College Visits Options

[transcendentalis...]

General discussion.
Where are you visiting or planning to visit? Where have you visited?

This summer, I'm going to go check out Dartmouth, Northwestern, and Rochester. UChicago was on my list until I started looking at Northwestern. I'll be checking out the Boston Conservatory just because I'll be in MA with my older brother, and I'll be going to Johns Hopkins to see one of my friends off </3

I've checked out UPenn, Princeton, Columbia/Barnard, Yale, Amherst, Mt. Holyoke, Smith, Hampshire, and UMass (and probably more that I just don't remember). SMU and UTD just because they're right around where I live, too :P

Any other colleges I should check out? I'm really not interested in Brown.

[maggiemayyy]

I went to Southern California and visited basically every UC there over spring break. So that was CalPoly, USC, UCLA, UCSB, and Irvine. I've still got a few years before I even have to worry about that, we were mostly there for my older brother.

[Sprague]

Aren't you 18? Shouldn't you already be in or deciding on college?

I am in college. I was just listing all the schools I went to during my junior year of high school. xD

[RoyalSwagger]

i've only visited ucla and uc santa barbara. i plan on visiting uc irvine and ucsd sometime soon.

i live in santa barbara. you should have came and visited me. jp.

oh but

I've visited, fresno state, fidm, and thats it lol.

[Eryi]

I was checking out Princeton Review's Top 366 Colleges book and apparently Dartmouth parties a decent bit... hm. I doubt I'd get sucked into partying anyway.

I've seen Dartmouth and the majority join fraternities and sororities.

I would really, really like to see Williams, UPenn, and Columbia.
If I go to Williams and confirm my current love for it, I'm applying early decision. No doubt. :)

[transcendentalis...]

If I go to Williams and confirm my current love for it, I'm applying early decision. No doubt. :)

Why not Amherst? ^_^
school rivalryy, yippee!

I really want to go see Barnard (again) after getting more college mail, haha. and I guesss that means Columbia too... I didn't get to actually explore Columbia last year since I went before the school opened. /shrug

I don't get this whole deal with fraternities and sororities. Why are they so appealing to people?

[*paperplane*]

I don't get this whole deal with fraternities and sororities. Why are they so appealing to people?

I still don't know. Unless you just want to have a really expensive social life you can't control yourself, can't make friends without buying them, or just are that desperate to fit in. The Greek system here has 100% lived up to my expectations of it being shitty as f**k.

[misoshiru]

my friend's at williams. she likes it and at the same time she doesn't. she says that the people are weird and hippie not to mention that williams is seriously in bumf**k, massachusetts.

[Joss-eh-lime]

I've visited
UCLA- reeeally huge campus, but nice
UCSD- kinda boring, and too big for my taste
Cal State Fullerton- 37,000 kids, but beautiful campus and happy people
APU- food sucked, but nice dorms
Biola University- great food, seemingly happy kids
Occidental College- too small
Whittier College- dingy, crowded, small, and i didnt like it.
Vanguard University- nice location, awesome dorms and buildings, outgoing students

[Eryi]

my friend's at williams. she likes it and at the same time she doesn't. she says that the people are weird and hippie not to mention that williams is seriously in bumf**k, massachusetts.

Well, from the way I see it.. the things that bother the people the most like the location (Williamstown, MA), is a plus for me. Such seclusion can make a stronger community. I'm really looking for a close-knit community and great undergraduate focus. Oh and an awesome Asian Studies department too. I like the Junior Advisor program too. Williams is a huuuuuuuuge reach for me though, meh.

As for Amherst, I've thought about it, but it doesn't appeal to me as much as Williams.

What it really comes down to for me is Dartmouth and Williams.
I'm really leaning more towards Williams because I'm rejecting Dartmouth's fraternity community. Not that you can't live without joining, which I'm sure it's possible. Just don't want to be tempted to join one.

[Melissa]

I don't get this whole deal with fraternities and sororities. Why are they so appealing to people?

I'm not sure if this is the same with all frats, but at Columbia, if you join a fraternity or sorority, it opens up a lot of opportunities for you. Alumni from your frat/sor are excellent connections - I have a few friends in frats that got jobs because of it. It also provides special housing which is an excellent perk - the frat row housing is SO much better than what you have to go through as an underclassman. Another plus is that many frats are based around interest. We have a crew frat, a swimming frat, baseball frat, etc. These are people you spend a lot of time with and living in a frat makes thinks more unified and fun.

