@maddie9691 are you still waiting for the Bates ED decision?
The Bates EDII decisions are out today. If OP remained EDII at Bates, then she is confidant of receiving a significant financial aid award because she already has great financial packages from these two schools which include substantial merit scholarships.
@maddie9691 : Several LACs have the month of January as a separate term in which students enroll in a single class which meets 5 days a week. Often students use this opportunity to enroll in a school sponsored month long study elsewhere option (study abroad or in a different area of the US).
Just checked: While Middlebury College has a January Term, neither St. Lawrence nor Dickinson do.
While researching J-term LACs, I came across a ranking of LACs based on study abroad programs & options.
Dickinson College was/is ranked at #45.
St. Lawrence came in at #19.
Bates was/is #16.
@GrayStrong @Publisher I was deferred by Bates, and haven’t heard back from any others besides UVM (which is too expensive to consider).
Thanks everyone for the continued responses! I certainly have a lot more to think about now. I’ll have to look in to the study abroad programs ran by other schools.
My son turned down SLU last year with a nice scholarship offer. Publisher suggested that years ago it was for upper middle class and prep school kids. Based on our research, it still is. It also seems like a school for high school athletes who wanted to continue their sport. During our visit they stressed study abroad and our tour guide said most students take advantage of that.
One thing that bothered me was how much nicer the athletic side of the campus was than the library. To me, a red flag. The dorms were also in very poor condition. They showed one new gorgeous dorm for upper class students who have earned enough quality points to get in. Freshman/other dorms seemed bad. I don’t expect luxury housing but for what you pay there, I expect better.
The attraction for my son was the beautiful campus and north country. He was drawn to the Adirondacks and was not turned off by the cold winter. However, after careful consideration, the population was not for him. For him, I think he dodged a bullet but I think it could be the perfect school for others.
Good luck with your decision.
On paper – the NY Times article on economic diversity and Common Data Sets – St L is more economically diverse than Dickinson, though less racially/ethnically diverse. How an individual student experiences those differences will vary. My kid found the older dorms charming and not particularly different than many campuses, though the new Kirk Douglas dorm, with suites and washer/dryers on each floor/alcove and a delightful cafe, was drop dead gorgeous. A student at SLU needs to be comfortable with long, cold winters with not much happening outside campus. For a cross country skier, SLU would be heaven on earth.
We loved both schools.
@Empireapple while I can agree that SLU’s population is not for everyone, I think that the campus aesthetic and architecture is Gorgeous. That disparity between the athletic complex and the rest of campus is due in part of SLU’s recent renovations, which is also now including a major upgrade of the Hockey Arena. Also, SLU is currently conducting a fundraising campaign which includes an extensive upgrade of academic and residential buildings. It currently has $148 million raised of $225 million goal, which I think is more than enough to upgrade those dorms: https://campaign.stlawu.edu/
This campaign also includes numerous scholarship funds for study abroad, which goes back to OP’s ultimate decision. While I’m not in the position to comment on Dickinson as I know very little, I would say that St. Lawrence will give you a very great experience abroad at a very low cost if financial aid for studying abroad is VERY important to you.
Dickinson’s FA and merit scholarship does carry over in our experience, but check on the details with each school.
Regarding study abroad rankings - what am I missing? When I was in college 25+ years ago, you basically could go anywhere you wanted anyway. Sure, programs through your school might be preferred, but it’s not like it’s difficult to get credit for just about any program you’re interested in.
Oh, there is a difference. Some schools won’t let you go aboard except through their programs. D1 took a couple schools off her list that wouldn’t support her desire to study in a country where those schools didn’t have programs. It is easiest and the least amount of hassle to go abroad on a school’s own programs, too. So check out their programs as part of your decision process.