<p>swatmom - congratulations - sounds like she will have many fine choices.</p>
<p>Joining the conversation - my son is a junior and looking at many of the same schools as Rockvillemom’s S and Swatmom’s D- SU, Muhlenberg, Elon and Ursinus are top 4; he may add Gettysburg (I’m an alum) but it’s a financial reach for us as I doubt they will offer him much merit aid. We went to SU on Friday and Mberg on MLK day. SU - beautiful campus, lots of housing options, great study abroad options, good meeting with head of education dept, know a # of kids that are real happy there. Muhlenberg - really did feel the friendly vibe on campus, beautiful new dining hall with very good food service, lots of nice common areas where the kids can hang out. But, campus is small with nowhere to walk to, and housing options don’t seem to be as plentiful or nice. Ursinus is close to us and first place we visited because he was interested in their baseball program. He liked it, but now that he has seen the other 2, it’s lower on the list. Next up - Elon in February, really looking forward to it!</p>
<p>Welcome Embrace (and love the screenname)! My SU freshman son has 2 close friends in the Education department, both of whom are very positive about it. Your other choices are all fine schools, too. I am glad the snow did not tarnish your visits–every school looks better amid sunshine and greenery.</p>
<p>Thanks Yabe! Embrace the mess is a nod to the fact that I will actually be sad in 1.5 years when I’m no longer tripping over baseballs, footballs, textbooks, clean & dirty laundry (but who knows which it is) etc.! I’m starting to realize that I should cut back on the nagging and enjoy the moments! Yes it’s not ideal visiting campuses in the dead of winter, but once baseball season starts it’s hard to get away, and he plays football in the fall which is a 6-day sport so it’s impossible to go away then. So, we’re putting in the time while we can. I figure if he likes a school when it’s cold and snowy, then it’s a good sign! Hopefully, no snow when we head to North Carolina!</p>
<p>He’s currently leaning towards secondary ed and history or math, most likely history. If anyone has any feedback on these majors at SU. I’d love to hear it!</p>
<p>New to this, so if I mess up I am sorry. I can only speak to the creative writing major, as that is where my son is headed. He is a senior this year and has been accepted to Susquehanna U (as well as Goucher College, Washington College, Lycoming College, Towson University and waiting to hear from UNC-Asheville). Susquehanna U as of this year had about 180 students in their creative writing major. Last year, the college constructed a creative writing building. While fairly small, it is still a fairly unique find on a college campus. My son attended a high school writer’s workshop at Susquehanna during the summer between is junior and senior year. He lived on campus in a dorm for a week while participating in the workshop, with days that usually lasted from 8 AM to 8 PM. In his estimation, the professors (the actual creative writing faculty) were outstanding. To my knowledge, there are 7 creative writing faculty members, which is again somewhat unique on a college campus, especially one of this size. They are all published, most with multiple titles. I have met 3 of the faculty, and you can feel their enthusiasm for what they do, which is probably the greatest attraction for my son. The town of Selinsgrove is tiny. If you sneeze, you will likely miss it. However, down the road is Shamokin Dam (the actual name of the town) which has multiple resturants, an all night major chain grocery, and a few “big box” stores, as well as a multi screen cinema. Susquehanna also has its own night club on campus, although I have not been in it (too old). I believe it is called Trax??. I have three friends whose children went to Susquehanna, (one of whom was a creative writing major) all of whom said that it was a great experience for the parents as well as the students. I know I sound like the Director of Admissions, however I have tried to do as much research as possible before committing that amount of money to a college education. So far, the positives have far outweighed any negatives I have encountered, outside of the cost. Congratulations to all the parents and their very successful children. Jazzzmomm, if you are still coming to this site, I hope this helps a little.</p>
<p>Hi - I enjoyed your post very much. My son is not interested in the creative writing program - but I love hearing positive things about Susquehanna as my hs junior will be applying there in the fall.</p>
<p>Singledad, if you rson’s son’s writing skills are as impressive as your and his due diligence skills, he will also be published multiple times!</p>
<p>singledad–thank you for that very informative post! I have been doing mad research for the places where creative writing is really present on a campus. So many schools only offer a few “workshops” in the English Department. Susquehana seems to have a serious writing culture and good range of courses and opportunities. I’d say 7 faculty members for the major is pretty rare indeed! I am excited to go there with my son to see what he thinks. </p>
<p>Other good options? Any advice would be welcome! We are considering Bard (not a big fan myself but we have many friends there who love it), Emerson, Syracuse U (excellent writing and rhetoric program which is somewhat different from creative writing but really solid), Hampshire, Purchase, Warren Wilson (crazy out-there but very creative writing friendly I think). Anyway, it’s harder to find strong writing than I thought it would be!</p>
<p>jazzmom - what about UNC-Asheville. I’m not positive - but I think that would also be a good school for writing.</p>
<p>Jazz, I think the average student at Bard and Hampshire is different from the average student at Susquehanna. Although SU has a great many creative writing, music and graphic arts majors, it also has many business majors and athletic kids–I have never heard that Bard or Hampshire (or Purchase) do. I would also bet that the average affluence level at Bard and Hampshire is much higher.</p>
<p>Syracuse is much larger than your other schools and has a very strong frat/sorority system (and also a very high affluence level) and is your 1 big time sports option.</p>
<p>Emerson is your 1 city option. </p>
<p>If your child wants an active intramural sports program, I suspect Bard, Hamsphire and Emerson are not fits. </p>
