@wis75, chiming in to say that if women want to wear dresses to class they totally can, it’s their call—and, in fact, my D19 had Mt Holyoke move from a never to an *unlikely-but-maybe/i in large part specifically because of the amount of business casual stuff (including lots of skirts and light dresses) she saw students wearing when she visited with her older sister.
My friend’s daughter is a sophomore at Bucknell and loves it. She is far from preppy - very casual. Also, she’s in a sorority as of this year (Apparently they can only join one starting sophomore year). @citymama9 while it’s true they don’t have sorority houses per se, they do have some dorms with a sort of sorority wing which can kind of replicate that feel if that’s something she wants. My friend thinks that up to about 25 girls can live in one of these wings in suites, etc. I was shocked when she told me that the reason for not having sorority houses is something to do with an anti-brothel law??? @-)
In every case I’ve looked into (and the story is told at many, many colleges without sorority houses), it’s pure urban legend.
We had heard the same thing when touring PA colleges but it is supposedly false.
http://www.snopes.com/college/halls/brothel.asp
ha ha ok thanks @doschicos and @dfbdfb I will let my friend know that! But in any case, @citymama9 may like to know that there are a facsimile of sorority houses in the form of the “sorority wings” in some dorms at Bucknell 
Just back from a mid west (Ohio) college tour. So for reference my DD is a very high stat junior very liberal politically interested in sciences and also music (highly capable player not elite). The trip was about mainly looking at merit aid schools and I’ll talk more about that later.
Moved off list:
Case Western-So DD is mainly interested in smallish liberal arts schools but we knew she had potential for big merit here. We had a late night arrival so started off the junior visit day very weary. Presenter was gung ho, fast and very animated. Almost felt like a motivational speaker. Slide show was sleek and focused on preparing students for job market entry right out of college. One thing we both noted on his presentations bullet point; he stressed the availability of churches and did not discuss the bullet point on same slide about LBGT friendliness/acceptance. It was there but he did not mention it. DD noticed. Campus felt disjointed and was not attractive though in Spring it would look much better. Tour guide was fine. Also it did not seem urban (we live in a large city) which initially was a selling point. DD sat in on a physics class…extremely large and impersonal. Went to Music Dept open house is was pretty pathetic though you can take lessons with Cleveland Symphony members which was a bonus. Lack of information and preparation was a big downer. We left after two hours skipping lunch in the dining hall.
Denison-School is beautiful. Town feels somewhat remote though there is a small cute downtown. Facilities are very nice and new. No admissions presentation just a tour. School set up a meeting with Cello professor which was the best part of visit. Tour guide was very nice but not knowledgeable about science or music department. Campus didn’t seem to have any life. Tour guide mentioned that Black Lives matter and Love Trumps Hate signs we saw on a few dorm rooms upset a lot of parents touring school. DD found this a bit offensive. Both of us felt it would not be a fit academically.
College of Wooster-Loved the town, campus very nice. Nice mix of college and town. Admissions office had her name and hometown up on a board with other visiting students that day. Nice touch. Great marketing by college in the sense her day was set up with a short walk to class visit with a music student (vocalist but they tried), enjoyed biology class and tour of campus. Nice dorms. Lots of buildings being constructed and updated. Set us up with a buddy for lunch which was the downside. Lunch buddy was clearly not academic and had only taken one AP class in high school and hadn’t fared well. Talked about her life in boarding school and parents ski house in Whistler. Other two students both seniors we spent time with also had similar academic backgrounds but seemed more on the ball. Both had no plans for after graduation which was concerning. Bottom line for DD-This is academically not a fit for me and I won’t find my people here.
