Be sure to consider Rochester’s climate. Lake effect leads to many overcast days, also very cold. A friend of mine who went there found it to be a depressing atmosphere.
It’s interesting to me that on the one hand, you say that money’s no object, and on the other hand, Rochester is attractive to you because they gave you some merit money.
It sounds as if creative writing instruction and an open curriculum are the most important things to you, in which case, of where you’re in so far, it does make sense that Hamilton is at the top of the list, if money is totally out of the equation.
Irrelevant now, but someone clarified! Midd’s acceptance rate for the Fall semester (as reported by the CDS) was 13%, but its overall acceptance rate was around 16%.
I know that Linguistics was a significant factor in your decision making process even though it’s not your intended major. Looking at UR & HC, I can see why you have UR at the top of your list. Just using Linguistics as an example, the faculty is very small, their primary areas of specialization seem to be outside Linguistics, and the list of courses is small. If one of their faculty is unavailable (e.g. sabbatical) for a semester or a year, that means her/his course is likely not offered, which is unfortunate for you because that might be the only time you can take it since you only have 4 years. (Happened to me.) The UR department is much bigger, different points of view, and lots more courses. On this basis alone, UR makes a world of sense.
@merc81, in reading this e-mail, I was under the impression that UR is at the top of her list since she says “HAS been”, and not “HAD been”. Obviously she has not finalized her decision since she is waiting until she has visited the two campuses - and possibly Vassar - to make that decision
If I missed something else in the thread, I apologize.
The distinction is with respect to target schools. In other words, if the OP had not gotten into any of her high match or reach schools, such as Hamilton (“Hamilton is now at the top of my list”), then she would rely on URochester, which had been selected at an early stage as her preferred match school. Nonetheless, she has retained a strong interest in UR through these latter stages of her search.
I tried to send you a message, because I have a kid who went to two summer writing programs, and then onto college (graduated last year) and is now a writer - but it wouldn’t let me send you one! But send a pm if you’d like!
@inflorescent I hope you’re getting more good news, but congrats on the schools you’ve been accepted to!
Oops, let me clarify! I was going to wait until the end of this week to post another update, but I did get into Vassar. While UR does have better linguistics, Vassar and Hamilton are very known for their writing programs, and they both have open curriculums and individualized major options. Plus, I do want the LAC atmosphere, so I’ve pretty much eliminated UR at this point.
YAY! SO happy to hear that you got a yes from Vassar. I want the emphasize how much I think Vassar would be a great fit; I hope you dive deeply to see what Vassar has to offer!
Vassar. English major and performing arts veneer laid over a generally intellectual liberal arts college. Beautiful chapel and library. Connects, by atmosphere, to the Hudson River School, as well as, by train, to all of what New York City has to offer. Students statistically less likely to be hit by errant athletic equipment than at Hamilton. Gender imbalance, although real, does not differ greatly from the collegiate national average. New science building supports continuing academic ambitions. Nonetheless, a literary college by any standard.
Hamilton. Legacy of having been two colleges of complementary characteristics and emphases manifests in enhanced academic, social, spatial and architectural dimensions and balance. Access to suburban amenities, proximity to Adirondacks. Academically strong across humanities and fine arts, sciences and math and social sciences. Appeared as top liberal arts college in the nation for creative writing in USA Today article of several years ago. I know some people who don’t like snow, but I’m not sure I trust them. Find your inner Buck. Surrounding area among the safest locations anywhere, with zero violent crime reported in a recent year.
If you would like a suggestion for when you travel to Hamilton, set your navigation system for somewhere in the village of Clinton, such as Nola’s restaurant. This will give you a much better sense for the area than the (very slightly quicker, but actually farther) route the college suggests. From there you can reset your system for the remaining three minutes to the college.
