In reading through threads here on CC I noticed that there are a lot of students and/or parents who cross a school off their list if it is a hilly campus. In the Northeast alone this would eliminate Boston College, Holy Cross, Tufts, Lehigh, McGill (mountain), Syracuse among others. Assuming that the student does not have a mobility disability, why this hating on hills? Students will go to the campus fitness center and do the treadmill but don’t want to climb hills?
Because when you go to the fitness center you are dressed for it and not having to sit in a class all sweaty and disgusting because of the workout you got just to get to class. Because at the fitness center you are indoors and not worried about trying to make it up or down a hill covered in snow and ice a good part of the year.
most of the hills complaints is parent driven - students dont feel that much one way or the other - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPF5ZpVE4cA
I’ve been told that Holy Cross sits atop a pretty big hill, making it always windy and cold. That doesn’t sound fun.
It’s laziness, plain and simple. My two daughters in particular had hill phobia. One now climbs a “million” stairs a day and hopefully is getting the bonus of a strong heart and tush.
@swampdraggin That video is a hoot!
Not so much a phobia, but a hilly campus can create some mobility issues. I will admit worrying a bit when we saw all those steps at Tufts and asking if they keep them from icing over in the winter. The hill would only concern me if kids were falling down because of it. (We are from CA and don’t live with snow and ice, in case you are wondering why this would even occur to me).
Another parent on our tour of UCLA outright asked what happens if a student breaks a leg or something – that would be a very difficult campus with limited mobility. The tour guide said that will a “real” medical problem you can get a “ride” on a golf cart or something like that. But what if it’s just a sprain, etc? It seemed to be an issue with several families on our tour.
Another friend whose kid has limited vision preferred a flat campus for safety reasons (she felt that without good peripheral vision her kid could slip off a path and fall into a ravine). I can understand why some people would prefer a more level terrain.
I was one who wasn’t into Tufts hills. Just seemed like a PITA if you forgot something in your room or whatever.
But for the record, I put on my workout gear and go to a very hilly LAC in my town to work out on their steps and hills, on purpose 
^^ Then may I suggest Texas Tech?
After touring UCB and UCLA I realized how incredibly spoiled I was by the small campus at the school I attended. I think on those days when a student is feeling tired or lazy or it’s raining/snowing/cold/hot/humid, a 30 minute hike over hill & dale (what my D has) is more likely to make you skip class than a 5 minute stroll across a flat campus (what I had).
I would hope it’s not a deal breaker for most kids, but parents likely have some insight into whether or not a decent hike is going give their kids more incentive to sleep in and skip class.
My “hill phobia” stems from a visit to Lehigh University during a snowstorm. As good a reason as any to eliminate a school if you have other appealing options!
The “hill” at Lehigh is legendary. Beautiful campuses and the layout of the main campus has the academic buildings at the bottom of the hill, then the dorms, with the fraternities and sororities at the top of South Mountain. The athletic campus is flat and the Mountaintop campus in between has some research facilities that used to be part of Bethlehem Steel as well a beautiful dining facility with a 360 degree view of the Lehigh Valley.
Oh no! My post about Tech was that it is flat as board. I cross posted with Ohio mom and gave the wrong impression. Too late to edit. My bad!
You can add Denison to the campus on a hill list.
@Mamabear16 - UCLA was beyond wonderful when my kid severely sprained her ankle when she fell in a campus stairwell. They immediately hooked her up with the Office for Students with Disabilities. She was driven from her dorm to the buildings where her classes were located, and was able to get sick trays when she couldn’t maneuver around the cafeteria. And, her fellow students and professors were very accommodating. We were very surprised at the school’s response, and very thankful! That said, those steps on campus are a killer workout!
We had to hike up a steep hill just to get to one info session because of construction. It was all downhill from there.
Many parents in their 50’s and 60’s have difficulty with some tours. You and I and our kids have no problem keeping up, but for others it may be almost a deal breaker.
(typing this as Kramer pulls Newman up a steep hill in a rickshaw on Seinfeld. Kramer stops to take a break and down the hill rides Newman)
Lehigh is pretty much a love-it-or-hate-it campus. I’ve known many students who are now happily attending colleges on “hilly campuses” (Penn State for example) who loathed Lehigh. It was the only school I visited with my son that he couldn’t stand.
Yeah, us parents in our 50s are pretty much invalids.
The video is hilarious. It never occurred to me that hills would be a deciding factor for a school. i guess when we live in a world where you can be choosy about just about everything, this could be a factor for some. To each their own.
@youcee I’m in my late 50s and have to admit that a few of the campus tours this past year were pretty tough on the old knees. Augustana (IL) springs to mind… plenty of hills and stairs…