<p>S likes Hartwick alot but is concerned about 3rd tier ranking by US news. Stats are: 3.7 GPA, 1260 SAT (CR + M) fom a college prep HS where 100% go to 4 year college. Especially loves the J term opportunity for intensive study abroad which may be financially possible due to high merit scholarship opportunities. Can anyone speak from experience about Hartwick? Thank you.</p>
<p>I would say try not to focus on US News rankings. They are so not representative of what the actual experience is of being a student. Hartwick is a solid school, and has been raising and spending a lot of money upgrading facilities over the past 3 years. They are in the midst of constructing a huge academic building which will be state of the art, and they have an excellent science center and most of the dorms have been upgraded as recently as this summer. Hartwick is a school on the rise. It always takes the guides/rankings a while to catch up, and then they aren't really something to rely on. Research and visit!</p>
<p>Thank you wavelength. Do you know if there is enough to do on the weekends? When we visited. one of the students referred to the shuttle bus as the "bar bus." Needless to say, this didn't go down well with the parents on the tour.</p>
<p>My sister was in the same situation as your son. She applied to Hartwick as her safety only because the application was free, when she got there she fell in love with it. She said it was not the best academically school, but she made the most out of it by triple majoring and traveling all over the world during J term.</p>
<p>Well, a chief aide to former NY Governor Mario Cuomo is a Hartwick alumnus. He now operates his own public affairs firm in Washington, D.C. Cuomo was notorious for hiring very capable, talented people. Not too bad for a graduate of "not the best academically school."</p>
<p>Hartwick has a fine scholastic reputation. It may not be on par with a school like Hamilton (not many are) but it's just fine, and continues to get better.</p>