I applied to 20 schools and Holy Cross and Vermont are my top two schools. I visited both and loved both campuses. I liked the Burlington area much more than Worcester tho. I would be a psychology major, interested in going onto grad school. I attend a Jesuit High School so Holy Cross would be an easy transition, but I can’t seem to get Vermont out of my mind. I am interested in community service and would like a school where I could participate in this. I would also like a school where I could work hard, but also have a fun social life. Holy Cross would be much cheaper, but both are pretty affordable. Any advice or experiences from current students of either school??? Thank you so much!
Burlington is so much nicer than Worcester. UVM is right in the center of things so both community service and internships will be more readily accessible (and available). If you can get past the cost and rankings, UVM seems like a better fit.
There are plenty of community service opportunities in Worcester, and HC actively encourages students to get involved with them as part of the Jesuit ethos. There is also a great work hard/play hard ethos at HC. UVM a great school too, and Burlington is fantastic. For me, a lot of the decision would come down to wanting either a more intimate liberal arts college (HC) or a bigger university (UVM).
Burlington is a great college town and very picturesque. Worcester, while having some depressed areas, also offers more than meets the eye. There are several areas filled with restaurants and shops that attract a lot of college kids and the Convention center has concerts and other events. Community service is a big, big part of Holy Cross and the school makes it easy to find and get to service projects. HC will be stronger for academics and service, but If you want a classic New England town, then UVM may be better for you. The bigger difference will come from a university vs a LAC, so think carefully about that.
Two interesting choices.
Background: I’m from South Jersey, between Philadelphia and Atlantic City, and old. We live in a diverse middle class neighborhood development in the Pinelands with Vietnamese next door, Laotians across the street, Jamaicans two doors down, former Yugoslavian refugees around the corner, Indians down the block. Managers and union members. Bikers live near surgeons and police chiefs. Interesting eclectic mix. I went to public grade school and Catholic high school (what we called the “new” building was built in 1921!), so I’m familiar with the Jesuits. Much respect. My jobs have taken me many places and I’ve always liked to shop colleges and cars. I’ve skiied longer than many resorts have been around, so I’ve gone to Vermont often. My son is a civil engineer, my daughter is a psych grad student who gave UVM a lot of consideration. She did her Americorps work based out of the Burlington, VT area last summer. I’m familiar with Worcester and Holy Cross, although it’s been awhile.
Don’t think I have to tell you of the merits of each. Holy Cross is a top LAC. It’s small and very selective. I’m surprised that it would be far less expensive for you, as HC is priced quite high. Vermont larger, but certainly not a factory and everything is walkable.
If you’re planning a career in psychology, you will need grad school. HC doesn’t have it, UVM has a good one. A simple solution for you is HC undergrad, and UVM for grad school. Of course, it’ll be easier to get into UVM if you go there as an undergrad, too, but they’d need psych help themselves if they turned down a beautiful, charming, bright HC undergrad like you.
So, I’ll talk my “feel” rather than rationally. Burlington is a great town. Center of town is resortlike. South Burlington has all the chains. The rest of the region is artisan. Seems everyone in Vermont is an artisan. Even the peanut butter & jelly sandwiches are handcrafted. To order one, you must pick from a 5-page menu of international peanut butters and a wallboard of jellies. A bit of hyperbole, but not much. My daughter loved it; it drove me bonkers after awhile. I just wanted a sandwich.
Here’s what else drove me “nuts”, pun intended: Lack of ethnic diversity. Very, very white. Over the three days I was on campus (it was bustling and happy, everyone engaged), there were very few People of Color. There were Africans and Americans (very few African-Americans), and a few Asians of varied sorts. That’s about it. When I got home, I hugged about every POC I could find because I missed having them around. You don’t know what you’ve got 'til it’s gone.
What was diverse was sexual/gender expression. I swear I saw more transgender people than I saw POC. I saw sensitivity guides on navigating speech so as not to offend. I saw renewable bottle water fountains with bragging environmental posters over each one. Breathing seemed to be an activist act. I consider myself center-left, but it was a bit much for me. Again, my daughter loved it and my wife didn’t seem to notice.
None of this is a reason not to consider UVM. It’s not a knock. It just might come as a bit of a shock at first. Jesuits are reputed to be more progressive than other Catholic orders, but a veer 180 degrees would have you at Liberty University. Two contrasting types of ideologues. To me, college is for questioning all values, not blind acceptance of any. It’s OK to be PC as long as you’re C, not just P. Again, my feel - doesn’t have to be yours or anyone else’s.
I’m assuming that you’d be around campus for your undergrad classes. But psych grad studies are at the Trinity campus on the outskirts. The old building was well-kept but, for some reason, I found it a bit gray compared to the bustling main campus.
I did like all the faculty and administration support staff that I met at UVM. Again, everyone engaged and no one had a bad thing to say other than it was cold (high was in the teens when we went, a cold day even for VT).
If you like to ski, it’s all right there. And did I mention Ben & Jerry’s factory right down the road? B&J sponsored my daughter’s Americorps program (basically outdoorsy hiking, camping, sailing, activities for “disadvantaged youth”) and she spent way too much time there. Hiked and mountain climbed it off, though.
Good luck!
Academically Holy Cross is much stronger and higher ranked than UVM. If finances allow, it would be unusual to choose UVM over HC. Worcester hosts other colleges (WPI, Clark , Assumption and others) so there is a lot going on in the city, which by the way, is the second largest city in MA. Holy Cross has shuttle service on weekends to and back from Boston (Faneul Hall/Quicy Market) and Providence, RI, so there are plenty of opportunities to visit other big college towns for additional entertainment. Good luck on your decision. You are in a very enviable position, indeed.
Holy Cross is a great school and if it is much cheaper then I would go there, and put the cost savings to a strong Grad program.
It is true that Burlington is prettier but it will not pay your bills. I say save the cash.
Holy Cross is the stronger academic school, you feel it would be a comfortable transition coming from a Jesuit HS, and it is a good bit cheaper. I have no doubt that you can find community service opportunities and have a good social life at Holy Cross. Go to Holy Cross and visit Vermont over a vacation with the cost savings.
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Holy Cross would be much cheaper, but both are pretty affordable.
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Psych major and grad school. PhD or MD?
Just a caveat about HC … Worcester doesn’t offer much and people really don’t regularly take advantage of shuttles to Boston and other cities. Most of the HC social life is centered on campus and off campus apartments. There’s just not really anything else walkable, which is a huge contrast from UVM. HC might have a better academic reputation, but don’t sell UVM short. Happiness is key, and Burlington offers so much more than Worcester any day. And UVM is a really good school, too …maybe not at the caliber of HC, but nothing to sneeze at. (BTW … we’re an HC family, but definitely with some regrets!)