UNH-(UP for parents)
Just did our first tour with S26. Visited UNH last weekend. The information session was too crowded and it was led by an older woman that was very boring. The tour was about 20 people and it was good. Campus is very traditional New England with lots of beautiful buildings. Showed a dorm room which my S was very curious to see. The town is attached right to campus and had lots of little shops and restaurants which I thought was great. There is a train station on campus to take you to Boston (and maybe Portland?).
Son would like to be able to ski so he liked that it is close to the mountains but it might be too big and too close to home. Husband & I were really impressed by the campus. Kids seemed happy and relaxed.
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Central Michigan U- Way UP
A college not talked about much on CC. Went to CMU and U day, beautiful fall weather helped. All states pay instate tuition. It is a midsize school and fairly compact in size. She liked the layout of campus and thought it was easy to navigate (she prefers small acreage colleges). Buildings are a mix of dated and new. Campus was clean with some nice green and quiet spaces. Campus butts up to a road with just about every fast food and quick store needed (which my daughter thought was a huge plus). Suburban convenience.
We got to check in early and got right in. Swag included a clear bag to carry info and a baseball cap. They had some info tables set up in the fieldhouse. D25 had good conversations with Study Abroad and Office of Equity and Inclusion.
We jumped right into a tour which was a huge group (not the guides fault). We couldn’t hear much but this isn’t our first tour and we know we can find info usually elsewhere. It was an abbreviated tour as buildings were open because it was also parents weekend. Some of the buildings had presentations set up (it was a choose your own adventure day basically with what interested you). They let them see their dorm room mock up and D25 loved that the standard room has a shared bathroom (and not communal). 4 to a 2 bedroom 1 bath dorm is the norm but guide has heard of them tripling (yikes!). The more premium dorms have 2 bathrooms and a/c. Daughter said they were typical dorms, nothing special but not horrible either.
We had dinner at the dorm dining hall. Daughter was quite pleased. Several different stations with many vegan/vegetarian/GF items if needed. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies. She enjoyed the Indian inspired lentil soup. She’s seen a handful of dorm dining options and this was her favorite so far. Nice drink options as well.
After lunch we headed to explore some of the insides of the buildings which had school/major info tables set up. The Education and Human Services building is newer. They have an active preschool which was really adorable. She also visited the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences in Anspach which is more dated. She was excited to hear about possible double majors and/or minors. Professors were very helpful and took the time to give advice and guidance. D25 walked away feeling the professors were very kind and would be supportive in helping her to succeed.
We ended the day with a football game. Tons of school spirit. It was parents weekend as well so parking lots everywhere were packed. Popup campers and RVs, grills going, tons of college kids playing bags and throwing frisbees. Sporting events are free for students. She quickly learned the school chants and such. She attends a hs with a huge fan section so considering a college where she might get a bit of that yet is a positive for her.
She only attended the tour because mom told her it could be a good fit and may be affordable. I knew it would push a bit of the limits on size but she said it didn’t feel too big. The professors and choices in majors was a huge plus for her. So she went in neutral, not knowing much at all (except watching some dance team videos) and ended with it being on the top half of the list. She said the professors were all very easy to talk too and she would feel supported and have opportunities here. She even bought a sweatshirt (because she liked the team colors and you know sometimes girls are weird about odd things!)
Deleted because realized I was responding to a post
University of Cincinnati- Up
Took a trip to UC during S26’s fall break. Skipped the overall tour and went straight to the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) one.
The campus itself was unique- very compact, very hilly campus. The football stadium is incorporated right into the surrounding campus buildings and students were sitting in some of the upper rows, reading, studying, eating, whatever.
The CEAS tour was fine. The first 30 minutes was a well done presentation of majors offered, the co-op program and other notable programs. Then we paired off into smaller groups to walk around the three buildings that comprise the bulk of CEAS. Our tour guide was fine, but he was clearly happy to be there and had just returned from his six month co-op.
Overall, the dense, urban campus and 5 semester co-op seem to be a good match for my kid. Reciprocal tuition for Kentucky residents makes it equal to our in-state options and their tuition promise freezes tuition and room/board for all 5 years of the degree program. They also offered some options to get a masters in 5 years and pay undergraduate rates. We’ll be applying for sure!
