Depends upon one’s definition of “nerd”.
I do think that “outdoorsy” represents only a small portion of the students–similar to Dartmouth College.
P.S. Although the thread title could make for an interesting blog or film series.
I don’t have a “dog in this fight” as my kid was not ultimately recruited by St L and moved on. But I keep coming back to this thread because I think that St L, like many LACs nowadays, cannot really be understood by reference to what it was in the past. For ex., in my day in my Mid Atlantic well-to-do suburb, Bowdoin and Middlebury were for B+, wealthy students who wanted to ski during college and Amherst was suffocatingly preppy. Yet we all recognize those labels no longer apply. St L may be changing more slowly than those schools, but my family’s mpression from multiple visits between 2015-2016 was that St L is not stuck in the 80s or 90s but is actively evolving. It may have more in common with the student body at Dickinson, F&M or Conn Coll – schools I think of as filled with nice, decent, hard working kids – than say, with Kenyon, Oberlin or Grinnell, but I don’t think any school can be understood now by how it was years ago.
@Trixy34 I’d like to hear about your visit, when you go there.
@midmichparentt did your S apply ED? I thought decisions were not coming out till mid March? Just wondering how you know the merit package your S was rewarded.
Hi @shamrock19. No, he applied regular decision. But for some reason they responded very quickly –
which we were surprised about. He has done very well in HS, and has a pretty high SAT score, so I guess that could be why? Do you have any insights on the place/culture? Thanks!
@midmichparentt We have visited twice and know several kids who go there. We also have several friends who have graduated SLU. Our impression was not to far off from what others have posted. Our D is social, varsity athlete (but chose not to play at college) great student, lots of EC, community volunteering. I will say that all the kids looked like ads from Vineyard Vines, Patagonia, LLBean etc… This is typical of our HS, so not much different. She loved the school and her only hesitation was the small size and lack of internships available in her interested major. Our concern is the price…lol… We have been told she should receive a hefty merit award and really that is what we are waiting on. Her grades will get her in. In the mean time we are going on accepted student days at other colleges while we await SLU decision. Very little is posted on CC for class of 2023 and EA decisions. In fact your post is the only I saw so far regarding hearing back. Hopefully, it it will be soon. Best of luck with your decision. I married a guy who sounds just like your son and he thrived at college.
@shamrock19: If you were told that you would receive a substantial merit scholarship award, then you will. The waiting is tough, but SLU awards lots of merit money.
@shamrock19 Thank you very much for the information! I’m not sure if he is going to want to visit or not. He is intrigued by the quality academics, but wonders about the sports focus and student culture. It doesn’t seem like the kind of place that would have role-playing game clubs, airsoft enthusiasts, etc. He’s the kind of kid that wears high-waters and can be a bit unkempt (but… he is working locally and did play 4 years of HS soccer so he’s not that ‘out of it’). Not a party guy at all. Never been to a HS dance. So we are really unsure about SLU. UVM and UNH are both options, so we may visit those. We are waiting on other very selective liberal arts colleges — but those simply seem like they will not be feasible (if he even gets in), given that aid is need-based (my wife and I are lucky enough to have 2 good jobs and have saved a bit).
@midmichparentt I had the "will she fit in " concern as well. Although she is used to being around upper middle class/wealthy kids from HS, she is in fact a very granola kind of girl. Socially she gets along with everyone but before we went, a side from cost (we have multiple kids to put through college) that was our main concern. Although most kids look like ads, they were all very nice. She felt very comfortable there and we felt it was a safe environment. That being said she also applied to UVM and UNH and absolutely loved them. UNH is only 40 minutes away, which we love. Both are now her top choices, UVM being #1 until we hear from SLU. Good luck!
@Publisher Hopefully, that is the case. We know one of the advisors and she let us know “roughly” what students with our D’s academic/EC/community resume tend to be awarded. I probably shouldn’t have jumped the gun by saying “we know she will get in” because we all know things happen. Her interviews went really well and they have been in contact with her several times. She would have applied ED if cost was not an issue. Since we have 3 other kids coming up behind her (we do not qualify for Fin. Aid), it’s the deciding factor on SLU. She has been rewarded some pretty fantastic merit money at other colleges.
