<p>I'm having a hard time comparing Goucher vs McDaniel. My dd and I visited both schools, liked both, but are having a hard time deciding which is a better match. Size, geographic areas are similar. Any inputs as to major differences? thanks.</p>
<p>my daughter visited mcdaniel with her grandparents, did a tour, ate lunch in the student cafeteria, and sat in on a class while there, recently. she found the food possibly difficult to deal with for four years; difficult to eat healthy (although possible) if the student (such as she is) is moderately picky; she found the class she sat in on very good; but she found the freshman dorms to be dark, dingy, somewhat smelly, and kind of depressing (and apparently all freshman have to live in that dorm freshman year, per her understanding). but mcdaniel did offer her the highest (by far) merit scholarship and would be significantly cheaper for her than her other options. she also was admitted to goucher with some (but less) merit aid and will be visiting goucher next week. were your daughter’s impressions of mcdaniel different than what my daughter’s were?</p>
<p>I just got back from a visit to both schools. My D liked McDaniel very much but loved Goucher. One of the biggest differences was the area. McDaniel is in a small town in a rural area. The downtown is cute but small town. Goucher is in Towson which is suburban and a lot more to do. At Goucher you can take classes at Towson and Hopkins (one a semester, we were told) if you can fit it into your schedule. There is nothing like that at McDaniel. Goucher definitely had an artsier vibe, though there was some of that at McDaniel too. If your D won’t have a car, transportation can be an issue–I’m not sure how my child would get back and forth from McDaniel, whereas public transportation between Goucher and Baltimore is plentiful. Goucher’s food is supposedly ranked in the top 20 nationwide in Princeton Review. We ate in the dining hall and the food was very good. (We did not have the chance to sample the food at McDaniel.) Goucher is big on study abroad (required by all students). I found both environments to be warm and inviting. On our McDaniel tour, we peaked in a science lab and the professor came over to us and spent 5 minutes explaining exactly what the students were working on. I was very impressed.</p>
<p>food…both my daughter and I are vegetarian, and quite honestly I don’t remember either McDaniel or Goucher making that difficult. McDaniel did seem to have a little friction between the school/students and the surrounding town…perhaps, whereas Goucher is well integrated. Goucher seems to have a ratio of about 2 woman / 1 guy, whereas McDaniel is closer to 50:50, but not sure how close. choices, choices. thanks for the inputs.</p>
<p>My daughter did have a further comment about the class she sat in at while at McDaniel. She said the teacher was good and she liked the class, but that her observation of the students was that many seemed to be sleeping or otherwise not paying attention, and at one point the teacher expressed to the class her frustration about how hard it was to get the students to engage in class discussions. My daughter was perplexed as to why the students weren’t more engaged in the class because she found the professor and subject matter quite interesting. Additionally, she indicated to us some odd things that the tour guides said “confidentially” to her after the tour was over, indicating that they could more frankly answer her questions privately after the tour was over because during the tour, they are restricted in what they could answer to some of her questions. My daughter ended up crossing McDaniel off her list, which is unfortunate for us financially since it had offered her the highest merit scholarships of all the colleges that have accepted her thus far.</p>
<p>We visited Goucher with our son, liked it a lot, are about to visit McDaniel. Even though we live in the DC area we have never heard much about it. I have to say some of the posts in this thread make me worry. I’ve heard that it has good support services , which is important because our son has ADD. Any information on this or other aspects of McDaniel, especially the academic side?</p>
<p>Eastcoast101, we just visited McDaniel after having seen Goucher previously. My wife, son and I had some of the same reactions you did, although in fairness summer is not the best time to visit so we may go back in the fall. McDaniel seemed pleasant and cozy, but Goucher appeared to offer more in terms of on-campus and off-campus activities, as well as the international component which is very appealing to us as our family used to live abroad.</p>
<p>We went back to McDaniel … it’s much nicer with the students back, and there does seem to be a very strong sense of community. Son feels … and we concur … that Goucher is probably a better fit for him, but he will probably apply to McDaniel as well.</p>
<p>My daughter just started as a freshman at Goucher. She absolutely loves it! She immediately connected with the students and has close friends she calls her family. She did an early immersion program which she highly recommends as a way to bond with others. The campus is beautiful and she loves the location.Her professors all are interesting and nice. So far she is very happy with her choice. She also applied to Mc Daniel but was not excited by the school as she was by Goucher.</p>
cmscribe, our son has slow processing and gets some accommodations in high school, doesn’t have attention issues but will use academic support services I expect. From two visits McDaniel’s freshman year programs seems very suitable for him. The place is totally unpretentious and people we met genuine and warm. He has other choices, schools with more attractive campus, locations that appeal, but I am concerned might not be as welcoming and supportive as McDaniel. I am curious to know which school your son chose and how he is doing.