<p>Did you visit Emerson? Because they do have a very solid liberal arts curriculum/core classes, and I liked the way they explained it. You can't act in RENT if you don't understand the societal impact of AIDS; you can't report on a news story if you don't understand its historical significance, etc.</p>
<p>Also, someone mentioned Catholic. One thing -- I have heard that literally all of the students there are devoutly catholic and very conservative...don't know if that's an issue for you but it crossed it off my list...</p>
<p>We tried to visit emerson, but they couldn't fit us into the tour schedule (3 weeks ahead of the date). While i know they have a good basic liberal arts introduction, i thought it an unusual situation to be in a college where no one is pre-med or a philosophy major, etc.<br>
As for the other issue... the name was enough- we are not looking at anything beyond a Methodist affiliation.</p>
<p>I know this is a bit of apples and oranges, but how would any of you compare University of Washington to American in terms of academics? Does UW have anything decent for journalism? i know they don't really have any film, but UW would be way cheaper for us. (but d really wants to get away from home)</p>
<p>My stats are very similar to your daughters, I'm considering a major in communications.</p>
<p>American & Loyola (Maryland) were among my matches. Personally, I liked AU and I though the internship opportunities were pretty good, I love the DC location too. I've must of lucked out, because the dorms I saw were nice -- but now that I think about it they probably weren't freshman dorms! At one time Emerson was my first choice, but I changed my mind when I visisted. I wasn't crazy about the lack of variety in the curriculum. And their graduation rate was disappointing. Well, good luck with your search!</p>
<p>Son #1 - a late bloomer as far as interest in academics - transferred to AU for his sophomore year after a semi-disastrous college admission process out of high school. He grew up alot in his freshman year and summer, actually realizing that he was looking for a school with some academic challenges, and AU seems to be a very good fit for him. DC is great, and he finds the academics to be sufficiently challenging. The dorms are acceptable - nothing great, but nothing impressive either. The campus is comfortable, and while it's not as attractive architecturally as an Ivy or similar campus, it is well maintained and does have a college "feel". In addition to all that is available in DC, there are also a fair number of on-campus student activities.</p>
<p>Some of you mentioned Loyola in MD in your posts. Any additional thoughts about Loyola? Son #2 - who is much stronger academically than son #1 - really likes this school. I guess my specific question - since he likes it so much - is are there any downsides?</p>
<p>I am very familiar with Loyola. It is in a beautiful meighborhood in Baltimore right on the bus line next door to the College of Notre Dame, a tiny girls' college. It is just a few minute from JHU on that busline. It is a good, solid catholic LAC that has some interesting course choices. I took my actuarial science coursse there while I took business courses at U of Baltimore and Towson. We revisited the school about 4 years ago when D was looking at colleges, and the drawbacks were that the campus has a bit of a crowded feeling, but that is relative, and it is a bit expensive compared to some other schools like Manhattan College, John Carroll, Sienna and Stonehill. And though it had a number of merit scholarships, it did not look like she would likely get one. All three of the Loyolas, like many of the Catholic schools in major cities offer an excellent admissions deal for students with an academic profile that make the schools a match. They offer excellent facilities and thorough slate of liberal arts courses along with strong programs in business, which may not be offered in other LACs. Though the schools are Catholic, I do not feel that the non Catholic kids who go there feel uncomfortable as there are no religious requirements. One negative, is that there are a larger number of commuters than in nationally known LACs, as these schools tend to offer deals to those who belong to the area diocese or graduated from Catholic highschools in the area. For kids with strong academic profiles, these schools do offer some very nice merit scholarships, a big bonus for famiies on the border line of financial aid qualification. Ths school also provides nearly 100% of demonstrated need which is a danged good stat for a one in its category. About 15% of the kids receive some sort of merit award which is also pretty good. Other schools to examine are St Joseph's, Lasalle, and Villanova in Philadelphia. Villanova has a bigger name, national teams, St Joe's and Lasalle are less known and are more of a safety than Loyola, but both are city schools with a Catholic background. St Joe's is more in an area like Loyola is. All great admission deals for location, amenities and offerings. The Catholic colleges have locations in cities that are excellent with dorm facilities and other amentities, and offer a bit more in non Liberal Arts courses than true LACs. At this time, they are a bit under subscribed, so students can come up with a pretty good deal at them if they shop carefully.</p>
<p>Many thanks for the details on Loyola, Jamimom. I visited once with DS, and he thought it was everything he wanted in a college. Since he couldn't describe what "everything he wanted in a college" meant in much greater detail, he visited again with DH, and again felt very positive about it. He much prefers it to Villanova, but couldn't articulate the reasons beyond a more subjective "feeling". At this point we're hoping for an acceptance - his statistics seems to be at the high end of the profile so we're cautiously optimistic.</p>
<p>Loyola is smaller and cozier. Much more of the LAC feeling, wheras Villanova, though hardly a Big 10 sized school, has many more aspects of such colleges with their high level Div 1 sports that are a big part of campus life. The campus is also much more spread out. I actually felt claustrophobic at Loyola and Johns Hopkins since I knew both schools before they were so physically built up and really missed the open spaces I remembered, but my kids did not feel that way at all.</p>
<p>American U undergrad is a good fit for a pragmatist who wants to exploit the DC location and insure a decent job on graduation by getting internships with the government or the Dulles tech corridor (home of AOL). Don't expect the IVY league experience... GWU is generally considered better overall, though the student bodies are similar -- add 30-70 points avg SAT and they're the same.
AU shines more for its well-regarded law school (top 50 rank) and graduate programs in international finance and diplomacy. Also, WAMU provides a the basis for a top Broadcast journalism dept major.</p>