<p>We are trying to help our son choose between these three schools. He is undecided for a major, but he is probably leaning toward liberal arts or a pre-law field. Any advice will be helpful. </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I can only address Allegheny as it is the only one we visited. My daughter will attend next year. Have you visited all three? Compared financial packages? Looked at majors? Distance? Does he seem to have a favorite? </p>
<p>Things we like abut Allegheny: reputation for close student faculty relationships and small classes, academic excellence, strong science programs (even though this is probably not going to affect my daughter’s major), beautiful campus, 3/2 programs and masters connections with prestigious universities, financial aid that makes this just a little more expensive than our state schools (MA) and from what another poster has said, actually cheaper than Pitt if you are a PA resident, community involvement, political activism (civility award, election night gathering), emphasis on critical thinking and well rounded education (unusual combinations), faculty that has an emphasis on teaching…that’s what comes to me right now.
Good luck with the decision.</p>
<p>CrosbysMom,</p>
<p>There isn’t much more I can add to what #icebat said except that besides the strength of Allegheny’s Science department (pre-health program) they are widely known for their Political Science Dept. This might appeal to your DS if he is interested in a pre-law program. From what I understand Allegheny makes a big thing about the election night coverage (from 2004):</p>
<p>[Election</a> Night Extravaganza Draws over 1,000 Students Center for Political Participation | Allegheny College - Meadville, PA](<a href=“http://sites.allegheny.edu/cpp/2004/11/03/election-night-extravaganza-draws-over-1000-students/]Election”>Election Night Extravaganza Draws over 1,000 Students - Center for Political Participation | Center for Political Participation | Allegheny College)</p>
<p>Allegheny also requires each student to select a minor from a department other than their major to round-out their liberal arts experience.</p>
<p>Allegheny compares closely (size-wise) to Lafayette rather than WVU though I don’t know much about Lafayette itself. Even though your DS has been accepted to WVU’s Honors College, the party environment of WVU could be a distraction unless he has stong ambition & dedication (a relative of mine was a WVU grad and she partied-hardy LOL).</p>
<p>If you can afford the cost of Allegheny I believe it will be a rewarding experience. Good Luck !!!</p>
<p>Thanks for the information about Allegheny. We are visiting for a second time this Sunday and Monday. We were very impressed the first time. </p>
<p>As far as tuition, both Allegheny and Lafayette are similar. WVU is obviously less expensive, but the party reputation is one of the factors holding us back. Also the size and campus layout are a negative. We live in West Virginia, so the tuition is very low for us. </p>
<p>I didn’t visit Lafayette with him, but we are going back next week. This will all be decided by May 1st!</p>
<p>My husband and daughter are going for the overnight this Sunday-Monday too. Even though we have sent in the deposit, she wanted to visit again, meet a few people and attend a class or 2. I’m bummed that I can not join them but we will be visiting from MA and my assignment will be to assist my mom in getting to and from cataract surgery Mon AM. </p>
<p>I agree about the party rep of WVU, although we are kidding ourselves if we don’t think that can go on anywhere. Still, some places are worse than others for sure.</p>
<p>I’ll be curious what decision you make. The Allegheny thread here is so quiet, I’m sure because it is such a small place.</p>
<p>CrosbysMom & icebat: How did the visits go? The weather should have been fantastic.</p>
<p>We loved it! And yes it was great weather. I feel totally comfortable with the school. We are visiting Lafayette this weekend and then he has to make a quick decision.</p>
<p>We arrived back in MA last night after a busy week. The visit reinforced for my daughter that she had made the right choice. She attended 2 classes and spoke with another professor. She also had a friend from here who attended the overnight, a good friend who goes to a different high school. The friend and her mom drove down for a visit. It’s funny, this friend came with us last year as we drove from MA to PA to look at some schools. The friend loved Pitt and at the time, said she wanted to apply there, but didn’t say too much about Allegheny. I knew that ultimately she decided against applying to Pitt, but, unbeknownst to me, she did apply to Allegheny and it looks like she will attend as well. She had scheduled a visit for admitted students to UMass which was to happen today but she decided not to go, that it was Allegheny for her. Her mom was happy with this decision too. </p>
<pre><code> My husband was happy too, the visit really just reinforcing the positive feelings he already had. This was his third visit there as he had visited 5 years ago with our son and was quite impressed. The weather was great and I’m sure the campus looked wonderful. Make sure your kids know about the Facebook 2016 group, there is a lot of information trading, questions and connections. Annie is thinking of doing one of the Living Learning Communities for her freshman seminar, sounds like a good way to make additional connections, so, we’ll see how that works.
We are happy for her and think it is a great decision. She bought us Allegheny car stickers.
</code></pre>
<p>icebat - I am an alum (class of 78) and would like to welcome your daughter to the Allegheny family! Hubby and I (also an alum) will be attending Alumni Weekend in June. It is always a treat for us to go back.</p>
<p>icebat - glad the visit went well. Our D committed online last week & she received a nice letter plus the packet of forms and timeline events leading to orientation on August 25th. She will also need to self-take a math placement test under the honor system.</p>
<p>Her (our) challenge is motivation as she has been in a senioritis funk for months now. Just getting her out of bed in the morning has been tough though a new BF has helped lately. I have seen the Allegheny 2016 FB group and am learning about the dorms. I have encouraged our D to check it out but she has mostly switched from FB to Tumblr so I don’t know if she has seen it yet. Glad your DD has a hometown friend attending Allegheny. When our D bought the hoodie in the bookstore we know she had made up her mind. Cheers!</p>
<p>Thank you shennie. I hope that my daughter will share your feelings years after she graduates. I feel optimistic that Allegheny is a great fit for her.</p>