Beloit is a good place, and can offer a lot of merit money for high academic types. The Anthropology is excellent. Wife is a grad, who went on the an excellent medical school. She has many good things to say about her undergrad experience.
We can not get S1 to even visit there. Too isolated…and it’s not really that isolated! Madison is an hour or so away, Chicago under two hours. I don’t think he wants to go to the same school his Mum did.
Beloit IS isolated. He should be at a campus where he doesn’t need to leave town for fun. btw- the Beloit website mentions Madison (and Chicago) distances. The fun activities for a college age kid in Madison will be around the UW campus. Madison is a much nicer city away from campus as well.
I don’t think of Beloit as particularly isolated. There are plenty of fun things to do on campus and the revitalized downtown is pretty cool.
Right, but the student has to feel Beloit is what he’s looking for on its own. Don’t justify it as not isolated because Madison is only an hour away or Chicago is only 2. I grew up 1.5 hours from Madison and we went there about 3 times a year (football, Christmas shopping). The college kids in our town didn’t go to Madison for things to do (unless it was a concert).
@twoinanddone. I wasn’t using proximity to Madison or Chicago to say Beloit isn’t isolated. When I think of isolated, I think more of places like Juniata or Kenyon.
But I see the argument a lot that a school near Philly isn’t really in the boonies because you can just take a train into the city. Colorado College is only an hour from Denver (really almost two from the school to downtown if there is any traffic at all) but I just don’t hear of a lot of kids traveling on a regular basis.
I think you have to love the town your school is in. Want to go to Kenyon? Love the town. Carleton? Don’t be thinking you are going to Minneapolis all the time. Beloit? It’s in Beloit.
Part of the smaller LACs is that they are rural. If you don’t want that, pick something else. Above, a student said Beloit was too remote. That’s fine, that’s his view. Plenty of other schools to look at.
To be fair, I had to twist S1’s arm to look at Carleton. He thought that was isolated, also. Once i got him there he really liked it.
^^ I see what you’re getting at, but with the schools near Philly, access is truly easy and quick. For instance, Swat has a septa train stop on campus. It’s about a 20 minute ride to Philly. That’s quicker than walking across campus at some large universities!
I think this is a different strokes for different folks conversation. I attended undergrad in Philly and grad school in Ann Arbor with a stop in NYC for two years for work. Though I adored Ann Arbor, I had to get myself to Chicago every few weeks so I didn’t go nuts. Classmates of mine thought Ann Arbor felt like the big city to them and had to escape the big city every few weeks.
The reality for all of this “it’s close to” discussion a kid’s first couple of years in college will most likely be spent right around campus. You have to like the local environment otherwise it’s simply not the right fit. Just because you “can” go somewhere doesn’t mean you will.
@Momtothreegirls I have to chime in with @KAMmom on Beloit. My D15 fell in love with it the moment she stepped on campus. It was the friendliness of every single person she met that made all the difference. My D went in undecided, but found that the Anthropology program met many of her academic interests, so she declared toward the end of her freshman year.
In response to some of the comments about the facilities being worn: I like to think of them as being worn in the sense of a cozy, well-loved, lived-in feel. But, the science facilities do not fit into that category: I think the building’s 10 years old now, but it still feels brand new.
@1518mom Thanks. My daughter doesn’t really care about what the facilities look like as long as it doesn’t interfere with learning. And the science facilities did appear fairly nice looking 
The Anthro program seems amazing.
@Momtothreegirls I think you nailed it. The adults see one thing in terms of how updated the facilities are; the kids see another. When we dropped off my oldest this Fall, I thought “wow this dorm room is beat”…really worn everything; linoleum countertops/desk coming apart. My youngest (HS junior) walks in, looks at his brother and says “dude, this place it lit!” My oldest said, “I know. I didn’t think it would be so nice.” Needless to say I kept quiet the rest of move in.
There is a difference with those suburban colleges in terms of just how quick and easy it is to get into their close cities. When we visited colleges we tried to stay downtown (Boston, NYC, Philadelphia) and use the trains to visit. That way our student could see just how accessible they really were. In the Boston area, Tufts was a quick ride on the T, Wellesley felt much farther (but still ok). Haverford and BMC were a very quick (15-20mins) ride on the Septa. As for the Claremonts, we ended up having to drive to Claremont for the night. It was just too far and not at all convenient from our hotel in LA (as in it took well over an hour and it wasn’t a pleasant trip). So I think about it this way - if you were to visit your kid for a week, could you stay in that big city? Is it easy to get back and forth? Or would you have to book a hotel in the suburbs because going back and forth each day would be a challenge?
Getting to and from a large airport easily was also a big plus. It’s much easier to go to a rural school that is not so far from home since you can drive; but after a 5-6 hour flight across the country the last thing we wanted was a 1-2 hour bus ride to get to campus. YMMV
I would add to @MamaBear16’s travel/airport observations that the availability of non-stop flights is another thing to consider. In peak travel times in bad weather (or even in non-peak travel times), a flight delay resulting in a missed connection can mean spending nights in connecting cities or airports.
