Did any CC’ers who attended the Alfond Scholarship weekend at Rollins end up being offered the scholarship? If so, are you committed to enrolling at Rollins?
Are there ANY potential Rollins freshmen out there in CC-land–scholarship or not?
My daughter was awarded the Alfond. She loves Rollins, but has not yet made her final decision.
@Boone2015 Congratulations on your daughter’s achievement! Being awarded the Alfond is a great honor–and a wonderful opportunity.
Might I ask what your daughter is planning to major in and what other schools she is considering?
@mrsamford2014 yes, another Rollins admitted freshman’s mother on cc 
Are you a scholarship recipient?
@canigoback glad to know there are more potential Rollins parents here. Has your student committed to Rollins?
@Boone2015 My son has not made a decision as of this point, but Rollins is a top contender. He is interested in pre med, and Rollins has some great research opportunities. I am trying to encourage a decision soon… You mentioned that your daughter received the Alfond. Congratulations, that is awesome. My son would have qualified based on his SAT scores, but unfortunately not his GPA 
Where else is your daughter considering?
@canigoback I think at this point the remaining schools on the list are Rollins, Rhodes, Davidson and Fordham Lincoln Center. I agree that Rollins offers fantastic opportunities for UG research; one of my conclusions after the Alfond weekend was that any highly motivated student at the school would have the opportunity to participate in significant and meaningful educational activities. The faculty is very engaged and the atmosphere seemed very collegial and supportive. Have you visited the school? The new science building is impressive and the campus beautiful.
What other schools is your son considering?
@Boone2015 Umass Amherst, Stonybrook NY, UConn, Elon, and he was waitlisted at Skidmore so I’m not certain I he wants to let that go. I think at the moment it’s a choice between Rollins and UMass, but could change…
We did not visit the school unfortunately. Which is your daughter’s favorite on the list so far?
@canigoback It sounds as if your son has lots of great options! My daughter will be happy at any of the schools on her list; we’ve concluded that she can’t lose, regardless of which she chooses. At this point, my college choice stress is almost gone; she really likes every school left on the list and they are all good fits for different reasons. Good luck to your family and let me know if you have any questions about Rollins. I know I’ve gotten so much good information from reading other parents’ CC posts and would be happy to return the favor.
@Boone2015 What is your daughter’s major? I would so appreciate it if you could give me some more information other than what I am finding through the web site. Did you happen to see the science building? What was your overall impression of the current student body? Do you know anything about the fraternities? My son is not a jock so I’m wondering if there are fraternities where he would fit in.
@Boone2015 @Canlgoback @MrSanford2014 D has been accepted to Rollins (Rollins Scholarship) and is seriously considering attending. She applied only to smaller schools in the south (we liver in MI) and has been admitted to 8 or 9 so far. The Southern LACs thread on CC gives all the gory details.
I would really like to hear others impressions of Rollins, especially on the academic and social side. D has visited the school once and is returning next week for the admitted students day. She was immediately won over by the campus feel but doesn’t know too much about the academic or social parts. Rollins does have an amazingly beautiful campus. The small class size attracted D to Rollins as well. The percentage of kids that graduate is low compared to a college like Rhodes, and I wonder why kids don’t graduate from Rollins… the money or that many admitted students are not academically oriented and going for the campus looks and perceived party atmosphere of Rollins? I’ve noticed that Rollins’ facebook page is very light on showcasing academic achievements but very heavy on campus pictures… not good IMO… think it says something about the college’s value system. Compare this with the Rhodes facebook page.
Socially, I’m concerned about the perceived “rich white kids” label I’ve read on some sites and would like to hear others thoughts on this. The percentage of students in the greek system is relatively low compared to other southern schools; D has no interest in joining.
In the end, there is a lot D likes about Rollins, but most of this is superficial. We hope she gets a better understanding of the college after next week.
@dadof1 I have the same concern. I have a very bright kid that won’t work unless he’s challenged. I found some very useful reviews by current students on cappex. Let me know your thoughts.
@canlgoback Here’s another site with student reviews: http://www.collegeclicktv.com/videos/rollins-college/ Most of these video reviews are from freshman, so I take them with a grain of salt, but I think the reviews give some insight into the mindset of a portion of the rollins freshman class and the graduation rate. Additional caveats of the reviews are that many of the students being interviewed probably wanted to sound cool and the questions asked were often about the extracurricular happenings.
