<p>Union college because they area it is in is very sketchy.</p>
<p>^^^ Yāknow, I wasnāt thrilled about the area around Union either. But when I mentioned that to a teacher, he said heād known a number of students whoād lived off-campus right in the area I was most concerned about . . . and none of them ever had the slightest problem. So, it might not be pretty, but it could be worse. And there is a nice neighborhood with restaurants and such within walking distance of the school, going in the other direction.</p>
<p>^^^ we felt the same about Union - not wild about the neighborhood but loved the school and as Dodgersmom says, the area in the other direction is nice and the whole Schnectady-Albany area is vibrant and seems to be thriving. They accepted S2 with a generous financial aid package and it was one of his top 3 schools. He ended up going elsewhere but it wasnāt because of the neighborhood. But I could see how it would be a deterrent.</p>
<p>Iāll echo what has been said about Union, although it was 6 years ago when we were looking. Accidentally turned the wrong way and went around a block to turn around - one block from campus and there was actually a burned out car along the street. Still ended up as Sās #2, with nice merit aid. It was a dislike of Unionās trimester system (S didnāt want to be there until mid-June), and the chance to attend a D1 LAC that swayed him away from Union.</p>
<p>I live in the Capital District and honestly Iāve never heard of any problems occurring because of where it is located. The college also abuts one of the wealthiest suburbs in the area. Schenectady certainly has its share of problems but H and I frequently go there - the theater downtown for Broadway shows, there are some excellent restaurants - and we go biking a lot along the river and around the historic district.</p>
<p>You might try posting that question on the Rutgers portion of this website.</p>
<p>For me, there was a variety that didnāt make the cut after the visit. I wasnāt sure if I wanted to go LAC or larger research school.</p>
<p>Macalester - Seemed too snooty and didnāt offer any merit aid.</p>
<p>Hamlin - Visited because my grandma went there and I knew I would get good aid, but it didnāt seem very academically strong and didnāt offer the exact major I was looking for.</p>
<p>University of Wisconsin - In-state, both my parents went there, but even they were turned off by it. No merit aid, surprisingly snooty about it, impersonal tour, and not much focus on undergrads. (Fantastic city, though, and great for grad school)</p>
<p>UW La-Crosse - smaller in-state with strong bio-related programs, but generally seemedā¦ underfunded? I donāt know what, but it didnāt really appeal to me. Also really big with kids from my school and I wanted to go somewhere different.</p>
<p>The school I ended up at was the only one I applied to without visiting, and the only one outside WI/MN. Ended up loving it on the visit, but my mom was uneasy with it at first because she hadnāt been able to come along for the visit.</p>
<p>LaCrosse is packing 4 kids to a room in some cases. Where did you end up?</p>
<p>My son went to U of Chicago on his own. Hated it. Didnāt like the campus, didnāt think the students were his typeājust no connection. I went with him to Carnegie Mellon and we both left with that āwhat a waste of timeā feeling. The campus was blah, ugly buildings, terrible landscape, awful workout facilities, sad-faced students, bad tours, bad presentation. We couldnāt wait to get the heck away from there.</p>
<p>My son initially didnāt feel much of a connection on his first visit to Carnegie Mellon, so it sort off dropped off his radar. He went back for a sleeping bag weekend and really liked it. Heās a sophomore there now and just loves the school. Hardly ever wants to leave for breaks ā heās that happy there. He says everybody fits in and finds a friend group. The courses, the people, the whole thing ā he says its terrific. I feel so lucky to have a child as happy as he is with college. So sometime our first impressions donāt lead us in the right direction.</p>
<p>I had taken my son to Union in January and he loved it. He even considered applying early decision there. However, he went back for the overnight visit and saw that it truly was a party school and decided going to school in a large city (BU) was a better fit for him- because it offered more choices in activities for him.</p>
<p>3 years ago, D had a fantastic audition and visit at U of Houston. All of the music students volunteering were terrifically friendly and said they loved the program at Moores, the music school. The professors were incredibly encouraging, and most were Houston Symphony musicians. We toured around the campus, and although it was large, it was extremely nice.
3 years later, I toured campus with DS #2. We went for a tour of the Honors College first. I could tell he was squirming. It was nearly 100 degrees out, and he said to me as we walked out of the library, where the Honors College is housed, āCan we just leave now and skip the tour? Thereās no way Iām going here. Itās just way too big.ā</p>
<p>We had had a fantastic tour of Rice earlier in the day, and he loved everything about it (surprised himself, since he thought it was going to be āall nerdsā). He realized that day that smaller for him is better, especially when it is a school as nice as Rice.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon, U Chicago, Northwestern - We toured all 3 but she called it ānerdvilleā and āwhen fun goes to dieā. :)- - Oh Well - I guess you can only take the horse to the waterā¦</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins, Boston University, Union College, Hamilton College and, unfortunately for my S who was accepted, Carnegie Mellon. He visited as an an accepted student.</p>
<p>why do so many kids dislike Carnegie Mellon? I thought it was pretty good & you cannot fault the academics or reputation. Of course it was 100+ when we visited and 100% humidity. Must be the vibe of the city</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at Carnegie Mellon and he loves it. He visited as an admitted student after being waitlisted by his top two schools, was not impressed with the campus, and expected to transfer after his first year. Happily, he has made a lot of friends, is enjoying his classes, and is having fun exploring Pittsburgh (a great small city). Colleges he crossed off his list after visiting included Johns Hopkins (didnāt like surrounding neighborhood) and Boston College (too homogeneous).</p>
<p>Regarding Carnegie Mellon, I think itĀs because the school is so diverse that who my son met on the tour and what he talked about wasnĀt what my son was interested in. Our tour guide was in liberal arts or music I think, and my son is into the tech fields. The tour guide didnĀt show my son the engineering or computer science buildings, or talk at all about those colleges. But my son has told me that when you are actually a student at CMU, the diversity is a real plus. He says the university is very inclusive, tolerant, and accepting of everybody. He says that anyone can find a friend group there. I think the common bond is that most people there are totally into whatever it is they like Ā theatre, music, robotics, math, material science Ā whatever. IĀm sure it helps, too, that he found a girlfriend the first week and has had positive experiences with recruiters for summer internships. Recently when I asked him how his week was, he said really hard, but he learned a lot and that he thinks thereĀs definitely a difference learning at CMU. His own words.</p>
<p>A little more I forgot about Carnegie Mellon. Pittsburgh has some neat neighborhoods near the school that you donĀt see at first like Squirrel Hill and Shadysideā¦ My son didnāt know about them when we he first looked at CMU. He says they have lots of shops and restaurants. He likes Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>@riproron -
Some of my high school friends actually ended up in a lounge converted into a dorm room, with 6 people in it. Crazy.
I ended up at Northeastern University (in Boston. Not Northwestern. I have to make that correction to people a lot!)</p>
<p>Elon; JMU; Clemson; Bentley; UConn (but we are CT residents, so whether she likes it or not, sheās applying, lol) Elonāit was a āfeelā thing. Older dd loved it (and so did I when I visited with her) but younger dd said it felt very snooty and not at all welcoming (unfortunately, I had to agree this time-- much can change in 4 years). JMUāIām convinced it was the tour guide who was all about playing soccer and the food and not much else. Clemsonāwe did a drive-by the night before our scheduled visit and she decided to cancel. Bentleyātoo much like a high school feel; UConnālike I said, we are CT residents and most of our HS seniors say they donāt want to go, but when they do they love it. They accept (IMO) way too high a percentage of OOS students, so her chances of getting in are slim anyway, but I feel for the financial safety aspect, she really, really should apply.</p>