OT: Visiting Campus

[mauconnfan]

Disappointed after reading title was hoping for a 7 footer HH!

 

[Chief00]

both are good thoughts

The campus has many many good food opportunities for 15-24 demographic. Ge no’s is a decently priced nice sit down adult restaurant.

But ... there’s not quality sustainable mixed use for a real collegetown community. The population of Students, Faculty, Staff, Ancillary has grown. But it is still what I remember ... island in the woods of Northeast Connecticut. Hang out with 1000s of others your age. Road trips are short & lots of kids have cars - so all the New England colleges seemed like good visits. NYC (a friend had Ranger tickets) & Boston often.

I was involved in the winning RFP for Storrs Center; and it hasn’t really achieved the original goal. (First developer got cash poor) the Price Chopper grocery is a nice add. The one thing the Surveys found was how frequent kids made the trip to Mohegan Sun & Foxwoods. I never would have guessed that.

Given what I know about campus development, more will come to Mansfield/Storrs in the next 10 years.

The rents are too high and businesses are moving out including Amazon. If they can’t pay the high rent , the small businesses don’t have a chance. Grille 86 recently moved too.
Great idea and wasn’t developer the firm who did something similar at Princeton? Rents approach needs to be different at these two schools for obvious reasons.

 

[huskymedic]

@HuskyHawk - after the formal tour is over and you get a general sense of the layout - go off on on your own for a bit.

Drive over to the Dairy Bar before heading out and I second taking a ride down behind Horsebarn Hill to re-live the agricultural school beginnings.

 

[Get a Job]

@HuskyHawk - after the formal tour is over and you get a general sense of the layout - go off on on your own for a bit.

Drive over to the DiaryBar before heading out and I second taking a ride down behind Horsebarn Hill to re-live the agricultural school beginnings.

Is the DiaryBar where journalism students go to drink?

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

The Graduate is an awesome brand

(it almost is one of those quizzes ... which one doesn't belong)[/I][/B]

Looking forward to HuskyHawk’s UConn and Storrs observations.

As much as The Graduate brand and name ironically is a no brainer, . some of their hotels must be more interesting than a few basic locations I visited. Perhaps they were initial locations, but I found them a little underwhelming just with some local school paraphernalia, historic references, etc.

As for The Graduate’s current locations, multiple odd balls exist for various different reasons. Roosevelt Island is wayyyyy out there, but you could rationalize Cambridge for obvious geographic reasons in England, similar lack of FBS football a la Richmond, Yale and Brown; UConn with a way off-campus stadium, Annapolis as the sole military academy setting, Ivy New Haven and Providence, etc.

 

[Pudge]

Cornell is building a huge tech university on Roosevelt Island. And that was that opportunity to build on land - thus funding other infrastructure.

 

[HuskyHawk]

@HuskyHawk - after the formal tour is over and you get a general sense of the layout - go off on on your own for a bit.

Drive over to the Dairy Bar before heading out and I second taking a ride down behind Horsebarn Hill to re-live the agricultural school beginnings.

I will inevitably be at the mercy of the wife and daughter. Maybe they will want to see horses, maybe they will want to leave. I am hoping to get a chance to maybe grab a new sweatshirt. No idea where the bookstore is now that the Co-op is gone. Tour will probably go by it. I’m familiar with the overall layout, most of that hasn’t changed.

This will be the biggest school she’s officially visited by far. She might hate it. Could be too big or too much in the boonies. Hope not, even at out of state it’s cheaper than the other options. Need to visit UNH and UVM in spring. She needs a safety school like UNH.

 

[Pudge]

Co-op is diagonally across the street. Ground floor of the big Parking garage - across from Gampel. On Jim Calhoun Way

Four times the square footage

 

[beerfan]

I took a tour with my daughter last month (she has taken about 30 so far). She really liked the campus and said she could see herself there (a big sigh of relief for me and my wallet), and she will be applying (she also got nominated for a nutmeg scholarship – but that is a longshot).

One thing that differentiated the Uconn tour compared to other colleges is the tour guides made an attempt to really get to know the students in the group and got to know what they were looking for in a University, then tailored to the tour based on that. During the walks between stops the guide took each prospective student and personally talked to them for a few minutes. I think that made a difference for my daughter.

Also, if you want to see some Uconn innovation, go to the barns and see the robotic milking station. When the cows know they are ready to be milked they walk into this stall and laser guided pumps attach to the udders and automatically milk the cow, the cows just naturally line up for this, it was pretty neat.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I took a tour with my daughter last month (she has taken about 30 so far). She really liked the campus and said she could see herself there (a big sigh of relief for me and my wallet), and she will be applying (she also got nominated for a nutmeg scholarship – but that is a longshot).