Boston College- Down/OFF the list
D26 and I visited BC yesterday. It was a perfect day- blue skies, perfect temperature, lots of activity on campus. We started in Devlin Hall for a Q&A with a panel of four current students. While we really liked that the students were able to present and answer questions, there was not a lot of structure to it, so the information we got was solely based on whatever questions audience members asked. There was no real overall presentation by admissions like at the other schools we have toured. There was a brief presentation by admissions that went over the various admission options (ED 1, ED 2 and RD), and that they are “Need Blind” and “meet 100% of need”.
We then broke off into smaller groups of about 30 and walked around campus. We went into only a couple buildings (both academic) and did not see dining halls or any other non academic areas. D26 and I grabbed lunch at the dining hall before the tour so we saw one of the dining options and she chatted with a table of three freshman girls. She thought they were all super friendly and nice. She had actually attended a BC football game just the weekend prior so she has seen lower campus on a typical Gameday Saturday.
D26’s impressions were : beautiful campus and very walkable, friendly students who all looked happy, many wearing BC gear which she liked. She noticed at least half the kids seemed more nerdy/academic, which made her sense some academic pressure on campus which she definitely does not want. Her exact words were “it feels like a bigger version of Wake Forest and I want to have fun and not have extra pressure on me for four years. I put enough pressure on myself (she totally does)”.
In summary, she feels like with the extremely low acceptance rate (below 15%, even lower for nursing), the supplemental essay requirement, and the fact that they do not have EA so she would not hear an admission decision until late March, it just is not worth applying since she does not love it. BC is the only school in our region she is considering, so now she knows she really does want southern SEC schools, Greek Life, etc. She wants nursing and knows she will be working hard no matter where she attends, but wants her non academic time to be surrounded by a big school with warmer weather and a lot of opportunities to do non academic activities.
S26 views college as something that will happen in the distant future, so it’s hard to get much excitement from him. That said, we’ve visited a few MD/VA schools to try to narrow down size/locale. He is undecided currently about major, but he may pick a specialized major, which will definitely limit his choices.
VCU: UP! Attended an Open House with his Dad. Started in an arena with much fanfare and excitement, got to tour areas in the specialized major, loved the campus vibe. Felt much effort was put into keeping the campus beautiful.
MICA: Down/off. Specialized major here. Tour good but long, dorms nice, went during an off time, so not many students or art around. In the city, and S26 noticed a man urinating in the street at the beginning of the tour. Although likely rare, it set the tone.
University of Mary Washington: Same/UP: Open House attended here. Does not have the specialized major, but the campus was lovely, tour good, professors that spoke seemed engaged, knew students’ names, encouraged them to get involved in unique projects/community service. Town of Fredericksburg has loads of restaurants and unique stores and had a great arcade. He gave a nod at the end, which is like fireworks from him.
Shenandoah: Down. Although similar in size to UMW, it seemed smaller to S26. Lots of focus on tour and info session into the health professions and conservancy, which are not likely majors for him. “Why would I go here?” was his response on the way home.
George Mason: UP. Tour lively and fun, highlighting the campus. S26 liked the campus vibe here. Does not have specialized major, but something close, and he liked that there were so many major options. Went into a dorm and a group was having a birthday party. He actually smiled. Liked that the buildings seemed mainly modern and renovated, rather than the classic architecture. Only negative was that it was mentioned that there are a number of students that commute, so he wonders if less activities on the weekend.
Visited three schools with D26 in the past couple of weeks:
Lafayette – UP! Attended an open house, which was very well run. The campus is picture-perfect. On a big hill, yet flat. D is determined to bike on campus, so flat is a big plus. She liked the vibe on campus, saw lots of friendly faces. I’m concerned about the prevalence of Greek life (about 1/3 of the student body), but she doesn’t seem to mind even though she’s not interested in joining. The variety of classes, the ease of developing relationships with the professors, extensive study abroad offerings all made a positive impression. The dorms were pretty spacious, with the biggest closets we’ve seen. The food was not awesome and our tour guide was so quiet, we could barely hear her, but the overall impression was still overwhelmingly positive.
Franklin & Marshall - Same/Up. D had high expectations for that one. We have family nearby and she really likes the idea of being close to them. We’ve seen the campus before many times. It’s beautiful, walkable, and pretty compact. Love the location, easy walk to pretty much anything in the city. Very nice, relatively new dorms with air conditioning in every room. D really liked their house system where your freshman seminar is taught in your dorm and the people in your class live in your dorm. Our tour guide was great and the same major my daughter is considering, which I believe was intentional and helped her get more out of the tour. Small classes, supportive professors, lots of research opportunities, it pretty much checks all the boxes. One of the top choices for now.