Staying on list with some reservations:
Kenyon-Beautiful campus and buildings but very remote. Really nice interesting quirky tour guide but wasn’t too familiar with sciences. Dorms definitely the smallest I have ever seen and haven’t seen an update in perhaps decades… Single dining hall was very cool something out of Hogwarts. Neuroscience class was very interesting to DD. School though is well known for English dept. Admissions person we met with was nice and knowledgeable. Head of music dept was very nice, very honest and accommodating. We stopped in unannounced and he made time for us and brought in a student to chat with us. Not a strong department by any means but DD really connected with head of department. I think this might be the only reason it is still on the list. Not lots of merit money as mentioned in a roundabout way by Prof but opportunity for music scholarship.
Oberlin-Very nice junior day. Well organized and thought out. Toured the Conservatory and Arts and Sciences school. Campus was integrated well into the smallish funky downtown and campus is laid out in an appealing way. Very liberal vibe. DD attended a biology ethics philosophy class and while she would have preferred a hard sciences class she really enjoyed it. Professor seemed to know every student in the class very well and engaged the few visitors nicely. Awesome dorms and lots of options including student run co ops even for first years. DD would aspire to be a dual degree student here which is the one caveat. Not sure she could get into the Conservatory and since there is no BA in music at Arts and Sciences for double major or minor…well that’s a dilemma. We did meet up with an alum of her HS who is an extremely talented musician who opted to attend for sciences. Her access to music seemed fairly good considering she is not in conservatory but she is definitely an elite musician (who has lost interest). Her access would be more than most. That being said just looking at Arts and Sciences school it seems more academic than any of the other schools we toured. My DD thought she would fit in here but if not a dual degree student would feel left out musically.
In conclusion-This was a pretty mixed trip. We have focused solely on good merit aid opportunities.My daughter needs to find her people and that might cost us. if we can finagle the finances she won’t be limited by schools that aren’t a good fit. The good news is that after this trip our DD is willing to look at all women colleges as well as the honors college at our state U. She had not felt that way prior. Sometimes you have to get out there to figure things out.
@Veryapparent - have you looked at Lawrence, in Wisconsin? It is more intellectual than the schools you mention that felt too lightweight, and its music conservatory is more accessible to double-major, and inclusive for non-majors, than Oberlin’s. And they give some nice merit aid to high-stat kids. Their Freshman Studies program gives all of the entering students a shared academic experience which seems very substantive. It’s a really nice place for kids in that academic/music crossover space, with music very much at the heart of the campus experience, but solid intellectual engagement too. Might be worth a look, as it’s strong in exactly the ways you felt the Ohio schools fell short.
“In every case I’ve looked into (and the story is told at many, many colleges without sorority houses), it’s pure urban legend.”
Wrong - in Florida, the “no sorority house due the anti-brothel thing” is a real law.
Thank you. It is definitely on our list just hard to get to from West Coast. We thought she might apply than take a tour during auditions so we only have to buy a plane ticket for the cello once. The physics weekend looks interesting too and that is the science of the choice at the moment.
@londondad From everything I’ve read, even in FL it is a myth. Happy to believe it with some solidly presented evidence though.
And even if there were such a law on the books in some state/county/whatever, surely it would get struck down as unconstitutional?
@londondad I’m sure FL laws are all online, can you tell us which one it is?
@Veryapparent
Very nice and informative recap. Thanks for sharing!
@Veryapparent , we’re in CA too. Decision for my D class of '13 was looking like UCSD w/Regents vs. Lawrence w/ merit aid. She was back and forth about it. Then got into her reach school (Rice) and ended up going there. But she had applied to Lawrence Early Action, so she had that offer in hand before the holidays and always felt she could be happy there, so it saved a ton of stress. In some ways I wish I’d found out how she would have liked it if she’d gone there. But yes, not the easiest place to get to. Then again, if it were in a more accessible/popular location, they probably wouldn’t need to offer such good scholarships to attract top students, so that’s the trade-off.
