<p>Just wanted to comment on my S and I's recent visit to UVM. We flew over from sunny CA... it was actually 80 degrees when we left... a few weeks ago. We were combining a visit to UVM with his drop off at a semester school he is attending that is also in VT. My S was hesitant to visit because he was insisting on a small LAC for college and thought UVM was too big</p>
<p>WOW!! was he pleasantly surprised!! UVM far surpassed his expectations and he feel in love with it. I'm pretty sure he is going to apply EA in the Fall. He will be pre-med with an undecided major... he likes A LOT of subjects so hasn't pinned one down yet, but probably NOT science. He loved that the med school was right next to campus and that Freshman can get internships at the hospital pretty easily. The school is GORGEOUS and everyone seemed so happy, healthy and outdoorsy... basically the same as my S. We loved the cute, charming town of Burlington right down the street. Of course he LOVED all the outdoor stuff and clubs. He is a rock and ice climber, has hiked to the top of almost all the highest peaks in CA. He is also a first responder and rescue diver. Is passionate about conservation and community service.... over 800 hrs so far in HS.</p>
<p>I'm just wondering if my somewhat intellectual.. loves discussion and ideas in and out of the classroom, thrives in small discussion based classes, would be happy there academically.He has over 2100 SAT so I'm pretty sure he could get in the honors college if accepted. What is this like? He is one of those kids that gets along with everyone but is very independent. He fell hopelessly in love with Vermont and I'm really not sure if he will even come back in May..LOL!!</p>
<p>Basically just want to know what's not to love about this school??</p>
cost for OOS - although some people do get decent merit aid.
freshman housing - crappy dorms and alot of triples. Perhaps not so bad in Honors dorms but UVM accepts more students than they can house.
Green Mts are nice but they are not the Rockies, Cascades, or Sierras.
While UVM at 10,000 is small on the state school scale, it still has its share of large (mainly intro) classes.
cold wind off Lake Champlain in winter - but good skiing an hour away and cheap with a student pass, gorgeous autumns, and a nice (lake) beach when the weather is nice.</p>
<p>So it really comes down to - compared to what. An outdoors oriented male student (female to male seems like 2:1) interested in conservation (a religion at UVM) from CA (pretty unusual at UVM) will have a good experience.</p>
<p>5boys - My S is a sophomore at UVM and loves it! He has had a few intro classes with over 100 students, but not many. This semester with 5 courses the size of the classes varies (19 students, 26, 35, 85 and 115). My S also thrives on class discussion and has enjoyed his classes very much. </p>
<p>S was assigned to triple as a freshman, although it didn’t last long. By Thanksgiving one of the boys moved out. The dorms are just your basic dorms. Nothing special, but not awful. S will be moving off campus next year.</p>
<p>As you saw, Burlington is a great town. Seems like the students take advantage of what’s available. S goes to concerts, restaurants, clubs, etc. Also has a student ski pass this winter. Doesn’t complain about the weather at all (although I would!).</p>
<p>When we visited UVM for the first time, my S had the same feeling as your S. He was just sure that it was the right place for him. Turns out he was right! Let me know if you have any specific questions.</p>
<p>I have a friend who’s son attends the honors program at UVM. Super bright, loves the honors program. Check out the website, but they have separate housing, special lectrures, etc… We know of many kids from Vermont who go there, it runs the gamut of intellectualism…he is for sure in the right field of study. He will get very little if any aid but if you are paying full tuition it is cheaper than a private lac…it was cheaper for my Vermont daughter (who refused to go in state to college) to attend an LAC elsewhere.</p>
<p>Thanks so much everyone for all the replies!! Yes, I read about the Honors college and I’m sure that is where my S would end up… although if he gets in he might not stay in the honors dorm… he really liked what he heard about the Green house.</p>
<p>My S is VERY intellectual but unpretentious in every sense of the word. Those big intro lecture classes might be one of the things that turn him off… he really likes small classes with group discussions and ideas… think Reed or Colorado College type kid. He would like discussions continuing on even after class. Because he is SO laid-back and unpretentious he just LOVED the vibe of the school. He is also HUGE into conservation and 'tread lightly on me" stuff, and of course all the outdoor stuff. My question was, do you know if he would have his intellectual side satisfied in the honors program? It looks like they just take 1 class together and then have to go into the regular classes the rest of the time. I’m sure he will visit and stay overnight if he gets in.</p>
<p>As far as FA… I realize that it is an OOS school and therefore would not be too generous with aid… It looks like he may be eligible for some scholarship and merit aid though. He will have probably more than 1000 hrs CS when he graduates HS and I know there is a scholarship that involves CS. He is casting a wide net so we will just have to wait and see what they come up with… but yes, too bad we live OOS:-((</p>
<p>I am really not sure he is going to get that intellectual experience at UVM…but then again, I am speaking of students in the non honors college.
