<p>Love the story, love the low-key tone. A keeper. What a dear man your dad must have been.</p>
<p>Mine own silly reason for not considering a college for my kids: Wash U at St Louis, it just seems like an unwieldly name for a school.</p>
<p>Thanks for bringing this thread back. So many gems!</p>
<p>How about:
- Transylvania U (KY)
- Slippery Rock U Ā¶
- Univ of La Verne (CA)-- nothing strange really, itās just that I had a relative named Laverne and it just sounds weird, like a fake school
- New College of FL (as opposed to Old Collegeā¦?)</p>
<p>Nothing against any of these schools, of course. :)</p>
<p>Some I didnāt apply toā¦</p>
<p>University of Michigan - Grandfather went to Ohio State. Didnāt want to curse the family.</p>
<p>Purdue, Notre Dame, Indiana - I think the whole state is just one big bad idea.</p>
<p>Cornell, Colgate, Rochester - Being from NYC, anywhere up north in my state just sounds depressing. Like Bonfire of the Vanities, āIt is like the North Pole; it is somewhere up north and you just donāt go thereā¦ā except that was directed at The Bronx. Go figure.</p>
<p>Any School in Florida - I think most STDās originated somewhere in that state.</p>
<p>D goes to Bates. Not a college that is typical for a kid from Western NY. Most of her friends thought it was made up and not a real college.</p>
<p>BfloGal-Where I live in PA we call Slippery Rock Slimey Pebble</p>
<p>Manhattan- I really understand the Michigan/Ohio State thing- but are you sure it isnāt because you fear being disinherited by any family members? Also understand the Indiana thing (sorry Hoosiers). No reply needed.</p>
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<p>This made me laugh. Iāve had three jobs in Indiana including at Notre Dame, and I have to agree. Aināt nothinā but corn in Indiana. Bloomington is pretty nice, but still aināt much there.</p>
<p>^I can relate. My daugher attends college in Kansas. The college towns (Manhattan/K-State and Lawrence/KU) are great, but thereās a whole lot of nothing in between them. The isolation notwithstanding, she still loves going to school there.</p>
<p>Purdue, Notre Dame, Indiana - I think the whole state is just one big bad idea.</p>
<p>What??? Whatās to not like about Indiana???</p>
<p>^^Manhattan75 is citing this as an example of his/her stupidity, remember the title of the thread.</p>
<p>Not as funny as most of the other posts, but it is up there for stupidity.</p>
<p>^^^ Aye, Iām a miserable New Yorker. Stupid reason to not consider schools.</p>
<p>Schmaltz, thanks for that story! Iām so glad you shared it. It really touched my heart.</p>
<p>rocket6-- how funny! I almost transferred there way back in the 70ās but didnātā¦</p>
<p>And who came up with the name āFull Sail Universityā? I donāt know a thing about the school, but I always imagine a bunch of beach bums in flip flops not attending their classesā¦</p>
<p>D wanted to apply to schools that had squirrels (likes trees) not too hilly to ride a bike, and if the tour guide was enthusiastic about their football team- that was the end of that place. Luckily sheās happy where she is. I understand now about the other parents who mention squirrels as reasons pro and con. Teenagers are an odd bunch.</p>
<p>My niece is at ND but will be heading to Oakland for grad school. She refused to consider UCSD when she learned from the tour guide that the school had NO football team (the year after she started ND, they lost EVERY football game :().</p>
<p>S refused to tour the schools he was weighing before submitting his acceptance. He said he was sure theyāre all lovely and would have good or bad guides and heād be happy where he ended up. He also refused most interviews with adcoms. Heās happy where he is graduating this May. j(We did force him to see some Us in Rochester & he realized he had no idea snow got that high (saw snow poles). He decided heās really an urban, warmer weather kid. 
It is good to know & didnāt seem silly to us.</p>
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<p>What are the cons? Iāve always had squirrels around, and I love those little guys! Theyāre so cute and always make me smile. I donāt know what it is about them, but it just brightens my day to see a squirrel scurrying around. 
I think Iāll bring this up to my son; Iāll bet he has never thought about the importance of squirrels in his life, but I wonder if he would turn down a college if it turns out they donāt have squirrels. Will report back soon.</p>
<p>CONS of furry critters including squirrels: they do carry bubonic plague and other non-cute diseases including rabies.</p>
<p>Squirrels are not on the CDC list of rabies vector species. Iām currently taking a wildlife rehabilitation course, and hereās the list they gave us: bats, raccoons, skunks, foxes, coyotes. Raccoon rabies is a huge problem on the East Coast.</p>
<p>Bubonic plague is very rare these days. There are a few resevoirs among rodents (not squirrels) in the highlands in the middle of the country (Rockies, etc.), but you would have to be in very close contact with the species to catch it. Remember that bubonic plague is transmitted by fleas, not by the rodents themselves.</p>
<p>Some rodents, primarily mice, can carry Hantovirus. Donāt breathe rodent feces.</p>
<p>What I find annoying about squirrels is their propensity to chew up electrical wires.</p>