Occidental vs Cheaper College

<p>FYI. Wooster is 1.25 hours from Cleveland airport--without rush hour traffic. </p>

<p>Wooster is a small town. I would describe it as a village in international terms. </p>

<p>Princetonreview says: "Until you come to Wooster you never realize how truly exciting a 24-hour Super WalMart can be!"</p>

<p>Truer words were never spoken. WalMart is THE major shopping in Wooster. The 'village' shopping was decimated by strip malls long ago.</p>

<p>For a presumably privileged girl from Jakarta, it doesn't seem like a good fit.</p>

<p>How to convey this? Robyrm--what is the WalMart of Indonesia?</p>

<p>Cheers,
We had a Walmart here about 9 years ago but it never made it...now we have Ace Hardware, Carrefours, etc..and are much more excited. Of course, a boy may not be a good indicator of these things, but my son #1 who had been here 11 years and now is in small town America is not missing the shopping, though he is missing other aspects of city life, I believe! I think it is hard for kids raised in a big Asian city to appreciate the nature of small town life...but then, the move to college itself is such a huge transition that it might be hard to compartmentalize the reactions. </p>

<p>As for Ledyana, Indonesians are family and village oriented, even those students with more sophisticated life experiences might find the right small college community just fine...I think that it helps to have a reasonable number of other International kids at the school, however.... </p>

<p>I think the issues of going "back" to the US for university are somewhat different for American passport kids who have really never lived in the US than they are for foreign nationals- so I would hesitate to overgeneralize too much.</p>

<p>Can you find canned pumpkin in paradise?</p>

<p>Pumpkin is revered year round in paradise and no one would think of buying canned pumpkin! Besides, not enough Americans here to celebrate the holiday and not much incentive. Too busy with end of the year school stuff. The upside down seasons make it tough too.</p>

<p>My thoughts on Wooster are not related to expats or my Ss thoughts about college. They are based on my knowledge of Jakarta and dozens and dozens of visits to Wooster plus a few acquaintances from the Wooster international body (kids going to local houses for holiday meals). All I can say is that students from villages in Mali found Wooster....wanting. But hey, what do I know.</p>

<p>Maybe L isn't a shopper? :)</p>

<p>Too bad about Thanksgiving. At our dinner last night our fellow guests were Americans, Dutch, Venezuelan, Indian, Australian and Swiss..but I think you need a nucleus of Americans to get it going...and the time (or help) to cook!</p>

<p>I will be interested to really talk with Son#1 on his transition to small town America. For the moment he shares more with his brother chatting than he does with me on the phone. Hopefully L will talk with plenty of kids who have gone through this themselves to try to help decide for herself..the more I think about it, the more remarkable it is how kids from across the world make these huge moves to attend college in the US. Ironically, my father-in-law did the same thing 55 years ago and never left.</p>

<p>My niece went to Grinnell on full-ride and LOVED it. She's in law school now. I'd be interested to hear his review of Grinnell too--though I have never been there. Don't get me wrong, there are small towns I admire. Wooster has been through some tough times in the last ten years.</p>

<p>Now to ex-pat matters:</p>

<p>Fresh turkey isn't easily available and my Australian oven ONLY does convection baking/broiling. </p>

<p>Regarding the lack of Americans; there aren't multi-national companies and banks to recruit Ivy league expats. It's a much different group than what we expected from our days in SE Asia. For one thing, more than a few talk about how they 'escaped' the 'dangers' of America. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>The upshot is that we don't have any Americans in our circle of friends. Kiwis, Samoans, Fijians, Poms, Koreans, Taiwanese, Singaporeans, Canadians and Dutch friends--but no Americans. There are only two other American boys at the school. </p>

<p>Anyway, it's getting so you don't want to open your mouth with the twang. We're quite the unpopular ethnicity at the moment.</p>

<p>Cheers,
Having lived in Alaska for 6 years, I can relate to the idea that there is a big difference between people who seek change because they are running towards something; and those who seek change because they are running away from something.</p>

<p>Im not really a shopper, but I am a picky eater :( I think I cant live without eating rice.. I am afraid that if go to an isolated place, then there will be no chinese food, etc.. and if I dont like the food at the dorm.. it will be very miserable :( are there restaurants in wooster?</p>

<p>Yes, of course there are restaurants in Wooster! In fact, here's a list from COW's own home page:
<a href="http://admissions.wooster.edu/area/restaurants.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://admissions.wooster.edu/area/restaurants.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>My very American daughter is also a picky eater and rice is a major part of her diet. She has found that many colleges in the US offer vegetarian options in their cafeteria, including lots of rice. But where ever she goes to college she plans on buying a small rice cooker to keep in her dorm room to make her own rice. You are also allowed to have a refrigerator and microwave in dorms. She figures she will be fine with supplies from a local supermarket (and have no fear there ARE supermarkets in Wooster.) Trust me, while the food may be different in the US then in Indonesia, we havent yet had an international student starve to death while attending school here! :)</p>

<p>You might want to go to the page above and connect to the general Wooster page which tells you more about other information about the Wooster area. Remember - just because one person does not care for an area, doesn't mean everyone will hate it. I know people who love New York and others who can not stand it...and I'm sure you know people who who love Jakarta and people who hate Jakarta.;)</p>

<p>Have you been to the College's Livejournal site? Again, ask current students what they think: <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/community/1189_beall/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.livejournal.com/community/1189_beall/&lt;/a> And, Robrym had an excellent suggestion above: email the international admissions counselor at COW and ask if they can connect you to a current international student or two that you can email to discuss their experiences.</p>

<p>btw after looking at the restaurant's list.. I think it will be more than ok :) is there any transportation for traveling around the town? </p>

