A post was merged into an existing topic: Off-Topic Discussion from “Colleges Crossed Off List or Moved Up After Visiting”
A post was merged into an existing topic: Off-Topic Discussion from “Colleges Crossed Off List or Moved Up After Visiting”
Reminder that this is a no reply thread! Please use the off-topic discussion spin off thread if you’d like to comment about someone’s visits/impressions. Thank you.
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SKIDMORE–WAY DOWN. My city-loving kid basically had an allergic reaction to this lovely little school. He desperately wanted to leave the tour “discreetly” halfway through. I thought that might happen and tried to dissuade him from the visit in the first place. This is not the school for a kid who gets his energy from urban areas. It’s sweet, small, and in a beautiful bucolic settling. Grassy hills etc. Had a real private high school vibe. I was bored too, but we did finish the tour. We skipped the info session.
PARSONS – SAME. Loved the NYC location, not totally thrilled with the breadth of classes on offer. This visit helped us see that we needed an art & design school set in a larger university.
NYU: – SAME. Loved NYC location, not thrilled with art classes on offer. Plus S24 wisely realized that classes would not be as attractive as the city itself and focusing on schoolwork would be very hard.
PRATT – SAME. See issues with Parsons.
WASHU – WAY UP. Love at first site. Brand new city (S24 loves a new city), gorgeous buildings, amazing art and design school (kids and professors so so cool) and plenty of opportunity to minor in business, physics, and French. Kids there were so impressive and kind. We just had a GREAT visit. We hadn’t known this school was so amazing for art kids but it is.
Tufts – DOWN. Boston too familiar. Didn’t seem like a big enough adventure. Loved the campus though and I thought the kids were wonderful. Though (sadly) I’m not the one attending…
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DePaul University–same/up. Specifically, we toured only the Loop Campus because D26 is possibly interested in pursuing a degree in Film. We are already very familiar with DePaul in general and the Lincoln Park campus because D22 is there! D22, while not majoring in anything that DePaul is really known for (which I would say is Film, Animation, Theater, Business, Music) is very happy there.
The Loop campus is right downtown in the Loop, obviously. And it’s not a real campus, but rather a few tall buildings with DePaul flags hanging outside (similar to NYU). DePaul runs shuttles between the two campuses, at night anyway, but lots of students just take the L (and students are provided a metro card every quarter). We stopped off in a finance classroom where we were told that DePaul has a $48,000 subscription to Bloomberg something or other (sorry, not a finance person), but DePaul kids have access to for free. Film students take classes at Cinespace (DePaul provides shuttles) and they can observe actual work taking place there (The Bear!).
The only real negative we noted was that we didn’t see groups of kids hanging out together. But D22 assured us that at the Lincoln Park campus they do. Also, it happens to be the first day of spring quarter, so perhaps that had something to do with it.
Another positive is that the tour group appeared to be ethnically quite diverse, all races represented, none dominated. This is reflective of the student makeup at DePaul, I’m pretty sure.
Anyway, if D26 remains interested in film, she will likely apply. It is both a pro and a con that her big sis is here!
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Colby: UP. Really stunning campus, even during a particularly gray February. Gorgeous view from the top of the hill. The opening information was underwhelming, but our tour guide was outstanding–frank, charismatic, seemed deeply committed to & excited about the campus community. I had thought this school might feel too preppy/jockish for my blue-haired kid, but he liked it a lot. Our guide was a government + education double major, and he has had research published with a professor, studied educational philosophy in Copenhagen during J-term (paid for by Colby), and had 2 cool summer internships in Boston. The school seems open to & responsive to student voice–they recently started putting first-years in their own dorms, in response to student surveys.
Bowdoin: UP. A smaller & cozier campus than Colby. Great admissions presentation that actually gave useful, Bowdoin-specific info about how students should approach their application. Another outstanding guide–he was so excited & curious about everything the school offers & the chances he’s had to try new things. Again, I thought this school might be a little too cool/preppy for my quirky kid, but our guide was so lovably nerdy that we were both won over. Both of these schools are major financial & academic reaches, obviously, but they will stay on the ‘maybe’ list for now.
