OT: Visiting Campus

[Wordbomar]

Northeastern was my number 1 school. Great school but admissions are extremely difficult. I didn't get in, but still enjoy going up to Mathews to watch UConn Hockey games

 

[8893]

Why?

Too big and not particularly distinguished in liberal arts, which is her core as a journalism/communications major (and now a political science minor). I went to a Jesuit high school and really valued that education; she went to a public high school and I thought that she would really benefit from and take to that educational model, which she has. And most importantly, I thought she would be better off at a school with smaller classes, where the teachers know your name and know if you are not in class. For better or worse, I was a great crammer. She had a tough time catching up in high school if she fell behind in a class, and I was worried that she might slip at a place like UConn once she realized that you could skip class and no one would notice.

Also, I wanted to encourage her to make a go at life outside of Connecticut, because I don't think it's a great place for young professionals right now, unfortunately.

 

[the Q]

UConn, Graduate Hotels to Enter Deal For Sale of Nathan Hale Inn - UConn Today

The University plans to sell the Nathan Hale Inn to a professional hotel company that will make much-needed improvements to the property.

today.uconn.edu

Amenities | Graduate Storrs

Learn about our amenities at Graduate Storrs, including in-room amenities, dining, and more.

www.graduatehotels.com

I stayed at the one in Bloomington Indiana. If the dame general crew is running this one, it’ll be a fantastic hotel.

Each one custom tailored to the local area.

The one in Bloomington is very Hoosiers based. Even the characters in the room cards.

 

[Guapo]

I stayed at the one in Bloomington Indiana. If the dame general crew is running this one, it’ll be a fantastic hotel.

Each one custom tailored to the local area.

The one in Bloomington is very Hoosiers based. Even the characters in the room cards.

The one in Athens is great too

 

[HuskyHawk]

Too big and not particularly distinguished in liberal arts, which is her core as a journalism/communications major (and now a political science minor). I went to a Jesuit high school and really valued that education; she went to a public high school and I thought that she would really benefit from and take to that educational model, which she has. And most importantly, I thought she would be better off at a school with smaller classes, where the teachers know your name and know if you are not in class. For better or worse, I was a great crammer. She had a tough time catching up in high school if she fell behind in a class, and I was worried that she might slip at a place like UConn once she realized that you could skip class and no one would notice.

Also, I wanted to encourage her to make a go at life outside of Connecticut, because I don't think it's a great place for young professionals right now, unfortunately.

Oh my God...she's like me. Add to the fact that I suffered all the things you imagined for her, I'm also hearing impaired, which magnifies the issues of those large classes. I loved UConn but I struggled until I got into the business school with small classes. Thank God for my 99+% LSAT score.

Meanwhile my daughter has been in Catholic school since pre-school. She is a much more diligent studier than I ever was. Yet she has had a lacking social life as a result and hasn't had much freedom. In contrast I had open campus at Manchester High and really needed more structure than I got at UConn. So I totally understand your thinking here.

Adding to the difference I absolutely want to avoid any Liberal Arts degree for my daughter. STEM or Business, maybe Economics.

 

[8893]

Oh my God...she's like me. Add to the fact that I suffered all the things you imagined for her, I'm also hearing impaired, which magnifies the issues of those large classes. I loved UConn but I struggled until I got into the business school with small classes. Thank God for my 99+% LSAT score.

Meanwhile my daughter has been in Catholic school since pre-school. She is a much more diligent studier than I ever was. Yet she has had a lacking social life as a result and hasn't had much freedom. In contrast I had open campus at Manchester High and really needed more structure than I got at UConn. So I totally understand your thinking here.

Adding to the difference I absolutely want to avoid any Liberal Arts degree for my daughter. STEM or Business, maybe Economics.

Yeah I would have been much more inclined towards UConn for her if she was at all interested in STEM or Business, but she is not.

 

[Guapo]

Hey I was a history major at UConn and I think I’ve turned out ok

 

[the Q]

Northeastern was my number 1 school. Great school but admissions are extremely difficult. I didn't get in, but still enjoy going up to Mathews to watch UConn Hockey games

I loved northeastern.

I have nothing but good things to say about the school.

It’s a shame (for me) that baseball didn’t workout there.

