St. Lawrence University vs. Holy Cross

Hi all!

After receiving all of my college acceptances, I have narrowed my selection between Holy Cross and St. Lawrence University.

Intuitively I would choose HC but I nearly have a free ride at SLU. (HC gave substantial aid but I would be around $20k in debt after college)

I plan to major in neuroscience (or a medical track) and I’m not super into partying. I’m also not religious. Personally, I think HC is more central for internships, things to do, other colleges (for events, guest speakers, etc.) but I know both are good schools and it is such a tough decision. I am revisiting SLU in the coming days and really enjoyed HC on my last visit. SLU was an easy safety for me, and HC was target/safety, too. GPA: 3.8/4.0 in HS, tons of APs, and extracurriculars; I don’t think HC will be overwhelming. Extracurricularly, I have always been really into community service, ice sports, dance, debate, and many other things-- so I definitely want things to keep me busy.

I wanted to get a few opinions on the differences in schools and perspectives from people who may know people there/alumni which would give better knowledge. Any bit of knowledge of the schools, things to consider, etc. would be super helpful!

My D is very happy at HC. Loves the people, the relationships she has forged with professors, the opportunities to get involved in clubs and community service and the overall friendliness of the community. Hasn’t had a bad class or prof yet. I don’t know much about SLU, so I really can’t compare the two, except to say that both schools have very good hockey teams! At HC, I think the women’s team was practically unbeaten this year.
You are right, that Worcester is a college town, with 5-6 colleges and a med school, so lots of young people. While parts of Worcester aren’t the greatest, there are some vibrant areas with good restaurants, shops etc that HC students frequent, and there is also easy access to a few malls and the big box stores. Boston is about 45 minutes away and my D has been a couple times. The campus activities board runs events all the time in the student center, kids attend hockey, football and basketball games, go to on campus lectures, and there are also parties going on. A large portion of the student body is involved in community service. Pre-med advising is an academic strength and med school admit rates are very high. Though there is some portion of kids who start out pre-med and then drop it as academically the school can be challenging. Campus is gorgeous, religion is there if you want it, but is no means forced on anyone. Freshman retention rate and 4 & 6 yr grad rates are very high, the alumni network is strong and passionate, the school is a top producer of Fulbright scholars, the freshman seminar program is a standout and overall you will find happy, personable, hard working and focused students.
Did you go to accepted students day?

If you are serious about the pre-med track, then reducing debt is essential, which makes St L look pretty good. St L is going to feel different from Holy Cross because of its size and location, but they are both going to be excellent preparation for med school and life beyond. We visited St L several times as my kid was a prospective athlete, and liked it a lot. Campus is large, with a golf course, nature trails, and gorgeous athletic facilities, and is close to incredible resources for the outdoors-ey person. The students we met were good kids, there is greek life but it is not dominant (less than 15% as I recall). St L is working on using merit money to diversify its student body. The winter weather and the size of the student body makes for a close knit group, and apparently the D1 Hockey rivalries make for some intense games. A lot to love in a school where Viggo Mortenson and Kirk Douglas went! At a school that size, fit matters, so enjoy your visit!

SLU seems like a cool destination in terms of both campus aspects and location. However, this applies only if your personal characteristics match well with their environment. The more selective HC, which has already demonstrated appeal to you, would seem to be a tentatively good first choice, but this should be pending your upcoming visit to St. Lawrence.