Yes. Small town, nature all around seems nice but I wonder if it will become little boring for someone coming from a town with 4 million people to spend 4 years there.
Also, one thing I read about Wooster in one of the reviews is: The relationship of the college with the community around could be better.
I didn’t understand the meaning of this sentence much. Can you guess what it could mean?
Some colleges really blend in with the towns they are in. I would look for other sources before I would believe that Wooster doesn’t.
May be hyper liberal college in a conservative village? But yes will investigate further.
I believe that was the insinuation, but I can’t really speak to the truth of it. My S23 is accepted at both Kzoo and Wooster, and we visited both last fall. If you’re inclined to like either one, then your kid would probably like both. The differences between them are at the margins. I would say the open curriculum at Kzoo versus the I.S. project at Wooster would be the deciding factors. As mentioned above, their academic calendars are quite different, also.
Thanks much. I agree with you. May be we are trying to look for any go-nogo differences where none exist and it will come down to preference of those two factors.
I will let my son join this thread over next couple of days and may be list out pros and cons as he sees it for both these schools.
Post that may be talking to more professors and hopefully visiting those two campuses if necessary should resolve it one way or other 
As always amazingly helpful community. We will follow the suggestions given here. Also my son can chime in on the thread with direct communication with you all soon.
I have no dog in this hunt (I know nothing more about either school than that I think both “Wooster” and “Kalamazoo” are both so fun to say!), but I just wanted to reflect on what a cool and helpful write up this was (this whole thread in general, really). How neat is it that someone halfway across the globe can connect with someone who has a child at the school their own child is considering and get such thorough, balanced, thoughtful input at this level of detail?! Gives me so much appreciation for this site to temper the times when other threads can be more toxic/less helpful.
Yes. CC is an amazing community with almost no toxicity.
Regarding funny names I agree. There is a funny character named Bertie Wooster in PG Woodhouse novels. “Kalamazoo” sounds like “Kalajadoo” which in our local language means black magic
As a Wooster alum, this video comes to mind whenever the topic of pronunciation or how much fun it is to say “Wooster” comes up.
Cute!
So then, is it Kalamazuh? Or Kalamazoo? 
Interesting bit on the origin of the name in that video, tying it to Worcester (a connection which I never realized). I grew up in Massachusetts, where there is a Worcester that is pronounced just the same as Wooster, and now I know why.
Haha good to know. I was pronouncing it the wrong way
Isn’t it just “zoo”
Glad to help. 
Wooster really is a special place. Wishing your son the best of luck in his journey!
Kalamazoo and Wooster are both excellent schools for your student’s education. I think at this point you can feel confident in making your choice based on “the little things” such as location, schedule, transportation, food, buildings, size, you name it. Congrats!
It is. But the silent “K” really throws some people.
Fingers crossed for K need based number. If that is substantial I think decision would be easier
My daughter is a global & international studies major. Many of her friends are science majors though. In fact, when discussing whether she should take microeconomics and the associated need to take calculus, she said, “This is a STEM school there is no way I can pass calculus here.” (She could, but I take her point that it wouldn’t be easy.)
I understand what you’re saying about standing out, but the question is, stand out to whom and for what purpose? This is a project completed in their senior year and turned in 6 weeks before graduation. It can’t really provide them with additional opportunities at Wooster, since they are nearly gone. However, their I.S. will make them stand out in grad school applications, against the broader pool of applicants from other schools. Also, the culture of the I.S. at Wooster is collaborative and supportive not competitive. The turning in of the I.S. is a rite of passage there, and a kid’s friends go with them and cheer for them, then they all go outside and take pictures with this giant prop Tootsie roll (again, check the WooInsider instagram for pics of this).
I think professors (at any LAC) are quite adept at identifying the exceptional kids and providing them with opportunities long before March of their senior year. They are excited to find and work with these kids. So the “standing out” part is going to happen much earlier.
My daughter had good stats and is a hard worker, but she was not tippy top of the tippy top. She got into other LACs where stats-wise she would be very much in the middle and for some, in the lower 25%. Ofc it felt great to get in but those schools were often just above our budget, and since she genuinely loved Wooster, we felt it was the all-around best choice for her. Now that she’s there, and I see the opportunities she’s been provided, I wonder if she would be getting this same experience at other schools where it would be harder for her to stand out. Impossible to say since we can’t jump into the metaverse and find out But I seem to recall a post I once read about the impact on a kid’s future success being more tied to their own ability to be at the top of their class vs the stats of the school they attended. Maybe a freakonomics or malcolm gladwell thing? Anyway, I’ve been reflecting on that a lot lately.
Got it. Thanks much.
I meant using the thesis and the thesis advisor to write a strong LOR for grad school. If everyone is doing it then you are not that special. But I got your point.
I did my masters at University of Hawaii where I was the best student by far and PhD from Berkeley where I was one of the decent students but certainly not the best. I feel both places and positions in the academics have their own pros and cons.
Talking to more professors, students, alumni and using the final COA of both is probably the only way to make the final decision.
Imagine how Bowdoin is butchered by the uninformed…