Fraternities and sororities also do a lot of events such as bake sales and community service. They sponsor parties, dances, invite guest speakers to the campus, among many others.

So... yeah. That's the plus of joining a frat or a sorority. The application and rush process for most of them is pretty difficult (some make you do stupid things, some make you write essays, etc), so it makes it an impressive thing to put on applications.

[mipadi]

What it really comes down to for me is Dartmouth and Williams.
I'm really leaning more towards Williams because I'm rejecting Dartmouth's fraternity community. Not that you can't live without joining, which I'm sure it's possible. Just don't want to be tempted to join one.

Two of my professors went to Dartmouth. One got her Ph.D. from Dartmouth, and she mentions a lot how there was nothing to do and it was way too damn cold.

Another one of my professors technically went to William & Mary, but was "on loan" to Dartmouth for the last few years of his Ph.D. He says he generally found Dartmouth students to be one-dimensional and too absorbed in their studies.

But it is a good school.

The application and rush process for most of them is pretty difficult (some make you do stupid things, some make you write essays, etc), so it makes it an impressive thing to put on applications.

Yep, definitely. A lot of employers will look at your application and say, "Wow, you got up at 5 AM for a whole week to do push-ups and sit-ups?" or "Whoa, you drank how many beers in ten minutes? Yep, I am going to employ you!"

[Eryi]

^ My principle and math teacher are alumni of Dartmouth, but they both love it.
I heard the winters are brutal.

[misoshiru]

where're you from? if you're from the northeast or the midwest, you'll have no problem with the winters.

[treschicgeek]

I've visited....
- USD
- UCSD
- SDSU
- UCR
- UCI
- UCSB
- USC
- UCLA
- Loyola
- Point Loma Nazarene
- Pepperdine

Idk...I kinda don't wanna stay in San Diego/socal, so I'm more interested in seeing all the UCs & CSUs in norcal this summer.

[Tung]

^ OMG Deb. Come visit me at UC Davis!!!

[Eryi]

I've been going on college tours this entire week.. when school was out..

I went to Brown, Bentley, Princeton, & Northeastern & more.
It was alright. Really liked Bentley's newly renovated buildings, but too bad it has a business focus.
Brown was somewhat a let down for me. I heard stories about police brutality against the students, and segregation.

It's still up for debate whether I still want to apply to Brown anymore.

[Melissa]

Yep, definitely. A lot of employers will look at your application and say, "Wow, you got up at 5 AM for a whole week to do push-ups and sit-ups?" or "Whoa, you drank how many beers in ten minutes? Yep, I am going to employ you!"

... I don't know about the frats at your school, but here, many of them have you do academic work while you're rushing. For example, the Latino frat had each of their applicants write a bunch of essays about their history and culture.

[*paperplane*]

It's absolutely nothing like that at most schools. They can't all be Ivies.

[ersatz]

I've never ever heard of people writing essays during rush. That's the time a lot of people get in trouble for hazing or something, no?

[transcendentalis...]

updated list of planned college visits for the summer:
oberlin college / oberlin conservatory
indiana university / jacobs school of music
rochester university / EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC beaaaast!
northwestern university
boston conservatory with friend

top two picks out of those are indiana and rochester.

[transcendentalis...]

indiana's and rochester's music programs kick northwestern's in the face. multiple times!

idk. :z i know people that go to all of them directly, except oberlin. and my musical hero's musical hero said all the psychos come out of oberlin, lol.

[transcendentalis...]

lol. i does not care about the avatar. i'll change it after visits...

i have close friends in northwestern, rochester but not eastman, indiana, and boston conservatory, so i never know how biased i really am. i've seriously been miserable for the past month because of everyone leaving for college and i'm not sure if i've got my head on straight.

i hear the sun is never shining in rochester, haha.

[ersatz]

OMG RUTH GO TO IU! You could come up and visit me (when I'm home)! I know a bazillion people at IU!

When are you gonna visit?

[transcendentalis...]

july or so? i'm pretty excited about indiana.. i've never been there :)

[*paperplane*]

updated list of planned college visits for the summer:
oberlin college / oberlin conservatory
indiana university / jacobs school of music
rochester university / EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC beaaaast!
northwestern university
boston conservatory with friend

top two picks out of those are indiana and rochester.

I know someone who's transferring to Rochester. She was at BU, then was supposed to transfer to the New England Conservatory, also in Boston, but her teacher went to Rochester and she followed.

I also know several people at IU for music.