<p>My daughter was accepted by both Earlham and Cornell College. Which College is better? She is a B student, trilingual, very social, and still undecided as to what to study. Any advise?</p>
<p>Cornell has the OCAT plan (one course at a time) which is very appealing to some students but can be very stressful for others. It’s a pretty intense 3 weeks with a constant adrenalin rush. Difficult if you are sick and miss a couple of days. Cornell has greek social clubs and Earlham does not (may make a difference to your daughter). Cornell is in a smaller very charming relatively high income town. It is a 1/2 hour drive to Big 10 city where the students tend to go for action. Earlham is in a larger town that is more economially depressed. Quality of education is high at both schools so your student needs to visit and get a feel. Both have a good amount of diversity for small liberal arts colleges in the midwest.</p>
<p>Which is better I think really depends on your child. Agree with everything iadorking says about OCAAT. OCAAT is why you would go there, it really is unique, and for the right kid could be a great thing. I would add that Mount Vernon, IA is REALLY small–I think the population is about 4,000, and that includes the CC kids, and it is pretty much surrounded by fields. There are only a few restaurants and other businesses, just not a lot there. While some might not view Richmond, IN as a garden spot, there is quite a bit there in terms of businesses. I do think Earlham has a somewhat better, more national reputation. My impression is that Earlham draws from more states and countries, CC is mostly kids from the Midwest, though there does seem to be a pretty good California and Colorado contingent.</p>
<p>Thank You for your insights. We just came back from a college visit to Erlham and my daughter was blown away by the diversity of the student body,the friendliness of the professors as well as the students. The College felt much bigger than anticipated. For her it was the first time that she was not the only trilingual person in the room. It is quite an amazing College. She has decided to attend Earlham next Fall.</p>
<p>My daughter also just returned from a visit to Earlham, and she loved it. Perhaps they will meet come fall.</p>