Some questions of my own:
Which of these two seems the preppiest, the crunchiest, the artsiest, the sportyist?
Which of the two has the more bustling campus environment?
Which of the two has the more lively “party scene” on the weekends?
Thanks:)
Is he drawn to a particular type of history, which might tip the balance? (U.S/world/modern/ancient or an approach to history?) Of course, it’s good at this age not to be too specialized, but the size or emphasis of the respective history departments, and who is teaching there could help make his decision. Could he go back to visit those departments again?
I have to say, I’m interested in this thread because I think both of these schools may be on my daughter’s radar one day.
same^^^
Thank you all for the replies! I appreciate the insights. He/we feel good about the choices he has. We will scrutinize every comparison we can make, but as several have said here, it will probably come down to his intuitive feel for one over the other. Financial aid is actually a little better at Dickinson with cost being a few thousand less, and loans being almost half he would take at Wooster. We will look into admitted student days. Thanks everyone. I would appreciate any additional comments.
If Dickinson is cheaper (especially with the loans being half), I’d go with Dickinson. I don’t think academically there is a huge difference. Dickinson is better for study abroad and its career center, and while a senior thesis isn’t mandatory it’s easy to arrange.
I have a daughter who is a Sophomore at Dickinson (French and Italian double major) and she couldn"t be happier. Youngest daughter was also accepted ED1, but will be doing a Gap Year so she will end up being Class of 2022. I toured Wooster with youngest daughter and thought it was a good school. Since both of my daughters are very much into languages (Dickinson’s foreign language offerings are very impressive considering its size) and study abroad for a full year is in their future, we felt Dickinson was the better choice. They wanted to be in a globally-minded school, where language learning is celebrated, and not just considered as one more mandatory distribution requirement. A considerable amount of students go beyond the Intermediate level required of all students.
Oldest daughter will be studying next school year in Bologna, Italy and Yaoundé, Cameroon. Both of those sites are Dickinson’s own programs so the credits are seamlessly transferred. She currently lives in the Romance Language House and participates in the language tables held during meals on a weekly basis.
Last month, she participated in a service trip to Guatemala where a group of 9 Dickinson students helped build a sustainable school. That was a life-changing experience for her. There are countless service trips offered during the January and Spring Breaks, both domestically and internationally.
Wooster is a nice town, but I liked Carlisle better. Students can easily walk to a crepe shop, noodle house, a taquería, a thai restaurant, various ice cream places, an independent bookstore, etc…
Another factor that we liked is the emphasis on sustainability and being environmentally friendly. Dickinson consistenly ranks high among “green” campuses.
Although liberal arts colleges tend to be not as diverse as public colleges, I have noticed that the percentage of minority students (us included) and international students keeps increasing each year, which I believe is wonderful.
Our 2nd daughter toured 16 colleges (some with her sister and some on her own) and ended up concluding that Dickinson was her 1st choice, just like her sister. They are very different individuals (youngest is interested in Political Science, Law and Policy or International Studies) and both felt that gut feeling that it was the “right fit” college for them.
Your son will have to revisit both schools, walk around, talk to students, eat at the cafeteria, talk to professors in the history department, etc… Both schools are great choices, but I wholeheartedly recommend Dickinson.
You can PM me if you have any other questions.
My son was unable to attend the admitted student events at either college. Instead I took him back to both on consecutive days in late April to visit classes and to meet with several students. We hoped that one school would emerge as the clear choice, but instead of making the decision easier the visits only made the decision more difficult! He had great visits at both schools, and left loving each school even more! It was tough because he had to tell a school he loved no. I am convinced that both schools are amazing. Should you read this in your college search you simply cannot go wrong with either of these colleges. Ultimately my son chose Dickinson. For him it came down to subtleties of his class visits and discussions with students. It was the slimmest of margins for him. Although the visits actually made the decision more difficult, the visits were vital in helping him decide. Thank you for all of the input. After reading everyone’s thoughts here I knew I had to take him back to these schools. I may not have done that without this discussion. Thank you all!
Thanks for updating the thread and letting us know your child’s decision! Congratulations!
Thanks for letting us know. Hope he has a great four years at Dickinson.
My wife took one of ours to visit Dickinson. She was pretty blown away.
My child may wind up making a similar decision, but she wants to major in Biology. And additional reactions, based upon that difference in major?