Vassar: SAME (but good). I expected that we would love this one & we did. Beautiful campus, super-friendly & quirky students, school feels like a bubbled arboretum but is walking distance to restaurants. Close-knit house system appealed to my shy kid, who asked as soon as the tour ended, “So, is there like a merit scholarship I can win for this one?” (Nope, sorry, kiddo). We’ll see how much interest he has in doing reach applications after he finishes his likely/target apps. He felt that the Vassar students were “his people” much more so than Bowdoin/Colby (more people who looked like they might play D&D).
Bard: UP for me, DOWN for kid. We saw this immediately after Vassar, and the campus was much less manicured and the admissions office much less organized. (We had 3 tour guides leading a group of about 50–why didn’t they split us into 3 smaller groups??) They took us into very few buildings (no library stop?), which was too bad. But the more the guides talked about their school, the more I appreciated Bard’s specific educational vision. They build community among their first years by having them spend 3 weeks on campus in August taking a writing class & then coming back early from December break to do a citizen science project. Before declaring a major, every student has to write a paper about their journey to/interest in this major & present it to a panel of professors for approval. Every student writes a senior thesis, supervised & supported by a faculty member. The school takes such a deliberate approach to crafting thinkers & scholars & providing a high-touch learning environment–I was super-impressed. So what if their landscaping budget is smaller than Vassar’s. DS liked it but didn’t love it–he wasn’t sure he would fit in with the students, but couldn’t really say why. Will probably apply, though–he wants a small school in the northeast, and he needs some good options that are not as reachy as the 3 schools above.
UMass Amherst: WAY UP for me, SAME for kid. This is our in-state school so I wanted us to love it, or at least like it. I loved it–campus with lots of green space, lots of research/individualized opportunities for students who look for them, great food, perfectly adequate dorms. The students in admissions/on our tour were confident and funny and smart and clearly loved their school. The price is right. I’m totally sold. Kid is nervous about finding their people in such a big school (it did NOT help that we drove by a group of young men with their shirts off drinking giant beers in their front yard at 10am). But he will definitely apply–we will probably try to go back in the fall & visit some of the specific departments/clubs he’s interested in, to help him get his head around it a little bit more.
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Reminder of mod note posted earlier.
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We also have one for DePaul University - way/up hi@Ally86 
Visited during our spring break so it was pretty quiet on campus. First stop was Lincoln Park. My daughter really loved the campus and surrounding neighborhood. She tends to like the schools in cities rather than on their own. The tour seemed fairly basic to me but the information session afterward was very good. I really like that DePaul is on a quarter system that starts in early September and a six week break starts right before Thanksgiving. This will be helpful for students that have to travel from a distance. My D also feels the faster pace of a quarter system will keep her in check. I wanted to check out the cafeteria food but it was closed for spring break. After this tour my D felt like the school had moved higher in her rankings.
Next day was a tour of the Loop Campus. My D will be taking classes here too as she wants to do accounting/finance. First we met with the head of the accounting honors program. She was super sweet and explained the program. Basically they are taking the same classes as regular accounting/business but will be in a smaller cohort. They also have special activities just for them such as having an event with the large accounting firms close to the beginning of school. They also do a community event with the large firms. What a great way to get their face out there in a more relaxed setting. They are assigned an upper classman accounting honors mentor and also an DePaul accounting alumni mentor. We also got to talk to a current student who is an accounting honors and double majoring in finance. He explained how the two are easier to double major than some other majors as they share several of the same required classes. He also stated that he was able to do regular honors on top of the accounting honors. My D will now apply to regular honors as she was afraid it would be too much work to do both but the student changed her mind. The honors also get to be housed in one of the better dorms so that is a plus as well.
