<p>Toured this weekend with D2, who has been very picky during all of this! We both liked it a lot. Info session was wonderful, an engaging talk about what makes Dickinson special (global education, environmentally conscious), as well as a lot of reassurance that everything will work out…try not to get overly stressed out during this process, asking parents to be aware of their role in ramping up the stress levels. </p>
<p>Tour guide was a very nice and articulate young man. I asked about Greek life, he said it was there, but definitely not the dominant culture. One could participate, or not. This was, by the way, the same answer I received to this question when I asked it two years ago with D1.</p>
<p>Students looked casual enough to pass D2’s litmus test, but it was a Saturday morning, so things could look different on a school day. D1 was not particular about how students dressed, so I don’t remember that from two years ago. </p>
<p>First year seminars sound interesting, very small classes of 10-15, some are combined with another seminar to form a living community, where the students live together in the same hall. </p>
<p>We though Carlisle was great! But the other schools my daughter is most interested in are similarly small or smaller locations… Middlebury, Waterville, Brunswick, Geneseo. Maybe because we live in the city, we find the small towns charming. As long as there are a couple reasonably priced restaurants, a coffee shop, pharmacy, my daughters seem content.</p>
<p>Hmm, compared to many other schools we have toured (and I think we have been to over 20 between our two kids in the past 5 years), D’son is pretty laid back. D sometimes goes to class in sweats, and definitely does not feel pressure to put on makeup every day or dress up much. She has been under zero pressure to join Greek life or party, either, although both are available to those who want to. </p>
<p>Also, it is not THAT focused academically (to be fair, comparing to U of Chicago, where D visited and WAS intimidated by the academic rigor…). If your kid falls in the mid range for SAT scores or higher, I would not worry about it being overly rigorous. But to be fair, my kid is going to college mostly for academic reasons, so that pitch about grad school and academics would not have bothered us.</p>
<p>Must admit, she did ask for a North Face fleece for Christmas after her first year, but that is the only “brand” request she has made. I have eaten in the caf a couple of times, and thought it was fine (did especially like the coconut cake). D hasn’t complained about the food, and she is kind of a foodie outside of school – although I expect the food choices at almost any LAC of that size would get old after a few years.</p>
<p>cbug- as you can see from the responses, its so difficult to evaluate that “laid back” feel issue- and what you consider laid back may be totally different from what others consider as laid back. For me, the epitome of laid back was Penn State where everyone, including the girls, was walking around in sweats or shorts and flip flops when we visited.</p>
<p>Maybe you can tell us which schools your son already visited which had the laid back feel you are seeking - it may be easier to say if you liked X then you would/would not like Dickinson. Obviously some find it a great fit while others do not. Some may find small towns appealing while others may find them dreadfully boring. Being from the Philly area I will admit to a little bias as I find Central PA unappealing unless it is for a hiking/fishing trip. I would never live there! </p>
<p>My oldest D is attending Pitt and a laid back vibe was one of her criteria. Pitt has a kind of midwestern feel to us, as compared to Philly. Not sure if Pitt is on your radar. It does give good merit aid to OOS kids.</p>
<p>pamom59 – Since you asked, I’m just a little concerned that S2 (quiet, cute, smart & fairly athletic kid) is going to feel out of place with east coast kids. Fairly or unfairly the stereotype in the Midwest is that east coast colleges are full of wealthy students with aggressive, super competitive personalities. These are not adjectives that would describe most kids in the Midwest. Part of me says taking him out of his comfort zone will be good for him and help him grow; another part of me says it could spell disaster.</p>
<p>But maybe he’ll be ok; he’s owned a Northface jacket for sometime now.;)</p>
<p>I hear you cbug … I guess its going to be a personal fit decision for your son </p>
<p>FWIW I wonder why someone from the midwest would travel to Carlisle PA when you could go somewhere much closer both geographically and culturally- I would totally see if he wanted to be exposed to the culture of an East Coast city/suburb but Carlisle is not that.</p>
<p>pamom59 – Many of the schools we are considering are much closer to home. However, 1) son feels like he’d like to explore some schools farther away and 2) because we need a good financial aid package, we feel we should include other schools.</p>
<p>The fitting in concerns are more mine than his.</p>
<p>I have a daughter who is a senior at Dickinson (Hi, intparent–can you believe our girls are seniors. Yikes.)</p>
<p>Our whole family loves Dickinson and Carlisle. We are from the East Coast, but DH and I are originally from the Midwest/South and travel back frequently so we are familiar with life in those parts of the country. We find Dickinson kids to be friendly, polite, intelligent, entertaining–I have been on campus at least 25-30 times; lots of pickups and dropoffs, plus we stop by on our annual drive to my home state because we miss the campus so much during the summers. Students are always so nice to me–holding open doors, saying hi in the hallways, offering to help carry things. My daughter wanted a school that would challenge her academically but allow for a social life. She has found a great balance here. She spent her junior year in Spain, and now is completing a double major. </p>
<p>She didn’t have a lot of exposure to Greek life her first years other than a party or two. This year she is living in a townhouse with seven other girls and some are in sororities, so she is a bit more aware of Greek activities. </p>
<p>We actually like the food, especially the newer places for a quick meal; my younger daughter spent a CTY session there and still raves about the soups in the caf. Since so many interesting restaurants in the historic section of Carlisle are within walking distance of campus, my D1 does go out with friends to sample those. We love the new crepe place on High Street. During this year’s parent weekend we ventured further away from campus and had a wonderful meal at an old-style Italian restaurant. We like to go for the town’s annual Harvest Fest arts and crafts show, which often overlaps with Homecoming and parent weekend.</p>
<p>Campus fashion is mostly laid back–lots of sweats, shorts, comfy clothing–but I always see at least a few kids in the latest styles. Definitely a mix. </p>
<p>Anyway, my daughter is not wealthy, aggressive, or super competitive, and she has flourished at Dickinson. We are going to be proud of her when she graduates, but oh so sad to say goodbye to the school.</p>
I have eaten in the caf a couple of times, and thought it was fine (did especially like the coconut cake). D hasn’t complained about the food, and she is kind of a foodie outside of school – although I expect the food choices at almost any LAC of that size would get old after a few years.</p>