<p>does anyone have any experience with College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine?</p>
<p>ok, no one out there had an direct experience with COA. my H and S visited, were very very impressed. so, if anyone is curious i can fill you in. beautiful setting, tiny, self-directed program for student activitists</p>
<p>im curious and would love to hear more about it</p>
<p>Bar Harbor is probably the most gorgeous place i've ever been and i've been all over. FYI.</p>
<p>My sister actually goes to COA. She is very artsy, independant, and liberal like many of the other students there. It is a tiny school. The campus is awesome, right on the water. It seems like a neat place if you fit in. Bar Harbor is also really cool.</p>
<p>BH is stunningly beautiful, although a bit desolate during the winter. If you are outdoorsy and a self-starter, its hard to imagine a better choice. You have to be academically assertive I think -- similar to Hampshire in that it puts alot of onus on the student. I imagine its a very supportive place though. The campus is defintely unique, very charming and the location is incredible.</p>
<p>just checking back in , and yes the descriptions sound accurate. my husband & son loved the attention to detail - parking on the edge of campus, foot paths thru out. avery "green" campus. everyone majors in human ecology - but you can interpert that how you want. a cafeteria with organic, campus-raised and locally grown food. tiny dorms with rooms facing the water. kitchen facilities for wkend cooking - the caf is 5/day. S toured the campus and "sat in" on a horticulture class. 10 students, 1 prof they went outside and did soil samples and made S feel part of the class. when class was over he knew people's names and enjoyed the learning.</p>
<p>it is definitely a place for the self motivated. and a great place for the impatient and hands on style learner. the students appear to be committed activists. very liberal. a portion have tried other schools and left and ended up here. H was wowed by all the opportunities - small class, lots of study abroad.</p>
<p>i know someone there who absolutely loves it.
he's super outdoorsy, and it seems like every weekend he is skiing or hiking or biking.
he loves being around people who are as passionate as he is about environmental/ecology etc</p>
<p>Wasn't the movie Dead Man on Campus filmed there?</p>
<p>^ OK, wrong college. hehe.</p>
<p>Nope, that's University of the Pacific.</p>
<p>This is where I will be going in the fall! :) I applied Early Decision and got in, and just visited a few weeks ago. The campus is quaint and close, and the people are some of the most interesting i've ever met(and I live in NYC!). My experience with the classes was very limited, I only stood in one for about 30 minutes and then had to leave to catch my bus, but i'm extremely excited about the course selection process. We take 3 courses every semester, and the school runs on a trimester schedule, so it's 9 classes a year.</p>
<p>congratulations dannyls3! how is the travel up there for you? did you fly in to portland and switch to bus? id like to hear the travel details, bec its not a convenient location. we're in DC</p>
<p>I travelled by bus, it was about 11 hours on the bus and then 2 more for other transportation(subway+the hour long ride to bar harbor from bangor). However, it wasn't too bad, and there is the option of flying to Bangor or Portland for quicker times, but because I have no car, and flying to Bangor is expensive, we chose the bus.</p>
<p>that's helpful. so it sounds like my son could fly from D.C. to portland and bus to bar harbor.</p>
<p>My son is a student at College of the Atlantic. He has taken the bus to Bar Harbor, but bus service to Bar Harbor is only seasonal. For most of the school year the bus only goes as far as Bangor. The college does run a shuttle to/from either the Bangor bus station or the Bangor airport for a small fee (this is only at the beginning and end of each term I think). There is also a county airport on the Bar Harbor side of Ellsworth - taxi distance away - that has flights to/from Boston</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bhbairport.com/airline.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.bhbairport.com/airline.html</a></p>
<p>Painter2: I sent you a pm if you want more information.</p>
<p>hello anyone who is still checking this: my son got in, will be going in the fall as a transfer just shy a credit of being a sophmore. he is excited and we are thrilled for him. we have been very impressed by how personal the school is.</p>
<p>I went to a bird festival there once and thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Wow. It was beautiful.</p>
<p>That's great :) I can't wait to meet your son, and all the other freshmen.</p>
<p>Fall is gorgeous on Mt. Desert Island and most of the tourists are gone. Make sure you get in some hiking and some walking or biking on the carriage trails. In the winter, get ready for beautiful cross-country skiing or snowshoeing. And COA is a gem of a school, not for everyone, but fabulous for some. </p>
<p>I don't know how this fits with the timing of start of school, but if you get a chance, check out this amazing free folk festival in Bangor <a href="http://www.americanfolkfestival.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.americanfolkfestival.com/</a>. I think this is its 5th year.</p>