<p>“Alabama vs TCU? You’re so right, Alabama is on top of their game in recruiting right now. Who else gives GUARANTEED full tuition scholarships to freshman based on SAT?”</p>
<p>Temple does, just FYI. My D is attending on a full tuition scholarship (plus $4000 enrichment stipend each summer) based on GPA/SAT scores.</p>
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<p>We attended a similar event on Philadelphia’s Main Line, but it was Kevin Whitaker (Associate Dean for Academic Programs in UA’s engineering school and an aerospace engineer), not Chuck Karr, who spoke. It was similarly impressive . . . and persuasive. </p>
<p>We were less impressed by the Penn State and UDel shpiels we sat through. Penn State’s campus was beautiful, but everything felt a little too pre-professional for my son. And that whole “We Are . . . Penn State” chant got old really fast, especially the tradition where a random kid will call out “We are” and everybody on the tour is supposed to reply “Penn State!” </p>
<p>Delaware’s campus was disappointing after all the praise friends had heaped on it. </p>
<p>If DS and I went to a presentation by someone with the “personality and presence of a Top 10 football coach,” we would have been turned off. Just not our style. To each his own.</p>
<p>BTMell–</p>
<p>There are scholarships for Catholic kids sponsored by particular dioceses—nothing sneaky about the question.</p>
<p>MODERATOR’S NOTE: Please refrain from posts about the Catholic Church and birth control. Not appropriate in this thread.</p>
<p>Swarthmore: The admissions officer giving the session said “OK?” 8 million times. Drove us nuts. Also the tour guide talked about “interlibrary loans” as a big selling point. Really? The campus felt like it was stuck in a 1980s time warp.</p>
<p>Princeton: DD said the campus was ‘too nice.’ The town area also.</p>
<p>I can confirm there are scholarships offered by individual Catholic churches/parishes/dioceses for worshippers who attend Catholic schools and that is why a school such as BC would ask where you attend church. Im sure one does not HAVE do answer the question but if it increases one’s chances for a scholarship, I would want to be given the option.</p>
<p>DD and friends noted Princeton dorms don’t have AC and some are a very far walk to dining hall. Kids can be turned off by non academic amenities (or lack thereof).</p>
<p>In the northeast, air-conditioned dorms are certainly the exception as opposed to the rule.UMass, for examples, used the brand new AIR CONDITIONED honors dorms as a selling point for the honors college, for example.</p>
<p>Some Princeton dorms actually do have AC (of course, there is no guarantee that a student will be assigned to one of them) and all the residential colleges have dining rooms.
The college that got crossed off our list was Bard. The student tour guide referred to nordic skiing as a “hipster” activity and the pre-tour group chat with a rep from the admissions office was too much of an attempt at a group bonding experience for my D’s taste. She was my favorite tour guide; she was clearly proud of the school and making the most of the opportunities there, but was also able to mention something that she felt could be improved.</p>
<p>@Gator88NE The Engineering tours seem to be a rare offering, according to the website. I hope we’ll be able to fit one in, considering our time constraints during the school year. </p>
<p>After touring Duke University, we immediately crossed it off our list. The person who conducted the information session provided information which was on the website and nothing more; she refused to answer questions about funding during the session; refused to answer questions about class sizes (which can actually rise to 400 students) and when we asked could we discuss the school after the session ended, she told us to go the admissions office and make an appointment and our state representative may be available. She was absolutely cold. The trip was a complete waste since we did not learn anything during our visit. She turned off many people in the session. </p>
<p>UNC Chapel Hill was providing an information on the same date and most people went to both sessions. Given the stark comparison, I think Duke lost a lot of students that day. It was truly pathetic.</p>
<p>By the way, my husband attended Duke.</p>
<p>“Swarthmore: The campus felt like it was stuck in a 1980s time warp”</p>
<p>Probably more like the '60s. If you get Swarthmore to the 80s, that would be a huge improvement!</p>
<p>DS and I didn’t get that vibe from Swarthmore. Rather, it just seemed rather stuck-up.</p>
<p>But I know some wonderful young people who went there, so I doubt it really is that way.</p>
<p>I grew up in the town next to Swarthmore. I don’t know about the college, but the people of Swarthmore are certainly generally stuck up, including the kids. I wouldn’t be surprised if the college had the same attitude.</p>
<p>Toured Ursinus 6 yrs ago. Tour guide looked like she literally rolled out of bed to give the tour. Could only speak in terms of how things interfaced with her gymnastics team. Talked a lot about awesome parties. Knew nothing about the buildings except to read what was on the signs ("This is XXXXX Hall, has the physics department).</p>
<p>Schools need to realize how important the tour guides are in terms of giving first impressions.</p>
<p>Absolutely. You would think that would be PR 101.</p>
<p>There was a post here by @JustOneBruin where they presented an opinion as to whether college visits are really useful at all. I moved that to <a href=“Value of College Visits - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/1665268/value-of-college-visits</a> since it really isn’t the direct topic of this thread and an argument/discussion of that takes this thread down a rabbit hole. </p>
<p>UNC - CH: We couldn’t fit in a regular tour and info session, but were able to sign DS up to sit in on a class. When we got to campus, I couldn’t find parking, so I sent DS off on his own to find the Admissions Office and get to his class. DS said that Admissions person was curt and dismissive, but gave him a map and pointed to the general area of the class. He got himself there after asking a few students for help. Despite his experience with the Admissions Office, he really loved the campus and class - something I don’t think would have happened if had only relied upon an organized tour. Highly recommend the option UNC provides to take a class to get a better idea of what the school is like. </p>