<p>It's Roanoke! We're excited and happy. Best wishes to those that are still deciding! Only five more years until we do this again with our youngest.</p>
<p>Congrats Kathiep, I had a pretty good idea he was leaning that way!</p>
<p>Thanks Kathiep, I'm going to bbbbbuuummmppp this up. I want to print it out for my freshman son, and I have no printer at home right now. They do some college searching as an activity in English as freshman, and Roanoke was a school that came up on his search, based on grades and PSAT/PLAN scores. i lived in Richmond for a few years, so I think he would be happy in Va, although getting to that part of the state is a little more challenging than NoVa or the Rich/c'ville/newport news middle of the state. You are probably much closer in Penn than we are in the Deeep South :(. Glad to here he has made a choice :)- congrats, and on to XL sheets!</p>
<p>Kathiep- Conrats. Now the fun part starts- the SHOPPING. It's probably different for guys as they're happy with almost anything if they don't have to be too involved in picking out bedsheets- comforters etc. Best wishes.</p>
<p>Well, the good news is that he won't care so will be satisfied with whatever I get. The better news is that I've done this before and can now shop with his college sister and get just what he needs and she and I will have fun doing it!</p>
<p>Congratulations, kathie! I love your description of Roanoke, and it sounds like a great place to learn and live.</p>
<p>As the parent of a student who has recently been accepted at Roanoke, I just wanted to share my impression of the College. I do agree the location is lovely, and ,living close to the Canadian border, as we do, loved the warm weather we experienced when we visited the campus with my son in March. A warm climate, Lacrosse, course offerings and more girls than boys were the initial attractions my son noted ,with regard to Roanoke, when he began his college search. The more we've learned about he school the more interested we've become. I was impressed with the communications we experienced with the Admissions office, I've been impressed by the look and feel of the campus -not only is it well kept, but it is growing and the general feel is 'up and coming.' I like the defined campus, small class size, the school's mission statement, opportunities for community service and the look and feel of Salem. I too have thought about the religious roots of Roanoke College and have wondered how my son, who was raised in a family with a Christian mother and a Jewish father, would fit in i.e., might he encounter a less than welcoming environment. Nothing I have learned about this school to date alarms me. The opposite really - I'm not alarmed. It's a Southern school, it is in it's roots a Luthern school, and it does lack racial diversity - in a broad sense, and yet, it is a welcoming school, I have no sense that it has any particular religious focus it wishes to impress upon its students. I think it is a campus striving to appeal to a broad range of kids, that wants to grow its student population, and that is very interested in meeting the needs of students who are preparing themselves to work and live well in this ever changing world of ours. Thats all good in my mind. I do believe, and I hope, my son will experience more diversity than he is used to in the way of political views, food, customs, lifestyles, and manners and that he comes away from it with a better sense of himself and a deeper appreciation of the views of others. I think he's going to give Roanoke a very hard look.</p>
<p>Oh, good, someone to compare notes with! Hey moderators, can I have a Roanoke forum now??</p>
<p>Sukenal - I sent you a pm.</p>
<p>My son has been at Roanoke for 5 weeks now and we just visited him for Family Weekend. To say he is disappointed so far is an understatement. He is in a dorm with all Lacross players that are drunk out of their minds most of the time. They come back from parties most days at 5 am and start throwing trash cans down the hall and punching in doors, signs, anything punchable. The couple that lives on the floor might as well not even be there because they do absolutely nothing, neither do the RAs. The campus police have shown up twice and issued citations but this is still constantly going on. I feel we were extremely misled as to the character of this school. It's very preppy, greek and lacrossy (if that's a word). If my son would have known this, this school wouldn't have made the list. Most kids he's met don't seem to care too much about academics, just partying. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT SO FAR. I know it's still early in the year so we're waiting to see if it gets any better and he is definitely going to switch dorms.</p>
<p>iamajerseygirl62, I really like your screen name since I am a Jersey girl too. I am so sorry to hear that son is not happy at Roanoke. I am planning to visit this school sometime with our younger son. I had done a pass it by car over the summer, but it was on my way further south and I did not have time to stop. It looks like a lovely campus.</p>
<p>Wow, this has not been my son's experience at all! He is now a sophmore at Roanoke and spent his freshman year in Marion. He said that the RA's there did not tolerate drinking in the dorm at all, and he had no trouble avoiding people that drank to excess. He is now in Allegheny with a bunch of kids in an outdoor themed living area. At parents weekend I stayed with him and his friends and parents and none of them (parents or kids) were preppy at all. Most of his friends are in the honors college and all are there with merit aid.</p>
