<p>I’m a student applying this coming school year, and while my parents and I haven’t had the chance to visit most of the schools I’m interested in, we were able to do two in DC (didn’t get to do UVA or Georgetown while in the area, though):</p>
<p>Catholic University of America: The visit was great. Our tour guide was okay, a valley girl, but she was nice, at least. Really loved the campus, and more research after the visit, coupled with the visit, moved it up my list, to the top in my category of “non-reach” (can’t tell if CUA is a “safety” or a “low match”, but love it anyway).</p>
<p>George Washington University: This came off my list immediately. I disliked the feel, and didn’t like how it was just a couple of city blocks. My mother and I got off the metro stop, and didn’t even realize we were in GWU. We wandered out of the University while looking for it. In addition to this, this school doesn’t have many programs I like, or that are worth the highest tuition in the country (I should get full financial aid most places I go, but I know a lot don’t meet full need, and even though I could get an automatic $15k at GWU, it really wouldn’t be worth it).</p>
<p>Interestingly, both CUA and GWU claim to be the <em>only</em> university in DC with a metro stop on campus, and are both resistant to the idea that the other does, too. “No, no, theirs isn’t on campus.” “I was just there…”</p>
<p>Pizzagirl, I think the main adjustment would be getting over the suspicious feeling, “Why are all these people being so friendly?!? What do they want from me?” It was hard moving from Texas to Maine!</p>
<p>UCSD - just got back from a a visit. D12 did not like it - I, and her brother S14, loved it. I was told it was a spread out, cluster of building with no campus feel – NOT TRUE! UC San Diego is beautiful. It has a great campus feel and . . . La Jolla, CA - hello! What is not to like? The campus was very pretty and the dorms looked great. D12 is head-strong for the east coast, but I have got to tell you, if you have not seen UCSD it is very nice. Seems a little tech heavy, so it might not be the first choice for a Liberal Arts kid.</p>
<p>LaJolla is more for the rich and retired than college kids on a budget. It has little of what college kids want–cheap food and cheap liquor and a tolerance toward too much of both…</p>
<p>Funny about UCSD - my son was a recruited athlete there and got accepted as a Regents Scholar. With all his aid, he got a full ride so I really, really wanted him to LOVE IT! That being said, he hated it He went on an official visit and couldn’t stand it. He thought the campus was ugly and way too spread out. It just goes to show how important a visit is since everyone is different.</p>
<p>I can never figure out how people feel like GW doesn’t have a campus…yes, it’s all compacted into a few city blocks, but almost every building has a giant blue and gold banner on a flag pole with “The George Washington University” written on it along with the name of the building. (if I knew how, I’d insert a “scratching my head from confusion” smiley here, haha)</p>
<p>My DS always thought Texas was the place (UT) - couldn’t get out of their fast enough. Too much, “If you are out of state - you’ll be lucky to get in. Lucky to get a major.” etc. Found it totally off-putting.</p>
<p>"from what I hear Catholic is rather restrictive. "</p>
<p>Restrictions at Catholic colleges are usually exaggerated, but if CATHOLIC University has some strict regulations, at least it can’t be accused of false advertising.</p>
<p>Keilalexandra, perhaps I wasn’t really particularly clear, or my phrasing was poor, but I was referring to where someone said that they couldn’t tell whether they were actually at GW or not once they walked out of the Metro. The flags definitely give it away (and a lot of the buildings - particularly right off the Metro - have “THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY” plastered all over them in huge letters). No, it doesn’t have a “campus” in the same way that say Georgetown or UMD - College Park do, but it’s a very well defined “area” that green and grassy or not, to most GW students definitely feels like a “campus.” You pretty much automatically know where you are if you just look around.</p>
<p>I always felt that GW had a very cohesive campus - I knew when I was on it and when I was off, and almost all of the buildings were GW owned - but it’s definitely to each her own. I thought, for example, that GW was much more cohesive than American, which was just helter skelter.</p>
<p>My SIL and niece visited GW the other day. Their description was consistent with that of gwfb2012. In fact, SIL mentioned how the bannners helped to give a sense of a well-defined campus.</p>
<p>Visited 8 colleges in the last couple weeks. Only one S ruled out immediately was Carnegie Mellon. While all the others talked about how much they had to offer in addition to academics, CMU stressed that studying was a priority. I wasn’t there, but something along the lines of “we give you 4 years of work to do in 2 and then add 2 more years of work”. Just not for him.</p>
<p>We visited GWU. My son, who loves a big city feel, didn’t like it either. I think his ideal campus would be built around a grassy quad with trees, plunked down right in the middle of bustling city streets of some big city - DC, NY, Boston.</p>
It was hard moving from Texas to Maine!</p>