<p>Have you guys spent time in northern Wisconsin? Now that’s a cold, cold winter… northern Wisconsin (and the UP attachment…) and northern MN are the coldest places in the Midwest, unless you count North Dakota, which is maybe the worst of the three due to the wind.</p>
<p>Probably the closest thing to that kind of cold in New England would be in Maine, right?</p>
<p>The old folks in my hometown (northern Wisconsin) used to say, “If it’s snowing, it’s not that cold.” </p>
<p>(Yes, it can snow at -20, -30, etc… it just comes down in very tiny flakes that really don’t amount to much on the ground)</p>
<p>I have to admit I want ThirdToGo to go on a tour at Bama … because it seems they have their act TOTALLY together on selling prospective students and their parents on their school.</p>
<p>It seems 10-20% of the schools I’ve visited have done a really nice job with the info sessions and tours … the vast majority are OK … and 10% or so stunk. I really don’t get the bottom 10% … hopefully it was just a bad day (or guide) and not a structural problem. It just doesn’t seem to be that hard to get into the top group … and, better yet, there are many ways to get there … some of the excellent presentations were more formal and big deals and some were less formal and more low key … lots of ways to get there but similar to a student’s application find a way to show what makes the school tick. It just seems like a low cost and low effort way to have a major marketing advantage that most schools just do not take advantage of. </p>
<p>Hmm… one example, the tour and info sessions should blatantly answer the “Why School X” question for the prospective students and families. The schools should know and promote their “elevator speeches”. Instead there is way too much data dumping of numbing repetitive information (we have the best study abroad, we have cross registration with another school, the libraries are open 24x7 during finals, etc).</p>
<p>Another northern Wisconsin native here. The concept of “harsh winter” is all relative. Growing up, we thought of Chicago as “South”. The winters there are considerably shorter than winters in northern Wisconsin. We would still have a snow pack and iced over lakes when Chicago grass was greening up and trees were budding out. This was many decades ago. Winters all over the midwest have been mild by comparison (this past winter being an exception) in the kast couple of decades. When I was a child it was common for the ice to thicken enough for cars to be able to drive on marked “streets” across smaller lakes. People drove out to their ice fishing shacks. As a young adult, I would have thought Chicago would have had pretty mild winters. Now, having lived away from the midwest for decades, I would consider Chicago winters to be harsher than I would want. </p>
<p>Weather is relative. I had to laugh at the post regarding the “brutal winter in the South.” Yes, I considered this past winter to be brutal. The average temp for January in my area was only 52, and my pipes froze for the first time following 3 consecutive days of temps in the low 20s. Brutal for the South is nothing compared to the NE and Midwest. My sister lived in Minot, ND - now that is really brutal! She said it was far worse than anything she experienced in Boston or St. Louis. </p>
<p>@Sue22 - Regarding Muhlenberg. Can you explain what you saw that made you both say that? I am assuming it had something to do with the way they were dressed, but you really didn’t elaborate. Pure curiosity, that’s all. I don’t know much about the school at all.</p>
<p>Definitely, “brutal” is relative. People acclimate to their weather conditions. You get used to dressing for it and dealing with it–it’s the unexpected extremes that really throw people. Minot or International Falls or Houghton won’t shut down because of a few inches of snow the way cities in the south do. Here in WI, the first cold snap always takes me by surprise and I think “no way can I do this”–but by the middle of the winter I am going out without gloves or a hat and my kids say “it’s hot out” when it’s in the high 20s!</p>
<p>“You’re right about Chicago vs New England winters.”</p>
<p>In my opinion, it’s the wind off the water which makes U of C so awful in the winter. I’ve lived in upstate NY (the real upstate part) when I was in high school and have been back here for the last 20 years. I don’t think it’s nearly as bad here - but I also don’t have to walk in bad weather like I had to as a student. </p>
<p>The northeast knows how to deal with winters as well! It’s the south that has issues. I live in a tiny northeast town…about. 5000 people. Last winter an Atlanta friend quipped that our little town had more snowplows than Atlanta. I think she is correct.</p>
