<p>ncgoucher, thanks for taking the time to reply. The retention rate is just one piece of the puzzle for us. On the flip side, my son liked it so much during his two visits, I don’t think he cares whether other kids stick it out. He thinks he will.</p>
<p>Of course he still needs to get admitted. (His EA application was complete about two weeks ago.)</p>
<p>Not a Goucher student, but the mom of one. My d chose Goucher over several higher rated schools. She liked the strength of the dance program paired with support for double majoring. She loves that the student body tends to be welcoming and non-cliquey. She and her friends are serious students (she’s taking 17.5 credit hours while auditing 3 additional dance courses). Her 2nd major, Int’l Studies, paired with her experiences in the Int’l Scholars program have kept her really busy, but she has loved everything except how busy she’s made herself.
She takes the free college town shuttle into Baltimore for fun. But she also attends and supports the various lectures, theater, and music performances on campus as well.
It’s small. She does sometimes tire of seeing the same people over and over, but she will study abroad and may find the time to cross-register at one of the other colleges in the area.
My daughter (like Gweeta’s son) liked it right away.
I really have nothing but good things to say about her experience there.</p>
<p>jasmom, thanks for chiming in here. One of the things we (both my son and I) like most about Goucher is how welcoming it seems to be. He’s basically a middle of the road kid, but a little off beat (e.g., his hobbies include carpentry and working on motorcycles). I think he’d fit in well.</p>
<p>One question about applying EA: are merit aid awards for EA admits determined at the same time as the admission decision, or are they made later on, along with the RD admits? And if the former, would you say a potential improvement of about .15 in GPA by the midyear report is worth waiting and applying RD for?</p>
<p>Thanks foolish! I actually just sent in my application yesterday, applying ED!</p>
<p>S is a freshman at Goucher – he loves it. He is a strategy gamer, but actually joined the tennis team, which is something new for him. He went to a tiny high school of just 60 students after struggling at our local public school, but has just blossomed socially at Goucher. I could not be happier with what I have seen thus far.</p>
<p>Regarding graduation rate – it may have something to do with some students struggling academically, rather than unhappiness with the school.</p>
<p>^^ Interesting. The 6-7 student (all male) I know who have attended Goucher over the past 4 years fall squarely into to categories: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>those whose stats placed them at the top of the Goucher applicant pool and who opted for Goucher over higher-ranked schools b/c of attractive merit $</p></li>
<li><p>those who struggled during the first year or two of hs, but finished strong (in at least a couple of cases, the result of late diagnosis LD).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I wonder whether some of students in the latter group needed a bit more support than they and the college anticipated - - but kudos for giving them the opportunity.</p>
<p>Thanks to all those who’ve shared experiences with Goucher. It’s all encouraging, and I appreciate it.</p>