Thinking of touring Franklin and Marshall, Muhlenberg and Gettysburg soon, and want opinions...

College Search & Selection
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St. Lawrence is a small, beautiful liberal arts school in very upstate New York. Academically it’s on par with all the other schools you are looking at. I think about 10-15% of students participate in Greek life, and it’s not as huge of a party school as schools like Bucknell or Trinity. The dorms and food are also supposed to be nice. Also, they are good with merit money. The downside would be the location. It’s probably freezing where it is, in Canton, NY.

About Trinity now. Yes, the neighborhood is supposedly horrible. Though it does attract many wealthy people, not everyone who goes there is rich and snobby. About half the students there get need-based grants. Really though, all these schools have a party scene. Trinity’s is just bigger, I guess, which is a downside to it. However, it seems like it’s a beautiful, very good, small, liberal arts school.

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You all have been so helpful. I really appreciate all the great feedback.

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I have visited F&M twice and I love it. My nephew attends and the professors have been remarkably available. The dorms are broken up into 5 “houses” each with its own logo and motto and each house has a resident dean that lives on one of the floors who is available day or night if a student is having issues or just wants to talk. The dorm common area (at least in New House) is lovely with a fireplace and wood paneled rooms and very nice leather furniture (not that one would choose to go to a college because of the dorms, but it’s a nice perk). The academics are challenging and there is a freshman course titled “Connections” where students are assigned a class based on a survey of their interests. I’ve been very impressed with the school thus far.

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If you’re considering any “southern”
Schools , you might want to to put university of Richmond and William and Mary on your list . U of R is in a very pretty suburb of Richmond and truly has one of the most gorgeous campuses . It has an active Greek life and is small like the other schools you’ve mentioned . William and Mary is bigger but has a nice campus in a nice area of Williamsburg .

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Of these, we toured only Franklin and Marshall, in late August. Here were my impressions.

We ate two meals there, so we got to know the dining hall! The food was good, with a lot of options available at each meal. My spouse and son especially liked the stir fry station.

It was a very pretty, compact campus. Lancaster was a bustling town, with a minor-league baseball stadium, a surrounding community that includes some Amish people, and lots of stores and restaurants.

My son liked that, during freshman year, you live with people with whom you are taking a course. In fact, in an initial email they sent him back in the fall of 2015, it was the description of the house system that first attracted him to Franklin and Marshall.

We spoke with four students working in admissions, three of whom were part of fraternities or sororities, which seem really, really big there— which was a minus for my son, but it sounds like it might be a plus for your daughter.

It was a pre-orientation week, so in the dining hall, we saw international students, the football team, and also the girls’ soccer team, which might have been comprised entirely of clones with blond ponytails.

The small classes and considerable academic opportunities sounded fantastic… and there was a dog park adjacent to the campus, so that was exciting!

From your description, it sounds worth a visit for your daughter!

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We have a friend who did freshman semester in London with F&M. She loved it. Seems like a great place.

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My kid loved his two visits to St Lawrence – lovely campus, gorgeous athletic facilities, great school spirit, and big focus on outdoors and winter sports. About 10-20% greek life participation, not dominant. School is working to expand its geographic as well as ethnic and racial diversity. While test optional, must submit scores to get merit award.

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I’m going to guess that of those 3, she’ll like F&M best, then Gettysburg.

I’m glad Union is on your list and would also suggest Denison. It seems that good academics and a good party scene (but not a mandatory one) are what she’s looking for.

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@Senior_1999 We have toured Richmond and all love it. It’s on the list:)

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@gardenstategal We have plans to go to Ohio one of these days. I have had Denison on my radar for quite some time. The only problem is that there is so much to see and so little time. However, we will definitely be making a trip to the midwest. Definitely going to tour Union which is easier to get to.

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Thanks to all of you. We will definitely be seeing F & M and Gettysburg in the near future. Maybe Muhlenberg, but not sure it’s what my D is looking for. Also, would definitely like to tour St. Lawrence and Union. Thanks again. This forum is wonderful!!