<p>Yabeyabe, thanks for the parent info. And thanks for the UConn congrats!</p>
<p>My son has gotten into many schools, which is a good thing, I know. But now he is confused! He has narrowed this difficult choice to Mary Washington and Susquehanna. Can any of you comment on the pros and cons of either or both? Although the cost is an obvious difference, he will get a substantial merit scholarship at Susquehanna and fortunately finances are not a major concern. He has LD and has spoken to disability services offices at both schools, and feels comfortable working with both. He has worked very hard in HS and I would like to think that he can go somewhere to be a big fish in a small pond, and where he has time to get some balance in his life. He is a serious student but he also needs to spend time exploring things outside the classroom My impression is that the academics at Susquehanna are less intense than at Mary Washington, but I could be wrong. Please help if you can! Thanks,.</p>
<p>Vamom, congratulations on the multiple admissions. I have heard good things about Mary Washington. I note, however, for what it may be worth, that on **************.com, MW was rated by its students as a B-, while SU students gave it a B+ and were significantly more likely to say they made a good choice. The 4 year graduation rate at SU is 80%, while the 6 year rate at UMW is 76%.<br>
UMW enrolls 840 freshmen, while Susquehanna is around 600. This might lead to a student being somewhat more likely to be a “big fish” and less likely to fall through the cracks at SU. </p>
<p>I do not have a good suggestion on how to compare academic intensity. It may depend on the major, as well. My son was very impressed with the wide range of intramural sports and other activities at SU and thought the kids looked happy and not harried.</p>
<p>What really convinced me, as an accepted student, to attend SU was the atmosphere. The people there are really friendly and happy. For someone from NJ, where people passing each other on the sidewalk look away, it was a totally different and eye-opening experience to be in a place where people who didn’t know each other said hi. I was there for the Honors Evening and then the day after for Admitted Student Day. I did an overnight in between the two events and my host took me to watch Sherlock Holmes in the coffeehouse before it had came out on DVD. We had a blast!</p>
<p>My suggestion is to visit and let your son do an overnight, if it’s manageable. You get a very accurate feel for the school and its people when you have to sleep in a dorm, eat cafeteria food, and converse with other college kids outside the bounds of a tour.</p>
<p>Hope this was helpful!!! :)</p>
<p>Lovelydevil, my daughter just learned today that she has been accepted into the Honors Program at SU. We are making a final visit tomorrow as she is still deciding among SU and two other colleges. The Honors Program website does not give a lot of information on the HP. What did you learn about the HP during Honors Evening? Do you have any advice/insights you can share that might help my daughter make her decision? She did attend Accepted Students Day and liked what she experienced. Thank you for any insights you can share.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your matriculation into SU!</p>
<p>Thanks for the congrats! Alright, let me see. This stuff you might already know because I think it’s on the website, but I’m not entirely sure. Basically, if you enroll in the Honors Program, you would do the following:</p>
<p>You take on average one course per semester in an Honors section. What I didn’t really understand about this, before I went to the Honors Evening, was they correlate to courses in the Central Curriculum all students take. Instead of Writing and Thinking in the Fall semester of Freshman year, I would take Thought. This series continues through sophomore year. One semester sophomore year I will take Thought & the Natural Sciences OR Thought & Social Diversity.</p>
<p>The other semester I will complete my Sophomore Essay. This is basically an independent research project. I can pick any topic, not just within my major (though many students go this route), and write a thesis on it. Although they stress the project is independent, the faculty don’t expect you to get there without help. I’ll take a 2 semester hour class that basically sets deadlines and work closely with an academic advisor (who I get to pick) on the project. I was really scared of the Sophomore Essay before I went to the Honors Evening, but after hearing a student who had just written and presented hers explain the process I calmed down a lot.</p>
<p>In junior year, I’ll take two Honors section electives which CAN fulfill Central Curriculum reqs, but don’t HAVE to.</p>
<p>In senior year, you fulfill the CC Capstone req by taking the Senior Capstone Seminar, which brings different majors together for one final common experience, and Senior Research, which is required of all Honors students.</p>
<p>Basically, the Honors Program doesn’t add a ton to your workload. It does, in my opinion, make you look great to prospective employers and graduate schools. With all the independent research, the Capstone experience, and just the Honors Program itself on your resume: I think that looks good.</p>
<p>I’ll mention one last thing about the HP. I was lucky enough to get into a few other HPs at equatable schools. I personally liked Susquehanna’s the best for one main reason. It doesn’t seclude you from all the other students. I’m not constantly going to be taking Honors sections in my major and there is no option for Honors Housing. I was disappointed about this at first, but I came to realize that even though an Honors dorm is generally nicer: it’s also smaller and you get to meet less diverse people, even if you’re only speaking of diversity from an academic level.</p>
<p>I hope this helps! If you have any more questions about anything feel free to PM me. I kind of went on and on, but I’m SO excited for the fall!</p>
<p>Lovelydevil, thank you for sharing your knowledge of the HP, and for your personal experience in choosing SU from among the other schools you were admitted to. We did travel down to SU today for one last visit before the decision deadline. My daughter had a jam-packed day of attending a class and a music recital, and meeting with several faculty and students. SU is just a gorgeous campus, especially this time of year with so many flowers in bloom. And in keeping with an earlier posting in this forum, everyone on campus - secretaries, faculty, students, administrators - were helpful and friendly. SU is a special place.</p>
<p>Huskies, if your daughter is interested, a current honors student posted on the “Wall” of the Susquehanna University class of 2014 Facebook page that she is happy to answer any questions. Best of luck to your daughter with her decision.</p>
<p>Lovelydevil, based on your kind and comprehensive response to Huskies, SU is lucky to have you.</p>