I have no problem staying in the suburbs – rural areas, however, would not do it for me.
@MamaBear16 ease of getting to/from was something we definitely considered. D had no interest going to a rural school. All of the schools she applied to were in metro areas, some w/in driving distance, one easily accessible by Amtrak, and the others close to airports. She ended up across the country but we are 30 mins from the airport on our end, and her school is only a 10 minute Uber drive from the airport. When some express wonder if it’s upsetting to us that she is “so far away” I point out that door to door, it’s 7.5-8 hrs (that includes driving to/from airport, security line, etc). I’d rather her fly than spend that time in a car, myself, driving her back and forth from some of the schools her friends go to that are a 4-5 hr drive each way.
@LoveTheBard, totally agree about nonstop flight. We are fortunate that the cheapest flight we can find for our dd is actually a nonstop direct fight. It means she has to take a red-eye home which is fine, and has to leave the house at 5am to catch a 6:30am flight back to school. She’s not crazy about the 6:30am EST flight any other flight involves connections and takes much longer. Plus, security lines are not bad since it’s one of the the first flights out in the morning. At least this way, she is back on campus by 9:30am PST - she can take a nap when she gets back to school. All other (reasonably priced) flights only leave an hour or two later but have a connection and would get her back mid or late afternoon.
Related note…always check flight times and don’t rely on your kid to tell you the correct time LOL. D said her flight back to school was at 6:55am and I stupidly did not confirm myself. As we were driving back to the airport, Sunday after Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel days of the year, she realizes her flight is at 6:25am (it was 5:25 and we were still 10 mins from airport). Normally she could breeze through security, but not that busy day. She got to her gate at 6:17. I was ready to kill her and dh, b/c I wanted to leave earlier for airport than we did, but dh, a frequent flyer, insisted we were ok. She was not the only one arriving to the gate that late but what a relief when she texted me (we waited in cell phone lot to make sure she made flight) to say she was on board. We kept meaning to get her TSA Precheck, but definitely will be doing so after that near fiasco.
Reviving the original topic because I enjoy reading these and I have a few that aren’t as well represented in this thread, here are my movers:
UP
William and Mary: gorgeous campus, friendly tour guide, loved Williamsburg and the history in the area. The summer students there looked studious, but happy. Liked the puns about the Swem library. Was done on a vacation, so not somewhere we traveled specifically to see. Loved it but ultimately did not apply because of OOS cost, ended up applying to Washington and Lee which has some similarities in atmosphere imo.
St. Olaf: again, very pretty (I really have a thing for pretty campuses). Overall nice people, I’ve stayed on campus for swim camps before and was pleased with facilities. Gave out frozen fruit bars at the end of the tour! Did not apply because it’s only about 25 miles down the road from home and doesn’t have business.
Washington and Lee: Actually haven’t visited but I had a fantastic interview with a local alumna and she really got me excited about the school and I can’t wait to visit. Now a very close second to Notre Dame.
SAME
Notre Dame: Went in with high expectations and they were easily met. The large admissions presentation was a smidge off-putting but they had enough tour guides to make small groups. School spirit was the strongest of any school I’ve visited. Food was really good and the dining hall looked like it was from the Harry Potter set. South Bend is kinda sucky. Is still my top choice.
Concordia- Moorhead: I liked it ok, but I didn’t care for how many public streets run through campus even though it’s pretty contained. Also business school was kind of isolated from the rest of campus despite its small size and it gets so cold there in the winter. Architecture in the center of campus was nice but the newer stuff was pretty ugly. They put on a wonderful Christmas concert and every single faculty member I’ve talked to there was very likable and helpful; the flute professor spoke to me for about 20 mins before the concert.
DOWN
Princeton: I just didn’t like the “vibe” here. Also, the tour felt like it was more for tourists than for prospective students (this was a big contrast to William and Mary, where the history was an emphasis but plenty of time was spent covering academics and social life too). SAT II requirement and low chance of getting in knocked it off the list. Also- did not see this myself, but a family friend who toured said they saw a restaurant near campus charging $22 for a sandwich???!!
BONUS ROUND: Stupidest reasons I was compelled to look into/completely disregard a school
Quinnipiac: saw their pep band’s shirts and was like not a chance. Google “quinnipiac pep band”…
Air Force Academy: Was watching a hockey championship game on TV and they announced some sort of NCAA leadership award and the guy who won it was an Air Force Academy student and EXTREMELY attractive. Never seriously considered because the military life really isn’t for me.
Villanova: Friend’s attractive brother goes here. Ended up applying because of strong business programs and similarity to Notre Dame.
In August 2016 and again in September 2017:
Wesleyan: MOVED UP- Our first college visit officially for looking at schools for son. He loved it. When he heard it was free to tour colleges, he said, “We should do this every weekend!”
The tour guide said he walks facing forward because “we’re a forward-facing school.”
There was a cute admissions office, and pretty brown buildings as well as a variety of modern and other buildings. There was a big central field down a hill (Foss Hill). The library had big windows with a nice view of the field.