The cappex rollins reviews are generally very positive. One thing that keeps getting mentioned in the cappex and clicktv reviews is the exceptional classroom experience. As for greek life, having rush happen in the second semester, instead of 2 weeks into the first semester, is a big plus.
@dadof1 Thanks for the link. I watched a number of the videos…concerned about the emphasis on nightlife as opposed to academics. Other than the small class sizes and professor student interaction, there wasn’t much on academics.
^^^ I think some of the emphasis on nightlife was the focus on freshman in the interviews and the interviewer questions. I was happy to hear uniformity in the enjoyment of the academics.
@canigoback and @dadof1, I asked my daughter to help answer your questions since she has spent more time on campus than I. The students she has met have a diverse range of interests; she felt that being a non-jock male would not really be an issue socially. Greek participation is around 30% I think, and higher for females than males, but does not seem to dominate campus culture. Our first tour guide was a Greek male and he did NOT fit the stereotype of a typical “frat guy,” which indicates that there are probably social groups for all types. The school actually seems to me to be more intellectually and ethnically diverse than did Rhodes, although both have a strong preppy contingent.
Both Rollins and Rhodes do have a “hard partying” reputation, but both schools also have a mandatory class attendance policy which I suspect (hope) washes out the worst offenders pretty quickly. One very discouraging aspect of our search process is that we heard about alcohol issues at almost ever school we considered (other than Agnes Scott). Clearly alcohol is ingrained in the culture of many colleges and universities.
The science building is probably the nicest building on campus. We did not research the quality of Rollins science programs at all since this is not my daughter’s area of interest; I would definitely recommend contacting the pre-med advisor to find out what type of help and assistance Rollins can offer to pre-med students.
My daughter has not decided on a major as of yet but is ultimately interested in studying law; she has already been in contact with the pre-law advisor and he has been very helpful.
I think that Rollins admissions stats and graduation rates might be impacted by its Hamilton Holt evening program. I don’t think that Rhodes offers a comparable program but could be wrong.
For what it is worth, we attended the scholarship weekends at both Rhodes and Rollins. I think a motivated student would be academically challenged at either school. Rhodes definitely struck me as the more traditional of the two; that has both pluses and minuses. I did feel that Rollins offered more mentoring and research opportunities to ambitious students than did Rhodes. They are clearly trying to cultivate top scholars. The thing that struck me at the Rollins scholarship weekend is that the opportunities I mentioned seemed to be available to ANY student who is willing to work hard.
My daughter attended classes at both Rhodes and Rollins, and gave both high marks. She did give a slight advantage to Rollins in this area, but that could have been luck of the draw. I am glad @dadof1’s student is visiting the school this week so that she can get a better sense of the classroom experience and student body.
After all of our research and school visits, I am very wary of what is marketing and what is reality. Rhodes’ marketing is top notch and definitely is focused on academics. For whatever reason, Rollins’ marketing does not communicate a strong sense of the campus culture, nor does it emphasize the academic opportunities available there. We were not even planning on visiting the school until one of my daughter’s favorite teachers begged her to go. Once we visited, we were both very, very impressed with what we saw and heard from students and faculty. Our positive opinion was reinforced by our visit during Alfond weekend.
I think both schools are great options for smart kids looking for a liberal arts education. I really liked all of the students we met at both Rhodes and Rollins, but I definitely heard more “transformational” stories at Rollins of lackluster students being energized and motivated by their experiences in the classroom. I also felt that Rollins placed more emphasis on study abroad, which was a big selling point for my daughter.
I have asked the same questions that both of you are asking. The frustrating thing about this process is that there is only so much you can learn in advance. I do feel that our family has researched all that we can, and at this point, we are not terribly concerned about either the “rich kid” or “hard partying” stereotypes associated with either school. I also think I need to compile all of my notes and observations and add to the southern LAC thread started by @dadof1!
@Boone2015 Your review was the perfect bookend to D’s college search. Rhodes and Rollins are the final two colleges she is seriously considering, and your comparison of the two could not have been better! If you have the time and inclination, adding a post to the Southern LACs thread would be helpful to anyone interested. You’re an excellent writer.
Congratulations on your D’s scholarship! I read of the opportunities available to Alfond Scholars… top-notch and plentiful. Many obligations seem to come with the scholarship too, but these can by met by a truly motivated student.
Best of luck with your D’s decision!
@dadof1 Both Rollins and Rhodes are excellent schools and I would be very pleased for my daughter to attend either! I will be interested to hear of your daughter’s decision; she can’t go wrong either way.