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College Visits - UNC & UVa


Rollo Tomassi

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We took that tour when I was looking at colleges. If you're there you might as well see Georgetown and Duke. I'm not sure which way you'll be traveling or how much time you have, but we hit up VMI, Washington and Lee, William & Mary, Richmond, VaTech, and NC State while we were there too. Agree on the Monticello recommendation. Confederate White House in Richmond had an interesting tour too.

 

Oh and when we went in the summer Cameron Indoor had the gates wide open and you could just walk right onto the court this was 10-11 years ago.

Edited by SimonBolivar
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5 hours ago, Rollo Tomassi said:

I'm taking my daughter to visit UNC and UVa this July.  Does anyone have any must-see recommendations for either of those places?

thx

 

3 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

We took that tour when I was looking at colleges. If you're there you might as well see Georgetown and Duke. I'm not sure which way you'll be traveling or how much time you have, but we hit up VMI, Washington and Lee, William & Mary, Richmond, VaTech, and NC State while we were there too. Agree on the Monticello recommendation. Confederate White House in Richmond had an interesting tour too.

Oh and when we went in the summer Cameron Indoor had the gates wide open and you could just walk right onto the court this was 10-11 years ago.


1) If you are going to UNC, it would be ridiculous not to at least check out the Duke campus. They're 11 miles away from each other and you're probably flying IN and/or OUT of Raleigh-Durham Airport.

Take tours at any school you visit. (Says the former tour guide.) It is just worth it. Plus, if random questions pop up during your tour, you'll have someone to ask, who probably knows the answer, rather than just wandering around on your own.

I always suggest taking a tour when you first arrive, because you get a lay of the land and you can always go back to see stuff that you wanted to checkout in more detail.


2) You could take the main highway when going from one school to the other and pass through Richmond, VA

It's humid as fuck in the summer (that's all I remember about it in my ~12 hours there spending the night at a cousins' house), but there is Colonial, Early U.S.A., & Confederate History galore there. Others might know much more than I do.


3) Unless you are flying IN or OUT of Washington, D.C., Georgetown isn't really on your way, and if you visit the Duke campus, then you get a feel for the Georgetown architecture. Though visiting Duke won't give you the feel of the Georgetown campus & neighborhood.

Washington, D.C. is a trip that everyone should take, especially if they can do it with their family, but if you're looking at spending a day in North Carolina & a day in the Charlottesville area, bouncing up to D.C. just to see a campus isn't what I'd recommend. Rather, I'd make a specific trip to D.C., checkout Georgetown, George Washington, Howard(?), and the University of Maryland and in between you can see The Mall, the monuments, maybe the National Cathedral, various Smithsonian museums...

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1 hour ago, Rollo Tomassi said:

Thanks everybody for your thoughts and suggestions.  One of my kids goes to Duke right now, so we've seen it a few times.  NC State is an interesting option though.  

I mean if your daughter is looking at UVA and UNC and your other kid goes to Duke I'm not sure how seriously she should look at NCST but it is right there. Wake Forest is less than an hour and a half from Chapel Hill and more on y'alls academic level.

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1 minute ago, SimonBolivar said:

I mean if your daughter is looking at UVA and UNC and your other kid goes to Duke I'm not sure how seriously she should look at NCST but it is right there. Wake Forest is less than an hour and a half from Chapel Hill and more on y'alls academic level.

Fair point.  I was thinking more along the lines of seeing as many universities as possible and having her figure out what to look for in a place she's going to attend for 4 years.

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3 minutes ago, Rollo Tomassi said:

Fair point.  I was thinking more along the lines of seeing as many universities as possible and having her figure out what to look for in a place she's going to attend for 4 years.

That's what my parents did and I'll do with my kids. Hell we even saw Liberty, VMI, and The Citadel. 

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When in Charlottesville,

Be sure to get a Gus burger at the White Spot on the Corner.  

The Lawn and Range rooms (original dorms) are cool.  Back when I was there they kept one of the Range rooms (supposedly Poe's) set up with period furniture for tours.  Hopefully they will have student tours set up for you.  I would recommend one.  They will walk you around the Lawn, into the Rotunda (which recently underwent a massive restoration or may still be undergoing), and through the pavilions.  The better guides will point out some of the more interesting architectural aspects of the Grounds, such as the serpentine walls on the pavilions, and they will talk a lot about the history and traditions of the school (in particular the Honor Code).  You'll notice lots of what looks like graffiti painted on buildings everywhere.  They are posts of the numerous secret societies (mostly honor societies these days) that are part of the history and tradition of the University.

If you have a little extra time and want to stay somewhere cool, the Homestead is just west of there.  Great old resort in the mountains near VMI and W&L, with a fantastic golf course and good fishing.  

If your daughter gets in, I'd strongly recommend she pref the old dorms and if they will allow it shoot for Bonnycastle.  It's a "top" dorm for socialization and meeting the more connected students.  I lived in Lefevre, which was nearby and a great experience.  

 

Edited by DDD Dad
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5 hours ago, Rollo Tomassi said:

Fair point.  I was thinking more along the lines of seeing as many universities as possible and having her figure out what to look for in a place she's going to attend for 4 years.

