<p>Thanks, this is exactly the kind of info that is hard to get from reading the websites. The small schools tend to group the health professions together- which is fine from the academic standpoint. Since there are usually less pre-vet students, there are lists of internships at hospitals and so on…but not with animals.So it really helps to learn about a school’s specialty in horses and other animal experiences. Thanks very much and I appreciate any info about the schools. Thanks again.</p>
<p>@Pennylane2011, No problem. If you’re interested, send the admissions department a mail and they may be able to get you in contact with current students that have a pre-vet interest. :)</p>
<p>I don’t know much about the pre-vet opportunities for the other CTCLs so you might want to try calling them as well.</p>
<p>early_college,</p>
<p>Thanks for the great write-up. Very helpful and much appreciated.
Yes, Clark’s fifth-year free Masters is certainly one of its attractions.</p>
<p>Flying to and from Juniata won’t really be a problem for us because Huntingdon is only about a four-hour drive away.</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
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<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>**** as far as I’m concerned.*</p>
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<p>It was self-censorship, not a concern about CC blocking.
The initials are GFT if that helps. ;)</p>
<p>My husband and I attended a state university. Our parents would not even consider a LAC. Bigger is better, right? When our son was looking at colleges, he applied to 2 CTCL schools (Beloit and Lawrence), the above mentioned state university and one other. He selected Lawrence University. He is a smart kid, not brilliant, but a hard worker. LU was an amazing experience for him. Freshman studies, writing and speaking requirements in all classes (even science), the honor code, varsity fencing, weekends at Bjorklunden and the opportunity to do summer research with a professor were amazing and enriching experiences. He is now in grad school studying physics at a state university and finds that his LU classes were more challenging.</p>
<p>4 years later, our daughter applied to 4 CTCL schools (Goucher, Denison, Wooster and OWU) and one other LAC. (She would have applied to Lawrence, but she wanted to play varsity field hockey.) The campus and overnight visits were critical to the process as each campus had a different vibe. She is now a sophomore at OWU and couldn’t be happier. OWU’s amazing art department was a complete surprise as it wasn’t stressed in any guidebook.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any experience with the math and CS dept at Rhodes? I would post on the Rhodes forum but it seems very quiet there.</p>
<p>A close friend of mine is currently at Eckerd College in St. Pete, FL. She was an excellent student in HS and originally matriculated at the University of Florida (where I’m personally enjoying my freshman year) where she unfortunately got caught up in the partying lifestyle and did horribly without more 1 on 1 guidance. Despite her lackluster performance at UF, Eckerd took a chance and admitted her as transfer. My friend cannot say enough good things about Eckerd. The individual attention helped her maintain good study habits and a 3.33 + GPA last year – after dropping to a sub-2.0 at UF. In addition to the close-knit atmosphere and involved mentors, the mandatory junior internship and thesis have pushed my friend to seek out opportunities she was too overwhelmed to find on her own at a very large school. </p>
<p>Eckerd changed my friend’s life; the staff and environment in and out of the classroom were certainly instrumental in helping her turn things around. Eckerd College is an excellent fit for my friend and I’d recommend it to any student who may benefit from smaller class sizes and more guidance and nurturing than most public schools can offer.</p>
<p>Here’s another one, cross-posted from a new CC member on a thread entitled “Thoughts on Knox.” Sorry, I don’t know how to set off the quote to make it look pretty.</p>
<p>"My daughter just joined the Knox community as a freshman. Knox’s generous financial aid combined with the high quality of the faculty we met wooed her away from 3 ivy-league acceptances. We decided that, for a person intent on graduate study, a BA from a good school, w/out debt, was the way to go. </p>
<p>I was worried about the midwest and the small, hard-hit town, but Knox has won me over. I am ready to be impressed. My girl loves the faculty so far. We are impressed by the friendliness, intelligence and dedication to learning that we met. </p>
<p>I think my daughter, a city girl, will also learn alot by not being in a city - the world is full of places like Galesburg - it ain’t all bright and shiny out there, especially now. I like that Knox is far from the east coast bubble. Time will tell."</p>
<p>My son has just been admitted to Lawrence U in Wisconsin which is a CTCL. We had heard about CTCL before starting his college search but hadn’t used that as a criterion for picking schools to look at. It was only after visiting several campuses that we started noticing the CTCL schools were (from our point of view) consistently more impressive. Admittedly this is a small sample; we visited 13 schools of which 5 were CTCL. But his 4 top choices were all CTCL, so if he hadn’t gotten into Lawrence, he’d probably be going to another one!</p>
