<p>alwaysbelieve, you & your D sound like truly amazing people!
We never know how lucky we are until we hear about someone else’s loss of a child.
I wish you all the best!</p>
<p>Speaking of allergies, when my DS and I visited UC Davis on the tour the guide told us about how many Olive trees they have all over campus and both of our hearts sank. He is SUPER allergic to Olive trees.</p>
<p>I find the Dickinson posts on language interesting. Dickinson does have a language requirement for pretty much everyone, but it is not 4 years. Via a placement exam students can place out. D1 (who really loathed languages in high school, at least the ones offered there) just missed placing out of French, so took her required semester. She liked it enough that she took another semester (could have knocked me over with a feather, after all of her high school struggles with it!).</p>
<p>I don’t think their placement policy is inconsistent with their global learning leanings. A lot of their study abroad programs require language study before you go. But not all, so there are some options for kids who want to study in English speaking countries. And they have been super flexible about allowing D to study abroad on her own in a country where they and their partners did not have a program, and accepting those credits. Many colleges we visited flat out said it would not be possible, or D would have to withdraw to pursue her desired study abroad plan. So I think they strike a pretty good balance on it.</p>
<p>The language requirement comment was made to us in 2008 by a faculty member. They were either incorrect or the requirement changed.
My comment was in no way a knock on Dickinson, which I think is a fantastic school on so many levels (when we toured, the Dickinson library had just been rated in the top five in the entire country, super impressive considering the size of the school!) Global diversity is wonderful and Dickinson certainly practices what they preach as evidenced by the numerous intenational students in attendance. However, my son was a very unenthusiastic Spanish student and couldn’t wait to complete his high school requirement and move on. The thought of having to take several semesters or more of a foreign language (I doubt he would have tested out anywhere LOL) was a dealbreaker for him. Different strokes for different folks…</p>
<p>The library IS spectacular, especially at night. I think that is what sold D1 on D’son, when we drove past it the night before our tour when we got to town. :)</p>
<p>UCF (too new) and UC Irvine because of the “futuristic” '60s architecture - D hated it.</p>
<p>^^^ D and I decided the chapel at Fairfield looked like something straight out of Disney’s Tomorrow land - and it was built fairly recently! </p>
<p>D fell in love with Elon when she saw the two large fountains. Lit up at night, they are truly lovely. More schools should invest in fountains - a relatively inexpensive way to beautify a campus.</p>
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<p>SUNY Albany has a fountain. My D was so turned off by the campus (large gray concrete towers) that even visiting on a day when the fountain was on did not help at all.</p>
<p>having gone to SUNY Albany in the late 70’s I can certainly understand your D’s reaction to the architecture. The campus has grown incredibly since I went there, but it is still not in my mind very beautiful.</p>
<p>SUNY Albany’s design was originally intended for a school in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, I think.) The architect who designed it gave the plans to NYS for hardly any fee. It was designed to maximize wind movement in a dry, arid climate. Needless to say, in a naturally windy place like Albany, especially in the winter, it is unbearable to walk about.</p>
<p>Re the fountain. It is only turned on for a few days at the end of May as it’s too cold and windy before that.</p>
<p>So many urban myths about SUNY Albany. M H (who attended in early seventies) says that the plans were a replica of a school built in GA.</p>
<p>I really wanted my D to like SUNY Albany. We went twice (both in the fall - two different years). First time, the day was as gray as the buildings. Second time was sunny. Fountain on (open house on Columbus Day weekend). She even met the director of admissions that day. Didn’t help. Everyone we know who goes there loves it. When the acceptance letter arrived, D could not have cared less. I tried. Fountain or no fountain. She hated the campus.</p>
<p>I have a close friend who just visited with her S last week. They loved it. To each his own!</p>
<p>what I was told about SUNY Albany was that it was the same design as a buildings in Iran. I took a course of Arab civilizations and we saw photos of the buildings in Iran. they were used as government buildings there. Of course this was before the Iranian revolution. I have often wondered what became of the buildings.</p>
<p>The University at Albany was designed by Edward Durrell Stone, a significant modern American architect. He was on the cover of Time magazine in 1958. He designed, among other buildings, Radio City Music Hall in NYC, The Kennedy Performing Arts Center in DC, The General Motors Building in NYC. It is very similar to the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (another Stone design), which is located near Rawalpindi and Islamabad. </p>
<p>Not everyone like modern stuff, but if you do…it’s great!</p>
<p>[State</a> University of New York at Albany - Edward Durrell Stone’s architecture, and the Pakistan look-alike](<a href=“http://www.albany.edu/geosciences/sunyapak.html]State”>Geological Sciences Program, University at Albany, SUNY)
[TIME</a> Magazine Cover: Edward Stone - Mar. 31, 1958 - Design - Architecture](<a href=“http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19580331,00.html]TIME”>http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19580331,00.html)
[Radio</a> City Music Hall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_City_Music_Hall]Radio”>Radio City Music Hall - Wikipedia)
[John</a> F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_Center_for_the_Performing_Arts]John”>John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>This is different than everyone else’s but Duke came right off the list after a visit; I absolutely couldn’t stand it. I just couldn’t fit in, it was way too “practical” less free-thinking than I might have liked, I didn’t really like Durham and although beautiful, I wasn’t obsessed with the two campus system either.</p>
<p>Mostly it was the fact that the tour guide was absolutely terrible though. He got so upset when I asked a question that he didn’t know and basically yelled at me for asking it. I was just about ready to leave then.</p>
<p>I like modern architecture, but Edward Durrell Stone did some pretty hideous buildings including this one at Caltech: <a href=“Agilitynut - Conseils aménagement, rénovation, travaux & décoration”>Agilitynut - Conseils aménagement, rénovation, travaux & décoration;
<p>Wow, Mathmom, you are referring to the Beckman Auditorium. I really liked it, from outside and inside. I tried to find another picture, but couldn’t isolate just one. (hope the link works.) What do you not like about it?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.travelphotobase.com/s/CAPDT.HTM[/url]”>http://www.travelphotobase.com/s/CAPDT.HTM</a></p>
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<p>I hate Beckman Aud outside. Haven’t seen inside.</p>
<p>Looks like a gessoed circus tent.</p>
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<p>Looks like something else out of “Tomorrowland” at Disney - the Carousel of Progress? Would fit in nicely with Fairfield’s “Space Mountain” chapel.</p>