I really don’t get that attitude- the whole need to distinguish. It’s like lambasting Harvard for not having a specialty compared to MIT; it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Pomona is a traditional liberal arts college strong across the board, modeled after its peers on the east coast- which also lack specialties. Its historical roots were to provide a “college of the New England type” since the West Coast lacked it at the time of founding. The other 5C’s were formed later to provide more specialized experiences for students who desired it, in turn yielding a consortium with a diversity of perspectives. That’s the beauty of it all- there’s something for everyone at the 5C’s, and you can venture out for a new experience.
But I agree, Pomona can definitely put a tone of being the best/most exclusive of the colleges which is off-putting. I wonder that myself- why off-campus majors aren’t allowed readily at Pomona compared to the other schools. I think the reason is there hasn’t been demand for it at Pomona so it’s sort of the historical status quo, whereas the other schools really do need each other to an extent to fill in gaps (no theater at the others, for instance, no CS at Scripps/Pitzer; no sociology/anthropology at CMC, etc). Just a quick note you can’t major off-campus in engineering at the other schools either; you have to do a 3-2 program with Mudd.
@Old_parent Yes- spent 2 weeks freaking out about money differences, had D chase money at 12 schools only to have her fall for one of a small few that offered grant money (so outside scholarships won’t stack)-
But on topic- we also found the Pomona experience very ‘factory’ - and they really don’t care if you are a legacy…AT ALL.
Elizabethtown - while D impressed by wonderful, talented and dedicated profs, felt too much like D’s high school & no one doing anything out on campus on a beautiful day. The money was good, but the swirl of ideas and innovation were absent on student side that day. Good merit money, great interest and talent among profs. We exhausted ourselves trying to love it.
University of the Pacific- seemed like they left the junior high siblings in charge of the admissions office last summer. Confusing answers to straightforward questions, unimpressive meandering tour. Promised ice cream at the end of the tour and then failed. Hot day. My youngest wasn’t having that and went to politely ask (LOL = she said “I’ll demand they make good”)- they seemed shocked that someone actually remembered and had the gall to ask. It was all a huge turn off.
Stanford: felt like a shopping mall with a mission theme.
Princeton: the entire town is styled by Laura Ashley. Laura Ashley is the pinnacle of taste. It is. It is it is it is because we’re Princeton and we say it is. so there.
NYU: felt like a huge public flagship school at three times the price, and five times the attitude, and no sports team to hold it together. But hey! It’s in New York wide-armed-Sound-of-Music-twirl
Sarah Lawrence: where’s the there there? tiny, unfocused, expensive, mushy, and precious oh-so-precious.
And just to show what a supreme hater I am, and because Madison is getting way too much love on this thread: yes the shopping street near campus is great, but what a depressing flat landscape and dull architecture, doncha know. It could hardly feel more isolating. When I’m there, I feel like Shirley Jackson is stalking me with stones.
Ann Arbor: wow! what a nice town . . . . oh wait! Is the tallest building in the town really a PARKING GARAGE??? shakes head and scratches Ann Arbor off of the list
Any school where the largest facility is the football stadium: clemsen, michigan etc. Apologies to sports fans everywhere.
Northeastern because of the feel of All-Marketing, All-the-Time! to game their numbers for USN&WR. Marketing first, students second. Like getting an education at a bank.
@Dustyfeathers I am not worthy :))
Shirley Jackson stalking you with stones! omg. haha.
One thing about the Princeton tour: They tell you about the superstition that if you go through the main gate of the campus prior to graduation, you will never graduate from Princeton. (Not sure how this originated.) But for people like us who had already gone through the main gate the day before (uh oh!) . . .
I think the facilities at MIT have improved from the time that I was a post-doc, but when I was there, I found it rather oppressively monolithic as a setting for an undergraduate education. Later buildings have spread out, and there appears to be less going on in the main institute building (could be a mistaken impression). The dramatically high entrance hall would look appropriate to me for a memorial in Washington, DC, but I thought the architecture would just add to the sense of insignificance that MIT gives some freshmen.
@Dustyfeathers Flat? Check with the good folks behind the “Bascalator” (a recurring April Fool’s joke at UW). A class at the top and a class at the bottom of Bascom on the same day means you don’t have to hit the gym!
My daughter and I really didn’t like Columbia.