We then toured the loop campus. It is mainly housed in the one building down town. Great tour as our tour guide was very enthusiastic and you could tell he enjoyed his time at DePaul. The building has good security and you have to sign in to get up to the different floors. We had taken a train from the Lincoln Park campus to the Loop campus and it was an easy trip. They did say late classes after 5 could be accessed by a shuttle. They also have a cafeteria on the loop campus but you could easily walk to restaurants nearby. After the second tour my daughter was very excited about DePaul. She could definitely see herself there and loved Chicago.
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D26’s first college visit. I wasn’t there (my sister took her) so this is a summary of a phone call.
Oregon State: UP (an achievement in itself, since she went in with high expectations). The campus and academic buildings struck her as pretty, “scenic,” and the right size to be easily walkable while also having plenty of everything. The students she talked to said that class sizes for them had been on the small side or at least manageable. She liked the idea of going to a biggish school with lots of opportunities but not with huge intro classes like the UC her brother attends. She commented that people she met seemed friendly and considerate, and she was very impressed that “while we were standing around distracted near a line, three different people asked politely to make sure we weren’t getting cut in front of.” She liked the overall vibe and could see herself going there and making friends.
The honors college seemed attractive to her, she liked how the honors thesis is “not necessarily a giant research paper, and could be something different from your major,” she also liked the honors student lounge area and of course the free printing (I remember S23 was impressed by that honors college benefit too, which honestly I think is sort of funny!)
She liked the student experience center which is “big and lovely inside, actually all the buildings we went inside were nice,” and which has a place where you can do art projects for fun like making pottery, and you can even check out a kit to make things, and “it doesn’t cost anything except for the materials you used.” She also liked the gym, “it was big and nice and doesn’t cost anything either” (I’m not sure why she expected everything to cost money, but anyway she kept mentioning how many things were free)
She was impressed by the research forest, enjoyed seeing some animals near the vet school, and also saw a “mystery animal” from far away that was intriguing, they were not sure whether it was something like a camel, or a cow? (D26 has definitely seen both of those animals before, so this detail has me puzzled 
)
Finally, “next time we visit,” (oh, there is going to be a next time?) “we’ll have to check out the library, and walk around town a bit.” So, I guess the visit went well 
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My D26 just returned from her first college visit too (excluding those she was dragged on with her older brothers)! In our case, it was Marquette.
D26 is seriously considering a direct admit nursing program and Marquette has such a program. As we set out, I was a little worried bc D was grumpy about the early start on her last day of spring break and fell asleep in the car on the way there. Plus, rain was forecast. Despite that, Marquette went UP.
We started with a department (nursing) tour, which was nearly private. Just one other family. The nursing advisor who gave the tour was outstanding. Warm and friendly without feeling forced. My D even commented to me that she really liked her. We got a ton of good information about the program, and my D seemed to perk up.
Next was the general info session and tour. My D actually wanted to skip it, but I convinced her that seeing the whole campus (dorm, cafeteria, etc.) was important. At the welcome center, the kids were given a surprisingly nice Marquette t-shirt and canvas tote filled w/ literature. There was also a screen that scrolled through a welcome message to each visiting student by name and state (mostly midwest and California). Finally, admissions thoughtfully placed students with tour guides based on areas of interest or potential major which they confirmed upon arrival. Gold star for this individualized approach and swag!
The info session was fairly standard. My D did not vibe with the AO who was giving the presentation – she was pretty over-the-top bubbly (like physically bouncing). But our tour guide was impressive. She was a senior nursing student and individualized the tour for the group.
The campus was fine, but nothing to get too excited about. Unfortunately, it was still spring break so almost no students. Plus it was chilly and overcast (although the rain held off until the drive home). There is a major city street that divides the campus into an academic quad and residential quad/area. So there is some green space despite being an urban campus. There is a lot of new building on campus – including a new nursing building, rec/wellness center, and center for student success, all coming soon. Much of the architecture is pretty modern, so low on the Harry Potter scale. But it’s in a pretty decent location in Milwaukee - centrally located and felt safe to me (although we are city dwellers in a much larger city so used to an urban environment).
