<p>My D crossed Pronceton off her list on our second visit.</p>
<p>I was shocked. That was her dream school and the tour guide botched it. Her mom asked the tour guide what she does for fun. She stuttered and struggled to answer the question then said she like to see a movie on Fridays.</p>
<p>It was like the fun question didn’t compute. It sounded boring which we know it isn’t but D couldn’t get over that.</p>
<p>^^ My guess: this Princeton guide was new to admissions tours, the true answer was that she is in a (forbidden) sorority and likes to rage at the eating clubs, and stammered because she was trying to come up with a parent-friendly, alcohol-free answer.</p>
<p>Like reading all reasons why certained schools were crossed off the list. My DDs crossed off Purdue after being accepted when we visited during Scholars Day. As we were walking back to car and passed Eng building, a group of girls were singing songs making fun of Eng Students. My DDs of course are major in Engineering. Up until that day, Purdue was high on their list. They also crossed off Texas A&M as being “in a cult” even though Aunt & Uncles had all gone there. Ending up at Rice, tour guide told them it was okay to be smart there.</p>
<p>123txmom, you say (or your daughter says) “cult” as if it is a bad thing. :D</p>
<p>Chapman U was quickly axed off of D’s list because it seemed as though it isn’t a serious enough campus. And to be fair, she was right. I saw two student made misspelled signs. Academics were barely spoke of and we mostly toured the “fun” buildings and received more information on the food plan, which did sound amazing, than on classes or majors. Beautiful campus, though and the dorms had their own pool!</p>
<p>ETA: I would love it if D would at least tour Rice, but she’s not a huge Houston fan.</p>
<p>K1 crossed off</p>
<p>Holy Cross- guide said Um–a ba-zillion times
Tufts- tour guide told everyone all of the things that were wrong with it
BC- didn’t like the vibe
Harvard- thought the wanna-bes in the info session looked stuck up</p>
<p>Attends Yale</p>
<p>K2 crossed off
U Del- didnt like look of forced triple/smelly dorms on tour
U MD at St Mary’s - too remote</p>
<p>2 schools of last yrs tours stayed on list, and we’ll see 9 during the spring break this yr—sure to have more deleted…</p>
<p>Agentninetynine- You should bribe your D to at least go to Rice for a visit. My daughter rode down there with us sulking with her arms tightly crossed since she "wasn’t going to go to college in Texas " (we lived in Dallas and she went to boarding school in Michigan). She graduated from Rice in 2007 and had an incredible 4 years.</p>
<p>Yea, I hear Rice is fantastic! I’m for bribery.</p>
<p>Indiana University.
Bloomington was in the middle of nowhere and there was nothing to do there. Didn’t even stay for the full tour. We knew immediately I wouldn’t be going there.</p>
<p>I’m working on her MomofWild. We’ve been to Texas several times, but her only real exposure to Houston was a drive by and an airport visit. Running out of time as she’s going to be gone for half of the summer. And it’s not a cheap ticket to Houston from Portland.</p>
<p>Agentninetynine - no, it’s not cheap, but Southwest has some decent rates. Flight 599/1131, March 2, Saturday - $170/person. Monday, March 4, return flight from Houston 571/2974 - $169/person. You could visit campus all day on Monday and fly out that night. :)</p>
<p>Such service, Travel Agent Cromette, thank you. Can you find some cheap tickets to Paris? :)</p>
<p>Would love to have a spontaneous, whirlwind adventure, but weekends are booked until the dreaded SAT is completed on March 9.</p>
<p>LOL! I wish! I’d love to go to Paris!</p>
<p>There’s a Paris, Texas, but I’m sure that’s not what you meant, lol. I was toying with the idea of zipping to Houston over spring break but I’m sure air fares will have climbed to astronomical levels by then. </p>
<p>It seems like it’s all moving along at lightning speed. How is it only a month from spring break? Why haven’t I won the lottery by now? These are the questions that keep me up at night. :)</p>
<p>Here’s our list:</p>
<p>William & Mary - too insular
Wake Forest, GWU - too preppy
Gettysburg - too remote
U Delaware - nothing compelling about it
American - not sure why
Oberlin - loved it but too removed from city life
Princeton - too posh
Rutgers - didn’t like campus segmentation and buses</p>
<p>Anyone from Wisconsin would definitely be paying more for less to attend IU when there’s Madison to compare it to!</p>
<p>99, those are all my questions as well. Keep an eye on those southwest fares. You can search for the cheap fare days and cut the cost from 350 down to 170 one way! I’m talking myself into a trip to new Orleans! Lol</p>
<p>Not sure if was a list crosser-offer or it was other factors, but Chris Newport calls their coffee joint in the library Einstein’s, not the bagel/coffee place Einstein Bros.</p>
<p>In reference to the comment above about U. Del. freshman dorms, they are opening up two huge new dorms for 700 freshman this Fall, including for the Honors Program. At that time, they are also closing a set of older freshman dorms for renovation.</p>
<p>We visited U of Portland, Washington State, and Gonzaga this past week. DS immediately took UP off the list after the visit because he saw “too many hipsters skateboarding through campus” and, to him, the campus felt too small. On a bluff overlooking the Willamette River? Really? Sigh. Will have to agree with him that the student rec center really needs an update, which is planned when funds are raised. It is an endearing little building but not what a competitive HS swimmer/runner would wish for in his free time! Their engineering department gave a terrific presentation, though - if you are looking for preparation for an engineering job, that would be a great place to attend. DS LOVED the wide-open spaces at both the WSU and Gonzaga campuses and their respective engineering departments, though. The passion of the faculties in both places was so evident. And a random student at WSU saw us coming out of the engineering bldg. and walked over to tell DS what a great place it is. Gotta love the personal touch!</p>