The tour guide, a science major, spoke about discovering new academic interests through taking courses outside his main areas of interest.
Student living becomes increasingly independent through the four years but is college owned. There are lots of program options in housing; I wondered if that had the potential of dividing the class into groups, in contrast to the unifying housing group system at schools like Vassar and Williams.
They say it’s an open curriculum, but really there are distribution requirements for honors, but these are not too onerous. There is an interdisciplinary College of the Social Studies in addition to the usual social science majors.
Son loved the liberal, experimental and intellectual vibe. Wesleyan remained a favorite for my son for months afterwards. He revisited for the interview a year later and still loved it. In the end, he narrowed his early decision options to five colleges, and then to the two of those five that offered competitive club tennis (Wesleyan and Williams). Ultimately, though, my son chose Williams, partly because my son preferred the rural environment of Williamstown to suburban Middletown.
August 2016:
Amherst: STAYED THE SAME- We expected to like it, because it was a favorite for both my husband and me back in the day, and we thought our son would like it both for its own sake and for the 5 college consortium (all those smart women around!).
We had a very enthusiastic tour guide, with an overwhelmingly positive view of the school. The tour guide took us to a beautiful spot looking out across fields to mountains, and called it the " Mufasa view"- “All this is yours” of fields and mountain. Our tour guide was overwhelmed by all the opportunities that well-endowed Amherst provides for its students, including lending you a car and paying for any gas you use. There were many clubs available to students; to emphasize this, the guide described the Cold Club, for students from places like Arizona and California who were coping with New England winters.
There were red brick buildings. We thought it was lovely, but our son commented that the buildings all looked the same. But he loved that there is a completely open curriculum with no requirements.
It is in a 5 college consortium with Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire, and U Mass Amherst; students can take classes and join clubs at any of the colleges. This expands students’ horizons while students still receive the advantages of a small college.
Son liked it, but, for some reason, it never rose to the top of his list. We were never clear why it didn’t. But now he’s going to Williams, so Amherst is the enemy, anyway!
August 2016 and again in June 2017:
Brandeis: FIRST DOWN, THEN UP AGAIN. We started out enthusiastic about the only non-religiously affiliated, fully secular college in the country without a Christian majority.
They do a good job of selling the concept of, "You don’t have to choose,” because it is a top tier research university with the benefits of a small liberal arts college due to its small size. We ate great food in Sherman dining hall (the dining hall had two halves— Kosher and non-Kosher). Students sat in self-segregated groups (black table, etc.), but we did realize that the school year had just begun so the freshmen might not all have gotten to know one another yet.
But we had kind of a dull tour guide, which colored the experience, as did the fact that it was a really hot day and the guide kept stopping to talk in sunny spots. It had modern buildings, and not a lot of open grassy spaces. Forced triples seemed like very little space per student.
Between the forced triples and the guide’s description of a wait to try to get into the one-night musical (my husband maintained that he never had trouble getting into any performance or event at Vassar), our impression was of crowding and strained resources.
But it stayed on the list.
Months later, he revisited for an interview, and he ended up having a wonderful impression of Brandeis students, thanks to his student interviewer; they ended up having a great conversation and really enjoying shared interests. A cool part was when my son said his love of studying presidents began in first grade, when he received a placemat of the presidents he had loved so much that he had promptly memorized all their names. The interviewer challenged him to name them all, and he trotted out the full list, and they both thought that was funny! My son said that he thought there would be a lot of students like him at Brandeis and that he would be very happy socially.
Brandeis has a reputation of not being a big “party” school. It sounded like a very inclusive, slightly nerdy, very welcoming environment.
Months later (October 2017), his admissions officer visited his high school, and she was wonderful, too. My son’s impression of Brandeis got even better.
Brandeis waived the application fee for my son based on his scores/achievements, which was very nice.
My son applied to Brandeis and thought he could be happy there, but he withdrew his application in December after being accepted by Williams.
Visited August 2016:
Clark University: MOVED UP THE LIST: It was so nice to see that a school that is slightly less competitive than the others on my son’s list can be so appealing.
We went on a Sunday and the Admissions office was closed, so we did the self-guided tour. We ate at a Latino restaurant in town where everybody was speaking in Spanish and we ordered in Spanish; I don’t know why people complain about the neighborhood, because it was not rich but it felt very safe.
We enjoyed posing with the Statue of Freud. (Clark has an unbeatable reputation in psychology-- my husband is a psychologist and it is really well-regarded in the field. It also is famed for geography.)
There was a nice main quad. The big red brick building was open, so we walked around in it and it had nice classrooms. We visited a dorm and two kids let us see their room, and it was a nice room. A librarian or clerk in the library was super-friendly. Everyone was really friendly, everywhere we went.
The school was in the middle of freshman orientation and kids were meeting in small orientation groups on the quad. They were doing getting-to-know-you activities and seemed to be having fun.
Son ultimately applied for both the school and the huge Presidential LEEP merit scholarship. He received a likely letter in early December, but withdrew his application after getting into Williams early decision. But we remain fans of Clark, which I believe to be a “hidden gem.”