Just returned from a 7 day, 3 state, 6 colleges tour with my son. Here are some musings about things overheard during campus visit presentations and tours (with my extra comments):

• Most unique: “[UniversityX] popped my cherry. Studying abroad was an amazing experience.” (definitely caught my attention!)
• Least unique (tie): “We even have quidditch” (you are unique if you don’t)
• Least unique (tie): “You can even start your own club.” (welcome to life…and what they learned in high school)
• Best residence hall food comment: “I could sit here and eat nuggets all day.” (all you can eat dining hall with a Chick-fil-a — I could perhaps do that too!)
• Most deceiving: “I loved community style bathrooms.” (said no one ever!)
• Most political (from a parent on the tour after hearing we were from Austin): “This is the more conservative campus.” (good to know….not a good fit)
• Most stereotypical (tie): “Engineers never leave their side of campus.” (everyone else leaves their part of campus because they have to for electives and classes…engineers take most of their classes within engineering; why head to the other side of campus when you don’t have classes there. stop the stereotypes! plus the engineering side of campus has more free food than other parts, I’m guessing.)
• Most stereotypical (tie): “I had an engineering student who was also in a play.” (said with disbelieve and within a narrative about students taking classes to gain diverse skills as if engineers can’t communicate)
• Most frustrating: “Our honors students have access to special library hours, extra tutors, and special advising.” (what about the students who really need it?!?!)
• Most ironic: “Our honors classes are hands-on and interactive. They aren’t like other classes that are all lecture where a professor talks at you the whole time.” (said after the professor had stood at an actual wooden podium and talked at us for 45 minutes straight)
• Best endowment: “We have an endowment just for coffee. We always have coffee in the department.” (seriously….a past department chair left an endowment for buying coffee for the department – that’s some interesting fundraising!)