All in all, a good school starting point for D
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Santa Clara University - same.
DC has been admitted so we went to visit. This is a tough one. It is a great school. The campus is beautiful, everyone we met was nice, there was a lot of activity around - it all seemed great. But nothing wowed DC (or me). It was all kind of blandly nice. The neighborhood seemed fine - upperclassmen in houses and apartments right off campus, a few stores and restaurants in walking distance, driving distance to so many amazing places. I had really wanted DC to fall in love with it, but overall it was just fine. It stays on the list but it didn’t jump to the top.
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DD is close to making her decision, and I found this thread very helpful as we went through the process so I’ll add ours- these visits stretch back a year, when we started looking- We are in MD and have a very undecided dd- only initial requirements were not too big and not too cold. We are also full pay so prioritized schools that have at least some chance of merit.
Dickinson- UP-this was our first visit and we both really loved this school- the campus is pretty, the learning environment (classrooms, facilities, library) all seemed really nice. She loved the athletic complex. It was pouring rain for our visit but our guide was great- her love of the school came through and she also spoke about students being involved in lots of things which was appealing. Carlisle is charming- just the image of a perfect small college town. We went back just recently for a second walk through on a sunny day and impressions were confirmed, I think this may be the one she picks.
College of Charleston- DOWN-Heading into the process this was dd’s first choice, we have spent a lot of time in Charleston and the area around and it seems like it would be a great place to go to school. Our tour was really good and the campus is lovely. I think as time went on dd started thinking she really wanted a true liberal arts environment- she got the sense that at this school everyone goes in knowing what they want to study (the other students on the tour were all confident about business- turned her off a little). We both were also concerned about housing- the housing we saw was not great, and it sounds like it is only guaranteed for a year- I know the Charleston housing market is tight so that seemed like a challenge. Also concerns about Greek life there. Stayed on the list (and near the top actually) but probably won’t be the one she picks.
Coastal Carolina- DOWN we just did a walk around campus, not an official tour. The campus is pretty, the baseball/softball facilities impressive- sort of overshadow the school actually. She did not like the location at all- just sort of plopped in the middle of nothing. She didn’t apply.
UNC Wilmington- DOWN Another school that we just walked around, campus is pretty, Wilmington seems nice. She did not like that the campus wasn’t really walkable to Wilmington- busy roads surrounding it. Also wasn’t sure about being out of state here. Didn’t apply.
Elon- UP for me, down for dd. I was pretty blown away by Elon- the buildings and facilities seemed amazing (the tv studio! Engineering building!). The facilities really seemed high quality. Our tour guide had done a lot of impressive things as far as internships away from campus. DD did not like the remote location/lack of town.
W&M- UP We both loved this school- the campus is stunning, Williamsburg seems like it would be fun to have next door. The traditions, learning environment, other students- all made a great impression. Remained very high on the list, but not high enough to apply ed- she was rejected rd round.
Gettysburg- UP I loved this one, the campus is lovely and compact. Our tour guide was charming and the students seemed happy and engaged. I really liked what he said about the campus food, and the housing options seemed good. I like that rush doesn’t happen until sophomore year. The town is cute (although we liked it a bit less than Carlisle)She got great merit. I think I liked it more than she did.
University of Delaware- SAME- We liked this school and I think it has a lot to offer. If she had decided she wanted a bigger school I think this would have been a good choice. Some concerns about partying/greek life just from students she knows at the school but it’s a big enough place and I’m sure there area plenty of kids who aren’t in that scene. She liked the campus and in town location.