Ithaca College – Up! Really did not know what to expect with this one, but it did not disappoint. Beautiful, modern campus that was thoughtfully planned. The views were amazing! While the school is larger than most LACs we’ve toured, it still has small classes and lots of support readily available. The student body appeared quite mixed, though it had a generally arty vibe. We saw several groups of kids filming on campus. The school is a likely admit for her and they offer merit aid to everyone, which is certainly appealing.
UC Davis—UP
I don’t think S26 had given a single thought to UC Davis before arriving so I guess his positive impressions after our tour mean that it went “up.”
We live about an hour and 15 mins away from UCD, so this is a local-ish tour for us.
The tour began with about 30 mins of a slide presentation by a senior student. She was engaging and the info was good—pretty typical fare but done well. We broke off into groups for a 90 min walking tour. (Definitely wear comfortable shoes if you go.)
Our tour guide was a Plant Sciences major and her passion for plants definitely came through. She told us where all the food is grown, about her research and the farms. But she also shared other stories about the school, and we all came away charmed by the characters that seem to make Davis a fun community. A butterfly expert who looks like a wizard, a haunted building now used for “gross anatomy” — which is where the cadavers are kept, though that’s not why it’s haunted. A popular class called Tractor Driving (and yes, you get a special license if you pass the class). Two vintage double decker buses from London that carry kids around campus.
My S26 also liked the free rock climbing wall, the NASA and former astronaut professors in the Physics and Aerospace Engineering building, and all of the Egg Head sculptures around campus.
The bikes are a force to behold… hundreds—probably thousands—of them all over campus, and our guide noted that she doesn’t ride during the first 2 weeks of the year bc the freshmen don’t know the bike rules of the road and there are accidents.
We didn’t see dorms (though you can take a housing tour after the main tour—we were tired and hungry so we skipped it). Freshmen live on campus and it’s guaranteed. Most move off campus after that and there are options very close to campus and all the fun in downtown Davis.
The very cute downtown is just across the street from campus and we had a great lunch at Pizza and Pints. There were a handful of blocks with plenty of thrift shops, boba tea, coffee, restaurants, music right there. Plenty to keep a college kid occupied.
Architecturally, the campus is not much to look at. But there’s plenty of charm in all the trees, grassy places to relax and walking and bike paths. Lots of people were walking around, music was playing and downtown Davis was quite busy.
While my S26 has hopes of being in a city with a cold climate, this instate option is a great one for him. Glad we made the trip!
To keep the post going…
DS 24 - visited the University of Portland. Way up. Took the tour, met the admissions officers, talked with the students. Beautiful campus. Son loved the school and the vibe. He decided to move the school up to the top of his list above other private schools he initially was thinking about attending such as Santa Clara, USD, etc. Now having graduated from the school, his decision was a good one. He enjoyed the school, classes and classmates. He got to know his professors where they not only know him by name, but have agreed to be references for him, received mentorship’s in his industry, became an integral member at numerous professional clubs, went abroad numerous times on summer abroad and E-Scholars programs, had a very good internship experience, and he has made hopefully life long friends. He gained a very practical education in the business school and was well prepared by career service to apply and land jobs in his career (supply chain and operations). On top of that, Portland is a beautiful city that is family friendly and has great food. He did make the right decision.
Baylor also moved way up because of how friendly and gracious the students and administrators were to us. Met the Business School dean who really spent one on one time with our family since we were not able to make the introductory meeting, and had students voluntarily help get us back to our car across campus without us needing to ask since we looked so confused and lost.
Schools that dropped on our visits or attempted communication were USF which has a disjointed campus with a lot of walking and some pretty mediocre dorms, USD, not because of the campus but because the administration is very slow in returning or responding to applicants.
As for DD28, BC went way up. She loved the campus and how it looked. Although not technically in Boston and a 30 minute ride into the city, that was a compelling reason to apply ED. But it did not matter, she was deferred, waitlisted, and denied.
Williams went up, though the distance to anything made it difficult to see her going there. She gets car sick easily and going through the hills to get to Albany to fly home is tough, especially in the winter. No matter, she got denied.
