Rollins College vs. New College of Florida?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hey!
As a current student at Rollins, I hope I can help answer some of your questions about Rollins. As you mentioned in one of your posts, Rollins is ranked #1 in the South, which is a reflection of our academic programs, national and international initiatives, well-qualified teachers, campus programming, community involvement, etc.
When I was applying to colleges, I also considered New College. However, once I step foot on Rollins campus, I knew it was the place I needed to be. As valedictorian of my class, I was looking for an institution that would equip me with the resources to be successful post-graduation. Now, as I am in the process of applying for graduate schools, I know I made the right choice.
Here are some facts about Rollins that you may or may not have known previously:

  1. Rollins has a prestigious Student-Faculty Collaborative Research program, which provides students with the opportunity to participate in high-level scholarly research—research that is typically only available at the graduate-school level. Each year, a select number of students (many of whom are biology, physics, or chemistry majors) spend their summers working side by side with their professors doing graduate-level research.
  2. In October 2009, the Fulbright Program announced that Rollins is currently recognized as the number one top producing master’s institution in the nation (based on Carnegie Classification).
  3. The Office of Academic Internships hooks students up with awesome internships that help boost one’s academic and profession resume. If you get a chance, check out this article about a pre-med shadowing internship students completed over the summer: [Summer</a> Shadowing at Florida Hospital](<a href=“http://www.rollins.edu/news/2010/09/florida-hospital.html]Summer”>http://www.rollins.edu/news/2010/09/florida-hospital.html)</p>

<p>As far as financial aid goes, Rollins provides merit and need-based financial aid. Trust me, I know from personal experience!</p>

<p>Also, I would like to disagree with the person’s comment about Rollins “being a school for rich kids who don’t want to work too hard.” In every undergraduate institution, you will find students who are well-off and/or who don’t want to roll up their sleeves and get the most out of their education. This is true in society as a whole. Not every person is going to have the same view towards higher education as you do, and you will find that to be true no matter where you go. However, from my experience at Rollins, I can tell you that you will definitely be surrounded by students who are motivated to learn, willing to expand their academic and cultural horizons, and eager to have an impact on the world. </p>

<p>One great thing about the Rollins community is that everyone is passionate. Professors are passionate about teaching. Students are passionate about learning and doing well, and staff members are passionate about helping students achieve their best both during and after college. Every aspect of Rollins life is designed to help students be successful in their academic, social, and professional lives. Rollins will give you the tools to success, but it’s up to you to embrace these tools and use them for your own personal success.
Please don’t hesitate to ask me anything else about Rollins. I’ve been a student for 3.5 years, and I LOVE it!</p>

22

<p>I find this thread fascinating. I attended New College from 1969 to 1974, back when it was the ultimate “Hippie U.” I never thought I’d live to see the day it was called “prestigious.” LOL! How odd and unpredictable life is.</p>

<p>I’m not sure I was the right fit for New College, but I will say one thing for it: It was definitely academically challenging and intellectually stimulating. I arranged one-on-one tutorials in medieval history with my adviser – where else can one do that? And my friends and roommates were great. </p>

<p>I can definitely see the case for an in-state Florida kid attending New College…especially at no cost!</p>

23

<p>According to the Princeton Review, New College gets a 94 for selectivity and a 94 for academic quality. Rollins gets a 91 and an 88, respectively. </p>

<p>Another metric is the spread of SAT scores. </p>

<p>Rollins:</p>

<p>Reading Middle 50%:
565 - 652
Math Middle 50%:
565 - 653</p>

<p>New College:</p>

<p>Reading Middle 50%:
630 - 730
Math Middle 50%:
590 - 680</p>

<p>Percent of students with a high school GPA of 3.75 or higher:</p>

<p>Rollins: 21.8%
New College: 75.1%
Source: The Princeton Review</p>

<p>Statistically, these are radical differences. Essentially 75% of New College students did at least one standard deviation above the mean in either of both SAT sections. The GPA speaks for itself. </p>

<p>These are very different schools. I’m not trying to suggest that you absolutely attend New College, because I’ve seen firsthand how it can be a terrible fit for many people. But given your ambition and what I can only assume is a strong profile, I’m not sure Rollins is a fair comparison in terms of level of education or selectivity. </p>

<p>To be clear: neither school is “prestigious.” The monopoly on prestige is controlled by a select few institutions. If not having a GPA is worrisome to you, then I respect that decision. Truth be told, New College’s forte is getting people into PhD programs.</p>

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<p>^^^ Impressive data for a public LAC!</p>

25

<p>Gee…my alma mater…who knew? :D</p>

26

<p>Josh, you wrote: “I’ve seen firsthand how it can be a terrible fit for many people.”</p>

<p>Could you elaborate?</p>

<p>My older son is looking at LACs, and he definitely fits New College’s academic profile, but he has not even considered applying there. I think he’s heard too many horror stories from me, LOL. But maybe it has changed dramatically since I was there…?</p>

<p>Anyway, I would be very interested to learn how a bad New College “fit” can be disastrous nowadays. (I have a pretty good idea how that bad-fit thing worked back in the late '60s / early '70s…but this is another era.)</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

27

<p>@josh–does New College still have the Pei dorms? I lived in them my entire time there and loved them. Had the <em>best</em> roommates!</p>