<p>Only 25% of the students are in Greek organizations. Please suggest that he take part in some of the outdoor adventure activities, those kids are pretty down to earth and friendly. I'm so sorry for your son. Please pm me if you would like to talk more.</p>
<p>iamajerseygirl62, I am new to this board, but I am a 2000 graduate from Roanoke College. I can appreciate the concerns with some of the drinking on campus, but there are so many opportunities to avoid that type of situation. If the RA's are not taking care of the situation, your son should speak with an RD or request a new room. I found the administration at RC to very receptive to students. I also had a couple lacrosse players on my floor freshman year who did similar shenanigans, but none of them made it to the second semester. </p>
<p>After my freshman year, I had some great living situations (living in the outdoor activities hall and later living in a single). I am from northern New York and I feel as though RC provided me with numerous different opportunities to create my own education experience and it the education I received provided me with excellent preparation for law school and my future career. I hope your son can find a way to stick it out and find out just what a great opportunity he has at Roanoke. Please feel free to pm me with any questions about the campus life or educational experience at Roanoke. </p>
<p>suzkenal, where are you from near the canadian border? I am from Watertown, NY.</p>
<p>iamajerseygirl, any update? How is your son doing there now? </p>
<p>rcorange, are you still reading cc? If so, could you please send a PM, or post here bc I have some questions? Thanks.</p>
<p>northeastmom, thanks for asking about my son. He still does not like this school. There are some things he does like: the professors, the campus,.....I think that's it. He says that most of the people he seems to like and get along with are all transferring next year. He doesn't seem to have found his hang-out group yet, but that can change by next semester. We are going to be looking at other schools, but really hope things get better by the new year.</p>
<p>His dorm has calmed down a little. There have been many instances with police and a couple of kids "freaking out" on drugs in rooms next to his. I don't think a few guys on his floor are returning for next semester. My son isn't into the frat parties so I don't think there is anything else to do on the weekends. It's really such a shame, he talks with his friends at other schools and they all seem to be happy.</p>
<p>Anyway, that's the update. If things miraculously turn around I'll let you know.</p>
<p>Wow, that's too bad, and I hope it changes. I sent a PM with some questions about Roanoke. Keep us posted. Maybe there will be better things to report next semester!</p>
<p>One of my best friend's daughter went to Roanoke and transferred after 3(?) semesters. In her case the differences in going from a metropolitan to a rural setting were too great. She liked most of her profs but her urban quirkiness and liberal politics did not ingratiate her with most other students.</p>
<p>She transferred to NYU and Tisch where she found her niche rather quickly.</p>
<p>Interesting update (another Jersey-ite, here!). After reading the thread from the beginning, I was going to add Roanoke to my son's list...now am re-thinking that! A drunken, party atmosphere is SO not what we are looking for, whatsoever.</p>
<p>imajerseygirl62-could your son change dorms? Perhaps that could make a big difference.</p>
<p>I've got to put in my two cents. My son has not found the pervasive party atmosphere that Jerseygirls son has found. I do think that most of the kids come from rural and suburban areas as opposed to city areas such originaloog's friend. My son is also a liberal and last year (not sure about this year) attended a weekly film discussion group where they would watch controversial films and talk about them. His freshman year he and his friends participated in most of the RC after dark events on Fridays. </p>
<p>My son still does outdoor events, and participated in a fundraising walk just a couple of weeks ago. He is also anti-frats and has said that the Lacrosse players are the bad boys on campus. When I was in his dorm over parents weekend a security officer walked through their suite and son was not a bit phased by it and said they walk through often. Their fridge had milk, juice and cider in it plus offerings by the parents. I'm not saying that there isn't drinking around but there are definately kids that are not a part of that culture and there are other things to do.</p>
<p>Look, there is is drinking at Dartmouth, drinking at Princeton, drinking at Stanford, drinking at Amherst, drinking at Williams, etc. on through colleges and universities across the country. The question is whether a kid who doesn't want to drink can find a robust social network. Sounds like kathiep's son has.</p>
<p>There's tons of drinking at Princeton. ;)</p>
<p>Just wanted to echo the sentiment... every college has social groups that will get rowdy and drunk whenever they can. Every college also has more intellectual groups, artsy groups, religious groups, etc. It's all a matter of finding the right niche. Unfortunately, if a student is living in an environment with predominantly drinking parties, is not terrible sociable and willing to explore on their own, and has RAs that are unwilling to help, it can be very difficult. My sympathies for the troubles.</p>