Inside Scoop on Franklin & Marshall?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Franklin & Marshall College
21

<p>Sally, I'd recommend the Holiday Inn Express in Easton. A lot closer than the Courtyard Marriott in Bethlehem. There's also a Comfort Inn, it's cheap and clean but.... the Holiday Inn Express is newer and nicer. The Lafayette Inn is lovely and walking distance, but it's expensive and books up quickly.</p>

<p>For eats on College Hill, if you want to eat where the students eat when they go off-campus I suggest Pizza D'Oro or Morici's. There's some nice new restaurants downtown between the college and the square, as well. </p>

<p>DS is a sophomore at Lafayette (you may remember him from doing his stats evaluation, Sally!). He's not joining a frat, and has a pretty good circle of like-minded friends. I think only one of his friends is pledging. DH was in a frat, but that was back in the day when 80% of the school was in a frat and there were 17 frats on campus (early 1980's). Now Hudsonvalley's info is correct, only about 1/3 are Greek, there's only 6 frats & 6 sororities, and they don't rush till sophomore year. Somehow that big Greek reputation lives on, but it's really outdated.</p>

<p>P.S. When you know your schedule, contact Candyman (Justin) on the Lafayette Board. We met up with him when we were there last year. He was immensely helpful after DS was admitted, when we were chosing classes, filling out dorm forms, etc.</p>

22

<p>Actually, there was a student who was shot about two years ago. The incident occurred right off campus. The college was wonderful about disseminating information and making a number of changes with the public safety department. Lights were added etc...I was also impressed with the way President Frye and Dean Tabor treated this child as he was their own. The young man who was shot was on his way home from a party about midnight, if I remember correctly and robbery was the motive. Although my son lived off campus, he was in close proximity to the school. I don't recall him feeling unsafe, although we did warn him to be careful when he was driving to make sure he knew where he was going. One wrong turn and the neighborhood turns not so nice.</p>

<p>Also, the Lancaster Arts Hotel is awesome as well as the restaurant, Gibralter. Those were two of our favorites!!!</p>

23

<p>Thanks for all the helpful travel tips. So far we haven't made any reservations because:</p>

<p>1) All the places we've tried are booked up </p>

<p>2) Because it's obviously such a crazy travel time, we may not spend time where we expect to in order to avoid crowds (i.e., some of the kid-friendly tourist traps on the docket will get scratched off, if they're mobbed). The beauty of having no reservations is that it's easy to change plans at the 11th hour, and since we can't seem to get 'em where we want to anyway, we'll just fly by the seat of our pants. But we'll definitely keep all these suggestions in mind.</p>

24

<p>The House / Residential College system there is quite new, and several older residential facilities were made over to accommodate some of the House functions that F&M hoped to create. Does anyone have a sense as to whether the House system has introduced a significant change in the quality of campus and residential life, or is it seen by students more as peripheral or window dressing?</p>

25

<p>Sally -- If you are visiting Lafayette, stay at the Lafayette Inn. It's lovely, and has room configurations good for a family. You will be right next door to Lafayette.</p>

26

<p>Thanks for the tip. I did check their Web site and they do have vacancies for the night we THINK we'll be there, but our plans are too up in the air to commit yet. I'll check it out if it looks like we'll be in the Easton area for the night.</p>

27

<p>F&M has a president who used to be VP at Penn. My sister worked for him there and considered him the best boss she ever had, and a visionary.</p>

<p>F&M has a relatively high % of international students- especially compared with the other schools mentioned. It is also popular with kids who have been expats. I think this distinguishes it from at least some of the other schools on the list.</p>

28

<p>So how did the visit go? Both my kids were accepted and considered F&M, my alma mater, seriously but ended up elsewhere (Bates then transfer to Bard now happy and Vassar happy...). I was not in a frat when I was there but their return to campus was a negative for my kids.</p>

<p>In our tours of 26(!) colleges while they were looking I will say that F&M's campus comes off very well compared to many others. The new buildings online in the last two years would have made it even more impressive. Lancaster had some down years but I think that has turned around. My impression is that F&M remains a very "pre-something" place and that the kids are very goal oriented.</p>

29

<p>I'm back from my travels. After seeing too many schools in too short a time, while trying to keep an 11-year-old engaged along the way, I empathize with the typical family on a college tour! I was also reminded of what I've insisted all along ... that there's a subjective factor that can't be overlooked, and thus college choices are inevitably influenced by the order in which one visits campuses, by what one ate--or didn't--before arriving, as well as by weather, guides, etc.</p>

<p>I hadn't seen F&M in years, and it certainly looked lovely--and bigger than I'd remembered--on what might have been the most gorgeous fall day ever. There were tons of kids outside playing Ultimate Frisbee, shooting hoops, just hanging out ... something I always like to see. </p>

<p>But, overall, if I had to pick favorite on this trip, I'd have to say Dickinson. I like the way that the campus is adjacent to the epicenter of the town, and I think that Carlisle, PA, gets a bad rap from college guidebooks that it doesn't deserve. However, Dickinson was on break when we got there, so I didn't get the full flavor. </p>

<p>We also saw--and liked--Muhlenberg, Lehigh, and Lafayette. At the latter, I met with a student I'd advised last year who loves Lafayette and turned down BC and Georgetown to go there. Merit money did play a big part in her decision but so did the fact that she simply felt at home on the Lafayette campus from the first time she saw it.</p>

