<p>any thoughts? thanks!!!</p>
<p>I am familiar with Skidmore and Bennington, but have not attended either (nor do I have a student at either). That being said, it truly depends upon what your interests are, both academically and socially. Skidmore is easy walking distance to a great town. Campus is not the most beautiful, but academically offers a very broad range of disciplines and is well regarded. Lots of sports, I think has a greek life and although a small school, it is larger than Bennington. Bennington offers a less traditional education, but no less impressive. It is very small and in a remote location, but that isnāt necessarily a negative! Classes are very small there and getting to know your classmates and professors is seamless and open. Again, what are you interested in studying and where do you want to live? These are great choices and tough decisions you are all having now. Hope this helps! Good luck.</p>
<p>For academic quality, Wooster seems to be a little cut above the others. I think Skidmore has the best location (nice college town in a beautiful area that is less isolated than Bennington).</p>
<p>These are 4 schools that go together well on the same list. I donāt think any one stands out so much to make it worth paying much more in after-aid costs.</p>
<p>The only one my D1 applied to on that list was Allegheny. She loved it, and although she ended up at another school, I believe she would have been very happy at Allegheny. We didnāt spend time in the town, but I remember checking it out on the drive through, and we thought it would be fine my daughter, who was attracted to small town, rural colleges. We both liked the way the distribution requirements were met here, and felt that there was a strong enough environmental, social justice environment for her. </p>
<p>We did a quick drive though/by of Skidmore, just out of curiosity because we knew several people applying there, and had lunch in town. Really beautiful.</p>
<p>One of my best friends from high school teaches at Wooster, but I have no idea if sheās any good! :)</p>
<p>weāve now narrowed it down to College of Wooster and Skidmoreā¦any insights would be great</p>
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<p>FWIW, Wooster is in the book āColleges That Change Livesā (as is Allegheny). Find a copy of the book in a bookstore or your library to read why the author thought Wooster is remarkable. There is a profile of each school at the CTCL website [Colleges</a> That Change Lives | Changing Lives, One Student at a Time](<a href=āhttp://www.ctcl.org/]Collegesā>http://www.ctcl.org/) but these profiles donāt contain nearly the detail that the book does.</p>
<p>This article mentions Popeās book, and there are a LOT of comments from Wooster alums in the comments section: <a href=āhttp://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/some-colleges-that-change-lives-put-ivy-admission-rates-in-perspective/[/url]ā>http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/some-colleges-that-change-lives-put-ivy-admission-rates-in-perspective/</a></p>
<p>I donāt know much about Skidmore but I like Wooster quite a bit. Some friends of ours have had two children go through Wooster and love it. The guidance counselors at our NE Ohio high school like Wooster. Iāve been to Wooster; itās nice.</p>
<p>Our S had a great time during his overnight visits at Skidmore and Wooster and has been invited to play on a team. He liked the teammates a lot. Prob is Oberlin also accepted him with nice $ as well as Wooster. What to doā¦?</p>
<p>Iāve seen Wooster show up not influently on lists of āmost PhDsā per capita for various disciplines. I cant say ive seen Skidmore. Canāt recall the source but vicariousparent is good at posting those lists and they abound on CC.</p>
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<p>I loved Wooster, wished D had applied. They had great resources for student research. Great environment. Another poster already commented on their success in grad school placement. Nice town.
I think it is a great, great choice.</p>
<p>My S was accepted to the honors programs at Skidmore, Allegheny, Syracuse, Lafayette, and U Delaware. He is leaning towards Allegheny or U Del - mainly because of the money. I donāt think you can go wrong with any of your choices.</p>
<p>A number of D2ās friends were accepted at both Wooster and Skidmore, and none of them chose Wooster (thought some chose a school other than Skidmore). They were all tri-state kids and found Saratoga Springs more attractive than Wooster, also more sports at Skidmore and, while Wooster is increasingly popular among NY/NJ/CT applicants, overall, the kids and parents are more familiar/comfortable with Skidmore.</p>
<p>Iād say academic peer level is about the same, though Wooster has the edge on highly structured independent study if the student is self-motivated to pursue it to a deep level. Skidmore is strong in the arts and the sciences, also humanities, but I havenāt heard as much about social sciences. Saratoga Springs is definitely a nicer town than Wooster.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I only visited COW, and didnāt apply. One of my best friends applied to Skidmore, primarily for the arts resources.</p>
<p>I think COW is more generous with FA and merit than skidmore is. Probably has a tonier student body because of this.</p>
<p>Where are you from? We visited 3 colleges in Ohio but decided against because of distance from Jersey. I did like Wooster a lot but I thought the town was a bit run down. On the over hand Saratoga is a great place.
Good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>My recollection is that COW was more generous w/ merit aid - - but Iām not sure the same was true with respect to need-based aid. D visited both schools w/ a friend; both girls thought the students were āstrongerā at Skidmore. D did not apply; friend applied to COW and was admitted w/ merit award, but wait-listed at Skidmore (this could have more to do w/ Skidmoreās admission favoring males, to maintain its 60:40 gender ābalance,ā than it does with the strength of the respective candidate pools).</p>
<p>Skidmore and Wooster are both great liberal arts colleges. </p>
<p>I lean a bit more toward the College of Wooster for one key reason: the independent study program. Iām impressed with many of the students who complete these fascinating research projects. I was just reading about the experiences of a Berkeley PhD graduate in Biology who studied at Wooster as undergrad. His experience at Wooster prepared him for Berkeley. Impressive, to say the last. If a young person is looking for undergraduate research opportunities, the College of Wooster is unmatched. </p>
<p>Saratoga Springs is, in general, nicer than Wooster. But Wooster has its charms. I find that Wooster students have a bit more school spirit than Skidmore students.</p>
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<p>Allegheny has a required independent senior project - called the Comp. It is required for all students regardless of major. So independent research is not only required at Allegheny, it is mandatory. It is a great foundation for further research in graduate school.</p>
<p>I believe most good LACs require a senior year project and most universities offer the option of independent study for credit.</p>