<p>My son has narrowed down his college choices to Earlham and Bennington. Although it is his decision to make, I can't help but think about the pros and cons myself. If it were my decision to make, based on which school would be the best fit for my son, I would have a very difficult time! I know he is struggling with this decision himself.</p>
<p>My son loves his high school. A long time ago, when we first started the college-search process, he said that he hoped to go to a college that reminded him of his high school. As an example, he said he wanted to go to a college where he would be able to have conversations with the college president, just as he has casual conversations in the school hallways with the principal of his high school. </p>
<p>He recently did an assignment for an English class where instead of writing a conventional paper, he was allowed to do something creative. He chose to write a song (music and lyrics) and perform it, accompanying himself on the guitar, for the class. I know I am biased, but I think he did an amazing job. The teacher apparently agreed, and gave him an "A."</p>
<p>Now, my perception of Bennington is that something similar -- being allowed to compose a song instead of writing paper in an English class -- would not be at all unusual. </p>
<p>So my question, for any Earlham students, parents of a student, or anyone who is familiar with Earlham, is whether this kind of assignment -- this level of creativity -- is something that my son would be likely to find at Earlham?</p>
<p>In more general terms, I'm wondering whether the academic atmosphere at Earlham is that of a typical LAC (not that that is a bad thing!) or whether there is a degree of creativity in the curriculum and in the teaching methods, such that a kid who was impressed by Bennington might also be happy at Earlham.</p>
<p>My son looked pretty hard at Earlham, my daughter is looking pretty hard at Bennington. We visited both, and I have had lengthy conversations with recent grads of both. I do think that the academics at Earlham probably are pretty similar to at other LACs (relatively small classes, some lecture, some discussion, plenty of access to profs), plus some pretty unique progams (peace studies) and the Quaker thing. I don’t think the academics at Bennington are like at other LACs–my sense is that there is a level of engagement among students there, because of the academic structure and the way the professors teach, that probably is almost unmatched. Which would be better depends on the kid–my son would not like the level of engagement required at Bennington, it would be too much for him, my daughter would.</p>
<p>Thank you, nepop. When you talk about the level of engagement, do you mean the degree to which students are expected to craft their own course of study, and other aspects of the Plan Process [as</a> described here](<a href=“Academics | Bennington College”>Academics | Bennington College)? </p>
<p>The funny thing is, it’s actually hard for me to predict whether my son would do well in such a setting. He is NOT the world’s most organized kid. Douglas Adams’ quote “I love deadlines – I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by” fits him all too well. But when he is into something, he goes all out, and his teachers recognize that. So he has managed to do fairly well in high school, despite his organizational challenges.</p>
<p>I think that most people would say that the Bennington approach, where kids have a significant role in designing their own academic programs, would require a very organized mindset. But I don’t know – I also think that having so much freedom might be inspiring to a not-so-organized kid who knows what he would love to learn about.</p>
<p>I will trust my son’s own instincts on this, but I wish I had a stronger feeling myself about which school – Earlham or Bennington – would be best for him!</p>