I’m an alum. I graduated decades ago but am still connected. And my friends have kids there now! It was a great place to spend 4 years.
What did you study? Could you tell us what you were involved in? What are your favorite things about Rollins? Thank you for your help!
I thought I was going to study Psychology, but switched after taking the intro class! I majored in Economics and minored in Music. I was Treasurer for my sorority, in Student Government, Rollins Outdoor Club (ROC). I was in the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society. It was a great 4 years! After being in the real world for 2 working years, I went to UNC Chapel Hill for a Masters in Accounting. I now have 20+ years working as a CPA. Let me know if you have any other questions!
What was the best and worst part about Rollins? How do you believe that Rollins has prepared you for the real world? How did you benefit from a small college?
How did you like the classes? Do you know anything about the 3/2 MBA program?
The best part was the beautiful setting and small environment! The worst part was the small environment! Generally everyone on campus knew everything. But that made it fun too. Like one big giant family. Winter Park is one of the most wonderful places on earth. I dream of retiring there.
It prepared me in many ways. Because it was small, there were a lot of opportunities for leadership. And because it was small, my professors remembered me two years later when I needed Recs for grad school.
I know a little about the 3/2 program. I had a friend do it. I also had 2 more friends go to Crummer and they have great careers now. I’d recommend it.
Did you think Rollins could be “too small”? What do you believe the advantages of the 3/2 program are besides the accelerated time advantage, such as are there additional opportunities in terms of networking and internships? How did Rollins help you gain career-valuable opportunities such as internships?
I think small size is an advantage and the people that love it there, feel the same. If you don’t want a small environment, then it’s not your place. That said, it has over 2,000 undergraduates, Winter Park and nearby Orlando and it really didn’t feel too small to me.
I think the advantage of the 3/2 program is the timeline. I can’t speak to their internship placement, but my friends ended up with great jobs. Career services helped me find a great off campus job during my senior year and it definitely helped propel my career.
How did you like the academics? Did you think it was challenging? Is greek life very prominent on campus?
Yes the academics are very challenging. Lots of smart students to challenge your thinking as well. Greek life was fairly prominent back then but I had lots of non Greek friends and there was always plenty to do. ROC (mentioned above) is super fun and plans a lot of outings and activities. Student Government had retreats and activities. I was in a sorority and was their treasurer and found it very rewarding. The Greek life now is very different. I think it is much less prominent.
Is it true that you garner meaningful connections with the professors? I am interested in participating in student government!
Well yes, that is the big advantage of a small school and small classes. My music theory teacher would have me and friends over for dinner. My sign language teacher organized outside events for us. I loved Student Government. Met lots of friends through that and they had fun retreats. What year in high school are you? Do you live in FL now?
I am a senior who got accepted in December, and got a Dean’s scholarship, and invited to the Alfond Scholarship weekend. I live in Florida. Rollins is one of my top choices!
Well congratulations! Let me know if you end up there.
What factors contribute to its 4-year graduation rate? For a school of this caliber, I would expect it to be higher.
Good question. I don’t even know what it is currently. You’ll probably need to ask Rollins. The only people I know that had trouble graduating in 4 years were transfers, and didn’t get enough transfer credits. And I’d guess people that drop classes? I actually finished a semester early as did another one of my friends. I chose to stay my last semester since I was on scholarship anyway.
@cbh088 My guess is that the graduation rate it is largely financially driven. I did hear somewhere that Rollins is trying to increase its 4-year graduation rate. What year did you graduate?
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I graduated decades ago. I am still very connected as I have friends who work there, and other friends with children there.
My son is very interested in Rollins! We visited campus and loved it. Come to find out a family member went there (prob more decades ago than you :)) and had “the best four years of his life.” He’s impressed with the ongoing improvements. My son’s app is pending at admissions. This is the smallest school he has applied to. His other top choices are medium and large sized-- and a bit more rah rah. I got the sense that Rollins’ selling points are campus, community, support, and teaching. The perceived limitations in number offerings seem to be offset by accessibility of opportunities and quality of interactions. Do you have anything to add? Thanks for your insight!!
@IndoBurma I think I’d agree with most of that, although I’m not sure what you mean by quality of interactions. Yes the improvements since I was there are truly incredible. We had orange/brown carpet and This End Up furniture in the lounge. I’d love to see it now, but didn’t have a child that was interested in a small school.