One thing that differentiated the Uconn tour compared to other colleges is the tour guides made an attempt to really get to know the students in the group and got to know what they were looking for in a University, then tailored to the tour based on that. During the walks between stops the guide took each prospective student and personally talked to them for a few minutes. I think that made a difference for my daughter.

Also, if you want to see some Uconn innovation, go to the barns and see the robotic milking station. When the cows know they are ready to be milked they walk into this stall and laser guided pumps attach to the udders and automatically milk the cow, the cows just naturally line up for this, it was pretty neat.

That sounds like a good tour experience. I hope ours is similar. There has been some real variation. The Wesleyan tour guide was not good. Fairfield and Holy Cross very well trained. Tufts a lot like what you describe, more custom and responsive to the specific students. She loved Tufts (very hard to get in and a major hit to the bank account).

 

[Pudge]

I remember the tour guide at Wesleyan - young woman - to be one of the most impressive students I have ever listened to. It is interesting how these things matter.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I remember the tour guide at Wesleyan - young woman - to be one of the most impressive students I have ever listened to. It is interesting how these things matter.

The whole process is fascinating and awful at the same time. They pretend to want you and yet will likely turn you down. Its a bizarre game of who gets to be the Belle of which ball. Wesleyan desperately wants that kid who's borderline at Yale, will begrudgingly accept UConn's top targets and will turn it's nose up at a UConn borderline case. Do you, as a student go with that less attractive but clearly interested suitor? Or do you hold out for the gorgeous one that is less interested in you.

I am sure many of the Wesleyan guides are good. Ours was poorly coached, not dressed appropriately and couldn't answer simple questions. Campus was nice, if not at all my thing.

Tufts guy was very impressive. Fairfield had Jesuit efficiency and they were very well coached. I assume it's luck of the draw.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

I knew kids applied to several to a dozen or more schools now, but 30 school tours is a surprise. Is that the norm now and/or is @beerfan a very patient guy and also potentially sneaking in local brewery side tours?

 

[superjohn]

I took a tour with my daughter last month (she has taken about 30 so far). She really liked the campus and said she could see herself there (a big sigh of relief for me and my wallet), and she will be applying (she also got nominated for a nutmeg scholarship – but that is a longshot).

One thing that differentiated the Uconn tour compared to other colleges is the tour guides made an attempt to really get to know the students in the group and got to know what they were looking for in a University, then tailored to the tour based on that. During the walks between stops the guide took each prospective student and personally talked to them for a few minutes. I think that made a difference for my daughter.

Also, if you want to see some Uconn innovation, go to the barns and see the robotic milking station. When the cows know they are ready to be milked they walk into this stall and laser guided pumps attach to the udders and automatically milk the cow, the cows just naturally line up for this, it was pretty neat.

30 campus tours so far....what???

Pretty sure I took 3.

 

[manbyrd]

For a lunch spot with some character - you may want to check out Cafemantic across from the brew pub. Its got a good menu and a writeup in the NY times.

 

[UConnRock]

Just went through the college process with my son last year. He is now a freshman at Northeastern. The campus visits started to be a drag by the end. We got so sick of hearing about the "holistic review" of applications and all the other canned admissions boxes that all seemed to be checking. The campus tours were the most useful and some better than others.

The worst tour guides we had were at two of the most elite schools, Penn and U of Chicago. The guides at both of these schools show the arbitrary nature of the admissions process. Neither one spoke well or even seemed comfortable doing a tour. I could find high school kids that were more articulate and refined than these two "elite" college students.

My son found that the most valuable part of visits was to be on campus on weekdays when classes were in session. The summer visits and weekend visits really provided no value.

I agree with Hawk on the "bizarre game" of admissions. Part of the game is to just get parents to fork over the $75 to submit the application. Just the application fees seem like a mini business for some schools. Early Decision also adds an interesting element to the admissions game. In the end, Northeastern's merit money and the general vibe of no frills, smart kids working hard won out in the end over a couple of other final options.

Not looking forward to doing it all again with my daughter in another year. We did 11 campus tours in total with my son.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Way 0T: Based on the 2 Willimantic side comments (brew pub and cafe), how much has it very recently cleaned up its’ drug trade history? Just trying to wrap my head around Willimantic being much more than an edgy late night munchies destination.

 

[auror]

The whole process is fascinating and awful at the same time. They pretend to want you and yet will likely turn you down. Its a bizarre game of who gets to be the Belle of which ball. Wesleyan desperately wants that kid who's borderline at Yale, will begrudgingly accept UConn's top targets and will turn it's nose up at a UConn borderline case. Do you, as a student go with that less attractive but clearly interested suitor? Or do you hold out for the gorgeous one that is less interested in you.

