<p>Went on a 95 degree day and couldn’t believe it when they said 1/3 of the dorms don’t have AC. They still want lots for room & board too… UVA just didn’t click with us like Georgetown and Miami did.</p>
<p>We are starting round two of tours with second child.
The parents fell in love with Dartmouth as soon as we got of the hwy and crossed the bridge. The town and campus is exactly what I imagined a small New England town to look like. Lots of green lawns, cute main street, ivy covered brick buildings with the white greek columns. Unfortunately son couldn’t see himself there. Same thing for Brown. He wants more urban. Chicago is the next tour</p>
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<p>It’s always interesting to hear peoplee’s perspectives.</p>
<p>Yes, compared to UMD, U-Va is in the “middle of nowhere.”</p>
<p>As you said, not your style.</p>
<p>vegasmom - I enjoyed your trip summary. What dorm did you visit at JMU? Do you mind sharing what made the dorms ‘very nice?’ We visited last fall and weren’t able to see an actual room, just a mockup of a ‘typical’ room. It was hard to form an opinion without seeing an actual room. As of now, JMU is son’s #3. </p>
<p>We are visiting URichmond in a couple of weeks. This school has been on and off son’s list many times. I think he feels it might be a bit conservative? Did you feel that when you toured?</p>
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sounds like FirstToGo … when she toured Columbia/Barnard, Penn, Georgetown, and Yale (to a lesser degree) passed the very urban smell test. Chicago and Hopkins both are in urban environments but mainly residential neighborhoods. </p>
<p>PS #1 - she was not interested in staying in Boston … Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, BU, and Tufts are pretty urban … while BC is in a residential neighborhood.</p>
<p>PS #2 - we did not visit Carnegie Mellon which sounds like an interesting option also.</p>
<p>I love this thread, even though we aren’t even looking at schools right now. </p>
<p>I was surprised that the food at JMU was found to be lackluster. They were just ranked number two nationwide for their food.</p>
<p>^^^ Oh yeah, I meant to comment on the JMU food. When we toured, we didnt eat at a buffet, it was more of a stations set up. We enjoyed our meal and the atmosphere. Maybe the buffet dining area isnt as good as the station dining area?</p>
<p>Georgetown. Overheard a couple students talking about partying later and when we asked our tour guide about it later, her response was that there were parties, like any school, if you were interested in that sort of thing it was there, but also that those who were not interested had plenty of opportunities.</p>
<p>That was not the type of attitude we wanted in a school. We wanted a school that was 100% against alcohol, we wanted that guide to let us know those students would be reported and the partying culture was being targeted.</p>
<p>Have you found such a school yet (other than a very religious institution)?</p>
<p>It would have to be a very conservative religious school. You are definitely looking for a different college experience than most.</p>
<p>Yes. </p>
<p>It is religious in nature, but that is beside the point</p>
<p>Trolling? If not, there are very few secular schools (other than the service academies) which will fit that criteria.</p>
<p>FWIW, our Georgetown tour mid-week included peeking in the windows of a dorm. Obviously, the kids whose room it was were not scheduled to show their room, but there had been a big party, which was pointed out by the guide. It was about the same time a huge story broke about a drug dealer in the dorms ( it was all over our paper). </p>
<p>I know it is everywhere. The $60k COA was the big deterrent for us.</p>
<p>Except for the very MOST conservative religious schools, you will find parties. And you will find alcohol. You could consider BYU…no alcohol there.</p>
<p>Hope - they talk a good game at ND. Even have single gender dorms and parietals. But you will still find liquor in dorms.</p>
<p>My daughter visited DeSales University, which is a small Catholic school in Pa. The President is a jovial Priest. He addressed the crowd of parents and students at their open house and said “If you want to keep a keg in your dorm, don’t come here. I can give you a list of other colleges that would offer you that experience, but it is not DeSales. We also believe that if you are renting a room from us, you have a right to sleep in your bed, and not be kicked out by your roommate. That is why we have restrictions on overnight guests.”</p>
<p>I told that story to my son, and he said, yes, there was a guy on his freshman hall who kept a keg tapped in his dorm room.</p>
<p>My younger D is interested in some schools that have a religious affiliation. Some are not only against partying but are 100% “dry”. The student reviews of every one of them mention that it’s possible to find alcohol if you know where to look.</p>
<p>Did the passing student and guide mention alcohol specifically? Why is it that everyone assumes that party=alcohol?</p>
<p>No, I am not naive enough to think that college students don’t drink. But I am also fully aware that college students do get together and party without drinking. </p>
<p>And schools can claim zero tolerance for alcohol all they want. But where there’s a will…</p>
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<p>So you say you found a university that purports to offer this middle-school type of social experience? Which one?</p>
<p>Hope…hereshoping you find the type of college you are looking for.</p>