Rhodes- SAME We were excited to tour this one and there is a lot to like here. The campus is very pretty. We visited over their spring break, which was unfortunate as we didn’t see many students but still got a nice sense of the place. It is a true liberal arts school in a city, which is pretty rare- the opportunities of having Memphis right there are neat. The library is gorgeous, the academic buildings (that we saw) seemed very old school- and maybe a little dated. We enjoyed staying downtown in Memphis and went to a Grizzlies game. I was a little put off by the security around the campus- all the fencing and the manned entrances. DD didn’t seem bothered. She didn’t like that the location felt so suburban.
At the end of the process she ended up with a lot of great choices (including a few not mentioned here because either she toured it without me or did not tour at all). I wish she had been a little more flexible about location, I think there are schools in the midwest and New England she would have liked and I think weather aside the southern schools were just not a great fit. But it was fun looking- my oldest got no college tours at all due to covid -
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A post was merged into an existing topic: Off-Topic Discussion from “Colleges Crossed Off List or Moved Up After Visiting”
We did a PNW college tour with D25. She is getting half As/half Bs in 4 APs with a focus on foreign languages at competitive high school in Northern California.
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Univ of Oregon. STRONG UP. Loved that Eugene was more than farmland. She perked up when she saw Sephora. The weather was unseasonably amazing and the college kids were out sunning themselves and seemed to have a lot of groups of friends walking and eating together. The dorms looked nice and new. She liked the more modern farmhouse style of the buildings, but we did a full tour and saw the older buildings, too. I liked that tuition is guaranteed for 5 years and that the kids can pick their actual dorm room. It would be a safety school, but a great choice. D25 is not the outdoorsy type and this school seems like a big draw for those, but I think she could find her peeps.
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Portland State University. Was never on our list, but OFF. We were visiting Portland and decided to stop and walk around. This is an urban school with a visible police presence, which was not a match for D25. She said that I should add a column to our college list: percentage of students with septum piercings. Not her peeps, but pretty green walkway right in the heart of the city, and I’m greateful that all kinds of kids have their places to learn.
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Univ of Washington. TOP OF THE LIST. This damn school is perfect. Has urban-ness, picturesque greens spaces, and gorgeous dorms. We did the campus and dorm tours. D25 loved Seattle and loved that UW showed where their grads get jobs. We ate in one of the residential hall restaurants (Cultivate) and were impressed. I can’t believe how much better dorm food has gotten in 30 years. The tour guides were really sweet and fun. Lots of kids walking/eating together. The only downside to this school is that it is a reach for D25.
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Ok, I thought I would write this while we’re still fresh. We did a SE college tour over S25’s spring break this past week.
DAVIDSON - DOWN and off - probably never had a chance. S25 did a virtual info session a few weeks ago and then we self toured the campus on Easter Sunday. The virtual info session was poorly done. No videos, lackluster powerpoint, no photos of campus, very geared towards international students (we’re on the west coast) so S25 was already kind of negative and then as gorgeous as the campus is, he just felt like it was too small. No business program either which I think S25 has decided he wants.
ELON - SAME - We toured Elon with D23 and liked it and the feeling is the same for S25. Beautiful campus, nice kids, a little isolated. S25 liked the business school. Hoping it’s a likely/match school for him.
FURMAN - UP - Also toured with D23, who thought it was fine, but S25 loved Furman. He sat in on a business class and the professor brought him into his office afterwards and they talked for a long time. He’s had follow up emails from the head of the department and the professor he met with, he was super impressed and felt special. Furman is beautiful and we were there on a beautiful day. Greenville is an amazing small city and what a fun place it would be to go to school.
WAKE FOREST - UP - Really beautiful campus that we saw on a very nice day. S25 loved everything about it except that the business school isn’t direct entry. He did feel that he would be ok with that though because he really felt at home at Wake. Amazing study abroad and internship opportunities. It’s a big reach school but S25 is very interested. We all actually really liked W-S which I know some people don’t, it’s a little gritty but hey we’re from Portland 
W&L - SAME (maybe UP a little)- H and I are alums so this is a tricky one. S25 really wants to be different (which is great) but he also says he wants a small school with a great business program and outdoor opportunities. W&L is a great match for all of his requests, except for his hesitation about Greek life, which I definitely understand. But after the tour and info session, S25 felt like it was a better fit than he initially thought. Lexington is still lovely and we couldn’t believe how much the campus has grown.