@shamrock19 Would you mind giving your thoughts on UVM and UNH? We are from the midwest – so our S would be out of state. But, both schools gave enough merit money to make it affordable. He’s been accepted in the UNH - Honors Program, which seems like it would be a good fit for him. He has not (at least yet) been invited to UVM’s Honor College. But, it seems like UVM would be a great academic place, even without being in Honors College. And, honestly it seems like the UVM Honors College might be a bit ‘too intense’ (sort of treating students like they are already graduate students – even though they are 18 years old). He’s undecided on major – could be English, History, Philosophy, Environmental Science/Biology… so that is unknown. The College of Arts and Sciences at UVM looks real good. I’m from MA originally, and I am pretty familiar with the city of Burlington, but don’t really know about Durham/UNH. Thanks!
@midmichparentt I loved UNH. Even though it is a state school, it looks and feels very private. Gorgeous grounds and very nice town. All our interactions with students and staff were positive. The vibe there is typical new england. We saw all sorts of kids and didn’t get the feeling it leaned one way. Its huge, but walkable. I think anyone would find their tribe. Oh and the food!!! Hands down the best of any college we toured. They have won numerous awards for their food. Their meal plan is very confusing and I was told to get the middle package if she attended and then go from there if it wasn’t enough. They have shuttle buses (not free) on the weekends to Boston which is pretty cool too. It is very frat/sorority oriented and being a D1 school there are a lot of athletes, but we didn’t feel like it was an issue for us. Both UVM and UNH have a party reputation but that’s everywhere. UVM is similar, but more earthy I guess. As you know Burlington is a very cool town. The on campus food there however is not so good. I thought UNH was much more kept up. The grounds, dorms, dining halls, walk ways etc… They students at UVM I felt are a little more granola like my daughter, so that is why it’s her #1 at this point. Honestly, if SLU comes in near the cost of UVM (we are oos) she will probably go to UVM. There are just more internships and research opportunities there. I think both are great choices and have lots of clubs for all kinds of interests.
Midmichparent…may I chime in regarding UNH/UVM?
Both are great! I have family at each school. I think your son needs to visit and see what feels like more of a match. My personal opinion is that I prefer Durham/UNH. I love the town and general location in southern NH as well as proximity to Boston, white mountains, coastal etc. UNH is very walkable and has a smaller feel to me than UVM. I love that students can walk to all sport’s (and other) venues without needing a car or bus. UVM is more of a city (also a beautiful campus) with a larger feel and it’s a more liberal environment being in VT. JMHO. Both campuses are beautiful and academics are solid. Two nice choices there!
@shamrock19 - I hope you hear soon. My DS received his acceptance in pretty short order after his interview. Maybe it depends on who the AO is?
@Empireapple and @shamrock19 . Thank you (and all above) for your thoughts. He’s coming from a small town, pretty conservative community. He’s a ‘middle-of-the-road’ kid politically. So, visits will be very helpful to get a sense of the culture. I also think he may be more likely to find his ‘tribe’ at a bigger school – a UVM or UNH — and feel more comfortable just being himself — as opposed to feeling pressure to fit in to the social scene. One can really walk around anonymously at those bigger places, and yet hopefully have a good ‘home’ to return to at nite. Again… thanks to to all!
Midmichparentt you remind me of where we were a year ago. Your thoughts are exactly what we concluded as we were going through the process a year ago. Initially I thought smaller schools and smaller classes would be what we were looking for. However, we discovered many of the smaller schools had more of a “type” and it seemed the NE schools were politically charged. My son just wasn’t interested in that. He soon realized bigger would be better for him because there would just be more choices. He landed at a university of about 12K students which has turned out to be perfect. Feel free to PM me if need be. I will say he did have to make an effort to get involved and did so right away. For the kids who sit in their dorms and game - not good.
@Empireapple … I would like to PM you, but don’t seem to have the required # of posts yet. Hopefully soon! Interesting to read your comments. I also think my son is not interested in a ‘politically charged’ environment. I went to a small LAC in NE, which was great academically, but socially was quite limited (I was very excited to spend my full junior year abroad). If I got to do it over again, I would not go to the same place for undergrad.
Well, the tours will happen later this month… off to UNH, UVM, and SLU. We’ll see what he thinks!
My son received a large envelope in the mail today - hopefully it’s an acceptance! Tempted to open but will wait until he gets home from school. We live in CT.