In that case, you should definitely hit Richmond and see The University of Richmond as well as William & Mary (the 2nd oldest college in the USA).

I've been to NC State (because I collect college shot glasses) and it is not quite as nice as Chapel Hill. (It's kind of like Texas Tech, but with trees.)

You might as well check out Washington & Lee if you decide to do a loop and go from Raleigh-Durham to Richmond to Charlottesville... and even Hollins College would be on that loop in Roanoke (I believe) on your way back.

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They are both excellent schools.  But on this website, we are to treat all colleges as equally excellent and all attendees as commensurate.  Feelings have been hurt in the past.

We modeled the Forty Acres scholarship program after the Moorehouse at UNC and the Jefferson at UVA.  Outside of Berkeley and Michigan, they are both the two best public universities in the nation and among the 25 best overall.  UVA also carries with it a significant overseas reputation.  

You're in a great position.  

Edited by Lobo
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12 hours ago, Lobo said:

They are both excellent schools.  But on this website, we are to treat all colleges as equally excellent and all attendees as commensurate.  Feelings have been hurt in the past.

 

No, Aggy and Tceh are shit.

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On 6/20/2018 at 1:23 PM, Rollo Tomassi said:

Thanks everybody for your thoughts and suggestions.  One of my kids goes to Duke right now, so we've seen it a few times.  NC State is an interesting option though.  

NC State is a good school, but not at the same level of academic rigor for most of their programs, IMO. 

W&M is as good or more academically challenging than either of those schools (path dependent of course). Smaller state school vibe, but a great place to spend 4 years if you have your head screwed on properly. Williamsburg is a pretty cool little college town. Convenient to the beach or DC.  Alma mater of a nation, and all that.

UVA, UNC, W&M are taking similar kids, academically that is.

You've got one in Duke already, great school, but damned more expensive than any of those, and not $40k better IMO.

 

 

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  • 7 months later...
On 6/20/2018 at 7:29 PM, Napoleon said:

In that case, you should definitely hit Richmond and see The University of Richmond as well as William & Mary (the 2nd oldest college in the USA).

I've been to NC State (because I collect college shot glasses) and it is not quite as nice as Chapel Hill. (It's kind of like Texas Tech, but with trees.)

You might as well check out Washington & Lee if you decide to do a loop and go from Raleigh-Durham to Richmond to Charlottesville... and even Hollins College would be on that loop in Roanoke (I believe) on your way back.

W&L and VMI make Lexington a fun little college tour town.

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5 hours ago, Rollo Tomassi said:

Just wanted to brag on my little girl.  She got in at UVa !!  I'm hoping some financial aid comes through, but this is a big dream come true (for both of us).

Congrats.  My daughter was just told by her college counselor over the weekend that there is no way in hell she’s getting into UNC or UVA and that she shouldn’t even waste her time applying.  So this thread hits close to home.

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5 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Whatever.  UVa has beautiful buildings.  The landscaping/scenery is meh.  Here's incomparable:

University-of-Washington.jpg

150607_seattle_1478.jpg?w=949

Yeah not sure I agree with you on that one.  UVA's only been named as one of the top 5 MOST beautiful college campuses in America. An architectural masterpiece as well by Jefferson.  Of course there are beautiful schools all over America, but the landscaping on the UVA campus is pretty damned awesome and, I'm not a huge UVA fan.

10mrklj.jpg

Edited by Onboard 2.0
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Congrats.  My daughter was just told by her college counselor over the weekend that there is no way in hell she’s getting into UNC or UVA and that she shouldn’t even waste her time applying.  So this thread hits close to home.

I’m sorry but this made me chuckle... I’m sure it will all work out.
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39 minutes ago, G650 said:

George Welsh was my homeboy 

He was a great football coach.  I remember sitting in the stands the Thursday night they beat #1 FSU.  He got them to a number 1 ranking, which I didn't think they deserved, but he got 'em there.

They ran him out of town because he was "too old". They've never approached that level of success since.

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1 hour ago, Beau Vine said:

Y'all should reminisce about that year that you started out 8-0 and the media lost their fucking minds and voted you #1 and the Sugar Bowl locked y'all in and you didn't win again that year.  

I remember that year. All my UVA friends thought they were the shit. I said you shouldn't be no. 1, and it won't last long, they were clobbered from there on out.

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  • 2 months later...

Friend of mine from my time on the 40 Acres is a fairly well recognized media studies professor at UVa.

I mention it only because I laugh every time I spell "Siva Vaidhyanathan" -- reminds me of knowing how to spell a high school buddy's name, "Santiago Alejo Olivarez Gutiérrez". Everybody called him "Jimmy". Everybody calls Siva "Siva".

Irrelevant tangent over, continue fawning over scenery.

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On 1/28/2019 at 5:42 PM, TexasBeta said:

Doesn’t matter. Texas beat them both (UNC & UVA) on the field where it counts. :)

Thank God for Phil Dawson

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was at that game with a Duke friend who was getting his MBA from UVA at that time. It was a nice win over a double ACC-er.

 

On 1/28/2019 at 6:05 PM, TexasBeta said:

True but we were dismal in the mid 80’s so any win seemed like the super bowl.

 


Well, since this game was in the fall of 1995, your observation sounds like early-onset Alzheimer's.

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