<p>Those who have seen the University of Maryland - College Park forums see that I frequently repeat myself, but UMD has far exceeded my expectations, and I can’t count the times that D has said that she cannot imagine having made a better choice! She is active in several groups, was selected for an undergraduate research program, and has been working with a prof in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, retooling some web page designs, and the latest celebratory moment came yesterday, when she was admitted to live in the Language House for next year (German)–highly competitive, interviews in German (and it’s been a year since AP German). Regarding the size of the university, in 2 semesters of classes, she has a total of 2 professors who didn’t know her by name. One was a senile old dude who taught an honors seminar of 18 people; the other is her Calc III teacher this semester; it’s not a class where you can participate, and she’s getting A’s in there, so she hasn’t needed help. Bottom line, whether it’s a tiny private, or a huge public university, I truly believe that the college experience is what kids make of it.</p>
<p>S loves everything about Duke.</p>
<p>D1 attends a teeny tiny LAC in Iowa…if I said what it was people in Mn would know who we are since she plays sports there. It has been wonderful! What a perfect fit! Great academics, great personal touch, great social life going from the Cities to a rural area. Whew! We are sooooooo happy! We would recommend this little known school in a heartbeat!!!</p>
<p>Son has had a wonderful year at Virginia Tech. It is large (27,000) school and public. Have found cost to attend reasonable by New England standards (not that much more than our public state university).
Son has done well academically and has taken challenging courses, but is not in honors program. Professors are very reachable and son has taken advantage of office hours and resources available (writing lab, tutoring, etc.). That was our major concern about VT-large school, would help be out there if needed. Parent communication is every few months in online newletters.<br>
Son has made many good friends and has visited other schools in Virginia and NC. Is really enjoying his college experience. Nothing but great things to say at VT.</p>
<p>Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, AZ has been everything my son had hoped for and he has had an excellent freshman year. DH & I had some slight concerns about S going to such a small and specialized school, but S apparently knew want he wanted. He has small and challenging engineering classes, all taught by professors as the school does not utilize TAs. Everyone I’ve spoken with in the administration over the year has been helpful and responsive. S is involved in loads of ECs (as he was in high school), has joined a fraternity and started an active Juggling Club. He loves it, and we love that he loves it.</p>
<p>Our oldest is at Carleton in Minnesota, a long way from home. He has made great friends and has taken a variety of classes to sample what’s out there. He’s thrived on the academic challenges and experiences. We’ve been impressed with faculty availability and contact. His first term his sociology teacher recommended him for a conference in California on a subject he’s interested in–he would only have to pay for airfare. </p>
<p>I think S has been surprised that he hasn’t wanted/been able to take advantage of the Twin Cities has more often. He really wanted an urban campus (so he settled for being 45 minutes away from urban), but he’s found that there’s plenty to do socially on campus, and he’s busy enough not to feel like taking the time to go into the cities.</p>
<p>So far, I think S’s experience has been all my H and I hoped it would be for him.</p>
<p>University of Chicago, my son is enjoying his first year. Managing with financial aid and he won housing lottery for studio apt style dorm with kitchen and two fun roommates. Likes food plan, too. I was surprised he already has big name prof even I heard of. And all A’s this quarter…am I allowed to say that? Don’t hate me. Although reputed to be the land of dead fun, he still had time to play in a rock group and play Ultimate Frisbee. I’m not hearing any complaints from my native Chicagoan that originally filled in the ‘two thousand miles from home’ preferences circle on PSAT form.</p>
<p>I’ll echo Marian and astrophysicsmom–my older daughter is a freshman at UMD-College Park and loves it. Classes in her double major (journalism and governemt), have been excellent, she’s very heavily involved in campus activities, and loves the people. And, of course, there’s DC 10 miles away. We’re from the Chicago suburbs, and Maryland was a school she discovered and chose, rather than one she grew up with, but it has been a very good choice.</p>
<p>My D is a freshman at Miami U of Ohio. It was not her first choice (or second) but she is amazingly happy and content there. Being part of the music department gives her a close-knit group of peers and faculty while still getting all the benefits of a large university. She has found a number of unrelated ECs and activities to participate in, and has a really diverse group of friends (despite the fact that MU isn’t exactly diverse in general).</p>
<p>There have been a couple negatives:
- Honors students (which she is not - she is a “scholar”) and athletes (she is also not) register first, so she’s had some trouble with getting the schedule she wants. Not a huge deal because music schedules are pretty inflexible anyway, but since she wants to double major, getting specific extra courses is important. Because she has a few APs, she has advanced standing, so gets to register after the Honors but before the general population. Her roommate is lower down the ranks, and has even more trouble.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Being out of state at a state school has it’s frustrations. Not only does everyone go home on long weekends, but they close the dorms over things like holidays and spring breaks. My other two kids went to private schools, and this never happened, so we were unprepared for it. (My middle kid has never gone anywhere over spring break, preferring to stay and catch up on things, or work extra.)</p></li>