Funny that I had two coaches later in life that both played there and hated the hc.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Hey I was a history major at UConn and I think I’ve turned out ok

I need to retire in ten years. So I don't want to take the chance that she becomes a Starbucks Barista. My wife was a History major, but 1988 and 2025 are rather different.

 

[TRest]

Oh my God...she's like me. Add to the fact that I suffered all the things you imagined for her, I'm also hearing impaired, which magnifies the issues of those large classes. I loved UConn but I struggled until I got into the business school with small classes. Thank God for my 99+% LSAT score.

Meanwhile my daughter has been in Catholic school since pre-school. She is a much more diligent studier than I ever was. Yet she has had a lacking social life as a result and hasn't had much freedom. In contrast I had open campus at Manchester High and really needed more structure than I got at UConn. So I totally understand your thinking here.

Adding to the difference I absolutely want to avoid any Liberal Arts degree for my daughter. STEM or Business, maybe Economics.

Just my 2 cents, we visited about a dozen schools with our twin girls, one ended up at UConn and the other at one of the 7 sisters. My wife and I are both UConn alums, graduating in the early 80's, and are thrilled one of our kids is there, but it's a very different school now. The dorm life is like living in a morgue, every door is closed and it's pretty dead. Her sister's school is a lot more vibrant, with a student body that seems a lot more engaged in learning and growing.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Unlike you or @8893 my daughter has never ever been to UConn. She's barely ever been in the state of CT. So I am rather curious to see what she thinks. It's both the biggest campus and most rural that she will have visited. So the potential exists for very positive or very negative views. Will find out in about 25 hours

Wishing your daughter, wife, and you a great visit, wherever it leads.

 

[navery12]

I took my tour of UConn in the pouring rain just running from building to building. And somehow still loved it from the second I stepped on campus

 

[Excalibur]

I need to look into the merit stuff. She's not going to be elite (Ivy and little Ivy) school caliber unless she crushes her SATs. I generally hate the idea of paying full freight for a private school that is less competitive than say, UConn. I could suck it up and pay that bill for Tufts and probably BC. I'm not up to pay that for Stonehill or Quinnipiac. But if a place like Holy Cross cuts my bill down quite a bit, I can live with that. With zero chance of need based aid it's a challenge.

Edit: meant to quote the post where you said this: "Finding that balance between tuition/aid and prestige/reputation can be difficult. Disagreement between parents and students can get messy. students are told not to have your heart set on a favorite, but the is just not possible "

If she's not going to get into the elites, the name of the game should be finding the cheapest place where she's comfortable. Once you get past those top 10-15 schools, you're really just buying a commodity.

 

[Sibeerian]

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.

Willimantic has real potential. Brought some friends/family there and they loved the immediate Willibrew/Cafemantic area. Usually lively there, but parking is easier than many downtowns. The Hop River and Airline trails now intersect, making it a nice bicycling destination. Would be great if they could integrate the river more into the downtown.

 

[CL82]

Hey I was a history major at UConn and I think I’ve turned out ok

Debatable

 

[HuskyHawk]

If she's not going to get into the elites, the name of the game should be finding the cheapest place where she's comfortable. Once you get past those top 10-15 schools, you're really just buying a commodity.

Within reason, I agree. I think there's an order of magnitude difference between a "good" school like Holy Cross or maybe a notch better like UConn or PC and say Framingham State (our closest Mass analogue to CCSU). I'd also say there are way more than 10-15 elite schools. The Ivies, Stanford, Duke, Vandy, Rice, Northwestern, Duke, Emory, Tulane, Washington U, plus almost every school in the NESCAC would be pretty elite. Parents weren't bribing people to get their kids into Southern Cal instead of San Diego State because there was no difference in perception from employers or grad schools.

 

[superjohn]

Within reason, I agree. I think there's an order of magnitude difference between a "good" school like Holy Cross or maybe a notch better like UConn or PC and say Framingham State (our closest Mass analogue to CCSU). I'd also say there are way more than 10-15 elite schools. The Ivies, Stanford, Duke, Vandy, Rice, Northwestern, Duke, Emory, Tulane, Washington U, plus almost every school in the NESCAC would be pretty elite. Parents weren't bribing people to get their kids into Southern Cal instead of San Diego State because there was no difference in perception from employers or grad schools.

Parents were bribing people to get their kids into USC because they were using their kids as status symbols, it wasn't about future employers.

