<p>I will appreciate suggestions on what type of students Moravian attracts and how it differs from other Eastern PA colleges, such as Albright, Ursinus and Susquehanna.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Overall the colleges you mention are similar.</p>
<p>Moravian has a lot of local kids and a lot of education and nursing majors which is rather atypical. Otherwise they are your average smart middle to upper middle class kids who dowell in school.</p>
<p>You make a very good point. Ursinus, in its materials, makes a great deal of its professional school acceptance rate; I do not know if that is a sign that students there are given heavier workloads. It also appears Albright has a lower student retention rate, for unknown reasons.</p>
<p>I work with 2 very bright guys who are Moravian grads. I would say overall they have smart (but not brilliant) and personable students.They also have a lot of business students, and it is also a big on music and that is a big part of the culture. </p>
<p>As I said education and nursing are also quite popualr, and those majors are rather unusual at a small LAC. </p>
<p>From a social life perspective Moravian is rather dull. Greek life is small and parties are rather small and quite. Also Lehigh is about a mile away so its does get dominated/overlooked a bit by the larger school.</p>
<p>I dont know all that much about Ursinas or Albright, but I can say Susquehana is also a very solid school. A more traditional LAC than Moravian, but also rather ioslated.</p>
<p>What are you planning to major in? What is important to you?</p>
<p>Thanks for replying. My son's interest is in a small, friendly school which offers marketing (not the most traditional LAC subject) and which is not a heavy drinking or clique-driven school. He takes school seriously, but values free time as well. I think he would benefit from a very supportive faculty, as he is not a self-promoter and might not get attention in the wrong school. He wants to avoid a suitcase school and wants an active intramural sports program.</p>
<p>I work in marketing/consulting with the afformentioned 2 Moravian grads,they also do very well. I am not sure if Moravian has a specific marketing major or if that is encompassed by a general business major.</p>
<p>Moravain isnt a huge party school, and it is a bit of a suitcase school as most students are pretty local. I believe the profs are very accessible and helpful and classes are small. Sports are popular at Moravin, and since they are D-III your son may even have a chance to play a varsity sport if he is so inclined.</p>
<p>Moravian does a neat and historic campus and Bethlehem is a nice town. Ursinas is closer and probably more well known around Philly but it is in sububan Collegeville. A nice place to live, but despite the name not really a good college town. </p>
<p>Susquehana is quite isolated but very pretty. They probbaly have the most affluent and diverse student body. Albright is solid but probably the least attractive of the 4 IMO.</p>
<p>Has your son looked at Gettysburg? It is my new favorite school as it is a very traditional LAC with a real college feel in a great town and location.</p>
<p>Thanks. I have heard Gettysburg is a fine school, but quite preppy, which would not be a fit.</p>
<p>Based on experiences at our high school over the past 5 years, PA LACs have a very strict admissions standards hierarchy, with Swarthmore, Haverford and Bryn Mawr at the top; Bucknell, Lehigh and Lafayette next; Muhlenberg, F&M, Gettysburg, Dickinson and possibly Ursinus next; then Juniata, Allegheny, Susquehanna and Moravian; then Elizabethtown, Arcadia, Scranton, Albright and Kings. I am missing some Western PA entrants.</p>
<p>To my surprise, LAC selection is PA is much better than in NY and NJ (leaving aside the public schools, no slight intended).</p>
<p>Yes-- I would say that your assesment is correct for the most part. You missed a few, but that is quite all right. Also Lehigh and Scranton really arent LAC, they are technically universities but overall they probably have much of the same feel as an LAC</p>
<p>Mo-mo attracts a lot of "normal" kids. Not much preppy, not pretentious, not elitists, but you will find a few of each type. Some cliques, but not overly so. Easy atmosphere to meet people and make friends. The music/arts atmosphere is south campus, a completely different vibe from main campus. School has surprisingly good resources for a smaller LAC. There is a party element, don't underestimate that.</p>
<p>Academically, mo-mo kids tend to be bright -- but they aren't going to launch any satellites. All in all a very nice campus. Above average students. Vals and sals should aim higher. Good school for Pennsy and Jersey kids who hit the honor roll most of the time.</p>
<p>Thanks; that is helpful. What are "Vals and Sals"?
Also, how well do you know the school and do you know how the business courses are? Do a lot of kids leave on weekends?
Thanks again</p>
<p>Valedictorians and salutorians. Don't worry, I wasn't one either. Business stuff at momo is better than you might expect; the school has for example the Amrhein Investment Club Amrhein</a> Investment Club which started as a $20,000 grant and is now worth over a million bucks -- and it's the students who make the decisions and move the money around. Business education at Moravian is decent, to be sure. It isn't a suitcase school, but still you'll generally see 2-3-4 kids from each dorm floor head home on an average weekend. How well do I know the school? Let's just say I hurtled down the snow covered slope behind Rau-Hassler on a cafeteria tray once upon a time.</p>
<p>Thanks
Am I right in assuming you found it worth the extra cost compared to a state school? Do the professors reach out to kids who are not self-promoters or are they just accessible?
Among private schools, I find it hard to tell them apart. I liked my visits to Moravian and Susquehanna and am looking at Ursinus, Albright, Juniata, Drew, Gettysburg, Fairfield and St. Joes. Muhlenberg, F&M and Lafayette seem more Val and Sal oriented.</p>
<p>Well you are looking at a lot of excellent schools. I will answer your basic question by saying that you can have an equally good or equally not so good experience whether you go to a state school or a private school, assuming all else is equal. The college experience -- like anything else in life -- is what you make of it.</p>
<p>I didn't get the impression that profs at momo reached out -- but they were definitely ready to do anything and everything to help if you reached out to them. No question about it. </p>
<p>I would pay more $$ to go to Momo or any of the others listed if they offered a better overall experience and campus atmosphere than whatever state school you have in mind. (On the other hand, if you're talking Penn State, that's a no-brainer...PSU all the way.) In general, if the state school offers the same experience as a private school, save your money. The nice thing about the Moravians of this world is that the campus "feels" like a good college experience. It looks the part. Wherever you go, you should look for that type of thing. Good for learning, and for isolating yourself from the world a little so that you can open your mind to new stuff. And you want a campus you can be proud of. Momo (and schools of that ilk) is no Lehigh, but it's a place you can feel good about attending.</p>
<p>The aid package we received from Moravian was one of the worst packages.
We were gapped by about 10K, so it was just completely out of the question.<br>
Check into all the schools FA statistics & try to have students apply where a large percentage of need is met.</p>
<p>well yes, there is that pesky problem of modest fin aid resources at momo.</p>
<p>Moravian does have a rather small endowment so they cannot be as generous as some other schools with financial aid.</p>
<p>I am sure they do what they can.</p>
<p>You might want to look at Mount St. Mary's in Maryland. It is just over the state line about 15 minutes from Gettysburg. They are very generous with FA including merit aid. It's a beautiful and close knit campus. Not sure if they offer a marketing major.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestion</p>
<p>If you are looking at Mount St Mary's, I'd suggest you also take a look Hood College in Frederick, MD. We've just been through this process and looked at many of the schools you are considering in PA and ulatimately were very impressed by Hood. It is in a terrific location and appears to have a very dedicated faculty. It is also a good value and offers competitive merit scholarship packages.</p>
<p>Thank you for the kind suggestion. I had Goucher and McDaniel on the radar scren and this adds to the list.</p>