<p>My S is looking at several of the smaller LAC's in PA. There are so many choose from so it's hard to choose. We are looking for opinions on Gettysburg, Dickinson, Franklin and Marshall, and Juniata. Anyone out there who has visited or attended/kids have attended, we would love to know what you think.
He is thinking about a natural or physical science major with opportunity to do a theater minor or just lots or theater participation options, not interested in Greek life, not sporty, and would like the chance to study abroad.
He is out of state. Looking at the Common Data Sets should be least a match at F&M and Dickinson and very strong from Juniata and Gettysburg.</p>
<p>Pennsylvania is blessed with a bounty of great LACs, as you’ve already noticed. I know of Juniata and F&M primarily by reputation (friends/grad classmates attending). Both seem good choices for the sciences, with Juniata being particularly strong in organismal biology. </p>
<p>I know there has been some discussion about Gettysburg theatre on the theatre majors foum – I recommend asking there as well for more input about these schools. At the risk of creating too many duplicate threads, the Parents forum is often a better place for asking about lesser known colleges, so consider asking there as well. </p>
<p>I recommend Allegheny. It’s excellent for the sciences and a great little school. Muhlenberg, with its strong theatre program, may be worth checking out as well. </p>
<p>Gettysburg, F&M and Dickinson have nearly identical student academic profiles. My son graduated last year from G’burg and loved it. Spent a semester abroad - it is encouraged by all 3 schools. It is sporty AND greeky, however. IMO, F&M is less than Getttysburg and Dickinson less than both. You may like Muhlenburg. I don’t know Juniata.</p>
<p>My D has finished her freshman year at Dickinson, and has had a really good experience there. She is interested in theater, but not as a major, and has had the opportunity to participate in several different theater productions there during her freshman year. I was amazed at how much theater opportunity there was at a relatively small school. </p>
<p>Do you have any specific questions about Dickinson? Dickinson seems to be a very friendly, welcoming place, but without a specific single “type” of student, so it is possible for lots of different students to feel comfortable there. There is a Greek presence, but it doesn’t dominate. It has a beautiful new science building. It is known for its study abroad program. D hasn’t experienced study abroad yet, but heard a lot of great things from other students who had studied abroad, to the extent that she wants to go to two different countries during her junior year.</p>
<p>I also recommend looking into Allegheny. It was on D’s short list, and she got a very nice merit award there. It seemed very strong academically. </p>
<p>Between Dickinson, Gettysburg, and F&M, my perceptions of the differences: Gettysburg seems more Greek and preppy than the others, with a very pretty campus. Dickinson has a big international emphasis, and a “green” emphasis (such as having their own college farm). F&M has a reputation for being pre-professional and extremely academically rigorous, with grade deflation. </p>
<p>I second Muhlenberg for its sciences and its theatre program. Keep in mind that these small PA LACs can be less liberal than their larger sisters; that may suit you fine. There will be lots of partying at each of them. They are each within a couple miles of a cornfield, so there’s quite a bit of drinking. There’s enough jocks and greeks that if you’re not one or the other there’s some “another Saturday night, and I ain’t got nobody” problems. Of these, I like Dickinson the most and Juniata the least. Yep, F&M has for a long time been pre-professional and conservative even among this bunch. I don’t know Allegheny hardly at all. Bucknell has some of the same problems but is stronger academically; Susquehanna is weaker than some of these. Here’s a list of all of the PA LACs:</p>
<p><a href=“Pennsylvania (PA) Liberal Arts Colleges | Liberal Arts College Review”>http://www.liberalartscollegereview.com/liberal_arts_college/stateid/PA</a> </p>
<p>Thank you so much for the info. You confirm what I have bee able the gather from the internet and it looks like it may be a good fit. He is also interestered to Alleghany but as we are in Virginia, it is really far and it looks like the weather would be a real shocker. We also visited Ursinus College this spring and he loved it so we were thinking that these schools would be similar.</p>
<p>I met 2 Gettysburg parents at a recent college fair. Their daughter had some very good musical theater BFA offers but ultimately chose Gettysburg. She is doing a ton of musical theater there while also getting a liberal arts education and having a more traditional college experience and apparently loving it. I cannot speak firsthand about Gettysburg or the overall campus atmosphere, but these parents were extremely positive about the school and the theater opportunities seem to be very good. I will also second what others said about considering Muhlenberg if theater is a strong interest.</p>
<p>3isamagicnumber, I would suggest Muhlenberg or Ursinus for your son. Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshal have a large Greek life. It dominates the social scene at both of these schools. Dickinson is somewhat less but still a large part of the campus life. Muhlenberg and Ursinus are similar schools with Muhlenberg having a larger theater scene which would allow your son to have more opportunities to participate in the various theater productions. I am sorry but I don’t know a thing about Juniata. Best of luck in your search! </p>
<p>My first-hand experience is with Allegheny and Juniata. Juniata doesn’t have any Greek organizations. However, it does seem like a decent number of students are involved with sports there. They really promote the study abroad opportunities when wooing a student, but I expect they are more or less in line with offerings at other LACs. Allegheny has a Greek presence but it didn’t seem too dominant. Both campuses are very pretty with nice facilities. Freshman housing and food seemed a notch better at Allegheny, but probably not enough to offset the weather/distance. Juniata has a lot of very neat campus traditions. No read on theatre at either.</p>
<p>Gettysburg has a reputation as being very Greek. Don’t know much about F&M or Dickinson other than they seem like very good schools (and more selective than the others mentioned here).</p>
<p>My niece attended Juniata. She came from an urban area and found Juniata a little bit confining. Academically, she had a good experiece there and participated in the study abroad program. My sense is that it’s a friendly campus, and the college does a lot to create a warm community. I understand they are well known for the life sciences/pre-med. She also received a generous merit award, and I don’t think her stats were out of this world. (In fact, she didn’t get into Gettysburg.) </p>
<p>You may want to consider Skidmore.</p>
<p>Why just “choose” from PA LACs, though? There are many fine LACs all over the northeast.</p>