<p>Please help...we're having trouble figuring this out. Any insights other than what we've already read in all the college guides and online? Which is better for jobs after graduation?</p>
<p>What are you interested in studying? Muhlenberg is probably better than Dickinson for theater and other arts-related studies, but Dickinson is overall probably stonger academically and reputationally. The feel of each school is vastly different, and that might matter to you. Muhlenberg is in a quiet, suburban-type part of Allentown, and is surrounded by middle-class homes, while Dickinson is a prominent part of a small town, and you can easily walk to quaint shops, restaurants, etc.</p>
<p>Plainsman -- Forgive me because I am pretty certain you mentioned this on a thread several months ago, but what is your daughter's intended major and what sort of career is she interested in. I think having some idea of her academic/career interests would be helpful in answering this question because I think the key may be individual academic department reputations and job placement histories rather than the schools themselves. I would agree with Juniper18 that Dickinson probably has an edge in academic reputation but not so much it alone would make much difference in the marketplace.</p>
<p>She's interested in Communications. She was undecided when she submitted her application but has since zeroed in on Communications. She is also a cellist and would like to continue playing music (which pretty much eliminates Ursinus College that has already accepted her).</p>
<p>I don't know anything about Communications as a major at Dickinson, but the school advocates a liberal arts, rather than a pre-professional, education (despite excellent programs like pre-law.) I suspect that your daughter may prefer Muhlenberg if she wants to be around more people who know exactly what they want to do and seek a practical path to getting there. I believe the schools have a very different "feel" and I suspect your daughter will have a visceral reaction to each that will make the choice easy.</p>
<p>BTW, my D had a game plan going into senior year of high-school about what she wanted to study in college. Now, in her second semester, she's already changed her mind once, and I suspect may change it again!</p>
<p>Juniper: Actually, I would not describe my D's reaction to visiting both schools as "visceral." She didn't particularly like Dickinson's campus because it was more urban than suburban, even though Carlisle is a small town. Public thoroughfares cut right through the campus just like an urban school in a big city. I didn't like that either. It didn't feel PHYSICALLY private enough or protected/secluded is the best way I can describe it. </p>
<p>We liked Muhlenberg's campus. It's a very small campus (under 100 acres) but we liked what we saw, and there was only one street that cut across the campus in any way that might be considered semi-intrusive. Exercise facilities were state-of-the-art, dorms were old but Brown Hall was very roomy with room ceilings that were 12-15 feet high! Our visit was only last month, but about a third of the dorm room windows still had "Obama" signs, two and a half months after the election. Not a McCain sign in sight. I admit to being comforted by that. One dorm was a converted hospital from like 100 years ago or something. Interesting. And the dining options at Muhlenberg were outstanding for an LAC and beat Dickinson hands down. My D does NOT know what she wants to do or major in, so either school would work from that standpoint, I suppose.</p>
<p>To be fair, if my D is admitted to both and financial aid is roughly equal, we'll have to make a second visit to each campus before deciding.</p>
<p>I don't know what religion you are, but I believe Muhlenberg is ranked as one of the top 20 best colleges in the US for Jewish students. I believe it is about one-third Jewish and has a very active, fun Hillel group. Just as a comparison, Northwestern is 38% and Penn is about 25% Jewish. That might give the Muhlenberg campus feeling a more intellectual, liberal, cosmopolitan edge, if anything, compared to Dickinson's.</p>
<p>Damaris, I am Jewish, but to imply that Muhlenberg has a more "intellectual, liberal, cosmopolitan edge, if anything, compared to Dickinsons" because of the number of Jewish students is offensive. In any event, neither my D nor I found that to be the case. My D worked for Obama, who was overwhelmingly the favorite at Dickinson. Also, I would describe her as a cosmoplolitan, intellectual liberal, and she vastly preferred Dickinson to Muhlenberg. I think they are both fine schools, and Plainsman's D should go where she feels most comfortable, based on her own feel for the place, not a stereotype.</p>
<p>Damaris and Juniper, you both commented in one way or another about Jewish people. It's interesting because Muhlenberg was founded under the Lutheran Church but there are scant few Lutherans on campus. Muhlenberg even offers a scholarship to a Lutheran student, if they can find one. My wife is Lutheran and D2 was baptized in a Lutheran church so we're going for it. LOL.</p>
<p>It's true that Muhlenberg has a very high percentage of Jewish students AND staff. The admissions staff person who interviewed my D actually told us she was Jewish. The student who took us on the campus tour showed us her dorm room. In addition to a big Obama sign on one wall she had a huge Israeli flag on her other wall. As an Obama supporter, that made me smile. After all, Jews are the only white ethnic group to vote overwhelmingly for Obama. He lost the overall white vote to McCain, but not Jewish Americans. They bucked the majority of whites and voted 78% for Obama. That's about 8 out of 10. That was higher than either Hispanics or Asians for Obama. President Obama's chief campaign strategist and current senior advisor, David Axelrod, is Jewish. His chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel is Jewish. I love Jewish Americans. </p>
<p>Anyway, I'm hoping my D gives Dickinson another look once she is accepted. I'm fairly confident that she will be admitted. I think it's a great school. It was the layout of the physical campus that gave us pause. All those public streets intersecting through the campus appeared to be a security concern from my point of view, but I could be wrong. We only visited the one time.</p>
<p>I had no idea I was being offensive. When Vanderbilt announced that they wanted to increase the intellectual level of the the campus community by recruiting more Jewish students, no one seemed offended. It sounded like a good idea to me.</p>
<p>Sorry if I seem overly sensitive, but I am always wary when people use stereotypes to try to make a point. Plainsman, I wish you and your D well on this journey. When you do revisit Dickinson, walk all around the campus, and go into Carlisle. My D loves being able to go off campus and be in a real town from time to time. Despite the main drag that cuts the campus, Dickinson's bulidings, quads and grounds are lovely.</p>
<p>Damaris,</p>
<p>Let me try to illustrate why Jews might be offended by your statements, though I believe you meant no harm.:</p>
<p>Antisemites love to point out that Jews are smart and powerful. There is a story that is said to take place in pre-WWII Germany. A gentile notices his Jewish friend reading an anti semitic newspaper and asks him why. The Jewish man replies: "when I read the Jewish press all I see are stories about pogroms, and acts of brutality against the Jews. When I read the antisemitic press I see articles about powerful Jews who control the media, the banks, and therefore the world.</p>
<p>Make sense now?</p>
<p>Plainsman, IMO, you can't go wrong with either Muhlenberg or Dickinson. Good luck to your daughter!</p>
<p>My D also applied to Dickinson Early Action and has been admitted. She is also interested in Communications or film, and I believe that Dickinson has very little in that area. That’s why Dickinson has just moved lower on her list – in addition to the fact that they didn’t offer her much aid. So you should keep that in mind if she really wants to pursue communications.</p>
<p>How did your D hear already from both schools…isn’t Muhlenberg RD unless she did ED…which would obligate her to go to Muhlenberg?</p>