WILLIAM and MARY - DOWN and off - this one makes me sad because going into the tour S25 was excited about W&M and I thought it would be a fabulous fit for him. A few things went sideways that I think affected his feelings. The first is that we spent the morning in Colonial Williamsburg so we were tired and it was crowded with spring break kids and their families. The info session was also very crowded and not super dynamic. Finally, there was a large protest that was happening outside and then passed inside the student center where the info session was happening, it was very loud (megaphones and chanting) and naturally distracted from session itself. It was strange vibe and people got up and left. The tour was nice but I think S25 just felt like it wasn’t his place.
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - UP - S25 loved everything about it. It is just a gorgeous campus, loved the business school, thought the students were nice, the food looked awesome. We also took a little time and drove around Richmond, which seems like it has everything you could want. The information session at Richmond was excellent and done by a student, which I think is a great way to do it. There were tons of kids there, a very northeastern crowd, I’m not sure if that’s the school or if spring break was over the last week in the NE, but New Jersey was in the house Anyway, loved Richmond, would be a reach.
I think S25 has decided not to ED anywhere, he has a few match/likely schools that he’d be happy with if he doesn’t get into one of his reaches. I think we’re done with visits now!
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California Round-up
We spent a week touring colleges in California.
UC San Diego: Stayed about the same. The campus is nice, though the layout makes it feel really big. La Jolla is nice, and the La Jolla Shores beach nearby is beautiful. The buildings were newer/nicer than some of the other UCs we toured on this trip (see below). The Library of course is iconic (more from the outside than the inside, however. Nothing was particularly spectacular once we went inside.) STEM is clearly a major focus of the school and campus, the engineering and biochem buildings were beautiful, but, as so often seems to be the case, the physics program was housed in more run-down buildings. Kiddo was pretty lukewarm on the whole thing, and thought it felt too big.
University of San Diego: Moved down and off list. The campus is stunning, in a country club manicured way. And the food was leagues better than any other we saw on this trip - we saw a variety of vegetables on almost all of the kids’ plates, and very few to no on-campus fast food masquerading as dining halls! The student body is very clearly not our kiddos type. Girls all wore short uggs and carried Stanley cups and generally seemed like “copy/paste rich girls”. Focus of the tour was mainly the beauty of the campus - DD was struck by the fact that they didn’t talk much about academics or programs, just that it was a small, beautiful school. Felt much more obviously Catholic than other schools we have visited - which is not what DD wants. The area of San Diego right by campus isn’t very interesting either. DD is probably not even going to apply. Best things about the school: extremely high study abroad participation, great food, beautiful campus. Just not DD’s cup of tea.
UC Santa Barbara: Moved down. Santa Barbara and Isla Vista would be an amazing place to spend four years. But it was a surprisingly run-down buildings on campus. Students seemed studious and smart; it didn’t give “party school” vibes at all, which was a bit of a surprise given its reputation. Very strong STEM, and particulary physics. The CCS program is really cool, and DD is interested in UCSB if she could get into that program - otherwise probably not worth the cost.
UC Irvine: Moved UP! Beautiful campus with a really lovely lay-out - a large central circular open green space with grass and trees. The buildings are mostly laid out in a circle around the green space. It makes for a large, peaceful central space that you can criss-cross to get to buildings across the circle. Strong STEM programs, intelligent student body, etc. The commuter campus vibe turned us off, however. There are huge parking lots all around the exterior of the campus and they were completely full - to the point that we spent 20 minutes looking for waiting for parking, even with a visitor permit. Of the UCs this was DDs second favorite (behind UC Berkeley), but it likely will not be a top contender due to out-of-state cost.
