizon based on the seasons. We also have amazing trees. Of course, much of the state is flat but there are hundreds of working farms, red barns, covered bridges and town halls that have not been destroyed.</p>
<p>For what its worth, my niece goes to ND. Like Ruby everything she thought she was going to like and want in a school turned out to be different than what she got. She wanted a real urban setting. She was positive she could never live in any type of remote setting…well that was the case until she stepped foot on ND soil. It was love at first sight and now as a junior she is only sad to think that her time to leave is drawing near. For my niece there’s no place in the world like Notre Dame!!! Go Irish!!</p>