<p>I think singledad’s child attending a Summer workshop is an example of a great way of checking out a school in depth way beyond a weekend visit.</p>
<p>yabeyabe2–You’re quite right about the character of each of those schools. This is my fourth time through so I almost feel like I’ve researched every school on the planet with the gamut of kids’ interests I have had! This son feels (himself) like a Bard/Hampshire kid. My issue with Bard is what I found to be a combination of extreme affluence and a weird lack of serious academic opportunity. The contrast I would draw is the experience one of my sons had at Brown–the same type of freedom in terms of what you could study, but there was such a rigorousness there. You don’t get that feeling at Bard. And I may be wrong abou this. This is based on knowing two current students there, visiting them; this may be a reflection of them.</p>
<p>I WISH I could get my son to do college programs in the summer but he is deeply attached to his summer camp and is going to be a counselor. </p>
<p>I did think SU sounded more traditional than artsy so that’s why we’re visiting. Someone who feels drawn to Bard may or may not love SU, but you just never know. I think the creative writing sounds more substantial than most. I’m looking forward to seeing it!</p>
<p>Jazzz, I think you are right on–my impression–like yours, just based on kids who go there-- of Bard and Hampshire is that they attract a lot of rich kids who think it is want to work hard, take courses outside their chosen field, etc.</p>
<p>A danger in creative writing is that some kids seek it out (sort of like jazz) because they think it is all about self-expression and are surprised to learn how much hard work is involved in doing it well.</p>
<p>You might find weekend workshops in the Spring of Fall. </p>
<p>At any school, the key will be less the average student than the likelihood that he will find the small group of kids that most kids hang out with most of the time and the quality of faculty in his major. As a veteran, I am sure you will seek to arrange a meeting with a faculty member and student major prior to your visits.</p>
<p>Of course, many kids do change their majors.</p>
<p>Hope you don’t mind me joining the conversation - I sometimes look to see what folks are saying about Bard. The impression you have of Bard is not the experience my son is having - which is not to say it might not be true for a different student. My son, who is not at all rich, is having a very rigorous and intellectual education. He is studying with brilliant professors who are really pushing him to excel. He is going to graduate from the college as a deeply educated man. Now - admittedly he’s a very very bright kid (top everything, national awards, could have gone anywhere truly, etc.) and he is seeking out this experience and the professors are rising to the occasion.</p>
<p>Bard has a ton more requirements than Brown, Wesleyan or Hampshire, which some entering students don’t understand. There are many distribution requirements in all areas of knowledge that must be fulfilled. There is even now a three week mandatory science immersion session for freshman in addition to the 3 week Language and Thinking immersion program before their freshman year even begins.</p>
<p>I also want to say that my son’s friends are similar to him - deeply involved in their studies - as well as pursuing interests outside of them - particularly reading. They are passionate kids who find learning exhilarating.</p>
<p>Would it be possible to slide through the program without ever delving deeply? Yes. Because Bard also believes in individual responsibility - the opportunities are there but I’m sure there are kids who skate by on the surface. Even in many of the best of schools, this is possible. Cram for the test the night before, forget everything the day after - I’m sure you all know that method of learning… But for a student who has a genuine love of learning - Bard is like a candy store.</p>
<p>As the parent of a Bard student, I’m going to chime in as well. My son’s experience has been similar to spiritmaster’s child’s experience. The academics at Bard are top notch and the students are pushed to perform. All of my son’s friends are highly intelligent and engaged in the learning process. The complaints that my son has about the school are all regarding creature comforts, i.e. the food is terrible, the internet is lacking, no cable TV. I’ve never heard him complain about the quality of education or that there are too many rich kids. I think those comments are off base.</p>
<p>Thanks. Glad to hear it.</p>
<p>Anyone have with experience or know anyone who has been an Elem Ed or Early childhood major at SU?</p>
<p>I absolutely defer to parents who have kids there!! I really have a narrow lens on the Bard experience, as I said, and every student is different. I also know that Leon Bottstein has stepped up Bard’s academic rigorousness and our contacts there go back a few years. Commenting with vague gut feelings about something as important as a whole college experience is foolish, and I apologize! I’m beginning to get that frenetic parent filter going and weeding out schools from my own survival instinct!</p>
<p>That’s what so scary about this process–there are so many good schools and no means of getting foolproof information, so a single datapoint–1 kid from your hs; one visitor’s comment; etc–knocks a school off the list without a visit. And, even if you do visit, a single overdressed or odd-looking kid can knock it off your child’s visit.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>Can anyone give some feedback on business at SU. S was accepted with very good merit aid and what to get a visit in over the next 2 weeks before spring sports start. After that, very difficult to get there.</p>
<p>I have a friend of a friend whose son is a junior business major. She says he likes the small class size and that the professors are very accessible. She feels the business school has national name recognition. Sorry that’s not much to go on - but she seems very pleased overall.</p>
<p>Would you mind posting the amount of the merit award? Sometimes people will say things like “good merit aid” - but never mention an amount and since SU is $42,000/year - I am wondering if you mean $5000 or $10,000, etc.</p>
<p>We visited SU last fall with junior son and were very impressed.</p>