I believe sororities do not have parties because it costs more for insurance, and the frats are willing to pay the extra cost because parties are a big attraction. And also just because they wanted to keep the houses clean and decorated. Whether it is somehow related with the old laws seems to be open for debate. If I remember correct there is one sorority at Dartmouth that broke away from their national organization and does allow drinking, so if it were against the law they wouldn’t be allowed to. When beginning the college search with my daughter this came up. Since she isn’t interested in a Greek like it means little to her. It was interesting that when we discussed this, my wife and daughter were mad mugging me on my recollection of the facts as if it were my decision. I think the discussion of Greek life is very valuable when discussing colleges as many prospective students have different preferences, and the policies seem to surprise many high school students.
@Veryapparent It’s interesting how the upshot of visits can be something unexpected - taking the search in an entirely new direction.
@Dustyfeathers the campuses that fell right into his expectations included Ohio State, UMaryland, Penn State and Providence. The three state campuses were very large, yet clean, with great athletic facilities, tons of spirt, hustle and bustle about the campus, large buildings, etc. Providence on the other hand, was also as anticipated, small - you can walk from one end to the other in 10 minutes, closed campus, clean, religious undertone, not very diverse, older style architecture with a few newer buildings going up but overall gorgeous campus and of course, surrounding town of Providence we had previously explored. Hope this helps! Happy to answer whatever questions I can about any of those campuses or the others previously mentioned!
My DS17 impressions:
Moved Down After Visit/Did Not Apply:
Brown – too liberal, no focus (lack of any core curriculum)
Tufts – too small (didn’t mention hills though); paled in comparison to other Boston schools he liked (NE & BC)
BU – didn’t really want to visit or give it a chance because: “I actively dislike all the people from my HS who have chosen BU & I wouldn’t want to be at school that attracts people like them.” (17 year old logic – good, bad & ugly).
Harvard – too snooty & not modern enough. Didn’t like housing options/eating options.
Santa Clara – too small, seemed like second fiddle to Cal & Stanford in the Bay Area
St Mary’s of California – too small & in the middle of nowhere (parents felt it was charming & small classes were very appealing)
Univ of Pacific – campus was nice, but Stockton is a bigtime NO.
Stanford – beautiful, gigantic, sprawling campus, but the impossible odds of getting in turned him off.
Moved Down After Visit/Admitted – Crossed Off List:
Fordham – too many commuters; no true diversity of ethnicity or politics (all white, all rich, all liberal); no school spirit.
Moved Up After Visit:
Dartmouth – son did not think he’d like remote LAC feel of school, but he loved it. He ultimately did not apply, though, as he didn’t feel he had a realistic chance at getting in.
U Miami – this is the “match” school that he fell in love with & luckily got huge Presidential merit scholarship. He liked the laid back vibe combined with excellent academic programs. We’re from SoCal & it reminded me a lot of USC, but 3000 miles away from home (which is what he wants). Campus looks like Tomorrowland meets Palm Springs Art Deco. Not for everyone & not “traditional” but still very nice.
Wake Forest – despite WF’s chip on their shoulder of not being Duke (it was offputting to my hubby, a Duke grad, that Wake compared itself to Duke several times on the tour/info session) – both son & hubby loved the campus & feel of the school.
USC – son loves the rah rah school spirit & great academics. Just doesn’t like that it’s close to home.
BC & Villanova – loved the academics & sports/school spirit. Students seemed outgoing & friendly.
Nope, members of National Panhellenic (26 national sororities) agree not to host parties with alcohol, in their houses or off campus. Sometimes they have parties where outside vendors (hotels, convention centers) serve alcohol for a fee, but the sororities never pay for it. Even if their insurance covers parties with alcohol, they have agreed NOT to host such parties.
There are dozens of sorority houses in Florida. UF, FSU, and UCF have HUGE houses ($5m+ to build one), and many of the other schools also have them. My daughter’s school has a university owned sorority/fraternity Greek Village where each sorority/fraternity run their own building.
@Steglitz90 Loved what you posted, but it’s amazing to hear that your impression of Fordham was universally liberal. It strikes me as one of the more mixed politically of the major campuses in the NYC area.