Anyone familiar with Winthrop or Radford?

<p>I am posting this for a friend whose S has been accepted into both Winthrop and Radford. She is interested in getting some first hand experiences/opinions from people familiar with these schools.
She has heard that Radford has a reputation as a party/drinking school and is wondering if this is all there is to do on weekends?
Any info would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>The only thing I know about either of these two schools is that Radford got destroyed yesterday by UNC in March Madness! ;) I know.. not much help...</p>

<p>Just tell your friend, regarding Radford, she heard right.</p>

<p>I know several kids who go to Radford with the intent of transferring to Virginia Tech because their high school grades weren't up to snuff to get into Tech. The school is close enough to allow them to attend Tech football games and socialize as if they were at Tech already. That group tends to work hard freshman year and the strategy seems to work. My son went to vist friends and thought it was a nice school but very small (from his perspective/he has a large school bias). So, in sum, not a difficult school in which to get accepted but seems to attract a subset of serious freshman.</p>

<p>In terms of Winthrop, we hosted a tennis player for a local tournament this year who happens to go there and is on their tennis team. Nice kid. Likes his school. That's about all I know.</p>

<p>I just spent yesterday morning with a Winthrop sophomore. She loves her college. She is not so in love with the town of Rock Hill but she feels she is getting great preparation in her field (middle school English/Social Studies education). She had some troubles with an old boyfriend last the year and it sounds like the college administration and professors were wonderful. She is in a sorority, is not a "partier" and is a very social person and seems to have found plenty at Winthrop to keep her happy.</p>

<p>As a SC state school, it's a bargain in-state but you'd have to judge whether OOS costs would be worth it. Students from our area who attend are nice, hard-working B students. As far as I know, it does not have a reputation as a party school, though I'm sure you can find plenty of parties. Rock Hill is close to Charlotte and not too far from Asheville and Greenville (at least close enough to go to parties, according to this student).</p>

<p>I would think long and hard before sending my kid to Radford. Why spend good money at this school? Go to a NOVA community college and then transfer to Virginia Tech, UVA or William and Mary.</p>

<p>
[quote]
As a SC state school, it's a bargain in-state but you'd have to judge whether OOS costs would be worth it.

[/quote]

In the past, Winthrop has been generous in giving OOS state students in-state tuition as a form of merit scholarship. I don't know it they are still doing that due to the budget crunch. USC in Columbia also did that quite a bit.</p>

<p>At a Winthrop open house, they said any student who receives a Winthrop scholarship for at least $500 would also have out of state tuition waived.</p>

<p>Thanks to all for responding, I'll pass this thread on to my friend.
Just to clarify, they are from out-of-state and wouldn't qualify for in state rates.
Thanks again, and any other perspectives are appreciated.</p>

<p>Her S is choosing between these 2 schools and West Virginia U and will be visiting all in the next few weeks.</p>

<p>I know this is kind of late, but I go to Radford and am one of the Freshmen trying to transfer to Tech. It's not my cup of tea. Next month is something called Quadfest were people spend the weekend getting drunk. I'm not saying this school is terrible, but if you like a bigger school with a better reputation, then Radford's not the right choice.</p>

<p>Neighor's(oos) D went to Winthrop. It was not her first choice but it was the best fianancial deal for the family. IB Diploma graduates get full tutition scholarships.
She ended up liking WU. She got very involved with the student newspaper, joined a sorority, and spent a semester in Germany. After graduating fr. WU, she went on to grad. school at Miami (Ohio) with a tuiton scholarship.<br>
I'll agree that Rock Hill,SC is not an exciting place to be but it has all the basics..plenty of shopping and restaurants. Charlotte,NC is really close if somethig bigger/more exciting is needed,lol.</p>