<p>As a parent of two recent SLU graduates and an alumni myself, I feel qualified to offer a perspective on a St. Lawrence University education. With the cost of education, including SLUs, increasing at alarming rates (minimum of 20% in both of my childrens 4 years at SLU) it is prudent for potential students to be able to truly evaluate of the quality of the education offered by an institution. Certainly, universities are supremely skilled at marketing and selling their four years as extraordinary opportunities. So, I offer a few points to consider as real experience from living the SLU experience. </p>
<ol>
<li> The Career Service: department is virtually useless. It heavily promotes the alumni connections, which amount to little. Recruiting on campus in virtually non-existent. Trips to recruiting locations are expensive from Canton with little support both with transportation and financial backing.</li>
<li> The International Studies: department is in the business of promoting only SLU programs (it is financially to their advantage). If you are interested in outside programs, be prepared that you will be told that any scholarships you have will not be honored and that upon return to campus, there is no assurance of your scholarship still being available or you course work accepted.</li>
<li> Faculty: While engaging and skilled professors exist, there are also far too many faculty members who have reached complacency in the old boy North Country network. The remote and small town location keeps professors tightly connected and limited to outside stimulation and daily connections.<br></li>
<li> Administration. The administration struggles with listening to the voice of the student. Accessibility to administration is available but little is heard as the administration is stuck with a perspective that they know best.<br></li>
<li> Internships: these are increasingly important for college graduates trying to prepare for the job market. SLU lacks in offering opportunities. The location makes in difficult and this is a real disadvantage for students. Help with summer internships is extremely limited.</li>
<li> Campus: The University underwent large-scale capital improvements and as a result depleted their endowment at a time that the economy was slowing. Cost cutting measures on so many levels have been occurring from reducing hours for cafeteria operation, class offerings, number of hours students can work, pay for students, number of pages students are allowed to print each semester. They may seem small but they just kept coming each semester and directly impact the students.</li>
</ol>
<p>Would I encourage my children to attend SLU, now knowing what I do? Absolutely not! There are better choices available for the value and support.</p>
<p>Even thought this doesn’t apply to me at all, thanks jelomom2003. I wish more parents would write thoughtful warnings like yours. I think that their are many schools that aren’t worth the costs but it is hard to know. Posts like yours are difficult to write but very necessary.</p>
<p>While I appreciate your perspective, I would like to add that I received many other perspectives from existing students and their parents (all from East Coast) that are the exact opposite. Why did you send your 2 kids there if you knew this? And why did you pay for your 2nd kid to go there if you knew this? I’m sorry your experience was negative.</p>
<p>All colleges are going through cost cutting, so some of what you mention will affect any college (students can only print so many pages per semester without paying, tuition increases, travel abroad rules…).</p>
<p>Snowflake -That’s great that you can weigh perspectives. My observations/opinions may not be of particular concern to you or your child. And initially, I too was one of those singing praises. </p>
<p>So, to answer your question, we sent our first because as alumni, both my husband and I were excited to have a chip (that’s what they are called) to share the tradition. My second child was just a year behind. Certainly, with a crystal ball and the experience we gained over five years, we would have made different choices, at least for the second. </p>
<p>College decisions are difficult, and painfully expensive these days. Personally, I wish my eyes had been opened to things that could/would eventually become significant influences. Yes, many college (but not all) are taking cost cutting measures, I mentioned some that my children faced. Having pay and hours cut back after working the same job on campus for four years is very real to a kid trying to help pay for college. </p>
<p>Best wishes</p>
<p>jelomom, what are your kids doing now? Did they get jobs or are they in grad school? Please PM me if you prefer not to answer on this forum.</p>
<p>Would love to hear more feedback on satisfaction with St. Lawrence. We are considering making the trip there this summer. I have posted previously that I was concerned regarding the remote location as far as student travel. Now, jelomom2003 brings up other ways the location is a negative. Still keeping an open mind, however, and that’s why I’d love to hear from others.</p>
<p>Katydid, the most important things to keep in mind about a private LAC college is that there are strengths and weaknesses. If you don’t agree with some basics, then it may not be right. For example, I would never take out a loan to go to a school like St. Lawrence … it is very nice LAC that in some ways is a luxury. It is a luxury to have smaller class sizes with the ability to have closer relationships with your professors. It is a luxury to be able to be taught by professors for most of your classes versus a foreign TA (more typical in large universities). If you don’t get enough financial aid and scholarships to help bridge the cost gap, then you should strongly consider other college options because no kid should have huge loans hanging over their head when they leave college. </p>
<p>St. Lawrence is an active college. A large percentage of the student body enjoys sports and the outdoors. If you expect the city life, it is not for you.</p>
<p>No college is going to hand you an internship or summer job on a silver platter … the student has to use all the resources available to him/her to seek out challenging opportunities to broaden their experiences. In a small town like Canton, the crime rate will be low, it will be cozy, but the opportunity for summer jobs or connections to summer jobs will not be what it is in, say, Boston. You have to use all of your connections and network to get a name for a name for a job.</p>
<p>On the travel abroad options … understand what St. Lawrence offers as part of their programs BEFORE you fall in love with a specific other program or country. There is a lot of behind the scenes work to make these study abroad and travel abroad options work, so if you know already that you want to go to a country that is not on the long list that St. Lawrence already supports, then consider that in your decision. </p>
<p>Of the 5 St. Lawrence students I know from my area, one is applying to med school, one is in grad school, and 3 are thriving at jobs any engineer major would drool over pay-wise. They are leaders in our community (or were, if they moved away) and have not only made a good name for St. Lawrence but also their high school. </p>
<p>You could get a great job right out of St. Lawrence if that’s what you want, or you could get a great education that sets you up for grad school or med school if that is your path. It is a NOT a school where you will be given a formula and 4 years later you pop out with a degree and a specific job. If that’s what you want, major in engineering and go to major university.</p>
<p>Snowflake- the answer to your question is yes! They were both accepted to grad school, one decided to defer (great school too) to work for a non profit and reapply for a different field of study; the other works full time and is beginning full-time grad school in field of employment. So, there is no connection to my comments and their present situation! And their accomplishments/awards while in college have made “good names” for the school (great, in fact; one was recommended for the Rhodes from SLU) . You are SO correct, the true work of a liberal arts education begins upon graduation. </p>
<p>I said “let the buyer beware”; as with most schools, there are things that could be better and the point of my post is to make people aware of trouble spots we uncovered. To look at your points.
