Hello. I am interested in finding more about Allegheny College. If you have any insight, I would love to hear your impressions.
Among its other characteristics, Allegheny offers a top-notch environmental studies program.
This is a great school! It is a beautiful campus with solid academic programs.
I have no first hand info. But, two of my friend’s children went/go there. One was a recruited athlete. Both speak very highly of the college.
Visited campus a while ago for my kid’s athletic competition – in a lovely part of PA, about 30 miles south of Erie and 90 miles north of Pittsburgh. Meadville is a smaller community trying to recreate itself after factories in the area closed. Campus is largely brick, looks like a gorgeous arts/performing arts building with a lot of activity, and a new/renovated student sports center. On the weekend, a lot of cars parked on campus – so presumably mostly students, not faculty and staff – and strong weight of Mid-Atlantic license plates – PA/MD/Delaware/NJ/NY. Like College of Wooster, Allegheny has a senior capstone project. Allegheny also has a Business major, which is not often found at liberal arts colleges. Seemed like a lovely school with happy students when we were there.
Great learning support for those who want to avail themselves of it. Friendly student body. Very solid school.
We visited twice - d was very close to committing, but it was really too far from home. Great students, teachers, administration. Nice campus. Great merit aid, new honors program. Has a lot going for it.
My S was down to 2 schools and this was one of them. He was impressed with the students and faculty. Also, a lot of research opportunities. He sat in on a couple classes and liked the professors. Nice campus. He was impressed with the diversity of the students.
His negatives were the town of Meadville and the honors program. Meadville is very small and he found it depressing.
He was admitted to the honors program but when he spoke to various faculty about it, it really seemed like a work in progress.
This is a school that I would definitely make a point of visiting- they have ample opportunities for overnights.
Very academically rigorous.
Beautiful campus
Generous Merit Aid
Emphasis on research and internships.
Solid alumni network.
Very engaged professors.
Low student-faculty ratio.
One of the best environmental sciences departments in the country for undergrads.
Weather: more gray/overcast than sunny days, lots of lake-effect snow in winter (100 inches/year).
1.5-2 hours by car from Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.
Vibe: middle of the road politically. “Study like an ivy, party like a state school” - though that may be an exaggeration. Pretty traditional NE liberal arts college. Greek life present, but only 25-30%. Student body not too ethnically diverse. More economically diverse, however, than lots of top-tier liberal arts schools. Students from PA, OH, NY, NJ
Excellent write up in the book, “Colleges that Change Lives”. Also check the Fiske description and the Insider’s Guide description.
It was one of my son’s top choices (it came in at #2) but he ended up going to another school in the Midwest. Word of mouth is that people generally say good/great things about the school and that the students are very happy there.
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Well regarded in the Tristate(Ohio, WV, western Pa) area. I’ve really liked the graduates of that school.
They are really interested in polishing rough jewels. The polished jewels head for Swarthmore, Haverford, Kenyon and Oberlin. They know they have no chance of getting those kids. Allegheny likes to take the rough edge types with potential and work on bringing the best out of them.
I applied EA and have been really impressed with their communication and encouragement. One of my top choices. I wonder when decisions are released for EA?
My d (accepted in 2018) heard back just before Christmas. She applied EA, and submitted her application in early November.
Thank you, @taverngirl . Did your d decide to attend? Why or why not? It’s definitely in my top 5 but interested to hear what made others decide for or against.
@Orcus2020 , I can understand why you asked this question, but in reality when someone chooses from their top choices, there is no deciding "against ", just more “for " for another. And it is often things like knowing someone there, a club sport, distance from home - iow, things that are more about the student than the school. And it’s also easy to come up with reasons to decide against to justify your 'for”.
If you are looking for negatives about a school, your best bet is to ask questions like this when you are visiting:
If you could change one thing about the school, what would it be?
What classes are so popular that you can’t get into them? ,(Great way to ask about not getting access to classes). And as a follow up, how are the seats allocated?
If you are talking to a senior, if you were starting again, what would you do differently?
How did you find your friend group on campus?
You get it – it’s a positive question that can expose some negative.
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@orcus2020 she did not. The biggest reason was it was too far from home (+/- 8 hours).
Thank you @gardenstategal - I appreciate your response and hope that my question didn’t come across as negative. I mostly just wondered if @taverngirl 's D decided to attend Allegheny so I could ask a current student questions. I am really interested in Allegheny and really excited to hear if I’ve been accepted!
Fingers crossed for you, @Orcus2020 ! I hope you get good news.
Good luck @orcus2020 you should be hearing soon!
Thank you very much, @taverngirl and @gardenstategal - it feels like a great fit for me and I can’t wait to visit!