28

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<p>First of all, yes, the Pei dorms are alive and well. They are a crucial part of the New College experience. Almost all of the first years live there.</p>

<p>If I had to create a list of stereotypical traits that are helpful in order for one to “fit in” at New College, I’d list the following:</p>

<p>1) Graduate school bound. There’s no point in undergoing the rigor and writing a Master’s level thesis if your goal is to only get a BA. It’s just not worth it.</p>

<p>2) Intellectually curious. I mean this in express contradistinction to “intelligent” or “academically talented.” At New College it was genuinely “cool” to be smart. There was normative pressure to be well read and well prepared for class. Students who made perspicacious contributions in their classes earned a certain amount of social capital in a way that doesn’t seem to happen at most other schools. </p>

<p>3) Socially liberal. While most students were politically liberal as well, I wouldn’t say that the latter is necessary for success at New College. But given the amount of attention to progressive social issues and the myriad of alternative lifestyles that the students lead, being socially tolerant is a must. New College extracurricular life is particularly quirky and often edgy.</p>

29

<p>Based on what you say, New College hasn’t changed a bit from when I was there. (Except for all the new buildings…) But the Student-Body Characteristics are still the same, it seems. </p>

<p>Heh! Your last sentence made me chuckle. One of my classmates, with whom I still keep in touch, kept a python in her bathtub. Yep, that was New College. :)</p>

30

<p>One more thing: I don’t know whether this is still true, but I assume it must be: You have to be really self-motivated to survive at New College. Sure, you get advice from your adviser, but you don’t get your hand held. Especially at ISP time. (Do they still have ISPs?)</p>

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<p>Yes, graduation still requires the completion of 7 contracts, 3 ISP’s, and a thesis defended in a Baccalaureate examination. There is very little hand-holding. It often has a sink-or-swim feel to it, but it’s great preparation for graduate school.</p>

32

<p>Rollins just has a pretty bad rep. It’s the only place in Florida where it snows. New College is said to be a really good up-and-coming school. </p>

<p>But then again a girl from my school got into Rollins, excelled, and transferred to Vanderbilt</p>

33

<p>Why would one want to transfer to Vanderbilt if you’re already at Rollins? It does not make any sense to me. </p>

<p>I’d say, NCF is the better school, if you don’t mind attending a small LCA-type of school. I’d recommended it to those who prefer small schools as it has a superb undergrad education. But I also think that Rollins is quite a good school, and it is not far from NCF in terms of academic rep. I think NCF is the better college, but I personally would prefer Rollins.</p>

34

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<p>Because it’s the difference between a tiny school with a regional reputation versus a large school with a national reputation. Perhaps Vandy had a major that was not available at Rollins. Vandy certainly has better financial aid. </p>

<p>Vanderbilt is 84% out of state, whereas Rollins is 47% out of state. Big difference. </p>

<p>Nobody is saying Rollins is a bad school. Plenty of community colleges, I’m sure, are also good schools. But in the market of higher education, one has to make a decision in order to maximize the return on investment.</p>

<p>I’m a huge advocate of liberal arts colleges, because they tend to foster an intellectual environment and a focus on undergraduate teaching. But I only think they’re better if we hold selectivity and academic quality constant. So I think it’s rather easy to say that Vanderbilt is a better school than Rollins, what with its acceptance rate of 20% and impressive SAT score range.</p>

<p>But I would not say that Vanderbilt is better than Vassar or Oberlin. And if we control for major and “fit”-- and assume that the student wants to get into a PhD program-- I’d say that New College is also a better school than Vandy on many fronts. </p>

<p>As a graduate student at Cornell, I can tell you that these large universities often dilute the frequency of intellectual exchanges among the student body. Sure, the faculty are almost always more famous at a prestigious university. The student culture, however, can often be more concerned with sports and Greek life rather than learning. There’s something about the lack of anonymity at a LAC that keeps people more focused on their studies. The small class size certainly increases the probability with which the professor will notice whether the students have done the reading. </p>

<p>Below a certain point of selectivity, though, I wonder whether a LAC is constraining compared to a large university. I’d much rather my child went the University of Florida than a place like Rollins. At the former, I’d know that serious research was being done and that my child would be exposed to a plethora of options. </p>

<p>This is all assuming, of course, that one has the opportunity to make such distinctions. It’s easy to say “I’ll go to Vanderbilt instead of Rollins,” but I wonder how many Rollins admits ultimately get to make that choice. At New College, I’d say the vast majority turned down UF, and a sizable plurality turned down more expensive liberal arts colleges or top 50 private universities due to inadequate financial aid. Only a handful chose it in lieu of a top 20 national university or LAC. Those who did so justified it on financial grounds, wanting to save money for graduate school. New College frequently makes top 10 lists due to its incredible financial aid and low price tag. For the price, it’s hard to get a better education.</p>

35

<p>I got my Master’s in English at Tufts. I have to say I was surprised at first by how high-schooly some of the texts we used at Tufts were, compared with what I was used to at New College. At Tufts, we used anthologies, some containing only excerpts from longer works. At New College, we’d read the primary sources in their entirety. Not just Book I of the Faerie Queene, but the whole dang thing, including the Mutability Cantos, LOL.</p>

<p>Tufts was a good program, don’t get me wrong. And New College probably allowed me to over-specialize, which was not always a good thing. But still…</p>