Just got back from vacation and a few more college visits and thought I would post an update. We visited College of the Atlantic and my daughter just loved it. It’s a very unusual school. We think it would be a great fit for her, but we realized that it would be a just terrible fit for most of the other kids we know. Funny story, there was only one other family visiting the morning we were there and they are people we knew! It was hilarious. COA had a quirky/hippie/sciencey vibe home-like feel which really appealed to my daughter. The biggest drawback is the really small size, and low graduation rate. We liked all the administrators. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and articulate. The 40-something president took the time to come talk to us personally.
On our way home from Maine, we went to see Bowdoin mostly because my husband’s father and grandfather graduated from there. Best things about Bowdoin were the location, the environmental science program and outing club, the athletic facility and the no loan policy (my personal favorite part). Aside from us and one quirky homeschooling family, everyone there (and there were a LOT of visitors) were from prep schools or rich suburban public schools which was a turn off for my daughter. The admissions officer was very nice and well spoken, but she did the wink, wink, nudge, nudge, with all the kids from the fancy high schools mentioning to them that she had visited many times and knew all their counselors, etc. The facilities were surprisingly shabby and the vibe was surprisingly un-intellectual as compared with say Carleton.
Yesterday we visited College of Wooster. What a great school. Happy kids, great facilities, nice people. They give individual tours including drinks and ice cream sandwiches. DD had an interview with one admissions counselor, but two others took the time to talk to us. The swim coach spent probably an hour with us. She is very happy with the idea of applying to this school early action.
We intended to head to Earlham as well, but as they don’t do tours on Saturdays, we didn’t go. Unfortunately, she won’t have time to visit any more schools before she leaves.
Also, while on vacation, learned that a lot of kids we know (including one National Merit Scholar who scored a 36 on her ACT and was accepted at Smith with a huge scholarship and at Brown) are attending Northeastern. My dad used to teach there and I never considered it for my kids, but it’s worth taking another look at this school. They do early action and require no supplements.
My DD has dropped Brown, Colorado College, Kenyon and Smith off her list and will probably add Vassar and maybe Bowdoin and Northeastern. Thanks again to everyone for their great feedback.
I don’t think NEU would be a great fit for your daughter. This is coming from someone who is very similar to your daughter. Bigger school, very pre-professional vibe, and none of the earthy/bohemian culture you talk about. I could not think of a school more utterly different from COA or the other ones on her list.
@Qwerty568 I agree with you. I was looking at the website today and just couldn’t see her there at all. I would never have thought of it if it weren’t for the fact that we have several friends from contra dancing whose kids are going there. Thanks for the feedback.
I’ll second her notion to consider Vassar. S is a biology nerd (his profs helped him get a research gig this summer at a University of California with paid stipend, room, and transportation)- but he is also a musician, film maker, and athlete and is having a blast doing it all (or at least trying to) at Vassar. He says students seem very supportive of each other, both in the classroom and the recital halls and there is ample opportunity to get involved with politics (I think they just got ranked #2 by Princeton Review for that) but he says you can also just treat it as a spectator sport. There is a quirky factor, but in a quiet live-and-let-live sort of way. A tour during the summer got his attention (having never heard of it before), but an overnight during the school year knocked every other school off his wish list (thank goodness he got in). As noted in a recent Washington Post piece, Vassar’s admit rate for females is about 19% - in case that matters as she ranks her list.
Thanks, that’s great information. Someone said their friend’s kid left Vassar recently because it was too much of a party school for her. Any feedback on that? I know this sounds nuts, but my main thing against Vassar is Lyme disease and the other tick borne illnesses in the Hudson Valley. Everyone I know seems to have Lyme disease and it’s starting to make me a little paranoid. But Vassar does look like a great fit for either one of my girls (11th and 12th grade).
Vassar a party school?! Are you sure that the name didn’t get mixed up with some other college? b/c Vassar is nearly the opposite of a ‘party school’. There is of course some partying, but the significant majority of it happens in the just-off-campus senior townhouses (which are away from the quieter and more in-demand senior apartments). Usually Vassar is seen as too serious not too frivolous!
As for Lyme, it’s anecdotal, but I just checked in with D2 and she doesn’t know of anybody who has had issues with tick-born disease. If you are really, really worried, and don’t have confidence in your D doing good tick checks on herself, and/or if your D is likely to go running on trails (there are some nice ones around Vassar), treat her shoes with permethrin, which has been shown to be the most effective tick repellent; if she is likely to go hiking treat their hiking clothes as well.
OP, I had some of the same impressions of Bowdoin when I visited a few months ago. And I thought the stuffed polar bear in the gym was a bit odd. When you are on the treadmill you are staring straight at it!
We had the same experience as you at Wooster: lots of attention from the staff and a first-rate program during the visit.
Sorry you couldn’t stop at Earlham. I think they have a whole lot to offer. They are undergoing an ambitious (for their size) building program, and an effort to expand the size of the student body.
Most (if not all) aid your daughter will receive will be based on need. So it’s important to pick schools that meet need. As well as instate public options. The other school I heard about recently is Sterling College in VT.
Late to this thread,and I dont know if anyone has already mentioned it, but have you looked at Bard College?
Kinda “Reed” like, but could be a perfect place for your DD
Thanks everyone for all the great feedback. We are in that middle place vis a vis “need.” Hubby is retired military and makes a decent salary on top of his military retirement which puts us at pretty high earnings. We have 3 children. Our son is in private middle school ($12,000/year) and we’re not willing to move him. With military income only for all but the past 6 years and me not working, lots of moving etc. we have not saved much for college. So a few very generous top tier schools such as Amherst or Carleton or Grinnell, might give us good need-based aid, but many good schools would give us very little. And there’s no way we can pay the $60,000/year price tag out of pocket. So, that’s our situation. I know many families are in the same boat. When I went to Claremont McKenna, my parents were divorced had low incomes and so it was practically free. I came out owing only $12,000. My husband attended Occidental on an ROTC scholarship. Most people in our situation go in-state, but we had such great educational experiences at our LACs that we’d love for our kids to have that opportunity if there’s a way to make that happen for them.
Unless your daughter is planning on doing some sockless backwoods camping, I don’t think you need to worry about ticks or lyme disease. It is very easy to spot them/feel them. It’s really only if she was sleeping outside or with a dog where you would need to be super vigilant. They’re gone come frost anyway.
While there’s drinking and smoking to some extent at Vassar, it’s less at parties and more at chill sessions with 5-10 friends in a dorm room, if that makes sense. Definitely not gigantic frat party culture.
Yes, Bard and Reed have both been mentioned. Great schools. Just not as much her alley as some of the other schools on her list. Although it looks as if Bard could really use her on their swim team
@MidwestDad3, maybe the Polar Bear is meant to make you run faster?
DD is going to have a phone or Skype interview with Earlham this week. She’s applying Early Action so if she gets in we’ll try to visit in January. Brrrr.
Thanks @Qwerty568, good to know about the social scene at Vassar. I guess college is college, there will be drinking and drugs wherever you go. It’s nice when there are lots of other ways to have fun on Friday and Saturday night besides that. Deer ticks, alas, are not easy to see, especially in the nymph stage. We do checks constantly but my son got Lyme two years ago and I’m having my other daughter tested now because of some worrying symptoms. I know I sound neurotic, but it’s actually getting pretty bad in our area and downstate is worse. We’ve seen ticks on our dogs here even during brief thaws in the middle of the winter. Nasty creatures! Virtually nothing kills them!
@Earthmama68- I am genuinely surprised. It is so at odds with our experience of Vassar. But- horses for courses, and if it isn’t the right fit, best to find a place that is.