LOANS - great if you can attend college without taking loans, but for the majority attending SLU, loans, grants and scholarships are the norm. So folks considering SLU should know that the scholarships offered in their freshman package WILL NOT keep pace with the increasing cost of the education. What looked good freshman year will not feel good by senior year.
PROFESSORS- I initially thought that having profs rather than TA’s was a good thing, and it may still be overall, however a fresh approach and new energy would have been a welcome change in several departments. The closeness and repetitive nature of the faculty community can become a negative draw similar to living in a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business.
SUMMER JOBS and INTERNSHIPS - I am not talking “silver platter”. And yes, with tremendous drive there are highly competitive opportunities, my daughter had one, a research fellowship on campus between freshman and sophomore year and another independent the next summer. What I am talking about are the internships that open doors for employment. And with a remote location such as Canton, it is imperative that the departments and career service has an aggressive plan to help connect students with opportunities. Upon graduation, in this economic climate, these opportunities can make unbelievable differences, from simply writing resumes with backbone to opening doors. That’s just the facts!
TRAVEL ABROAD - wish it were as simple as know where you want to go before you go to the school. For example; the Kenya Program is incredibly competitive, within the SLU community and for slots held for students from other universities. So your kid doesn’t get accepted, is he/she OK with trying to get into the Copenhagen program then? Or does your kid want to look into other programs in Africa. Or, by Junior year your child has decided that their field of interest in literature would be better served in a program at Oxford, but SLU only goes to London?<br>
OUTDOOR PROGRAMS - Live in the Adirondack House or pay very very close attention to the 100’s of daily posts for the sign up to Whiteface or Peak Weekend because you might just miss out. The University does not provide transportation to these so a car or friends with cars (depending on your comfort leave) will be important. It is truly a beautiful campus and area to be enjoyed. </p>
<p>You don’t have to agree or like these comments but I offer them because knowledge is power and our kids get one shot to get it right.</p>
<p>jelomom, thanks for your honesty … your view is important to share and I appreciate it.</p>
<p>Jelomom presents her perspective, and she has direct experience, so it is worth considering. There is nothing horribly inaccurate in what she is saying about her experience/her kids’ experience at SLU. The location of SLU is very important to consider. If you/your student would feel isolated in such a remote location with little access to urban areas, consider that carefully. Sports are big at SLU. It is getting more expensive every year, and the school should worry about out-pricing itself. However, my daughter loves SLU and is very happy there. It isn’t perfect, no. I also don’t get the sense of a strong student governance body or a lot of political activism, etc. Some students are having lots of fun and not studying much. Having said all that, most students seem happy and engaged. The academics (sciences in this case) have been quite challenging for my kid–she studies very hard, and is very focused. She has had no problems making lots of friends, getting out, balancing her life. Facilities are great. Best aspect of SLU for me? Great merit aid that does exactly what it was intended to do–gets students who might have gone to other, more highly ranked schools. I would recommend SLU but you need to visit to get the flavor. The disadvantages are mostly the obvious ones. BTW–I’ve only met one alum (of many) who was not happy at SLU–and all of them are nicely employed.</p>
<p>For the past several days I have been considering the various opinions shared. I want to clarify my thoughts about some conclusions that are naturally being drawn.</p>
<p>The location of St. Lawrence University and most any university is an important consideration to a student’s ability to enjoy the school. Therefore, it is important to fully understand all the wonderful pluses and challenges of the physical location of SLU. That said, I do not believe that location is an excuse for the deficiencies in meeting the growing requirements necessary for SLU students to thrive in this global world. It takes a vibrant, engaged, open minded and forward thinking administration to implement programs that involve students in opportunities beyond the campus even while still on campus. To suggest that a rural setting is grounds enough for SLU to be limited in developing internships, fellowships, summer internships, interviews, employment connections, learning opportunities, and involvement would be unfair to all rural campuses. SLU administration has historically been reluctant to and unaffected by the voice of students. Moonstone2, you are correct, the student government’s (Thelmo) involvement is largely to manage the allocation of funds for student organizations. Activism is kept very quiet with regard to understanding and securing the need for better opportunities for students. Activism on social issues including LGBT, minority (Black Student Union), Advocates (domestic, date, room mate abuse) is present in varying degrees.</p>