Where else did he appy? very curious!</p>
<p>Radannie… he is only a Junior so just starting his search… So far he has on his list of “for sure” applying… Reed, Whitman, Lewis and Clark, UVM… (visited). Colorado college, Hamilton, Sewanee, Middlebury, Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, St. Lawrence.( will visit most before next Fall). Carleton, Wesleyan, Vassar, Colgate, Macalester. ( maybe applying) He also really liked Dartmouth, but really isn’t too keen on the Ivy league thing, and he probably has no chance of getting in anyway…</p>
<p>KP… yep, it’s on the list… pretty high up there actually, because of their rural med early acceptance thing and the adirondack semester… it also seems like heaven to the outdoorsy kid like my S., but now that he has seen UVM and the great town right down the street, he is starting to think more about all these schools in the middle of nowhere…</p>
<p>Hi 5boys, I am near UVM with a junior S as well. I can report that the students that attended UVM honors program from our high school were extremely satisfied. All had the choice to attend ‘name brand’ LAC’s as well but chose UVM. The honors dorms are really nice if he does decide to live there. Your son is a great fit for Vermont and Burlington and will be able to explore his passions with many others. Good luck in the next 6-9 months of college visits and applications.</p>
<p>If your son has 2100 on SAT I wouldn’t worry about poor freshman housing. He will probably get into the Honors College and have a very nice dorm.</p>
<p>My son and I are heading to UVM March 4th for a tour, I hope he loves it as much as your son 5boys! He has always loved Vermont so if looking at UVM and St Michael’s so far. I know Burlington a wonderful college town and I hope he loves it!</p>
<p>hello5… DEFINITELY not!! These are mostly schools he is interested in so far… he is only a Junior and still has plenty of time to trim the list. He will cast a fairly wide net though, because he hates out State schools and refuses to apply to any of them, and we need aid. He also has high test scores but lower GPA from a top prep school… it is hard to judge what schools will make of him. Our Naviance is no help at all with his type of stats.</p>
<p>mumof2boyz… There really is not a lot NOT to love about UVM… it seems like the perfect school in a lot of ways… especially if you love VT. My CA beach town S felt like he had come home… he said it was hard to describe how he feels about VT. He is there right now for a semester and the emails he sends to us sound like he is SO happy there. I hope you get lucky and get a great tour guide like we did. She, like my S, was first only considering small LAC’s but after coming to UVM and LOVED it, she decided that is where she wanted to be. She seemed VERY bright and she really sold the school to my S… although it didn’t hurt that she was really cute:-))</p>
<p>Come back and let us know how the tour goes… I’d love to hear about your S’s experiences with it.</p>
<p>Looking forward to it - he is a skier and hiker so that is part of the appeal and my brother lives in Vermont so we visit quite often (we are from Massachusetts). Our boys sound similar, when he went hiking there once with my husband, he took a deep breath and said “I just LOVE it up here” and has wanted to go to college and or live there ever since. He just feels good there. I will give a full report when we get back.</p>
<p>5boys, I am from Minnesota and Macalester and Carleton are very intellectually stimulating schools with smaller class sizes. No mountains but great lakes but not close to campus. My son was accepted to University of Vermont and we are going to visit it next month. I hope he likes it as much as your son did. My son is also pre-med, laid back and loves intellectual discussions.</p>
<p>judyjim… that so funny because my S was just looking through a Macalester viewbook that just came for him in the mail yesterday. Carleton is on his list to look at too… although it would be a VERY high reach for him. UVM has become of even more interest because he has recently been thinking about a Forestry major and UVM’s Natural Resource school looks REALLY good for that. He could major in Forestry do his Pre-Med requirements and hopefully become a rural ER Doc who would also work on a Search and Rescue team… that would be his dream. So the Forestry major kind of makes sense for him. He is still toying with Philosophy though too.</p>
<p>Please keep me posted on your visit… and now that I think about I’m going to pm mumof2boys because she never got back to us on THEIR visit.</p>
<p>We visited with my D on the Accepted Students Day,Feb 25th. It snowed the entire day!
Nonetheless, we were very impressed with UVM. We went in expecting to like it, but came out really falling in love with all that it offered. She was also accepted into the Honors College and the dorm was beautiful. The ONLY drawback is that it is 8 hrs away.
However, it is still very high on her list. We just have to wait and see how much financial aid we get…I would highly recommend visiting.</p>
<p>My son, who is a Junior, and I visited on March 4th and then saw St. Michael’s the following day, spending the evening in Burlington. He really liked UVM alot, dispite the fact that is was very, very cold and windy and the poor tour guide kept shoving us into buildings to stay warm. I have been assured that weather is not that bad all winter and that it is normally around 10 degrees colder than Massachusetts where we are from. My son loved the proximitry to Burlington (a four block walk) and all that goes on there - it is the perfect college town. It was Mardi Gras weekend when we were there with a big parade and lots going on. The dorms were actually much better than I expected, bigger and cleaner that the freshman dorms we had just seen at UConn. He loved the academic reputation of the school, how they handled undeclared students and the general atmosphere of the campus. He felt like he fit in there and the size seemed a good fit for him as well. UVM is on the top of his list at the moment. We will be back in the spring to see it in better weather as well!</p>