<p>So, again, that's a testimony to the power of the gut reaction and to the importance of choosing a college that feels right and not just one that sounds right.</p>

<p>Travel tips: After finding no vacancy at a few gazillion Lancaster-area hotels, we ended up staying at the Hampton Inn in Ephrata, PA, about 15-20 minutes from F&M (maybe it's really even less, but every holiday-weekend lemming was on the road with us when we were there, thus the traffic was bad). It was an excellent Hampton Inn located right in a quaint little town, not out on an Anywhere USA strip. We ate dinner at Lily's on Main, which earned an A+ for ambiance, an A+ for location (2 min. walk from the hotel), and at least a B+ for the food. It was bustling on the holiday Saturday, but we still scored a prime-time reservation just about an hour before we went, while the Applebee's next door to the hotel had a line out the door. :p</p>

30

<p>Thanks for the update, Sally. When you get a chance, please post your full reports to the campus visits section of CC. My son is considering Laf, F&M, Dickinson, and (maybe) Muhlenburg. It would be very helpful. Thanks.</p>

31

<p>Will do. </p>

<p>We had wanted to see McDaniel on this trip, too, but it was too far afield. Perhaps that's another option for your son to check out. An advisee of mine from last year, who is now very happy at F&M, also liked McDaniel as well as Ursinus. He tried to pick his college based on the best match for him and not on prestige, reputation, etc., and it was a tough choice.</p>

32

<p>Sally, glad you had a good trip!</p>

33

<p>
[quote]
We had wanted to see McDaniel on this trip, too, but it was too far afield. Perhaps that's another option for your son to check out.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Nice idea, but since McDaniel is practically within walking distance from home, it's not on the list.</p>

34

<p>From what I'd heard, McDaniel isn't walking distance from anywhere, which is one reason I'm curious to see it. ;)</p>

35

<p>You know...</p>

<p>Wasilla is to Russia as my house is to McDaniel. :)</p>

36

<p>But you may have a better "governor" overseeing your house. :D</p>

37

<p>Thanks for the report Sally - my D is doing an overnight at F&M after her season is over, so I will have her add to things here....I shared your view on Dickinson by the way, but D is the customer I guess.....</p>

38

<p>Rachacha---I'm not sure what your daughter's sport is, but perhaps it's track or cross-country, since you mentioned a "meet." Just a warning ... be wary of what Div. 3 coaches promise. Since there are no Letters of Intent at the Div. 3 level, coaches can't accurately predict which recruited athletes will ultimately enroll, so they tend to woo them all aggressively. But, then, if more than enough show up in September, some kids will be disappointed to find that a once-solicitous coach is now ignoring them.</p>

<p>I'm not speaking specifically of F&M, but just offering a word to the wise about Div. 3 programs in general. However, if any athlete is involved in a sport where there are times or distances (like track & cross-country) then it's important to compare that student's times with the times of the college athletes. That will provide a decent indicator of where (or if!) this athlete will fit on the college roster.</p>

<p>It's far harder for those who play sports like football, soccer, basketball, etc. to see how high on the coach's pecking order they'll land than it is for those who run, swim, jump, throw, etc.</p>

<p>F&M did seem to have a very visible athletic presence, which could be a big plus for a student who prioritizes sports, but do keep your antennae up around Div. 3 coaches, wherever you are looking.</p>

39

<p>Thanks for sharing - actually, we already know about all that, part of the appeal as far as F&M goes is the fact that it is not as aggressive in D's sport, in fact, the coach is not even full-time. He knows that if a student is good enough to get into F&M, he is not there primarily for the sport, but to get a great education - D was very impressed with that.</p>

40

<p>Okay I just spent over an hour writing a really elaborate review of F&M but it said I wasn't logged in when I tried to post it and the whole thing got deleted...</p>

<p>But anyway, here were my main points:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Don't be intimidated by F&M kids! While on tour of the school I thought some of them looked like space cadets but everyone here is academic/driven to some degree (or else they wouldn't be here) and when it comes down to it 99% of us can write a mean term paper and carry a good conversation.</p></li>
<li><p>Greek life is a presence on campus, but you can embrace it wholeheartedly or pretty much avoid it. It might be a little harder for guys socially if they're not in a frat (there are like twice as many frats as there are sororities here and also, it gets difficult for a guy to get into a frat party if he's not a brother or if he isn't good friends with one) but either way, it's just not that big of a deal. As long as you are involved in something (I'm on the ultimate frisbee team here and it's awesome) you're going to have fun and get a chance to bond with upperclassmen. For example, we have parties and barbeques all the time and everyone is so much fun.</p></li>
<li><p>I haven't been disappointed by anything at F&M yet (except for the absence of an intramural soccer team which barely even counts as a complaint.) Seriously, this place is awesome. The teachers actually are as wonderful as everyone says they are. My classes are challenging and engaging. The campus is beautiful. The kids are great. I was so nervous about picking the "wrong" school (it had come down to F&M and Colby College in Maine) but now there isn't a doubt in my mind that I'm at the right place.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Sooo basically, if you (or your son/daughter) is worried about fitting in at F&M... don't be. The kids I've met here are just like most of the kids at my public high school (bubbly, down to earth, funny, kind) only some of them wear nicer sweaters. No, but seriously, F&M is the best... I don't think my college experience could be going any better than this.</p>