I was recently accepted as a transfer student to both Scripps College and Colorado College. Scripps needed a decision by June 1st, Colorado is coming up on June 19th (I got off the waitlist, hence the late date).
I am really stuck on which college I want to attend, and was looking for some advice (possibly some answers from current students).
Scripps is great. I love the consortium idea with the others in the 5Cs, and my dad went to Pomona so I know the Claremont area and am near certain I would be comfortable there. I am a little worried about internship opportunities because I haven’t heard much about them - same with research (I am a psych major). And, to be blatantly honest, I am not certain I want to attend a women’s school (just not sure if its the vibe I am looking for from a college). I live in Southern California, and like the idea of getting to go home for a couple of weekends if I have had a really hard week and just need a home cooked meal (I have anxiety and depression, and I think staying closer to home might be better for my mental health).
Colorado College is also great. CC seems amazing, and I am really interested. But, unlike Scripps, I haven’t had the opportunity to speak to any CC students and that makes me worried because I have a LOT (and I mean LOT) of questions. I have contacted admissions about them, but the responses I tend to receive are pretty generic - and I need a students POV. Like: the block plan makes me worried, don’t classes go by too fast (I am worried about getting sick or needing a mental health day and being totally screwed cause I missed a class)? Is there anything to do in Colorado Springs (I keep reading that if you don’t have a car at CC, you are basically trapped because there is nothing to do - I am a big skier, but who knows if I will even make it to a mountain without a car)? Does CC have a solid mental health services center? Does CC have a solid psych program?
As you can probably see - I know a lot more about Scripps than CC. But, I don’t want my lack of knowledge to lead me to make a wrong decision - or miss out on a once in a lifetime opportunity.
SO - I ask this: Can anyone provide me with any advice? Can anyone currently (or previously) attending CC answer any of my questions? Where do you think I should attend?
Thanks in advance for the help!
Can’t answer many of your questions but I’ll comment on these. My kid never had a car at CC and had no issues. You can bike or walk to the downtown area.
For ski trips, there are busses going from campus to ski resorts during many weekends and block breaks during ski season. Or students go with friends with cars.
I never heard my child complain about being bored or having nothing to do in 4 years.
This McLean’s article offers an academician’s perspective on some of the potential disadvantages of collegiate block plans: https://www.macleans.ca/education/uniandcollege/beware-of-block-programs/.
There are many benefits to block plans. One benefit in a pandemic environment is they offer much more flexibility with scheduling.
OP shared that she suffers from anxiety & depression, and that she is an avid snow skier. Has concerns about attending an all female school even though it is in a consortium & close to home.
OP: If taking one course at a time for 3.5 weeks will help alleviate your feelings of anxiety, then CC may be a good school for you since you like to ski.
Concerns about attending a single sex school may be a bit unwarranted since it is in a 5 school consortium with easy cross-registration privileges. Being close to home may also help when feeling anxious or depressed.
Since you shared that you are concerned about your mental health–including depression–the only advice that I can offer is to attend school close to home since your family is your support system.
P.S. OP: The key to which school is a better option for you may be in knowing what triggers your feelings of anxiety & depression.
If you think you would avail yourself of consortium options, particularly those of Pitzer’s psychology department, then I think Scripps would offer you better academic opportunities for your interests.
@keparker2000, I am speaking anecdotally and based on what I am reading between the lines. I know 2 young people with anxiety and depression who went far away to college, one to Colorado College. Ultimately, both switched to colleges closer to home.
In the case of Colorado College, for this particular student, it seemed that he did not receive the support that he needed or did not know how to reach out for that support when overwhelmed at CC. His parents had a really poor experience trying to work with Colorado College from afar, so they traveled to Colorado Springs and brought him home.
In the case of the other student, she recognized she needed help, and the resources and communication from her college were amazing. Ultimately though, she decided it was best to attend a rigorous college closer to home.
Both students are happy with their choices.
Scripps and Colorado College can both offer you rigorous and rewarding academic environments in which you can thrive. Scripps is really not like attending just a women’s college; the consortium offers you a broad range of classes, students and their experiences, dining halls, clubs, etc.
Reading between the lines, I would strongly encourage you to attend Scripps.
Wishing you the best with your choice.
Why did you decide to apply for transfer?
How did these two places end up on your transfer application list?
Did you have any options other than Scripps, and if so, why did you choose Scripps over those options?
Normally, my vote would be for staying close to home and to your current medical team.
I personally believe that block calendars are the way to go in a pandemic. Instead of messing up three or four or five classes in another emergency shut-down, only one is likely to be affected. I also think that it would be easier to concentrate on only one subject at a time instead of juggling several different online classes and trying to get to several different faculty member’s Zoom office hours.
Whether a block schedule is good for you as an individual is a completely different issue. You should contact the disabilities office at Colorado College, and find out about what accommodations might be available to you.
This perspective has quite a few flaws. Does one need to be taking courses simultaneously to draw connections? Think about your own life and how you make connections all the time w/o being an immediate student of a particular area. You could make the argument, and there’s hundreds of years of evidence, that juggling multiple courses creates a forced prioritization and a student gives least attention to the subject they like the least or is most challenging. Many folks have made the point that the block approach more closely resembles project work in life: steady concentrated attention until the work is complete.
Of course all systems have flaws, I’m just not so sure this writer has crafted a very thoughtful critique.