<p>This year, I applied to eight schools as a transfer student. I had heard from seven of them when I sent in my deposit to Whitman College. I visited and really liked one of the Professors in the theatre department (my major) and I feel like there are a lot of great opportunities at the school, not to mention the strong academics.</p>
<p>I had pretty much written off the last college I had yet to hear from, Sarah Lawrence, because they were taking so long to get back to me and throughout the admissions process I felt that the school was rather snobbish and unhelpful compared to the open, welcoming experience I had with Whitman admissions officers. But today I found out I was accepted to SLC. My family could not afford to visit colleges until I knew I had been admitted, but school is out for the summer now at SLC, so a visit would be pretty pointless (and expensive). I love Whitman -- have the car window sticker and everything -- but this acceptance was really unexpected, and it bugs me that I'll never get to visit SLC and know for sure that I made the right choice.</p>
<p>Anybody have any insight? As a transfer student, I guess I'm pretty jaded and a little oversensitive about finding the "right fit" in a college -- I had a miserable freshman year and I just want to make sure I'm doing it right this time. Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>Look at the two schools again on paper. Have you always liked SLC best? Then maybe you ought to go visit anyway even if the students are gone - or at least speak with the faculty that you would be working with.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if things were more or less equal to begin with, and if you turned in all of your paperwork on time, you need to remember that WC got back to you right away while SLC dinked around about replying to you. Don't you think that that might tell you something about SLC? Do you want to be dealing with people who can't respond to you in a timely manner?</p>
<p>Remember what you wrote: "I love Whitman -- have the car window sticker and everything". I say, head off to Whitman with no regrets.</p>
<p>Thanks, happymom, I really appreciate your input and am in the process of trying to figure out my "gut" feeling on the two schools.</p>
<p>The plot thickened today -- I got my financial aid package from Sarah Lawrence, and the scholarship money/aid (35k) makes it pretty much equivalent to Whitman's offer. I have to reply to SLC by May 30th and I just don't think I can afford the exorbitant airline ticket prices to visit before then.</p>
<p>Any input that anyone has on Whitman or Sarah Lawrence, whether it be from personal visits, perceived strength of academics, or things you've heard from people who have attended either, would be much appreciated. I was so glad to have made my decision and be done with this awful transfer process, but now I'm at a loss. Thanks to anyone who can help.</p>
<p>When you say 'pretty much equivalent to Whitman's offer', do you mean that Whitman gave you better deal? Cause if that is so, I think you should just stick with Whitman. You really like the college and if you can afford it, thats just great.</p>
<p>Duygu -- the difference is pretty negligible, it's around $1000/year more expensive than Whitman. I guess I'm just sort of drawn by the allure of the SLC's extensive list of alumni in my chosen fields -- from Barbara Walters to Julianna Margulies to Alice Walker (author of "The Color Purple") -- that Whitman doesn't quite have yet.</p>
<p>pretzelbreaker - You don't have SLC and Whitman students right in front of you, so let's look at Princeton Review. It's not a statistically rigorous sampling, but if you happened to bump into one student from each school right now, you'd pay a lot of attention to them. At the very least, PR is like bumping into a number of students from each school.</p>
<p>Whitman is considerably more selective in admissions than SL, but to really check on the campus experience, click on "Statistics" and then "Campus Life." The Campus Life rating, on a scale of 60-99 (think Ds to As), is an overall rating of a number of student satisfaction factors. SLC rates a 66, Whitman's is the highest in the country at 99. SLC students do, however, give its Academics a 95 rating. Very good, but Whitman's give theirs a 98.</p>
<p>Look at "Rankings and Lists." SLC has a number of strong rankings, as well as a few that aren't so hot. But check out Whitman. Again, it's not statistically sound, but it's got to be the strongest set of rankings in the country. Ranked in the top 20 nationally on 11 different factors, all of them positive, including #1 for "Happiest Students" and #3 for "Best Quality of Life." That's in the whole darned country!</p>
<p>Will people be impressed by the name of your Alma Mater? Most won't - that's the nature of a liberal arts college - but people who know colleges will, whichever school you choose. SLC is probably better-known than Whitman, but for every person who'd be impressed that you went to SLC, there'd be another who'd assume you're sort of weird. As far as I can tell, there's nothing but upside at Whitman. If it was me, I'd buy another window sticker for the other car and enjoy the heck out of Whitman!</p>
<p>Thanks, gadad -- it's just so hard to push Sarah Lawrence away when I've never seen it. It feels like I'll always be wondering "what if" and if I made the right choice, and I hate that!</p>
<p>One thing that gets me about the Princeton Review rankings is that Whitman is #1 for happiest students, and everything I've seen about Sarah Lawrence seems to characterize students as more of the hipster, pot-smoker, cynic-railing-against-the-government type, which I'm really not (I'm a Southern girl). However, I'm not super athletic like a lot of the kids at Whitman. As a theater major, I've found that we tend to find our own niche anywhere and have interests, opinions, and attitudes that don't necessarily reflect the stance of the rest of the student body, so I'm not sure how much I'll be affected by perceived "happiness" or "unhappiness" of students at either school. I'll be in rehearsal seven days a week wherever I am! But the "Happiest students" claim certainly is alluring.</p>
<p>However, SLC does have those awesome alumni connections and proximity to NYC, not to mention much more international name recognition. My nerdiness and liberalism match the norm there, but I just have an extreme fear that my pink polo and smiling face will not exactly be welcome at Sarah Lawrence. So if I DO choose Whitman without giving SLC a second thought, how do I move on with no regrets?</p>
<p>I think you might be falling into a common trap - the less you know about something (SLC), the more potential it has. I think you are imagining it to be something greater than it probably is. If you had an unhappy freshman year, and fit is important, I wouldn't consider going somewhere that you haven't visited. Stick with Whitman!</p>
<p>I live on the E. Coast, and the image I have of Sarah Lawrence students is that they probably tend to be on the snobbish side, wealthy, artsy New Yorkers (love it or hate it). If you go there, you have to deal with being far from home plus fitting into a possibly alien environment. </p>
<p>From a subscription college website (c.... *******), one student says that it is hard for her to be there on scholarship when there are so many wealthy students. Another says that she finds students to be pretentious and NY suburbanites.