Cal Poly SLO: Moved way down (sadly!) This has been near the top of DDs list since she first started thinking about colleges. We were really looking forward to our visit and had very high expectations. None of us could totally put our finger on it, but we didn’t love it. Campus feels kind of like a really big high school. Buildings kind of run down, campus really busy with students, but the campus vibe didn’t feel as exciting, academic, or compelling as many of the schools we visited on this trip. But one of the major turn-offs was the truly terrible food. We try to eat on campus on our college visits if possible - and I am so glad we did that here! They built a big new dining hall, but it feels like a mall food court with food that you would get at a traveling carnival. We couldn’t find any vegetables except for a sad $12 salad. My kid didn’t even finish her $9 hamburger that we waited 20 minutes for because it was so bad. I couldn’t in good conscience ask my kid to eat that crap for 4 years. Niche gives it a C- for food, and it honestly makes me wonder how bad the food needs to be to get a “D”. One of my kids really hated that you can smell cow poop on campus. Bummed that we didn’t like it, but glad we went to check it out for ourselves.
Santa Clara University: WAY UP! This is now in her top 3 schools. Loved the campus (it is beautiful), the weather, the easy access to an airport and to SF and Berkeley. The new STEM building is incredible. $300M to build and it looks like it. Amazing lab spaces, beautiful study areas, tree-filled courtyard. Students were on their last day of spring break, so there wasn’t much activity on campus. Would want to get a better sense of the students before fully committing there, in case they gave University of San Diego vibes. Theater / Arts section of campus is idyllic. Area around campus seemed perfectly nice. Easy access to CalTrain, etc. We didn’t eat on campus, unfortunately, so not sure how good the food is. Moved way way up the list.
UC Berkeley: Stayed the same. Amazing campus - strands of redwood trees, a babbling brook, open spaces, beautiful library, clearly smart students, Berkeley itself is incredible - run down in some areas, but incredible food, hiking, etc. Would be #1 on DDs list if we were California residents, but very likely not worth the cost as out-of-state, full-pay student. Visited the physics building and saw a large group of female students! Rare in the physics world, so that make DD happy. If magically the school decided to give merit scholarships this would be near top of list, but at full price, it drops lower.
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Toured some of the schools where S24 was admitted:
University of Denver- WAY UP. Loved the campus and the professors. My S24 plays ice hockey and lacrosse and snowboards and camps so really loved the vibe. After touring schools he concluded that he wants small classroom sizes and supportive culture and touring here made him come to that realization.
Syracuse- WAY UP. The campus is great and even though it is a relatively large school, the fact that they break it down into 10 schools really gave it the small, supportive feel. We were there for admitted students day and Syracuse did a great job. You really got the feeling that the Professors really care for the students. Shout out to the Engineering Assistant Dean who personally took my son around the building and talked to him 1:1 because he spent the official tour at the iSchool (which I LOVED). Campus tour guide was great and you could tell that they authentically love the school.
Michigan State- SAME. Big school but again- the engineering school itself made it feel smaller. But the really large campus with busy roads running through it turned my son off.
CU Boulder- DOWN. Really gorgeous campus but my son was turned off by how the engineering students live in a high rise dorm complex that is pretty far from the engineering building. Plus during our tour of the engineering building- everywhere was completely full. It felt overcrowded. OK dining facilities and dorms but overall just felt like too many students for the facilities. Tour guide was OK but seemed to lack a real love for the school.
UCSC- DOWN. Great school but your kid has to love walking to class in the woods. My son really like the school but did not like how isolated it was from San Francisco and internships. Getting to and from airport would be a real hassle. Tour guide had OK enthusiasm. Did not have the campus buzz that the others seem to have.
Pitt- UP. Pitt was the right size campus for S24 and he liked it more than he expected. Great tour guide who was honest about Pitt not being their #1 choice but that they love the school. Got the campus vibe that the kids really like going to school here.
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