<p>BTW, We visited Ursinus today. It was a very pleasant hour drive from our house through small towns and along the Perkiomen creek. On the way, son told me that he might be interested in an IT major. Not an option at three of the four colleges I am planning for us to visit within the next couple of months, including Ursinus. darn! I’ll write a separate visit report.</p>
<p>How about Arcadia? [Arcadia</a> University - #1 in study abroad, graduate, undergraduate, online degree programs including Forensic Science](<a href=“http://www.arcadia.edu/]Arcadia”>http://www.arcadia.edu/) That one is on our list for a September visit. </p>
<p>We’re visiting PSU on Monday, mostly to give son an idea of BIG college and because they have a special program that might give him insight into possible majors. [Spend</a> a Summer Day at Penn State - Penn State Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.psu.edu/sasd/]Spend”>http://admissions.psu.edu/sasd/) </p>
<p>Avoid Bethlehem and Moravian college for the next couple of weeks. Musikfest starts Friday and it gets crazy.</p>
<p>Arcadia is something of a suitcase college, with lots of part-time students, too. It does a wonderful job of a number of things – for one, I know a kid with very significant disabilities who has had a great experience there; they pride themselves on their ability to accommodate. It’s a little bit of a grab bag of disparate programs, though, and not terribly much campus life.</p>
<p>JHS, I know what you are saying about Arcadia but their study abroad and a couple of majors sound appealing to me. One of them, Management Information Systems, is a combination of computer science and marketing, that I think will appeal to my son. I’m glad we’re going to visit it while College is in session so we can get a good feel for it.</p>
<p>Oh, absolutely. They have worked very hard to build their study abroad programs, and to develop majors that build practical skills. I have a lot of respect for what they have been doing there. But it’s a very different sort of institution than Ursinus.</p>
<p>A friend of mine took her son for a visit to Arcadia a couple of years ago. They were told that all the freshmen do a study abroad - half the class in the first semester and half in the second semester. It was really a turn off. She felt like they were sending the kids abroad to keep them off campus. It might be right for some kids but I would not want my college freshman doing a study abroad.
They do have a very good physical therapy program.</p>
<p>I think that ^ is what makes this college search process so interesting. I find it extremely appealing to do a first semester abroad, sort of like the ultimate in team building! They have changed the program though. Now, it’s not mandatory and you have to have a certain GPA. Even more interesting though, is how something that I think is cool and unique might be the exact opposite to my kids - what’s up with that!</p>
<p>kathiep makes a good point: studying abroad freshman year (especially first semester) would be great for building close friendships. Also, I think it would be wonderful in that would be like taking a semester off to travel, but with more direction and supervision.</p>
<p>My son and I visited five colleges in New York and Pennsylvania in February, and we both liked Susquehanna best (to our surprise). It just feels as if they have invested a lot of time, money, and energy into making it a good little school. The new science building under construction will be a big plus. The indoor track has full-height glass walls on two sides, so it feels like you’re running outside (S is a distance runner). Everyone was very friendly and our tour guide was enthusiastic about the place. S had a second interview this week, and the Director of Admissions told him he has an excellent chance of receiving a full-tuition scholarship - wow! That would be hard to resist, even if he gets accepted to some bigger-name schools.</p>
<p>Oh, I forgot to mention that a good number of kids from Maine go to SU. I’ve talked to several of them (or their parents) and I haven’t heard a single negative comment! They all seem to love it there.</p>
<p>Susquehanna, somewhere on CC recently I thought I read they were doing forced triples due to housing shortage. That might be worth looking into. One of H’s relatives is there and he just loves it.</p>
<p>warriorboy - When we called to arrange tours in February, SU asked if S wanted an interview. It was his very first one. It went well, but then his college consultant had the Director of Admissions coming to Portland this week, and thought S should meet him, also, since he will be the one making the money decisions.</p>
<p>We visited Union (not impressed at all), University of Rochester (liked it), Grove City (didn’t like it), SU, and Bucknell (didn’t like the info session guy - middle-aged, heavy-set, and had an attitude of “You’d be REALLY LUCKY to come here!!!”).</p>
<p>Back from Lycoming. For a good, but not top of the class student that wants a small private LAC with merit aid, I would very much suggest checking this school out. Nice small city, involved professors, emphasis on internships, and I think some hand holding - Lycoming had it all. They are also up front about what merit aid is guaranteed. Son’s conclusion is that it’s not techy enough for him but we really didn’t see the whole college and it mind end up on the list of schools to apply to next year. Each of the faculty members that we spoke with were warm and friendly. I liked it quite a bit.</p>
<p>Warriorboy,
I think you have an excellent list of schools and have received very good advice from Kathiep and others. From what I have seen, PA has the most good small private school options for B or B+ students of any state, so it is no wonder you receive so many more “Add…” suggestions than “Drop…” suggestions.</p>
<p>I believe your son will like all the schools and has a good shot at all, with Muhlenberg, Ursinus and Juniata being the most difficult, in that order. </p>
<p>I have been very impressed with all I have heard about Lycoming and Elizabethtown and, as an out of state male, I suggest your son is a lock at both–for reasons that escape me, they appear to have no out of state visibility–even in neighboring NJ.</p>
<p>Juniata and Susquehanna are in very, very small towns which are not near any large towns, so your son needs to be ok with that.</p>
<p>I look forward to your and your son’s reactions.</p>
<p>Well, we’ve decide to hold off and visit Allegeheny as part of our Ohio trip. It’s closer to Ohio Wesleyan than to any of our Penn schools. We’re going to do some drive throughs and see if a couple of the other schools interest him enough to visit in the future.</p>
<p>We do have some good state schools that would be good safety’s. Have you thought about visiting any of them? I was surprised how much I liked Millersville and Kutztown when I visited them. I’m a bit concerned that you seem to have all match-reach schools here and no financial or academic safety. My older son (B student, good SAT’s) was waitlisted at Juniata and even had an Eagle Scout hook and a rigorous schedule. Just a thought as long as you are driving through. [PASSHE</a> | PA State System of Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.passhe.edu/Pages/default.aspx]PASSHE”>Home | PA State System of Higher Education)</p>
<p>2 other PA schools you will likely pass as you drive on Route 80 are East Stroudsburg, <a href=“http://www.esu.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.esu.edu</a> (near poconos ski country) and Bloomsburg [Bloomsburg</a> University of Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.bloomu.edu%5DBloomsburg”>http://www.bloomu.edu)</p>
<p>My son spent a year and 1/2 at Lycoming. I thought it was a wonderful school for him. He enjoyed it very much. In the end, he wanted to be at home more than at college, so he is now home going to CC and working part time. Things I liked about Lycoming: 1. the dorms were fine and everyone has to live in them. This made it a truly residential college. 2. The cafeteria was open all day and you could go into it as many times as you wanted. So, he could pop over and get a snack or eat 4 or 5 meals if he was hungry. 3. The classes were challenging. The professors were available. 4. They have a writing center in the library to help you with papers and editing. 5. The town was small without feeling really small.</p>