UVA went up. She loved UVA even though it was a short visit for us without any guided tour. She loved the architecture and campus and did apply and did get in. However, there not being direct admit into Mcintire and having to pay OOS tuition and getting into another business program crossed the acceptance off her list.
Holy Cross dropped out since the campus and dorms especially looked very old and was very hot. the building and dorms were not impressive. Same with Amherst and Brown. Outside of a couple buildings, things are just old. Obviously great schools, but the dorms at Brown are 70 years old and the building 100-150 years old. I guess if you like those things, but she did not.
Colgate dropped out since she could not imagine climbing those hills everyday.
Hamilton was nice but it was way out in the boonies and too far away from anything.
D25 wants to be a librarian. Hasn’t settled on a major/minor, but has ideas and wants something that will prepare her for an MLS program. Am looking at SUNYs but she is also applying to a few privates and hoping to earn a tuition exchange, as my husband’s a professor.
Since Fall 2023 to the present we’ve seen the following:
SUNY New Paltz: UP
- We’ve been to multiple open houses, and theirs remains the most well done. We were able to learn about relevant programs (study abroad, disability services) and talk to professors and students from different departments. We left with a great feel for the place.
- We were especially impressed by the art history students. They’d taken advantage of a lot of opportunities the department offered beyond the classroom, and they clearly loved what they were doing.
- The campus is lovely and the town is close to campus.
- The student body is diverse, which is important to us.
SUNY Geneseo: UP
- We liked the campus very much-it’s well-maintained and spacious, but not sprawling.
- Two speakers addressed financial aid and admissions, and they were very thorough and took multiple questions.
- There were many students involved with the open house, and they were all friendly and energetic.
- My daughter is interested in multiple majors and minors that are offered.
Mount Holyoke: UP
- We both loved so many things-there is a lot of emphasis on “collaboration over competition” which aligns with the kind of person my daughter is.
- We visited in the fall, which made an already lovely campus that much prettier.
- The student and faculty panel gave a lot of info, and the president also spoke-I enjoyed hearing from her and she seems very engaged.
- She saw a couple academic programs that she could envision herself pursuing.
- The students came across as dynamic young women who were happy to be there.
Hobart & William Smith Colleges: UP, for now.
- This was an informal visit, but we will return for an open house or for a scheduled tour.
- The campus is a good size-not too big or small for her, and easy to navigate.
- She’s interested in a few majors and minors, and they have a great study abroad program that includes shorter programs during school breaks (which is not uncommon).
SUNY Oswego: Neutral, but applying
- We went to an open house last fall, after New Paltz, so our expectations were high, but neither of us was impressed. As an alum, this was especially disappointing for me. The “fair” part, which NP had set up in a gymnasium and across academic buildings, was crammed into one half of the hockey rink (the other half had chairs for the initial presentation). We went to a presentation for the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences which consisted of the presenter asking questions she knew we wouldn’t have the answers too, and the answers didn’t tell us much anyway. Some people walked out.
- On the positive side, they have a new campus center which is spectacular. It’s not brand-new any more, but it looks great. Though to me it highlighted the fact that the library and a couple other buildings in the vicinity were in need of a good powerwash.
- The city has evolved- I never felt it was run down, but it was just very nondescript. There are lots of cute shops and places to eat now.
- I told her not to feel obligated to apply just because I went there, but it fits her criteria for size, it has programs she’s interested in (including study abroad), and she liked the library. But it’s a distant third behind the other two SUNYs.
Drexel: Down and off
- We’ve been to Philly and like it as we have family in the area. She was interested in their co-op program and wanted to see what a less-contained campus in a city was like.
- She liked the campus enough, but it solidified her interest in a suburban, self-contained campus.
- The school ran on a trimester system (though that’s apparently changing) which she didn’t like-she wants to be able to see her friends and her dad is a professor so his breaks would align with hers, for the most part.
Siena: Down and off
- There have been big investments into the campus, from the looks of things. There was at least one large building under construction. The campus is easy to navigate. The dining hall was very nice and the food was pretty good.
- We attended a panel discussion with students and professors, which was pretty informative.
- There was a bit of SUNY-bashing during the opening presentation-one of the speakers shared a few stats comparing SUNY and Siena, which were unfavorable to SUNY and incorrect. We both found that off-putting-we’d never heard speakers at other open houses speak negatively about other schools. Siena has a lot of positives, which should have been highlighted more-I want to know what a school will offer my kid and I don’t need to know how much better you are than the competition.
