I typically spend as much time in the summer as I can visiting college campuses.  My 13 year old son knows the game.  We plan a trip, and I instantly go into the mode of figuring out what colleges are nearby and how can I find an excuse to get there!  Now that he's getting older, and college is in his not too distant future, he doesn't dread our treks across campuses like he used too.  AND...he has quite an impressive college t-shirt collection!  His summer lacrosse travel team afforded the following visits recently:

Johns Hopkins University:  Known for its awesome location...close to Wash DC, which provides many great opportunities for internships, jobs, networking, and fun roadtrips, JHU has long been on my lists of schools to visit.  Academics are king at JHU and there seems to be a lot of competitiveness amongst students on campus.  Most associate JHU with their highly ranked medical and health programs, but they are also strong in international studies and engineering.  I liked the feel of the campus and the fact that it is so close to many interesting things to do in Baltimore.  In talking to as many students as I could, I get the feel that they are intense, studious, and proud to go to JHU.  Here are some comments from students:

-JHU is an awesome place to go to college, but sometimes I wish i went somewhere that wasn't so cut throat and had more of a social scene. 

-This is a study all week, party hard on the weekend, and go back to studying hard all week kind of school.

-My international relations major and classes are a godsend to me.  I can't imagine going to school anywhere else.

-The level of energy of the professors is amazing here.  Academics are tough and you really have to manage your time.  If you can do that, you can have a little fun as well.

-I like that sutdents and professors work together and professors make themselves available for help.  It's definitely a diverse campus and has a very worldly feel.

Yale:  Walking around the Yale campus at first had a Harry Potter surreal feeling.  Their residential college system is very popular amongst Yale students, mainly because it makes the "larger" Ivy League school seem small and manageable.  Yale is a premier research institution, with top notch professors.  The Yale students are actively involved on campus, in the community, and in the world.  Classes at Yale come in all shapes and sizes and are designed to maximize the learning and teaching styles of students and professors alike.  I talked to a few students who had this to say:

-The professors are genuinely excited about what they teach and work hard to get everyone else excited.

-The amount of work people have varies greatly by major and "type" of work.  Humanities majors have loads of reading and writing to do...while my math and science friends have a totally different look to their work.

-I have good and bad.  Some huge lectures that have been awesome, and some small group classes that have been just okay.  Overall all I would say the classes are really good.

-The academics are hard.