<p>Weather is funny! Everybody thinks thei “own” is the harshest. Here in St. Louis we have the howling wind and sub-zero temps, the raging rains and tornados, and the 100°+ degree days with 85% humidity. All of it. The difference from anywhere else is that it all happens in the same week! ;)</p>
<p>@emilybee You and I likely grew up in very similar locations. I still have to hold my tongue when people talk about the harsh winters here in southern PA. I only recall a time or two of getting below zero overnight here. I recall walking to/from school in 20 - 30 below zero more than once in my youth. Schools close easily here. School rarely closed growing up.</p>
<p>Middle son is at U Rochester. I worried about what he’d think of winter there. It hasn’t been an issue at all. Oldest and youngest insisted on going south though. They wouldn’t even consider PA schools.</p>
<p>fallenchemist-
What she saw was a lot of kids who gave off an artsy vibe, with dyed hair, multiple piercings, dark clothing, etc… In contrast, she’s a sporty-preppy kid, coming from a NE boarding school where it’s common to see boys in pastel shorts from Vineyard Vines or J. Crew throwing a lacrosse ball around in front of their dorm. What would have been another kid’s dream school just wasn’t going to be a good match for her.</p>
<p>I don’t think my city even has a snow plow! We are babies when it comes to cold weather because, as someone mentioned, we are completely unprepared for it. No down parkas, snow boots, etc. When I lived in the NE, I had the gear to keep warm. I am assembling a cold weather wardrobe for my D to attend school in TN (haha). Rochester was one school I crossed off my list in the Dark Ages because of weather. My visit was during a blizzard and I couldn’t get past it. Great school though. </p>
<p>The whole country had a terrible winter last year! I’m crossing my fingers that this one won’t be so bad, because my daughter is going into music and auditions are traditionally held in January and February, and she’s really only looking in the Northeast and dipping a toe into the midwest (Ohio). </p>
<p>Ditto @fallenchemist question to @Sue22 about Muhlenberg, was thinking about visiting to check it out for my D - what was it that you both reacted to and didn’t like?</p>
<p>@daisychain - She answered me above. But here is the quote.
</p>
<p>Now whether they really saw a representative sample or just a group that happened to have the same proclivities I cannot say, but she did say they barely got out of the car. One of the other mods told me that she took her D to see the school and didn’t notice anything like that. Not sure when that was though.</p>
<p>I fully admit that what she saw probably wasn’t a representative sample, but a couple of guys with gauges was all it took to throw her off. She saw the school toward the end of a long trip on which she’d already found other schools in the same category (by which I mean reach/match/likely) that she really liked and which offer her sport, which Muhlenberg does not. It felt like it would be needlessly forcing things to make her take the tour. Luckily she’s a kid who’s liked a lot of the schools she’s seen, so she had plenty on her list.</p>
<p>Thanks, @fallenchemist and @Sue22, sorry I missed the earlier response. To each her own - my D tends to shy away from the sporty-preppy looking schools!</p>
<p>With a senior at Muhlenberg, I can honestly say that what Sue22 and her daughter saw is not the typical Muhlenberg scene. Muhlenberg does have an artsy vibe to parts of its student body, but it has an equally large preppy, premed, prelaw group that is at least as visible on campus. One of the things that I like is that all these groups are very accepting of each other and everyone seems to be supportive and get along. Although it sounds like Sue22 and her daughter have found other schools that interest them more, I would not hesitate to suggest to others to look into Muhlenberg, it has been an amazing school experience for our senior. </p>
<p>A couple of years ago D flew across the state to a camp being held at a directional U. The camp had a van to pick kids up at the airport, and after each new kid got in the van (D was first), she became more and more convinced that she might be one of the few non-geeks, uninterested in zombies or Harry Potter and one of the only girls. In fact, the overall student body was much more diverse and she had a great time, so much so that she returned the following year. It seems like one is cheating themselves out of a possible great experience by judging an entire student body based on a couple of kids. Unless, that is that even ONE person who looks different is enough to scare one off. </p>