<li><p>While MU is very proud of the fact that instate tuition has remained unchanged, they gloss over the fact that out of staters are paying more and more. The study abroad program my D would like to do - 6 weeks in summer - is twice as much for out of staters. Because of this, I’m not sure she will be able to go. And study abroad is important to her.</p></li>
<li><p>Getting to the airport is a hassle, especially if you need to travel at non-break times.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>But there have been some good surprises, too, along with those mentioned in the first paragraph. My D is not the typical MU student, and yet has found herself welcomed into a variety of groups. She spent Spring Break in NOLA, on a service project - went with a group where she knew no one and came home saying she had a bunch of new best friends. She has found teachers to be accessible and supportive. I feel like she has grown and matured a lot.</p>
<p>D’s freshman year at Muhlenberg has been beyond amazing. Since H and I both went to HUGE state Us, we were unfamiliar and uncomfortable in the territory of a small LAC. She definitely picked the right one for her!</p>
<p>And yes, she has enjoyed her honors program immensely, including her first semester advisor (that changed when she officially declared her major).</p>
<p>cottonwood513, of course you are allowed to pass on good news–and all As are definitely good news! </p>
<p>Traffic on CC would slow to a trickle if we had to bite our tongues on such things. :eek:</p>
<p>You know what I love about this thread - the variety of schools that are being discussed. It’s not the usual “top 50”, and its really interesting to read about the variety of places your kids are attending. My D is starting at BU next year, so I have nothing to contribute at this point, but thanks for sharing!</p>
<p>Elizabethh, that’s why I’ve enjoyed this thread, also. Guess I ought to contribute re: freshman D at William and Mary. Her year has very much measured up to what the school and others led us to believe/expect. Great academics, professors and access. She’s been able to find new friends that share her interests/quirks. The expected deficiencies haven’t affected her much…she was in the worst-reputed dorm complex, but she’s comfortable there and keeps in shape walking the extra distance to class. There isn’t much off-campus entertainment or variety, but she’s found more than enough recreation/activity/social life on campus. Only real negative is that it’s hard to get into all the classes she needs/wants; she only got 2 out of 4 for the fall, and will be on pins and needles hoping to make it into at least one of the closed ones by the time the semester starts.</p>
<p>Freshman D has gotten off to a great start at American U. She has taken advantage of the resources of both the school, itself, and Washington DC and has grown both academically and socially.</p>
<p>Had a great freshman year at Mizzou despite the fact that at this time last year I REFUSED to go here!</p>
<p>Son is at Reed. It’s lived up to his expectations as far as I know. He loves his dorm, has great friends, likes his professors, feels really challenged but not overwhelmed. He plans to live in Portland for summers too – we can barely get him to come home at all! I’ve been especially happy with how easy it is to deal with administration. So far it’s been exactly the fairy tale happy ending he wanted.</p>
<p>D loves Penn State; if anything, she has found it easier to get good grades than she expected. Not that she doesn’t have to work for the grades; she works hard to get them. First semester she ended up on Dean’s List, while pledging a sorority and working 8 hours/week. This semester she moved on to the sorority floor and also took on her candidacy as a staff writer for the Daily Collegian, the student newspaper (which is quite an honor for a freshman) and has had several stories published.</p>
<p>Socially, she is already tired of frat parties (had a bad experience getting her coat and valuables stolen at one), and refuses to go to any of the large ones. She does enjoy the ‘socials’ her sorority has with the frats, and generally those are the only parties she attends other than the impromptu ones on her floor. </p>
<p>She loves the town of State College and is still finding new stores to explore. The campus itself is quite huge, but since moving to a dorm closer to her classes and away from the freshman quad, she finds it much more manageable. Now that she is out of the freshman quad, she finds it much easier to get her work done (much quieter).</p>
<p>All in all, a very positive year. She is even thinking of attending summer session this year, to get ahead in her required courses for both of her majors.</p>
<p>My d was a freshman last year at NYU in jazz performance and transferred to Middlebury this year as a freshman since many of the classes she took last year were music based. So, I can compare large university to small liberal arts college! What a difference…Middlebury has exceeded our expectations..they have a wonderful living/learning environment (The Commons) and most of her friends live in her freshman only dorm of 150. Her classes are challenging but she is not bored at all (this was a problem at NYU for her). She never complains about the food or the weather (Vermont has snow on the ground from Oct. to May!). The small college feel was a huge contrast to NYU which has the city as it’s playground and campus but as a school that promotes community, it was sorely lacking. My d lived in a freshman only dorm of 600+kids and, yes, the hormones were RAGING!!! At Middlebury, the students set high academic standards for themselves, they have themed nights (Fancy Friday) and many concerts on campus and parties galore. Our twice freshman experience has made me realize the value of small schools as the schools recognize their size and locations(remote) and offer many ways for the students to connect with each other and the small class sizes facilitate getting to know your professors. At Parent Weekend i was surprised that my D walked into her Oceanography class and addressed the prof by his first name as he did to her!!!</p>
<p>limner, thanks</p>
<p>I echo Mom2three’s post about UCF honors college first year experience. Will add that we appreciated the paid research opportunity that son was asked to interview for with one of his honors profs. Even though he had a different job he liked and couldn’t do both, to receive that offer was something unexpected for a first year student. </p>
<p>zebes</p>