<p>We haven't visited any of these shcools. They are not too dissimilar statistically. We know what the guide books say, but for those who are personally familiar with them, what is most distinctive about each or gives each school its special character?</p>
<p>F&M - really big on drinking. Lancaster is really nice, though. The campus is really pretty, and their banana smoothies are top-notch. :)</p>
<p>Gettysburg - all about the greek scene. Out in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do, so basically you have to be in a frat/sorority to have a social life.</p>
<p>Dickinson - one of my best friends is applying there, but i don't know much about it... some friend i am... :p</p>
<p>Daughter a Jr atF&M, moved off campus this yr as the food and dorms were miserable. G-burg and D-son, where we also looked, bragged about the independant food services they offer... </p>
<p>She is a double major, Deans list thruout, so it's not that she isn't doing what they want...but she has some stronly held views...</p>
<p>I do think the dorms at F&M are noticebly worse that the other two schools. Cinder block went out in the 90s, didn't it??? That's what she had last yr as a Soph...a double on the first floor (can't recall offhand which dorm, tho'), and she and her roomate did have bedbugs an' stuff(prolly her fault...she's a slob-olla). They also had CO-ED BATHROOMS in her dorm...check on that if your child develops an interest in these schools...</p>
<p>DICKENSON- I do like the <em>marketing</em> push being employed by D-son, perhaps in spite of the recent contrary commentary about this initiative...they have become concerned about the brand and the Pres and head of Admissions (Massa)is doing a very good job of evangelizing about the school.</p>
<p>My son, a HS Sr, is looking at G-Burg, F&M, D-son, Wash&Lee, Denison and Wooster, Trinity-Ct. At Dickinson, we noticed the push for the international term as a way to distinguish the school, much more so than the other two PA schools in trying to set themselves apart...again, I see this as part of the marketing niche they are trying to exploit...the other two schools seem set in their ways about what they offer...(WARNING: Wild assed guess follows, based on limited strolling of all 3 campuses and the interview process for the son and the daughter:) G-burg in history, F&M in the sciences). </p>
<p>Dickinson seems to be out in front on the marketing compared to F&M and G-burg...I wonder if the faculty is supporting that (perhaps not entirely, per some article I read a year ago...perhaps in the NYT?)</p>
<p>From a student's perspective, who cares? The students want the syllabus they sign up for and we, the parents, want some process of developing their reasoning skills, which <em>I</em> think would be equal at each of these three schools( guess I shoulda put this view at the front end of my screed, eh?. So I suppose this ain't a real issue, is it? D'oh!).</p>
<p>BTW, I don't think the Hahvahd faculty, as one example of relating to their Prez's initiatives, are going to change their students' grades over their views of Larry Summers, fercrussakes...they may have angst up the wazoo (perhaps a bit like the Dickinson faculty), but when they are grading papers and tests...well...their grading behavior will revert to the norm...or o I would hope.</p>
<p>Dickinson, interestingly, is the only school to insist that the formal <em>interview</em> be conducted during senior year...as if they can't form impressions of Juniors...so we have to return for the formal interview...perhaps I ought to deduct that extra travel cost from the initial tuition check...double heh.</p>
<p>So...where do I want my son to go??? Washington & Lee! But he'll never know...</p>
<p>We looked at all three schools when S was starting the college search, so I can give you a parent's perspective, for what it's worth.</p>
<p>F & M went off S's radar after our visit. We weren't all that impressed with the dorms and frankly, after seeing the other two, weren't as impressed with the campus. Lancaster certainly is bigger and has more to offer as a town, but I also got the impression that the area nearest the campus wasn't the "best" area of the town. Now, I know a lot of people love the campus and town, so this is only my impression, you really need to go and see for yourself. The one thing with F & M is they certainly follow up on the visit. My S had a student calling him on a regular basis, to see if he had any more questions until S. finally told him that F & M was off the list.</p>
<p>Dickinson and Gettysburg were both high on the list and he was accepted at both. Dickinson makes a big effort on their international programs. These did sound very good, as they have their own facilities in some places (like Italy) rather than just piggy-back on other universities programs. Dickinson by far had the most impressive library of any. Their campus is very nice, but does have streets going through it, including a main one for the area. Gettysburg's campus was very nice. They claim to have one of the best food services of all schools. We liked the size and the offerings. To me, the towns by both Dickinson and Gettysburg were very similar in being small towns. Gettysburg of course is more touristy due to the battlefield. </p>
<p>So what did he choose? Neither. He is at University of Mary Washington, a small state public school with a strong liberal arts program and feel to it. One big reason was no finan aide from either of this two privates, so without a passonate need to go to one of these, he kept us parental units happy by choosing the less expensive route, not to mention that gf and other friends are at UMW too.</p>
<p>Given your id, I take it you're in Virginia. Do go and visit. We did Dickinson and F & M both in one day, and Gettysburg is only an hour and a half from No. Va. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank-you all. And yes, we are in Virginia but about three hours from DC.</p>
<p>A few years ago - on the college search as well - we did pretty much the same route on one of our trips to that area.......</p>
<ul>
<li>F&M (drove in - drove out - non-stop - son's reaction uugghhh bleck - no discussion - xxx'd off list)</li>
<li>Dickenson - not bad - drove thru - did stop to check out pool facility - DS was swimmer - stayed on list for a bit - nice school tho - we know where the Dunkin Donuts is - ended up being our stopping place for 4 years - but no cigar as far as applying</li>
<li>Lafayette - drove in - parked - toured - on the list for a while - great swim coach - great school - didn't make the cut either</li>
<li>Lehigh - drove thru - was dirty that day - big mountain to go over for athletic facilities - in steel town - uuggh</li>