"Many students come to Sarah Lawrence unsure of their futures, and many graduate feeling no less disoriented. What students report as the biggest setback is the anemic social scene. Nightlife is nearly nonexistent. Traditionally, SLC students are introspective, private, and socially-awkward people. Loners are abundant, as are small, insular cliques. The severe lack of ethnic or political diversity means that there may be too many like-minded people for the colleges own good. Further complicating the situation is the often unfriendly off-campus neighborhood, which causes many students to feel trapped on campus. And its hard to dismiss the staggeringly high tuition prices. Still, the retention rate is high; students seem determined to endure the Colleges weaknesses for the sake of its unique strengths". </p>
<p>"Although youll encounter hazy-eyed students staggering from Andrews Court every weekend, its unusual to see the drugs they usedmost kids retreat into small, private gatherings to get wasted. Marijuana and coke are big, and at most house parties, the liquor runs dry before you even arrive. During Conference Week, stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall are popular with students who pull all-nighters. Fortunately, students who arent into the drug scene arent typically pressured or harassed by those who are. ...So why is there a problem? The dismal social scene, the anti-social demeanor of many students, and the insular campus atmosphere are popular scapegoats for SLCs drug predicament."</p>
<p>Thanks, Reason -- considering I am on pretty substantial aid, that is worrisome, but I've also read accounts where people have said it doesn't matter. The Ritalin and Adderall stuff scares me, though -- what are the chances of me succeeding on my own merits at a school where everyone is more or less "cheating" their way through with drugs? </p>
<p>Those who have posted so far seem to all favor Whitman, and the reasons are great and convincing. But one more thing... what about my chosen field? I'm an actor and a writer. Is SLC not the better of the two for those courses of study? Like that college website you cited said, I could put up with the downsides for the benefits if it would be a better choice for an artistic person like me.</p>
<p>ETA -- Just realized I wouldn't have to take any more math or science at Sarah Lawrence, whereas at Whitman I'd have to take one math course, two science courses, and a lab. I'd much rather be taking courses that are relevant to what I want to do for the rest of my life, especially since I'm already "behind" as a transfer student. So SLC is looking better and better...</p>
<p>After reading your posts it seems you are just trying to convince yourself SLC is the best choice (even though the majority of posters have given support for Whitman).</p>
<p>What do you feel about the male/female ratio at Sarah Lawrence? 74% female, 26% male. Also, very low endowment... You are making a big mistake if you enroll at SL without visiting.</p>
<p>Sometimes a college will pay a portion of your visit air fares and put you up and feed you making a visit inexpensive. My son got such an offer. Call admissions, tell them you are down to the 2 choices and if they have any travel allowances. Maybe they will help you visit, so you can choose in peace.</p>
<p>Well, I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I don't see anything in your posts or in this thread so far that supports your dilemma. Whitman appears to be the clear choice, and I think gadad broke it all down for you very well. If you can't even visit SLC because it's so far away and expensive to get there, that should also be a clue for you. </p>
<p>As far as your chosen field, you think SLC has some magic dust that will make you perform better? Do you think Barbara Walters or Alice Walker are going to clear a path for you? I sincerely doubt it. And it seems to me you'd be placing a pretty big bet for an outcome that's seemingly remote. </p>
<p>Go to Whitman. If you have talent, ingenuity, and learn well, you'll be fine and you'll do great. If you don't, well... no school will really be able to help you. Good luck.</p>
<p>Pretzelbreaker - Erin's Dad may be right; you sound as if SLC is a dream you can't bring yourself to give up. In that case, I think you may need to do whatever's necessary to visit. Even if SLC won't cover your cost of travel, they can probably make it almost free for you other than your airfare and train fare to get to the campus ($200 - 300 from most Southern airports?). A couple of things to note - greater NYC is a place all its own, and it couldn't be more different from Walla Walla. Some people really eat it up; some are repulsed by it - you need to know in which group you fit. Also, while both schools are among the top LAC theatre programs in the country, SLC offers a masters program in theatre. You need to know how many of their theatre opportunities might be out of reach for undergrads because they're reserved for their masters students.</p>
<p>While the trip may cost you an amount of money that you don't typically spend, it could be the cheapest possible way to visit NYC. That's something every American needs to do, especially one who loves the theatre.</p>