The small bit of grass in the main area was roped off and yet still brown and dead. Not much of a campus, really, and athletic facilities underground?? It instantly made me wonder how it might smell down there.
We left without completing the tour.
Not sure if D had a least favorite, but she crossed off these schools after visiting:
Boston College
UCSB
UCSD
My wife flew with our daughter from Boston to The University of Miami because she wanted a strong Marine Science Program and warmer weather.
The campus had palmtrees, an outdoor swimming pool and students dressed in shorts and flip flops.
After the tour, our daughter said “This would be a nice place to go on vacation, but I don’t think I could go to school here”.
Didn’t know whether to be frustrated or proud…
We went on a “Maine College driving tour” with our first child.
We approached Bates from the south (through Lewiston) then headed north to Colby. We got a luke-warm impression of Bates.
We went on a “Maine College driving tour” with our second child.
We headed straight north to Colby then approached Bates from the north (on the way back). We got a much more favorable impression - even though we drove back through Lewiston. It seemed like a different school.
It made us realize just how fickle the whole college visitation process can be…
I strongly recommend the latter approach if you are visiting Bates.
UW Madison flat??? Eons ago we gleefully corrected our honors physics TA (from OOS) when he tried to use the problem solving example about entering a building on the first floor. You enter a few on the 4th or 6th floor at UW as there are some buildings built into hills. Then there’s the classic dorm- Liz Waters which is built into a hill. Bascom Hill isn’t the only one, only the oldest.
We went to visit UMass Amherst with the more pragmatic of our two children.
People starting asking questions about cross enrollment and the Five College Consortium.
After the questions died down, our child turned to me and innocently asked “Why would anyone want to pay Amherst College prices to take courses at UMass when they can pay UMass prices to take courses at Amherst College?”
@Mastadon After need-based aid, Amherst College is probably cheaper than UMass for a lot of people.
@redpoodles - This is a lighthearted thread, but our child, although somewhat naive, was aware of such cases (UMass was not my least expensive option). The existance of such cases in no way invalidates the question though, and a thoughtful discussion of the pros and cons of a LAC-based education followed. Bates was a better fit for him than Amherst although he ended up somewhere else.
@Mastadon , funny how your impression of Bates differed based on the direction from where you came. I went to college in the South Bronx. On my initial visit, I vividly remember driving across the GW Bridge and seeing burnt out abandoned vehicles on the side of 95 and the Bronx River Pkwy as well as graffiti, litter, etc everywhere. Fordham was like an oasis amidst this - it was hard to believe what sat outside the wrought iron fences once I entered the campus. Now had I come from the opposite direction on the Bronx River Parkway, it might not have been quite a shock.
I haven’t defended either of my son’s schools, but attacking UMiami kids for wearing flip flops? They cost $1.
Sorry, Mastadon, but marine science is one of their strong points. When I moved from Boston to FL, I welcomed the ease with which I could dress my son in shorts and polos for school. No more snow suits and no more suits and stockings for me.
In time, in time.
@bookworm - It’s OK - I was poking fun at my daughter, not your son’s school.
By the way, my SCUBA certification dive was on the coral reef in Pennecamp State Park. One of my siblings who lived south of Miami was my instructor. My daughter was interested in the Rosenstiel School and the exchange program with James Cook in Australia. That particular program is not just a “strong point” of UMiami, but arguably the best Coral Reef Ecology program in the world. That was the primary reason she applied to UMiami - she wanted to help save the world’s coral reefs. My only beef with UMiami is the fact that she wanted to sit in on a marine science class and they would only allow her to sit in on an introductory english class -which is not UMiami’s strength. Ultimately she decided that studying coral reefs was probably too specialized for the undergraduate level, which caused her to favor another school. If you are getting the feeling that the college search and selection process for our daughter was an interesting experience, then you would be right.
@4kids4us. I took a ten hour train ride with a friend to our college orientation. When we arrived we decided to take a taxi to the campus. While waiting at the taxi stand a loud fight broke out between two cab drivers over who was next in line. Knives were drawn and they menaced each other with them. Meanwhile the people they were arguing over fled one of the taxis. In those days nuns still wore full habits. They grabbed their luggage and ran without a word. We took the next cab while the knife fight was still in progress. I had already committed to the college but I doubt it would have influenced my decision if I hadn’t.