</ul>
<p>We returned home a bit frustrated - with son - not the schools lol - but then things changed - son got an invite to Washington & Lee - so off he went - the day after totaling his car (not his fault :() - very shaken up - but he went with a freind - and came home with these words - "MOM - we have 1 week to get the ED stuff in!!!!!" So we were off and running - great school - beautiful campus - excellent education - +++ - had everything he wanted in a school - and :):)BINGO:):) - done deal - has that sheepskin on his wall now!!! </p>
<p>Hope your DS has the opportunity to look at W&L- one our favorite places - and we won't give away your secret lol.</p>
<p>Dickinson - gotta say - when DD was looking at schools - they had without a doubt THE best campaign for luring students there - It was the year of the revamp of everything going out of the school - was very impressed with their approach - tho was 3 years ago - but still compared to most other marketing pushes - theirs was definitely the most impressive - had DD been considering a school of that nature - it would have been on/near the top of her list for sure.</p>
<p>One thing that I loved about W&L - well 2 things - whenever I was on campus - I was invited to utilize the library facilities for research that I was doing - including the private collections - and I was always made to feel so very welcome by everyone that I met there - including then President Elrod - who is dearly missed at W&L.</p>
<p>I'm just going to second JeepMOM's sentiments. Dickinson is a great school, it's one I looked at when I was thinking about small schools . .</p>
<p>. . of course that didn't last long because soon after I started thinking about small schools I found W&L, fell in love with it and haven't been able to imagine going anywhere else since. If you're looking at schools in VA, you can't pass up W&L!</p>
<p>HEY DIMA - nice to see you here!!!</p>
<p>I'll add that Gettysburg has seemed to me as an easier to get into, not as academically impressive version of Washington and Lee.</p>
<p>Perhaps incorrectly, my impression is that the social scene at W&L is completely Greek oriented. What if that is not your thing?</p>
<p>I think Greek is big at a lot of the campuses. S had briefly looked at W&L. We never did the tour but went down on our own back when they had their mock convention. I LOVED the campus and that was the coldest day of January! The one thing that turned S away from it was the rep of how conservative the place was. S is conservative, but he was leary of just how much it may be. Again, it's rep., not necessarily fact, so I would always say check it out. I still wanted to do a tour, but couldn't get him by the reputation he had heard about it. Oh well....</p>
<p>I'm going to start with the conservative accusation. Yes, W&L is one of few colleges where the student body is majority conservative however I am a liberal and I have no problem with it. It just means that you get a lot more e-mails from college republicans and pro-life groups than from democrats and pro-choice groups - there is no harassment, no stigma, nothing. Even though politics is one of the biggest majors here and practically everyone knew about the Miers nomination as soon as it was announced, no one argues about it. Political views here are personal and not discussed - unlike at other more liberal schools where they're out in the open and conservatives feel left out. Also the last three speakers I've went to here on campus were all liberal.</p>
<p>As for the Greek scene, yes it is huge on campus. I will admit that it had me worried for quite a while. However, it is not like it is in the movies and not at all what you could imagine it to be. All parties are open to everyone and all the Greeks are very welcoming. For example, I just spent the night at a frat house watching football and eating leftover spaghetti (I got hungry). Although about 70% of the guys do go Greek, it is in no way necessary to a good social life. Because there are about 14 different frats, the frat guys don't all hang out only with each other - it would severely limit the number of friends they have. There are also plenty of organizations indys can join that organize events. For example, I am not in a frat (not yet at least, have not yet decided if I want to be) but am a member of the Student Activities Organization. SAO fields an intramural teams (soccer is in season right now) that plays against the frat teams as well as other independent teams, organizes a very popular games and movie night fridays, has sports on saturdays as well as trips to Goshen and other places and is sponsoring a trip to Williamsburg over reading days. If you're into outdoor sports, there is the Outing Club; for internationals, there is SAIL; for multicultural students, MSA; etc. Almost all of these organizations also have housing which serves as an alternative to living in a frat house sophomore year (except for SAO, whose members live in suite-style upperclass housing in Gaines Hall or apartment-style housing in Woods Creek). After sophomore year, frat or no frat, most people live in off-campus houses.</p>
<p>So while the Greek scene is big at W&L and a lot of people are involved in it, the student organizations are alternatives that lead to just as much enjoyment and the same feeling of inclusiveness. And once again - you don't have to be Greek to enjoy the Greek parties - they are all open. None of the freshmen are Greeks in the fall term, yet they're welcome everywhere.</p>
<p>So while the Greek scene is everpresent at W&L, it really is not that big a concern. It seems that a lot of W&L students who come in suspicious of the Greek system and worried about its presence on campus learn to love it and become Greeks. But even those that don't are still quite happy and still find that they have just as much to do.</p>
<p>If Greek life isn't your thing, i'd avoid Gettysburg and F&M. (don't know about Dickinson)</p>
<p>Boy, koala717...that statement would seem to apply to all but a handful of the LACs! LOL!</p>
<p>And just to ad a tidbit - at W&L - the greek houses are also considered ON-campus housing - after freshman year - even tho they are across the street from the actual campus (or very near-by) - they are owned by the school itself.</p>
<p>Doesn't W&L still have 2 year mandatory on-campus living requirement?? I believe they do - so the greek houses are a big part of the housing/dining situation as well - and yup they have their own cooks in each house - AND a house-MOM as well - who lives in the house - so very different from your typical idea of frat house city - the sor's are the same as well.</p>