Unlike in basketball, in the end, your child gets treated pretty much the same during classes as any other student, regardless of how sought after they were during "recruitment". Excepting possibly in cases of aid or honors programs.

 

[8893]

Tour guides are always a crap shoot. But their outsize influence on your visit is both undeniable and insanely stupid.

Don’t sweat the choices @HuskyHawk . I know, I know--easier said than done with a daughter and when you are going through it the first time. I know the drama well. For your own sanity, check out Frank Bruni's excellent book Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be, or at least his NY Times article that preceded it and summarizes the premise.

Two other thoughts based on what you've reported:

First, if your fear is that UConn may appear too big for her, check out the Honors Scholar program. She would have to be accepted into it, but if she is, it kind of has the benefits of a small school (smaller classes, seminar-style, and the same group of students so you get to know each other and your teachers), but you also have all the benefits of a major university (e.g., big time college sports, Greek life, if that matters).

Second, I see you have a few Jesuit schools among her options. I am a big fan of the Jesuits and would recommend that you look at St. Joe's in Philadelphia and Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, two very good Jesuit universities that may be more generous with merit aid in hopes of luring more students outside their main regional draws.

 

[manbyrd]

Way 0T: Based on the 2 Willimantic side comments (brew pub and cafe), how much has it very recently cleaned up its’ drug trade history? Just trying to wrap my head around Willimantic being much more than an edgy late night munchies destination.

I'd say it's moving in the right direction, though still a ways to go. I moved to Mansfield in '97, out in '07 but parents are still up there so I visit every so often. At that time the only reason to visit was the brew pub, stop and shop and blockbuster.

Since then, a handful of decent establishments have popped up: Corleone's, Harp on Church, A Cupcake for Later, Not Only Juice, Grounded Coffee Co. and the food co-op have lasted and are bringing in some retail foot traffic to the area. Also there could be some relatively big developments on the horizon that can make it much more of a collegish (UConn/ECSU) town.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Just went through the college process with my son last year. He is now a freshman at Northeastern. The campus visits started to be a drag by the end. We got so sick of hearing about the "holistic review" of applications and all the other canned admissions boxes that all seemed to be checking. The campus tours were the most useful and some better than others.

The worst tour guides we had were at two of the most elite schools, Penn and U of Chicago. The guides at both of these schools show the arbitrary nature of the admissions process. Neither one spoke well or even seemed comfortable doing a tour. I could find high school kids that were more articulate and refined than these two "elite" college students.

My son found that the most valuable part of visits was to be on campus on weekdays when classes were in session. The summer visits and weekend visits really provided no value.

I agree with Hawk on the "bizarre game" of admissions. Part of the game is to just get parents to fork over the $75 to submit the application. Just the application fees seem like a mini business for some schools. Early Decision also adds an interesting element to the admissions game. In the end, Northeastern's merit money and the general vibe of no frills, smart kids working hard won out in the end over a couple of other final options.

Not looking forward to doing it all again with my daughter in another year. We did 11 campus tours in total with my son.

Thanks for this (and @8893 as well). Our Wesleyan tour guide sounded like a 20 year old Britney Spears. Meanwhile those Catholic School kids (and mine is one at the HS level) seem unfailingly comfortable and capable talking to groups including parents. I sure wasn't at that age, but the kids in my daughter's school often are.

Still need to figure out, big vs smaller, city vs suburbs vs rural. That's on top of field of study and other factors. Fairfield seemed full of LAX Bros and HS Cheerleaders and she hated it. Tufts seems really unique, Ivy smart kids who have an individualist, entrepreneurial streak. I doubt we will hit 30 tours, but we will go way past 11. Next year we start narrowing it down, with the reaches (Tufts probably, maybe BC), medium chance (UConn?) and safety schools. I think a lot depends on whether your kid has an idea of what they want or not. Mine didn't before this started. Will be interesting to see if anybody offers Merit aid, we aren't getting any other kind.

I visited two schools. UConn and Bryant. Applied to Western New England as a safety school. Bryant was smaller than Manchester High at the time, so I was very glad UConn let me in.

 

[superjohn]

Tour guides are always a crap shoot. But their outsize influence on your visit is both undeniable and insanely stupid.

Don’t sweat the choices @HuskyHawk . I know, I know--easier said than done with a daughter and when you are going through it the first time. I know the drama well. For your own sanity, check out Frank Bruni's excellent book Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be, or at least his NY Times article that preceded it and summarizes the premise.

Two other thoughts based on what you've reported:

First, if your fear is that UConn may appear too big for her, check out the Honors Scholar program. She would have to be accepted into it, but if she is, it kind of has the benefits of a small school (smaller classes, seminar-style, and the same group of students so you get to know each other and your teachers), but you also have all the benefits of a major university (e.g., big time college sports, Greek life, if that matters).