We’re going to visit Salve Regina and Quinnipiac soon, hopefully Drew and Wheaton too.
A post was merged into an existing topic: Off-Topic Discussion from “Colleges Crossed Off List or Moved Up After Visiting”
University of Notre Dame (way up)
We visited Notre Dame this past weekend.
What a beautiful campus! And such friendly people!
It was great seeing the students in session. They were about to take midterms, so they were studying and generally you could tell that they felt the pressure.
To state the obvious…you could really tell that they cared a lot about football.
If you go, you MUST stay at the Morris Inn. It is a hotel that is owned by the University and is right in the middle of campus. One thing that stood out was that there were a lot of older alums there and you could tell that they really, really loved the school. The hotel is also a great value. $200 for a fabulous room. Staying at the Morris is a no brainer.
The information session was run by 2 students. They did a great job, but I generally like it better when an AO does it. As in other student run sessions that I have seen, our students were stumped by tough parent / applying student questions.
Our large group had 8 tour guides. One issue was that 7 of the 8 tour guides were business majors and 1 was a PSY major. Still, our tour guide was terrific. Bright, articulate and experienced. She conveyed great enthusiasm for her school.
Minor issues…the food was just OK. We had a few meals in both the North and South Dining Halls. Some fairly long lines in some areas while other areas were just open.
Another issue…Notre Dame claims that it is 60% white. I didn’t see how that was possible. It seems like it is more like 80 to 85% white. The students seemed cut from a particular mold. Tall, athletic, friendly, somewhat reserved, and dedicated to their studies. The Tall part was a bit odd. We somehow saw lots of athletes (you could tell by their apparel) and lots of men over 6’4 and women over 6’0. My daughter is a volleyball player and yet she said that she felt like a shrimp.
Students were fanatical in their devotion to their dorms. I had heard of this, but it was really cool to see this facet of their culture.
What was interesting was that Notre Dame was impressive without TRYING to be impressive. It just felt genuine and my daughter is very excited to apply.
One thing…we overheard a front desk AO say that ND was reconsidering its Test Optional Policy for 2026 and beyond. No need to ask me follow up questions, as that is all that I know. Stay tuned.
A couple of recent visits with S26:
Cornell – Same/UP – his biggest concern was that it would be in the middle of nowhere, but it really did not feel isolated. The views were breathtaking. The area around the campus felt lively, with lots of shops and restaurants. The campus felt like its own little city, it was big and buzzing with lots of places to eat and shop. The student body seemed very diverse and eclectic, with kids wearing anything from pajamas to suits. There were preppy kids, athletes, alternative kids. It seemed that you could find your people there. We had a fantastic tour and our tour guide was experienced and knowledgeable. We visited both the CALS and CAS info sessions as my son is planning on majoring in bio and both schools have it. The lower tuition (we’re in New York) is certainly appealing at CALS, but CAS has more options should you decide to double major (you cannot double major across colleges). One negative was it seems that finding research opportunities may not be as easy as in some other schools, especially early on. My kid liked it and felt that he could be happy there.
Tufts – Down – The campus was very pretty and we had a great tour and a lovely tour guide. The easy access to Boston is a huge plus (I believe the green line was extended there pretty recently and it’s right off campus). The info session was kind of boring, basically a lecture, with no questions allowed. The campus felt sleepy and empty. We were there on a Saturday morning and saw very few kids around even closer to noon. Not sure if they were still mostly asleep, but my son was not feeling it. He also got the impression that the bio major there is more general than he would like as they don’t seem to offer specialized concentrations. It’s staying on the list for now but with very low acceptance rates and his lack of enthusiasm I don’t see it making the final list.
Boston University – UP – saw it right after Tufts and the contrast was obvious. He loved the urban setting, loved the housing on the leafy brownstone streets, loved the apparent energy, and the fact that the campus is open and spills out into the city. The info session involved a current student and felt interactive. S26 said it was the best info session we’ve attended. The tour was great, our guide was engaging and funny. The school seems to be a great fit for my kid’s academic interests too. It’s likely a target school for him so I’m thrilled to have one on his list that he really likes.
So this is now 18 months late, as my D24 is now in college, but I wanted to finish off this list of visits for completeness.
TUFTS – stayed the same
We visited Tufts in Spring of 2023. Tufts was one of the few schools we visited that we didn’t have many preconceptions about – we don’t know anyone who had gone there – just knew it as a school people liked near Boston.