<p>My son plans to apply to Lewis & Clark, Puget Sound, Whitman (a reach), Willamette, and Colorado College - but wants to study geology (more environmental science and chemistry, just non-petroleum and non-geophysics), which is only offered at Whitman and Colorado College. Fort Lewis is a possibility as a safety, but while small and LAC it’s a public. He considered Cornell and Wooster for the geology programs, but is hoping to stay in the West. His next choices are Colorado State and Oregon State for the geology, but I’m hopeful he will go with an LAC and then head off to a larger school for graduate studies. He’s a non-Greek, non-sports kid who wants a live music/coffeehouse college scene, not too hipster but not too preppy. Thoughts?</p>
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<p>Umm. That is exactly what this poster should be doing. That is what CC is all about: people posting thier own personal experiences and their own conclusions and their own views. The bad-mouthing posts are the best posts on CC. Fie on your self-righteous censorious thrust at censorship!!</p>
<p>onesonmom, My son is a geology major at Whitman; he loves the school and the department. He arrived his freshman year without a clue about what he wanted to study, but after taking an introductory geology class with the head of the department his first semester he was hooked. Whitman has plenty of what your son is looking for, and the kids are just plain friendly. The environmental science department is first rate also.</p>
<p>If Whitman is a reach, then Colorado College will be more so, it’s quite a bit more selective. Whitman and Wooster (and Colorado College) are part of the Keck Geology Consortium, a group of colleges that share geology research opportunities: [About</a> the Consortium | Keck Geology Consortium](<a href=“http://keckgeology.org/about]About”>About the Consortium - Keck Geology Consortium).</p>
<p>I don’t know specifically about geology at the other LACs you’ve named but they are good schools by general reputation. We urged our son to go to an LAC because he tends to be quiet and humble and we were sure he wouldn’t fight for what he needed at a big state U, and because he had no clue what he wanted to study. He does have good personal relationships with his professors and has had a great social experience, both good reasons to attend an LAC. However, he has had trouble scheduling classes; he had to give up on a geology/chemistry interdisciplinary major because by the time he decided to do it, the sequence of classes he needed didn’t match up with the number of semesters he had left. Some classes are only offered every other semester or even every other year. This is typical of LACs and my only complaint. Larger schools have more course offerings but then lack the intimate atmosphere.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>Whitman’s acceptance rate (54%) is quite a bit higher than Colorado College’s (26%). Their average stat profiles (class rank and and scores) are nearly identical. Actually, Whitman’s average test scores are slightly higher. It’s just that CC gets more applications and accepts fewer of them, even though it is filling a larger entering class.</p>
<p>onesonmom, have you looked at Evergreen State in Olympia, WA? It’s a public LAC with a unique curriculum. The geology is taught in interdisciplinary chunks, interesting.</p>
<p>bopambo - A family friend just graduated from Evergreen - really loved everything about it. My son is a little concerned about the interdisciplinary approach, says he’d feel more comfortable with a bit more structure. But it’s on our list. Regarding Whitman, my son sounds similar to yours: quiet, noncompetitive, a kid who really thrives when he can have a bit more personal relationship with a teacher. Glad to hear you son has had such a great experience. I will renew my encouragement for this one.</p>
<p>tk21769 - Whitman is definitely on the list, and with your input just moved up. Thanks!</p>
<p>I would not recommend evergreen state for environmental science or geology. It’s good for ecology and environmental studies, but not for the earth sciences. There are simply not enough courses in the field. </p>
<p>UPS actually has a good geology program, with plenty of choices for someone not interested in petrochemicals. </p>
<p>Your son might want to check out Western Washington University. It’s a medium sized public university, with a sort of “hippy” vibe. Many students who couldn’t get into UWash, or don’t want to go there because it’s too close to home love WWU. I couldn’t find the course offerings, but from what I read about its facilities, it would probably be a good program.</p>
<p>If you can get past the school being in Stockton, one of the most depressing cities in the West, University of Puget Sound might be a viable choice. </p>
<p>Also note that at many schools, the earth science department tends to be small. For instance, my friend is a geophyiscs major at UC Davis and most of her major classes have under 10 people, including some of the more common geology classes like minerology.</p>
<p>Whenhen, great info, but I think you meant University of the Pacific in Stockton.</p>
<p>Thanks, whenhen; I’ll suggest WWU to be added to the list. DS did apply today to Whitman, Puget Sound, Beloit, Wooster, Earlham and Oberlin - all different, I know, but all have geology programs and offer the research opportunities, class size, engagement and some version of a campus community that he’s wanting. That puts the campus visits out ahead of us in the spring after admission decisions but that’s OK. I see now that we should have spent more time last summer on the road, but oh well. Last summer it was all about environmental engineering and geology didn’t come into focus until mid-August after some interest assessment/career advising. Too bad I only have one child…just think how the younger ones could have benefitted :)</p>
<p>onesonmom, you’ve got a list of great schools and are casting a wide net, the best approach.</p>
<p>If the Colleges That Change Lives are so wonderful, then why are the retention rates so low for many of them ?</p>