Second, I see you have a few Jesuit schools among her options. I am a big fan of the Jesuits and would recommend that you look at St. Joe's in Philadelphia and Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, two very good Jesuit universities that may be more generous with merit aid in hopes of luring more students outside their main regional draws.

I almost went to Loyola. It seemed pretty nice but a bit too preppy and was lacking diversity, this is a long time ago though. My friend got kicked out of his first school and went there, it was really good for him.

 

[superjohn]

Thanks for this (and @8893 as well). Our Wesleyan tour guide sounded like a 20 year old Britney Spears. Meanwhile those Catholic School kids (and mine is one at the HS level) seem unfailingly comfortable and capable talking to groups including parents. I sure wasn't at that age, but the kids in my daughter's school often are.

Still need to figure out, big vs smaller, city vs suburbs vs rural. That's on top of field of study and other factors. Fairfield seemed full of LAX Bros and HS Cheerleaders and she hated it. Tufts seems really unique, Ivy smart kids who have an individualist, entrepreneurial streak. I doubt we will hit 30 tours, but we will go way past 11. Next year we start narrowing it down, with the reaches (Tufts probably, maybe BC), medium chance (UConn?) and safety schools. I think a lot depends on whether your kid has an idea of what they want or not. Mine didn't before this started. Will be interesting to see if anybody offers Merit aid, we aren't getting any other kind.

I visited two schools. UConn and Bryant. Applied to Western New England as a safety school. Bryant was smaller than Manchester High at the time, so I was very glad UConn let me in.

Fairfield has always been bro central and never liked the campus.

 

[HooperScooper]

Going through it now with my younger son (senior in high school) after having gone through it with my older son 4 years ago. I'm glad I only have 2 children because the whole college process is a big pain in the butt. I think we've visited 18 schools with my youngest, some more than once since he wanted to go back to a handful of schools when students were on campus and spend a day on campus (sit in on a class or two, eat in the dining hall, meet with the athletic directors about something he wants to do with the athletic department, etc.).

We went to UConn on a Saturday around the same time you're going. Just don't have your daughter sit in the waiting room at the visitors center facing Ted's. We were sitting there before the information session started and there was a girl from New Jersey with her mother who we were talking to. All of a sudden the girl says with disgust, "OMG, those guys are peeing in the bushes." My wife, who went to UConn, starts laughing and explained the bathroom situation at Ted's and that guys went outside sometimes if there was a long line for the bathroom. We still laugh about that. Haven't seen that at any other schools!

After the tour (longest freaking tour of any college - ours lasted almost 2 1/2 hours!) we went to the student union to grab something to eat, to the bookstore and then to the Dairy Bar before heading home. We've all been to UConn enough so there was no need to walk all around campus.

 

[8893]

Thanks for this (and @8893 as well). Our Wesleyan tour guide sounded like a 20 year old Britney Spears. Meanwhile those Catholic School kids (and mine is one at the HS level) seem unfailingly comfortable and capable talking to groups including parents. I sure wasn't at that age, but the kids in my daughter's school often are.

Still need to figure out, big vs smaller, city vs suburbs vs rural. That's on top of field of study and other factors. Fairfield seemed full of LAX Bros and HS Cheerleaders and she hated it. Tufts seems really unique, Ivy smart kids who have an individualist, entrepreneurial streak. I doubt we will hit 30 tours, but we will go way past 11. Next year we start narrowing it down, with the reaches (Tufts probably, maybe BC), medium chance (UConn?) and safety schools. I think a lot depends on whether your kid has an idea of what they want or not. Mine didn't before this started. Will be interesting to see if anybody offers Merit aid, we aren't getting any other kind.

I visited two schools. UConn and Bryant. Applied to Western New England as a safety school. Bryant was smaller than Manchester High at the time, so I was very glad UConn let me in.

It sounds like she has a similar profile to my oldest daughter. Unless she has some extraordinary extra-curriculars I would guess that she is unlikely to get merit aid from any of the schools you've mentioned except UVM ("President's Scholarship" of approximately $20k) and UNH. UVM has the most expensive out of state tuition of any state school so the President's Scholarship helps put it in range if she is interested. That's the reason I mentioned St. Joe's and Loyola; you have to get away from the BCs, Holy Crosses and Villanovas because they are flooded with kids from New England with a very similar profile.

I almost went to Loyola. It seemed pretty nice but a bit too preppy and was lacking diversity, this is a long time ago though. My friend got kicked out of his first school and went there, it was really good for him.

It was a college back then, now it is a university and it has raised its profile a lot in the past 10-15 years. Really nice campus and a lot more diverse than Fairfield; and Baltimore itself presents a ton more diversity than any New England setting.