<p>US News classifies Westminster as a “regional” university. Typically, relatively many students at these schools major in pre-professional fields. At Westminster, the most popular majors (26% of degrees conferred) are in “Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services”. Another 19% major in “Health Professions and Related Programs” (nursing etc.) This could be a good, bad, or indifferent matter, depending on what you’re after, but it’s a very different distribution of majors than you’d find at many of the LACs on the OP’s list.</p>
<p>@4kids4college Always a great feeling to find colleges matching your expectations. This would be a great place for skiers!</p>
<p>Westminster itself describes the college as “a comprehensive liberal arts college that integrates a strong foundation in liberal education with cutting-edge professional programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level.” The US News rankings purport to exclude from the category of “liberal arts colleges” those schools that offer professional majors such as business, education, and nursing. But this is totally inconsistent with many of the colleges on the US News LAC list – Puget Sound, for example, has a very strong and popular business program, which is one of its most popular majors. </p>
<p>The Honors program at Westminster is exceptionally strong in the liberal arts and has a 90% 4 year grad rate. This is where my D would be if she went to Westminster. I am not especially bothered about the school also having pre-professional programs such as business and nursing. And I think US News has its own reasons for categorizing colleges – otherwise why would it ignore the school’s own description of itself as a liberal arts college? The same is true for Rollins College, for example, which calls itself a liberal arts college but is classified by US News as a “regional” university, presumably because it includes professional majors. </p>
<p>Thanks for the update! It’s great to hear that your daughter has a school that she’s enthusiastic about. I hope you continue to enjoy your trip together.</p>
<p>The classifications matter less to me than the opportunities for students. Going through this for the second time–and having a kid in line to graduate from an LAC in less than two years–my ears perk up about internships and other “pre-professional” opportunities. I do not want my kids coming home to live in my basement.</p>
<p>Westminster sounds amazing and I think it would be a blast to live in SLC. You must be so excited that you found it!</p>
<p>Update: D received a call yesterday from Westminster, accepted with $15k merit. Sticker price (tuition, room, board) $38k so $23k COA. She is excited! Only 15 or so more to hear from…;)</p>
<p>Congrats! The first one is always sweet!</p>
<p>Excellent news today, D accepted at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta with $22k merit, their highest award, and invited to interview for a full ride in March! Loved that school, very excited! </p>
<p>Congratulations! :)</p>
<p>That’s awesome, 4kids! Agnes Scott is a great school.</p>
<p>It seems like your daughter’s problem is going to shift from “where should I visit” to “which offer of acceptance should I choose” – a good problem to have!</p>
<p>Do let us know how things work out with the other schools that you visited.</p>
<p>Agnes Scott was a beautiful school. When we visited, I loved it, but it just didn’t click for D, so it was scratched from the list. Her list has gotten pretty small, but we are still hoping she’ll be happy with her options. That’s the hope for all our kids…good options! </p>
<p>Congratulations 4kids4colleges! It sounds like your D is going to have a lot of great options.</p>
<p>FYI, LACs that grant merit aid:
<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=lib_arts&state_code[]=ALL&id[]=none”>http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=lib_arts&state_code[]=ALL&id[]=none</a></p>
@4kids4colleges My hubby went to Westminster and absolutely loved his experience. Small, tight knit learning community. Wonderful relationship with his professors, quality education and generous financial aid package. While Salt Lake may have a more conservative rep Westminster and surrounding area tend to be more middle of the road/liberal. And the Episcopal community in the area is strong. Did you visit the Florida schools? We are here visiting now. Checked out the schools you listed Eckerd and Rollins top my D list.
Just saw that your D is a senior this year so I assume you already went through applications. How did it go? Curious to hear where she ended up applying and the results?
Hi there @RobynnLeigh. We did not get a chance to visit the Florida schools, unfortunately. One of the dads on the Southern LACs thread has a D who just decided on Rollins. It sounds awesome.
That is great to hear about Westminster. After visiting many schools, D felt that Westminster was too small, and she felt some of the students seemed more “serious” at other schools. It still seems like a wonderful school.
In retrospect, D applied to way too many schools. We did not do a very good job of narrowing it down, and we had no idea the merit awards would be quite similar. She was accepted everywhere except Tulane and Grinnell – waitlisted at those two. She received merit everywhere she was accepted. Here are the results - merit awards per year:
Stetson U $26k
Southwestern U $25.5k (increased after FA appeal)
McDaniel College $25k
Whittier College $25k
Agnes Scott College $23k + 3k “grant”
Beloit College $23k + $2k summer award
Denison U $23k + $2k non-federal work study
Roanoke College $22k
Centre College $20k
U of Redlands $21k
Trinity University $19k
Hendrix College $19K
Eckerd College $19k
Guilford College $18K
Wofford College $18k
Westminster: $12k
Sewanee $10k
Her top choices right now are Southwestern U (TX), Centre (KY), Denison (OH), Sewanee (TN). We are waiting to hear about FA appeals at all but Southwestern. Decision time soon!
I highly recommend to everyone the Southern LACs thread. I posted over there more often since it seemed more active. There is quite a bit of overlap between the discussion here and on that thread:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1671635-southern-lacs-p1.html
Finally, thanks to everyone for all the great advice on this and the Southern LACs thread. We sure have learned a lot this year. What a journey! Will update with final decision soon 
Oops, Westminster was $15k.
I think it makes sense to consider how the campus looks, just not high on a list of requirements.