Both schools are similar sized masters level universities offering research opportunities to motivate undergrads in small cities but obviously in very different parts of the country. My D, who is interested in Biology, International Studies, Anthropology and really want to study abroad received comparable scholarships at both schools. Am wondering about the social scene, intellectual climate,interest and involvement in current affairs. We are not rich and my D. will have to work while attending school. Any thoughts?
Is anyone familiar with both schools? if so, I look forward to hearing your input! Deposits will need to be made soon
I have a daughter at UVM, but we never thought about anything in the south.
Burlington VT is a very nice small town. It is safe and attractive with quite a few very good restaurants. Vermont in general and UVM in particular are very left wing politically and relatively politically active. If you are to the right of Bernie Sanders then you would be just as well to avoid discussing politics up there.
UVM has a good medical school, which suggests that biology there will be very good, but has a significant number of pre-med students. Therefore some classes can be quite competitive. My daughter likes it there a lot, and has had to work quite hard (which for her is good).
I assume that you know that Burlington has real winters (not the wimpy ones that you get in say, NYC or Boston). My daughter has not had any problem with this.
Thank you for replying! We are Bernie Sanders people. From Philadelphia and visited Burlington with my D. Agree: It is a great small city in a gorgeous setting. We have several friends whose children are at UVM and seem to be thriving. Nevertheless, my D was offered a generous scholarship and admittance to the Honors College at C of C. Was wondering if you or anyone knew much regarding the intellectual and social atmosphere at UVM vs. C of C?
i lived in Burlington back in the late 80’s but never attended UVM. i honestly dont know much about the school, tThe town though is very nice and Montreal is less than 2 hours away.
CofC was on my daughters list and she got accepted. She was going for international studies., She is choosing though to attend GW. From what we know about CofC, i think the research opportunities around Biology would be great because of the closeness to water. The international studies program seemed fine, and the Foreign language Dept seemed pretty strong. i know my D did not apply for honors, because she was told from those who attend there, that there was less “flexibility”, but then later regretted it. as it seemed that many kids seemed more into the social scene then studies who were not in honors. This is just my D;s opinion. So from a program standpoint, i would think C of C might edge UVM out, but I think from a challenging environment viewpoint, UVM might win.
i wonder if there are stats out there to help you.
Well since you are " Bernie Sanders people" it may make you feel better that on a trip several years ago, there was a very large Sanders rally being held on campus at CofC. There seems to be this assumption that just because a college is located in the South, that they are pervasively , devoutly conservative . That is simply not the case. Based on your other posts comparing several other schools, the tone seems to be " convince me why this is a good decision" If it takes that much convincing , it seems like maybe CofC is not the right choice.
Attempted to edit my post, but ran out of time. You may want to research “Scholars” at CofC . They have several " scholars" announced annually including Goldwater and Fulbright scholars with study abroad .
Unfortunately, as explained, I was unable to visit Charleston and C of C with my daughter due to a family crisis involving her younger sister. I have only been trying to reach out through College Confidential to gain a better sense of / more complete picture of College of Charleston. I have no first hand impression of the cultural context; I am more familiar with UVM as it is a school that is quite popular with kids from our area. Ultimately, it is my daughter’s decision, yet I want to make sure she is making an “informed” decision with as much knowledge about not only the academic offerings, but also the cultural context. I want her to be happy. She has made her decision and yesterday we submitted her deposit to College of Charleston! I am very proud of her and support her decision. Thank you for the information you have provided about the Honors College at C of C specifically, as well as, the college and city of Charleston in general. I did look into the Goldwater award and will certainly research “Scholars” at CofC. Thank you for your advice!
Thank you also to sdl0625 for your input! Like your D, my D also perceives that the intellectual climate amongst the kids attending the C of C Honor’s College is more serious than w/in the general student body. My D applied to the Honors College at C of C as she was very impressed by what she read about their International Scholars program. While she was not selected for the International Scholars Program, she was accepted into the Honors College and, came away from her visit impressed by the support and opportunities at the Honors College. As an IB student at her large high school, she likes the prospect of being part of a smaller, more rigorous academic community within the larger university. Both Burlington and Charleston are very beautiful, but she also wants to attend college in a larger city. She felt that Burlington might ultimately be too small for her. She was accepted at American but received very little aid and was waitlisted at GW (we probably would not have been able to afford GW either; as self-employed people NPC are not very accurate predictors). Like GW, C of C is right in the city and she likes that C of C is not in a “bubble.” Apparently there are many employment opportunities in the restaurant industry in Charleston; she has done catering work and last week was hired at a cafe so, hopefully, her work experience will help her land a job in Charleston.
Best wishes to your daughter at GW!!!
@LostatSea my son has friends both in and out of the Honors program. His friends that aren’t in the program, are also good students . I’m sure that there are some that are not quite as studious there, but it is possible to find like minded students even if they aren’t in the honors program
I am sure there are studious students both in and out of the honors college; it was just an overall impression she received while visiting and spending the night in a freshman dorm and attending a frat party.
Unlike you, we do not live in Charleston. In fact, we live quite far away (685 miles) and cheap, direct flights btw, Philly and Charleston are not plentiful. She is my first child to go off to college. As a mother, I hope you understand that I have just been trying to get a fuller sense of the whole C of C experience so that we and, ultimately, she could weigh the pros and cons of the schools to which she was admitted in order to make a well informed decision. After some deliberation, she decided that C of C is the best option and she chose not to revisit UVM. I am happy for my daughter; I believe at the C of C Honors College she will have great advising, great opportunities to develop close rapport with professors and other students, an interesting honors college curriculum and lots of course choices outside the honors college in areas that interest her plus great research and, hopefully, internship and study abroad opportunities. I also think she can, if she works while in college, carve out quite a nice quality of life in Charleston given the beauty of the city, the surrounding area, and the many cultural activities.
I actually don’t live in Charleston @LostatSea , I do live in SC. I also just experienced sending my first born away to college as well last year. I also understand attempting to make well informed decisions regarding college choices. I understand OOS travel costs are not cheap and you may want to see if there are cheaper options out of Myrtle Beach and/ or Greenville Spartanburg . Quite a few students from the northeast have chartered a shuttle to Myrtle Beach in the past and flew out from there.
Sorry, you know so much about Charleston and the college that I assumed you lived in or quite near to Charleston and that your son had been there for a few years.
I will definitely look into other flight options. Thanks for the suggestions. I think she will be heading back to Charleston in July for an Orientation.
We lived there until 1999. My son is a rising Sophomore , but has junior status because of AP classes. He doesn’t plan to finish early though , just use his AP classes so that he take some additional easier classes to balance his more difficult semester .
You must be very proud of your son! He sounds like a very bright, hard working young man with a lot of foresight!
Have you missed living in Charleston? If yes, what aspects?
I believe your wrote that your are originally from Baltimore; a city that I have always been quite charmed by. In fact, we spent part of our honeymoon staying in Canton, explored the American Visionary Art museum and took in an Orioles game. Last winter, we took our girls to visit and had great seafood at a small restaurant in Fell’s Point!
Do you as “carolinamom2boys” still live in South or North Carolina?
I live in the upstate of SC about an hour from Clemson, several hours from Atlanta and Charlotte .3 1/2 hrs from Charleston . The Upstate is a great area to live in, but it’s not Charleston. I love the atmosphere of being close to the beach. There are always things to do , great farmers markets , the history , great restaraunts . Lots to like about Charleston.