First impression: surprised how close it was to Boston. We were staying in Cambridge and it was like a 15 min Uber ride. Did not in any way feel like we were leaving the city for the suburbs. Which was a plus.
Second impression: lovely location on a hill. The views from Tufts were gorgeous.
Third impression: very good presentation in the lecture hall. It was in a beautiful auditorium and the speaker was very engaging.
Everything else was just so-so. The student tour guide was nice enough, but not at all prepared. He often gave incorrect information and seemed kinda bored with his job. Just not enthusiastic. The campus also seemed very small.
But the biggest takeaway for my daughter was how empty the campus seemed. Despite it being a weekday when school was in session, there were almost no students around. It seemed quiet and had no energy. After the tour, we walked down the hill into town for a coffee. It seemed like a big separation between campus and town. Neither had a “bustling” vibe.
Then, on the way back up the hill, we saw some of the temporary overflow dorms, which were essentially trailers. That really put my D24 off.
At the end of the visit, she said Tufts would stay on her list. But it didn’t seem to wow her. For me, the most striking thing was the empty feeling of the campus. It felt like students don’t really hang out on campus much? But could have just been the day.
A post was merged into an existing topic: Off-Topic Discussion from “Colleges Crossed Off List or Moved Up After Visiting”
Did a couple tours iwth S26 of schools that raely show up on CC.
UP- Susquehanna University. We were the only ones touring that day besides two athletes who were with coaches so we had a provate info session and tour. Info session was fine, now that I’m on my third kid I realize what a sales pitch these presentations really are. Tour guide was great and a great match for my kid, sporty and a business major. It was a Friday afternoon so campus was a bit quiet but we saw lots of kids in the student union when we had lunch before the tour. There were actually a surprising number of kids in the library on a Friday afternoon. Campus is beautiful. Kids live on campus all four years which I think my quiet kid really liked. Dorms were traditional with 2 or 3 students in a room for freshmen and they all had a nice hangout space on the first floor. Each year the dorms are a little different until they get to apartment style junior and senior year. Food in the cafeteria was typical college food (picky son said it was fine) and they also have a food court type area where you can use your swipes. Greek life is present but certainly not overbearing. There is a small cute town you can walk to and about a mile away there is a large area with a mall and lots of restaurants, Walmart, movie theatre, etc. Students were definitely a mix of quirky and sporty/preppy. Tour guide said it is definitely not a commuter school with lots to do on weekends. Academics seemed good with small class sizes.
UP- University of Scranton. Again the presentation was typical with a former student who is now an admission rep. We were broken into groups for tours and we only had one other family in our group. They happened to have an older student at Scranton, as did our tour guide and the admission presenter. So it seems like families really love this school. School was very busy on a Saturday morning. Lots of kids walking around, in the student union, and going somewhere to volunteer. Campus is pretty small but very well maintained. There is a defined campus but parts are very integrated into the city. Buildings were all very nice. Kids are guaranteed housing all four years and upper classmen apartments were awesome. About 1/2 of upperclassmen move off campus as juniors or seniors and apparently rents are cheap and there is plenty of off campus housing in walking distance. Cafeteria food was typical but they had a really large selection. They also have a food court that accepts swipes. Freshmen get 4 swipes a day. Students seemed happy and were hanging out in groups. Dad on tour said his older daughter chose Scranton over Holy Cross and Fordham and was super happy with her choice. Said social life was great with parties, campus events, and lots of events in Scranton. Ski mountain about 10 minutes away which thrilled my son. I thought campus could be a little bigger with more green space but son liked it and I think the kids use the city as a bigger campus.
Moved Down: UVA (didn’t like the tour guide or the “pretentious vibe”) UNC Chapel Hill (“too many hills”), University of South Carolina (he was looking for a college town and this was more of a big city. It was also VERY hot the day we toured and he just wasn’t feeling it); Clemson (liked the campus and the cool lake but the town was just like a block or two and that’s it and he felt that it was very much in the middle of nowhere);
Moved Up: William and Mary (beautiful campus, fun tour guide and he loved hearing about all the cool campus traditions and incredible study abroad); Auburn (loved the campus, the dorms, the people, the town, really just everything; Virginia Tech (loved the campus. we didn’t have an official tour, but we strolled around and he ended up getting into a football game with some students on the green. things like that really impact your overall impression)