good questions to decide between two schools

College Search & Selection
1

<p>As May 1 gets closer, my daughter is trying to decide between Ripon College in WI and Rollins COllege near DisneyWOrld. Needless to say, Rollins wins hands down for climate! Does anyone know anything about either of these schools or some good suggestions for a check-off list to help compare. This needs to be her decision, but I want to help her ask herself the right questions. does anyone have suggestions for the questions (and, if possible the answers for at least one of the two schools). </p>

<p>here are some facts:
-Ripon is about 1.5 hrs away from home, Rollins 20 hs by car or airfare
-Due to the fact that she received twice the scholarship $$ to Rollins, Rollins is only about $2000 more than Ripon per year.
-from what I read on their sites, academically they offer similar things, but I am not really sure about this. if anyone knows about either of these schools, this information will help a lot. </p>

<p>Obviously, a big decision is how far away from home should she go. since the start of the process, she only wanted small and warm and that her act scores be pretty much in the middle. we visited Rollins over spring break and were all impressed with campus, food, faculty, students what they say they have to offer. we have convinced my daughter to at least look at Ripon, so we are getting a tour this SUnday. </p>

<p>thank you in advance for your help</p>

2

<p>Thumbs up for Ripon; it’s a low-profile college that nonetheless does very well in Princeton Review and Forbes for its tier. We’ve toured.</p>

3

<p>Ask this one again in the Parents Forum, but be sure to include the names of the two colleges in the thread title - something like “Ripon for distance or Rollins for the weather?” That way people who are familiar with one (or both) will notice.</p>

4

<p>I would be happy to answer any questions about Rollins.</p>

<p>One thing your D may want to ask herself is how frequently she may want to visit home. Most Freshmen will want to go home for Fall Break but after that they usually want to stay on campus and spend time with friends and maybe take a mini vacation. Otherwise she really will only be going home for Thanksgiving, Winter Break and then the Summer. Many students want to spend Spring Break together and may plan a trip or stay locally with friends.</p>

<p>Perhaps she can contact the professors at both colleges in her area she may want to major/minor. Rollins professors are very accessible and that helped both my kids decide on Rollins. When they met with the professors they also got to talk to some students. After the visits both received nice followup emails/phone calls to check if they had any further questions.</p>