<p>Yup I think I will try to email the international admissions counselor to connect me to an international student.. I have done this with some universities (carleton, ohio wesleyan, knox).. but I dont know why I left out COW :(</p>

<p>btw have I told you that I am planning to take MBA in the future? Will graduate schools know about COW?</p>

<p>It is my understanding that COW is very well respected by graduate schools, primarily because of their required senior independent research project. Best of luck!</p>

<p>carolyn will grinnell be a super reach for me? I need to to finish my college search today since my school's deadline is tuesday for submitting my college list + all the required supplements.. In addition, I need to create the financial statement from the bank.. and my mom told me to give the college list in 2 hours so it will be finished by monday :(</p>

<p>expat mums: a friend of mine just made the trek back to Nigeria from North America, large frozen turkey in her luggage! She was successful in getting her rolling bag into airport walk-in coolers in Germany and one other stop, so the 22+ hour trek has not prevented them from having an authentic Thanksgiving bird!</p>

<p>Shocking what we will do (and I have done) for a taste of home when you are far, far away! And how about the knowledge learned as an expat- which airports have walk in coolers, which airports you can visit your pets in transit, which airports have free movie theaters for 17 hour layovers...</p>

<p>I wonder whether or not they "patted down" the turkey!</p>

<p>Ledyana, I wouldn't say Grinnell would be a super reach for you but we had three international students with very similar stats to yours here on college confidential last year. As I recall, only one was accepted at Grinnell, one ended up at Lawrence (and is quite happy there), I can't remember where the other eventually ended up but I remember he was didn't get into Grinnell. I guess I'd consider Grinnell to be on par with Occidental for you - not a super reach, but still a reach. I'd guess you have about equal chances at either so think about which location you might prefer. Don't stress too much about this - it will all work out. The only suggestion I would make is that Indiana would be a solid safety for you in my mind.</p>

<p>Many of the restaurants on that list are chains--but nevermind. The Chinese food is okay--very standard for Chinese food in America. The Wild Ginger is a chain, as I remember. If you are a picky eater L, you might want to spend a few hours learning to make your favorite dishes at home--it's tough to find great Asian food in the midwest. Also, there are no 'food stalls' or food courts with lovely inexpensive eats. A meal out would run $10.</p>

<p>For Wooster, note that Bueller's Market is within walking distance of campus and quite a good grocery. But again, if you like any particular Indonesian spices or pastes--bring a few jars with you!! The Asian section at the market is very standard for American tastes and not very big and I don't believe there is an Asian market. </p>

<p>There is no need to worry about 'isolated' areas. It's a very safe village and a number of things are within walking distance. A bike would be very handy too. </p>

<p>Also, should you end up in Wooster....you might want to plan on getting a car by Sophomore year. That might make it bearable.</p>

<p>The thing about New York and Jakarta and San Diego, C-- they are so big and so full of diversity--all kinds of people can find a niche. Tough to do in a tiny, homogenous village. </p>

<p>It's a great school L, and a good fit for hundreds and hundreds of students...but I really hope you end up with other options.</p>

<p>cheers, out of the three, which two do you prefer? Wooster / Beloit / Lawrence? All these three colleges, as I look in their website, give big aid for international student.. My sister is also concerned since even though Atlanta is quite big.. she doesnt like it there.. and she is afraid if I go into small towns.. I cannot adapt into the place and it can disturb my study.. but only liberal arts colleges can give great aid to internationals.. and most liberal arts colleges are located in small towns.. </p>

<p>Btw carolyn, I just want to know your response. My friends say that I should not apply to Indiana university since most local student in here can get in there with the Indonesian national exam and it is not worth it since I really work hard, taking the IB diploma + AP, and if it only can get me into indiana, then they say it is better for me to go to a local school where the fee is much2 cheaper.. (this also apply to u of washinton-seattle where Indonesian student only need to submit TOEFL score to get in, and also winsconsin-madison) I know that this is wrong, but at the same time I feel that they are somewhat right.. Everyday I can only sleep about 4-5 hours while the local school can have fun and hang around with their friends.. Can you give me some advice about this? thanks alot!</p>

<p>after a long thought... I have chosen UT-Austin (reach) and U of Indiana (safety) as my 2 other schools, which makes my list complete :) but I am just confused between choosing wooster / beloit / lawrence.. lawrence --> it does not have strong economics department (from rugg's recommendation book).. wooster , beloit --> small town.. thanks</p>

<p>Lawrence is a smaller town as well. If you really don't want a small town, then don't apply to any of the three. Apply to Occidental and let it go (although knowing where Occidental is located and the state of public transportation in LA you may need a car there just as much as Wooster!). Don't drive yourself crazy over this - if you have your local university as a back up you really can't go wrong - you can always go to the USA for your MBA if you end up going to your local choice. So, apply and see what your choices are come April. Best of luck!!</p>

<p>carolyn, yesterday I was talking with my counselor. He was surprised when he sees that I am applying to Oxford College and says that it is too easy for me (a safety).. he says that it is better for me to change the university and apply to a reach school.. what should I do?</p>

<p>Go with your GC's advice??!!</p>

<p>Also, thought I might mention that I looked at Emory's economics dept course offerings on their website. Did you do that? Again, I think your sister is not taking advantage of the department correctly. It seems like a pretty deep offering.</p>

<p>Do you realize that US students do not take ANY economics courses ih high school? Therefore, the 100 and 200 level courses might seems extraordinarily easy to an international student who took a few years of econ in High School. Your sister might inquire about moving up to 300, 400 or 500 level courses if she is bored.</p>

<p>What about Emory as a reach? :)</p>