<p>We are headed to State College PA next week. Driving down from Boston.</p>
<p>We currently plan on checking out Penn State, University Park. Tentative list of others are - Bucknell, Lehigh, Rutgers and Princeton.</p>
<p>D is a junior this year - not quite sure what she wants to major in. She's leaning towards biological sciences or biomedical engineering. We are trying to get a feel for the type of college/university that she would like - she currently has no strong preferences one way or another. So, we are trying to expose her to drastically different environments - the large univ at Penn State with 50,000 students vs the rural small env of Bucknell. She's only seen a couple so far - Brandeis (liked it, but thought it was small), RPI (didn't like the campus), Union (small, but loved the campus).</p>
<p>Hmm… let me think. I’m not sure how close these are, but they are in Pennsylvania:</p>
<p>UNiversity of Pennsylvania (seems like that she would like big city atmo)
Lafayette (probably too small for her, but really nice)
Villanova (on a similar level as Penn State except smaller, less partying etc)</p>
<p>Juniata College is in Huntingdon, just south of State College. Terrific school, very small, and extremely rural. Lycoming College is in downtown Williamsport–good school, very small, small city of around 30,000 people.</p>
<p>Why not check out Pitt? (about 3 hours west of State College)</p>
<p>Also Dickinson, a small liberal arts college near Harrisburg. </p>
<p>College of New Jersey (good rep)</p>
<p>Drexel in Philly- those who are worried about finding jobs are happy they are going here…very strong coop program</p>
<p>If you’re checking out Princeton, she must have good numbers. You should also visit U Penn. It’s a in a gritty part of the city but the campus is pretty. </p>
<p>Or go north to Syracuse or Cornell. </p>
<p>Be sure to check out the honors college at Penn State (Schreyer). They give separate tours (by appointment).</p>
<p>Also University of Scranton - Jesuit and a good school, Muhlenberg and Moravian are in the Allentown/Bethlehem area.
If you are going to Rutgers and Princeton then you could swing into E PA and head toward Philly - check out Ursinus - known for a good science program.
In Philly - of course Penn, Drexel is right next door and the University of the Sciences.</p>
<p>Candidly, I’m not a big fan of seeing colleges in the summer as you don’t get that “feel” for the college. Penn State is 36,000 kids (not 50K) but you won’t get the sense for the buzz of campus in the summer. But if you are going, you’re going. </p>
<p>If she doesn’t like small schools, unfortunately, Pennsylvania is more a mecca for small liberal arts schools other than UPENN, Villanova, PSU and Pittsburgh (and Pitt would be a looong haul by car). </p>
<p>You could do a loop that included Lafayette (287 across Tappan Zee Bridge thus avoiding NY traffic to 78 right into Easton, PA) then Lehigh and bomb down to Philly and see Villanova. I don’t know how many days you are going so it’s hard to figure things out but if time is short, I’d head for Gettysburg that night and see Gettysburg and Dickinson Colleges the next day ending up at PSU that night. Do PSU in the morning and Bucknell in the afternoon and head for Princeton area. Do Princeton in the morning and Rutgers in the afternoon and head on back to Beantown. Something like that.</p>
<p>I was trying to push Drexel (especially since we will be in Philly in a couple of weeks) because it is one of only a small number of schools that offer the program my son wants (Architectural Engr) and because of the coop program. BUT…DS REALLY, REALLY wants to be in a big university marching band, and Drexel can’t offer that.</p>
<p>So…once we leave Philly and head back west to see the rest of the family - we’ll be going to Penn State (which also offers the program).</p>
<p>Need to check the map - but how far would it be to Johns Hopkins? Aren’t they strong in the bio-med area?</p>
<p>I think you’ve got the right idea, visiting large/medium/small, urban/suburban/rural, public/private, etc. environments. While you don’t get the most accurate portrayal of what a campus is like, I found that you learn enough during summer visits to make some judgments and narrow the field of potential candidates.</p>
<p>I like the schools you’re considering and the suggestions you’re getting here. Not knowing how much time you have, how far afield you wish to go, or your daughter’s ability to get into higher-ranked schools, I have an extended road trip to suggest.</p>
<p>You can start with Trinity (on the way, though it’s close enough for a local tour of colleges if time is short), then head to Lehigh (Lafayette is also nearby). From there, head to Bucknell, followed by Penn State. Go SE to see Dickinson and Gettysburg, then either go south to (potentially) GW and (definitely) Johns Hopkins (a must for top candidates interested in biological sciences) with the Philly leg following (could stop at Delaware on the way), or head straight to Philly to see Swarthmore (a different take on engineering), UPenn (the top Ivy for BME), and Drexel (adjacent). End with Princeton and Rutgers.</p>
<p>Looking at close to a week for this, so I’m guessing you’ll have to cull this or break it into separate trips. Hope she gets a better feel for her mid-Atlantic options!</p>
<p>Hopkins is in Baltimore, probably about 3 hours from State College, 2 hours from Philly (driving a different direction than you would take to State College).</p>
<p>Philadelphia -> State College = WNW
Philadelphia -> Baltimore = SW
Baltimore -> State College = NNW</p>
<p>I grew up in the area. I see the schools I was going to mention you already have on your list or someone else has mentioned - Bucknell and Lycoming</p>
<p>My brother was in the Pitt marching band all four years he was there. He actually wound up being one of the section leaders. It was a lot of work, but he said it was a ton of fun as long as you try to stay out of the large-group politics.</p>
<p>I was over at CMU where we have a slightly smaller marching band and we’re DIII, but you get to wear a kilt!</p>
<p>RacinReaver - thanks for your comments. Because we lived overseas for so many years, this past year (DS’s junior year) was his first time in a marching band. Also first HS football game, first pep rally, first Homecoming game/dance, etc. Being part of the band really made the transition from our very small international school to this big public HS easier and he is hoping being in a college band will do the same thing.</p>
<p>Yep! The Kiltie Band is a CMU tradition. Football games aren’t super-well attended (though it’s been something like 20 years since we’ve had a losing season), so the band is mostly a fun thing. They’re a pretty basic marching band where you don’t have to do a whole lot of fancy marching, it’s mostly standing in place on the field and playing as a pep band in the stands. It’s a lot less work than you’ll have in most large marching bands since most students are in technical fields, and they understand you can only practice 2/3 days a week.</p>
<p>Definitely keep in mind the smaller schools with marching bands as you can make a ton of friends without all the politics that go with the more competitive bands.</p>