On a related note: Grinnell did separate tours for parents and students, and I really liked that approach. Parents can ask questions without embarrassing their kids, and the kids can ask questions about student life they may not want their parents to hear.
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This may be my new favorite cc thread. I have probably committed many of these offenses on a tour or two; however, DH joined us for an admitted student’s event and may or may not have started singing to try to get D to laugh. Just in case you’re wondering, it did not work. 
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I raised my hand with too much enthusiasm when asking if the tour guide ever had trouble getting the classes they needed during registration.
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I was there, and (gasp!) people knew I was there with her. As her mom.
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I went on a tour at an urban university, but one with a very distinct and separate campus. I asked, “Where are the bars?”
My kid was not pleased. But I said I’m not asking for YOU. I want a drink after this.
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At one CA university I kept pointing out certain plants and trees…their landscaping was beautiful 
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These responses are making me feel better. On one tour I committed the crime of making friends with another mom. On another I asked our tour guide a question about parties on campus and apparently I sounded “too enthusiastic” about the idea when it’s “obvious to everyone” that I know “zero about parties.” That’s one of my kids.
The other (who toured entirely different colleges and has a totally different personality) was like: “Mom. We need coffee. Right now. Sneak to the Starbucks we just walked past and get us giant frappacinos, mine needs so much whipped cream and sprinkes. And then just quietly rejoin the tour–track me on my phone to find us.” Since this was our 5th tour of the week (not advisable) and I was toast, I agreed. But lemme tell you–there is no sneaking back onto a college tour while carrying a giant tray of whipped cream covered coffee drinks. I was the one who was embarrassed after that!
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I love this quote so much. My spouse and I have marveled that our kids seem to think we’ve been boring middle-aged parents for our entire lives, somehow. Yes, I spent evenings working on my parents’ budget and shopping for orthopedic shoes and my preferred flavor of tums (mint, for the record) even when I was 19.
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Another crime I committed was talking to my sister when both of us came along on the tour. 
However, oddly enough, S generally preferred if both me and my sister came along, because it “made it seem like his parents were a nice lesbian couple” and for some reason that made him feel less embarrassed by us?
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This thread had me in tears, but “nice lesbian couple” has put me over the edge.
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I laughed too loud, asked questions too enthusiastically… but the worst was when I unconsciously took my D’s hand while walking across a campus. Fastest slap/brush away ever! We often walk arm in arm or holding hands… but apparently that was a faux pas on college tours. She walked about 10 feet away from me after that. 
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Bates also takes this approach.
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I loved that Bates did that.
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Tours? What tours?
We tried to walk around Wesleyan once when visiting our son at his high school down the road. He would.not.get.out.of.the.car. He was mortified that any grads he knew from previous Choate classes would see him. And? 
When it came his turn to consider colleges, he was only interested in the programs (and tanks), so websites were all he needed thank you very much. Done.
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P.S. I just remembered that the tour I screamed “puppy” on was at the school where she got waitlisted. She was right—I ruined everything.
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This whole thread is gold. Thanks for the laughs.
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We were on a tour when the tour guide highlighted a building and said “This is XXXXX library where every year we hold a founders event”.
One of the kids on the tour said “what is that”?
A blurted out “A library is a big building with books in it but that is not important right now”.
One father got the movie Airplane reference, while everyone else including my kid and tour guide just looked at me with disgust.
My son after suggested we walk separately on tours so he could have “plausible deniability”.
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We only had one school that did this and we ended up leaving early. Guess my D got the full story from the guide and decided it wasn’t for her.
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This is my favorite kind of thread because on just about every other topic we all bicker and dispute and challenge one another, but then you come here and realize, despite our differing political, social, and educational views, at the end of the day, we’re all just someone’s embarrassing parent 
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How dare you? Speak for yourself!
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