We visited and loved Roanoke College in Virginia. DD2 wants to study Psychology with a touch of Criminology or Social Deviance or something. Oddly enough I have not found much on all of CC in regards to anyone who is attending or got close to attending or who went to Scholarship Competition or even knows someone who has a brother who has a cousin who goes there. Apparently almost 2500 students attend so they must be someone out there in CC land to give me a few bit of their thoughts. Lovely campus, welcoming students, great vibe, terrific fit programs and looking generous enough for my spreadsheet.
My DD attended the scholarship competition and received, if I remember, $7k so was worth the expense to go. I think that was each yr as well. They threw lots of merit $ at her before that & the longer it took for her to decide, the more emails they sent her saying she was awarded even more. We were hoping she would love it she but sooo glad we went as she would have been miserable there. I love the rural area, the mountains but not her. She felt there was nothing to do, only a few p,aces you could walk to in a little town area of Salem, that seemed mostly vacant buildings. Sub shops, pizza, burgers seemed the only food around. They gave her so much aid we hated to say no so we waited to see where else she got in & ended up at the Univ of Richmond.
The dorm we saw, the newest of course, was amazing at RC, as was the new sports complex but she doesn’t care about sports & wished they has used the $ instead on some of the older buildings. I loved the layout, the kids seemed very close knit & everyone was so friendly. I really got a fantastic impression of the school itself but soooo happy we visited as it was not the p,ace for DD. I will say RC needs to have its own forum page here, so frustrated it didnt!
A friend’s kid went there, graduating maybe 6-7 years ago. He had a very good experience. I don’t remember a lot of details, because my friend didn’t share a lot of details. (It wasn’t such a close friend that I knew the kid at all, especially since he had mainly lived with his mother, who was not my friend.) But my friend, a smart guy and a former faculty member at Wharton, was happy with what his not-so-academic kid learned there, and how he matured, and he was reasonably well prepared to go out into the world. As with lots of small, rural LACs, a junior year abroad was an important part of the program. Kids seem to have problems if they have to spend four years at a small school in the middle of nowhere, unless maybe it’s Williams.
It’s really not in the middle of nowhere relatively speaking. The city of Roanoke has about 100,000 people and the including the burbs (Salem is one), the population is around 300,000. VATech is also about 40 minutes away and I’ve heard that students from Roanoke and Hollins (a women’s college in Roanoke) go there on weekends to socialize with Tech students.
Roanoke also just got linked to Amtrak - students can now travel easily to DC, and from there on to many other cities. It’s a 5 hour trip, so not a day trip, but a lot of the truly in the middle of nowhere LAC’s don’t have that option.
My daughter has a friend who attends and is very happy there.
DS applied, and was accepted, to Roanoke for fall 2018. We loved it when we toured; a great college town, students who work hard but don’t take themselves too seriously, and faculty that seemed engaged. He was awarded a trustee scholarship (merit). We are waiting to hear from a couple other schools but Roanoke is currently near the top of his list.
Thanks for the thoughts and comments. I wish there was a Roanoke College forum on CC but I stalked out some parents on FB and here and have heard nothing but really great reports. Our visit was great, the ongoing communication has been very helpful and supportive and encouraging as well. Next visit we will check out the town more but we have leads on some places that sound fun and good hang out spots. Love that Amtrack buzzes thru now so easy for her to get off on some adventures. We live in Europe so train travel is very common way to explore… and we mapped it out DD1 can get to her in less than 5 hours from Florida on the train. We are going back in a few weeks… anyone that knows any students that are up for a hello please send me a message. PS - RC offered DD2 to stay overnight in the dorms and have meals etc. Not sure if D is up for that but I am hoping she is. Keep any more thoughts / comments coming. Thanks!
Anyone find any link to a common data set?
Salem has a very nice restaurant on Main Street, so does have more than “sub shops, pizza, burgers.” We really enjoyed our lunch there. Excellent reviews on TripAdvisor. http://blueapronredrooster.com
Here ya go, @DCNatFan:
https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/institutional_research/enrollment_statistics
ETA - meh, that only included demographic info.
College Navigator is a government website and it has what you need:
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=roanoke+college&s=all&id=233426
Roanoke is a great town, we enjoyed it and found a wonderful taco place there, but the college isn’t in Roanoke, it’s in Salem (which seems a different world) and you can’t just go easily whenever you want unless you have a car & time. I hear the kids do a lot of the outdoors things in the mountains, there is a lot to do there & I would love that but if you’re not into sports or don’t have a car, it’s hard to get there. One of my favorite authors lives near Salem, I think, Sharyn McCrumb, she writes beautifully about the area. Hey, my fantasy is to live in the woods away from everything but my DD likes people & cities so it just wasn’t a match for her. After living for decades in big cities I am done with them!
