St. Lawrence or University of Vermont

College Search & Selection
1

Hey everyone!
I am seriously considering applying early decision to St. Lawrence, but I really like UVM as well so I have to decide which one I want to go to more. Here is a list of questions I would love to know to help make my decision!! Not all need to be answered, I just want a better idea of the vibe at both colleges?

St.Lawrence:
What is the overall vibe of the people at St. Lawrence?
Is St. Lawrence a sorority vibe or a granola vibe?
What is the outing club like?
Does it feel like high school?
Does it feel too small?
What are the teachers like?
What is the environmental studies program like?

What is the outdoor studies like?
How is the food? (actually)
Is there good nature close to st.lawrence?
How is the rowing team?
What is there to do on the weekends?
What do you not like?
What jobs are here?
What are the politics like?

UVM:
Does it feel like living in a city?
How is the environmental studies program like?
What is the education program like?
How is the outing club?
How is the rowing team?
What are the teachers like?
How is the food?
How close is nature places?
What do you not like?
Is it a good community?

2

One data point (not a student but visited several times with D, who applied twice but did not attend; applied as an ES major). Our overall impression of the vibe at SLU was privileged, sporty type students, definitely more sorority than granola. Not very diverse population. The outing club is strong, and I assume members of that would lean more granola than the general student population. Adirondacks are close so yes, lots of great nature to explore! Food we had was good, there was a nice selection, more healthy than many campuses we visited. There doesn’t seem to be a lot to do in the area with the exception of the outing club and trips to Canada. School has a rep for partying, which seems to be common at rural schools, more than at your typical college. School, as many LACs, seemed to be pretty liberal. Other benefits: the Adirondack semester and the strong alumni network. While they give decent merit, it’s likely to be more expensive than UVM. Are you applying ED because your gpa/test scores are low?

UVM (D also visited and applied but did not attend). I didn’t get a big city vibe. The area right around the school was kind of like a cool large village. We limited our visit to a few miles around the school, so there may be more big city stuff outside that range. Environmental majors (of which there are many as you know, in several schools) definitely seem strong. UVM also has a big outdoor club. Seems like they do a wide range of activities/trips. That was a big draw for my D. Food there was pretty good as well. It’s a very liberal campus. Pot seems to be big on campus. Much more diverse than SLU, and obviously a much bigger community. I assume you’re applying EA to UVM? Are you instate?

3

One is a moderate size LAC located in a fairly remote village, while the other has a bit less than 11,000 undergrads and is located in one of the best college “towns” in the world.

P.S. If you like the University of Vermont, then consider the University of Colorado at Boulder.

If you like St. Lawrence, but want alternatives, then consider Skidmore College, Denison University, Gettysburg, or Colby College.

4

I will try to answer some of your questions on UVM, and not talk about the other school at all because I do not know it at all.

Burlington VT is a very attractive small city. To me it feels more like a big town with a fair amount to do rather than a city. I like Burlington a lot.

I have heard that Environmental Sciences at UVM is very good. However, this is not the same thing (or at least should not be the same thing) as Environmental Studies, which I do not know anything about. Ditto with education.

The outing club is very good. Someone we know did a freshman orientation before classes started that involved a multi-day hike in the green mountains. They liked it a lot. The rowing team is very good. The problem is that the varsity team practices early in the morning. Some university students will find this incompatible with the lifestyle that they would prefer to follow. If you are on an eight person crew, they really are depending upon you showing up for each practice. I expect that early practices would be a fact of life at any university if you want to crew. There are quite a few skiiers at UVM and good skiing in the area, and ski trips, a ski team, …

I have eaten at UVM multiple times and thought that it was quite good. I have eaten more often at restaurants in Burlington and there are quite a few very good ones, which tend to be oriented towards what a university group would like rather than “big and fancy and expensive” that an older group might like. You can get really good pizza in Burlington, and your parents can get really good beer.

They card like crazy in Burlington. Getting an alcoholic beverage when you are under 21 is tough. I was carded when in my 60’s (back when I used to be old) and they almost wouldn’t sell to me because I was with an underage daughter. I think that 4 of the last 5 times that I was carded were in Burlington.

I like UVM quite a bit.

They do have real winters. Do not get rip roaring drunk and fall asleep outside there in the winter. Buy a good coat and boots. In my experience people get used to the winters quite quickly.

5

Thank you Taverngirl for your response! I would like to apply early decision to because I would love to know sooner, for possible financial aid, and to improve my chances of getting in. My GPA is almost exactly their average so that should not be an issue. I am not instate and I am applying early action to UVM.

6

Awesome thank you Publisher I will keep those other colleges in mind! I have checked them out a little bit, but because things are kind of crazy right now, it is probably best to stay closer to MA.

7

What I am most uncertain about is the vibe of the students and teachers at St. Lawrence. If anyone who goes there would like to comment about this that would be much appreciated! I am open to as many comments as possible!!

8

Since there hasn’t been a lot about St L, let me share what we know. My kid went through athletic recruiting at St L so we visited several times, and he has a high school friend who just graduated from St L and was very happy there. For context, my kid also went through recruiting at some NESCACs plus Dickinson, several Ohio LACs so we visited those schools multiple times as well.

St Lawrence is a beautiful campus, with a range of architectural styles. As best I recall, it is not really quad-based, the arrangement of buildings is more “free-flowing,” though there is a central core with the library, original chapel and academic buildings. The Admissions building and the Student Union are both gorgeous, ski chalet style buildings, the Student Union is 3 stories, with grab and go type dining on one floor, student organization offices plus, I think, Career Services, and assorted other entertainment space etc.

Dorms range from traditional, kind of faded but not more so than any NESCAC my kid stayed in for recruiting camps, to new, modern, suites with a cafe in the building. Food was very good, and the dining hall is famous for its chocolate milk because it comes from local dairy farms. Athletic facilities are excellent – St L is D1 for ice hockey and D3 for other sports. Hockey rivalries are huge. The village is just off campus, with pizza shop, bagel store, movie theater and an excellent farmer’s market. The big grocery store is about 10 min drive from campus, excellent organic, gluten free, vegan offerings.

Boston and New England generally are heavy feeders to St L, the college runs buses at break time to Boston and NYC since it is otherwise not easy to get in and out of the region (Syracuse is about 2 hours away, Montreal about 90 min).

Student body seemed to us to be similar to Dickinson, Bates, Conn Coll – lots of nice kids, plenty are athletic, but also artsy, outdoorsy. St L, like many LACs, is trying to expand diversity of its student body. My kid’s tour guide was an African American girl from Baltimore who was incredibly enthusiastic about her experience generally and about the academic mentorship and opportunities she had specifically. Greek life is about 10-15%, so not high. Though as others noted, the isolation, especially in winter, is the kind of thing that drives up drinking. My kid’s good friend loved the outdoor focus, from hiking to cross country skiing. He was not interested in greek life, not a big partier, but enjoyed his time there.

At least several years ago, St L was giving up to $24k merit aid. Hope that helps somewhat.