 

[BackAftaThis]

My dad had pneumonia during my student tour of of UConn in the pouring rain. Still loved it and was a no brainer to go.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Parents were bribing people to get their kids into USC because they were using their kids as status symbols, it wasn't about future employers.

Undoubtedly both were in play in those cases. I do tend to think "where you go to college" is vastly overrated. But there's no doubt that it matters early in your career, especially for liberal arts majors. On the other hand, going to the school of education anywhere but the cheapest place makes no sense.

 

[TRest]

Undoubtedly both were in play in those cases. I do tend to think "where you go to college" is vastly overrated. But there's no doubt that it matters early in your career, especially for liberal arts majors. On the other hand, going to the school of education anywhere but the cheapest place makes no sense.

Yeah, Quinnipiac is basically fleecing the future teachers and nurses of America. It has a couple of decent programs, but the cost/benefit of a QU degree (and many other private schools) is absurd.

 

[8893]

If she's not going to get into the elites, the name of the game should be finding the cheapest place where she's comfortable. Once you get past those top 10-15 schools, you're really just buying a commodity.

Within reason, I agree. I think there's an order of magnitude difference between a "good" school like Holy Cross or maybe a notch better like UConn or PC and say Framingham State (our closest Mass analogue to CCSU). I'd also say there are way more than 10-15 elite schools. The Ivies, Stanford, Duke, Vandy, Rice, Northwestern, Duke, Emory, Tulane, Washington U, plus almost every school in the NESCAC would be pretty elite. Parents weren't bribing people to get their kids into Southern Cal instead of San Diego State because there was no difference in perception from employers or grad schools.

I think all three of us are relatively close in age and experience, except this is @HuskyHawk 's first time going through this. IMO the truth is somewhere in between these two, but a lot closer to @Excalibur 's view.

HH your daughter is likely going to change her mind so many times between now and next year that, unless she's really unusually focused and single-minded, it's almost useless to do anything beyond exposing her to the range of choices at this point. I'm not talking minor changes; I mean complete 180s. And the more invested you get in any direction, the less likely she is to follow it.

Two other quibbles:

In what universe are you ranking UConn and PC above Holy Cross? Between this and your post yesterday about expecting a major discount from them, I think you are grossly misinformed about that school and its reputation and selectivity.

ETA: Tulane is also not nearly as competitive as the other schools with which you have grouped it; they will also usually give a nice merit aid package to attract good students from outside the region.

This may be related, but I also think you are underestimating the value of a quality Liberal Arts education--especially in this day and age. I know that STEM has been the trend and focus of the standardized testing and other metrics by which people and institutions are being scored, but a lot of what I have seen is a focus on that to the exclusion of a lot of other areas that I believe are essential to problem solving and employment opportunities on a long-term basis. I subscribe to the notion that a proper Liberal Arts education is more likely to result in a recession-proof skill set. To that point, the kids I know who have graduated Holy Cross in recent years are on Wall Street, employed by major banks or top corporations. Oh, and my cousin who graduated CCSU in the mid-80s retired last year with more money than I will ever earn even if I work twenty more years.

 

[8893]

Yeah, Quinnipiac is basically fleecing the future teachers and nurses of America. It has a couple of decent programs, but the cost/benefit of a QU degree (and many other private schools) is absurd.

QU also gives a ton of money to attract good students. I know many graduates and have employed several. Top of the class from there is almost always worth a look.

 

[Excalibur]

I think all three of us are relatively close in age and experience, except this is @HuskyHawk 's first time going through this. IMO the truth is somewhere in between these two, but a lot closer to @Excalibur 's view.

Based on an earlier post it looks like you are both older than I am by about 10 years. I speak from the experience of managing hiring for an entire organization. Not once has anyone ever commented on where an applicant's degree is from, and that ranges from entry level to executives up to and including CEOs. Does it matter for big investment banks and big 3 consulting firms? Probably. Maybe a bit in the very top law firms as well. But again, that is limited to the truly "elite" schools.

 

[8893]

Based on an earlier post it looks like you are both older than I am by about 10 years.

Hey, I said "relatively," whippersnapper!

Ok, so you're wise for your years.

Oh, and don't blink. Those ten years go by fast.

 

[Excalibur]

QU also gives a ton of money to attract good students. I know many graduates and have employed several. Top of the class from there is almost always worth a look.

The top of the class from most places is worth a look, is it not?