@cloudysmom you had me at TACO place !!! Share the details as we are making a return trip in early February. Not too worried about the getting around option. DD1 had a car as a freshman but DD2 is not too interested in even learning to drive (whatever!!!) and has claimed she will just Uber (again, whatever!). Outdoors is good, mountains are good, snow is good according to DD2 who has never actually lived or been in the snow other than for ski holidays. I will look into Sharyn McCrumb as I am an avid reader and would enjoy learning more about the lovely area.
Heading back to Roanoke College next week to interview for the Scholarship competition. We def feel that RC is an undiscovered gem of a college. The admissions staff could not be any nicer or helpful. They encouraged DD to send in her best bottom line offer and we expect to hear back before we go. There are lots of additional awards that they are fast to share and assist with applying for - Fellows program has campus job and some more money added to the merit side (not need). The Class of 2022 is very upbeat, friendly and super supportive. The future Maroons are all so dang nice and friendly. Several have reached out to offer to go for lunch or coffee with DD when she is there. Honestly it felt like they are all in a big happy club. I know college can be whatever but what the heck, enjoying all the love and positive vibes that they are throwing off. Any one have anything to add about the area or the school or anything at all ??
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Good luck and have fun!
@DoDEAMom18 I wish my DD liked it more. I found the kids super friendly as well, very welcoming! The scholarship competition was well run and what she was offered paid for our trip several times over, although we were able to drive. I PMed you the Roanoke taco place but if you are in So CAL you are a taco expert so who knows! Let us know how it went, good luck, enjoy & have fun!
My daughter is a junior at Roanoke College. She - and we - absolutely love the school and the area. Salem is a nice little town with a good mix of real restaurants and fast food and plenty of nearby stores for the necessities. The City of Roanoke is only 15 minutes or so away and the students go there easily for dinner, shopping and entertainment. Plenty of kids have cars, and Uber is readily available. But most importantly, the school is great and most of the activities are centered around the campus and the immediately surrounding area. The professors are engaged with the students and are real teachers. The students are friendly and preppy. While not “conservative” per se, the students are much more conservative than many of the other small LAC’s. My daughter is actively involved in a sorrority and loves that aspect of college life, but it is not a necessity.
We looked at a lot of schools (virtually all LAC’s) and Roanoke’s facilities really stood out. There are a few older dorms, but most of the dorms are either new or newly renovated. My daughter has lived on campus all 3 years and her dorm rooms have been fantastic. Some of the classroom buildings are a bit dated, but there had been a lot of new construction in this area as well.
Overall: campus is beautiful, professors are very good, students are friendly and “clean cut”, the area is a real plus, and the food is good (but not great). The INQ curriculum is interesting. In a nutshell, the core requirements consist of classes that put academics in a real world context. For example, the INQ version of chemistry consists of forensic chemistry in the criminal law setting. Of course all traditional chemistry classes are also offered, but this is a great way for students to obtain the core requirements in a more interesting way.
Long story short, we love Roanoke College. And by the way, we live on the Gulf Coast, so we are not from that area.
Good luck.
I know this thread is a little old but wanted to chime in on Roanoke College. My DD is currently a senior there and will graduate in May. Roanoke College has been truly the right fit for her…from freshman move-in day, when President Maxey helped move her into the dorm, until now when she is getting ready to graduate.
She has been involved in so many activities on campus from Student Government to a member of a sorority. The friends she has made and the connections with the various professors will last a lifetime. The faculty are very engaging and have always been there for her on any issue.
There are so many clubs and honor societies that meet the needs of any student. She is currently the president of one science honor society and a member of another. There is definitely not a lack of activities for students.
Her major is in the sciences and she recently got accepted into an Occupational Therapy doctoral program. Roanoke definitely prepares a student for life after college.
There are things to do in Salem but for a wider variety of night life and restaurants Roanoke would be the place to go. Her first year on campus she did not have a car but that really wasn’t a big issue.
So for anyone still on the fence about attending Roanoke I would highly recommend it. But like any college it’s what the student makes of the experience.
Best of luck to everyone in your college search.
@scsiguru Thanks for that post - we are planning on doing a self-guided tour there while visiting other schools so it was good to hear positive things about this school since we know nothing about it.
My son no longer wants to see Roanoke because he said the letter he received from the Dean of Admissions was full of typos. I haven’t seen the letter yet. What do you all think of this?
“What do you think of this?”. I think you should look at the letter and tell us what he/you think the " typos" are.