Thoughts about student retention

<p>Great to hear! Sounds like our kids may be classmates. We also know someone in the theater department who showed us around, but on the day we visited, there weren't any faculty members to chat with.</p>

<p>Yes it does! We won't make it to the admitted students saturday but will be at the ambassador overnight that week as well as the admitted students recpetion in NYC.</p>

<p>I am not considering attending Drew (it was my safety school). But, I live in the area and currently study at the library. I've been to parties in the dorms, and have used all their recreational/eating/dorm/library facilities. Here's my two cents:</p>

<p>-The student body is not very diversified.
-The athletic facilities are quite nice
-The campus is beautiful
-The food is quite good (or it was, when I was there.. I believe the buffet style cafeteria is state-ranked, I love it)
-Madison is not by any means a college town, that said you are within walking distance of a train station. This comes down to easy access to New York city for $19.75 (granted you take a Midtown Direct train during peak hours and allow for two $2 subway rides, that would be your roundtrip fare)
-There isn't much to do, don't expect a "party scene."
-The art and theatre departments are wonderful, they recently built a new Dorothy Young Center for the Arts and it's quite amazing. $12 Million concert hall among other things. The building is wonderful, I've taken art classes there.</p>

<p>I can see the appeal at Drew, but it isn't right for me. If I were choosing colleges for my children I probably would not put Drew on the list. Beautiful campus, a very homey feel. During the fall it's nice walking around and I do get envious of the kids now and again. It is a good school but for the money etc I think one can do better. That said, if you like the school go, I know people there who absolutely love it.</p>

<p>I'm going to disagree with a few points, as a current Drew student:</p>

<p>1) I believe the student body is pretty well diversified (both my high school and last college were a lot more homogenous than Drew)
2) I don't know about the athletic fields, but the gym SUX, and I'm there everyday.
3) The food is "eh", but we just switched to a new provider, so it should be better next year.
3) For a round trip ticket into new york, its only 13.75$!</p>

<p>We just enrolled our d at Drew. She got into several good schools, but the award package she got at Drew was hard to resist. And there is absolutely no question that her merit awards are for the full 4 years. </p>

<p>We went down there for Spring Weekend. I fell in love with the place. It's gorgeous! (Though I understand that freshmen dorms are in dire need of renovation ASAP.) I personally was very impressed with the prez; I think he IS going to change the place--but I definitely see that as a good thing. </p>

<p>Madison is a great little town in easy walking distance, and (as others have said) the train to NYC is right there.</p>

<p>The only downside is that it is a bit far from home (about 5 hours), so it's gonna be a big adjustment. The more Drew lives up to its reputation as a nationally ranked liberal arts college and attracts out-of-staters, the more activity there will be on campus.</p>

<p>Some further thoughts:</p>

<p>One writer said "Madison is not by any means a college town." I lived in Amherst, the quintessential college town, for several years; and I can assure you that Madison has at least as much going for it as Amherst. Amherst center is a bit larger, but it is also further from campus. In addition, Morristown with its many shops and restaurants, is only a couple miles from Drew.</p>

<p>Regarding President Weishbuch, he's well-known and well respected in the academic community. While a politician like Gov Kean can bring a lot to a campus in terms of connections and fundraising, someone like Weisbuch can bring a strong academic sensibility. This is critical for a college that wants to improve its academic profile. I've been in Higher Ed myself for almost 20 years, and I have to reiterate: This guy really impressed me. </p>

<p>One thing that might be of interest to potential students from northern climes like us: It appears that on any given day in the winter Madison is likely to be 5-10 degrees warmer than locales north of Boston. This obviously shouldn't be a major factor in a student's decision, but it can add to one's quality of life compared to living at places like Skidmore, Syracuse, Bates, etc.</p>

<p>A final note...Even though my D had enrolled at Drew before I stumbled on this page, I have found people's comments to be very helpful. Thanks!</p>

<p>Cadbury, it really isn't a big difference, but my son has mentioned the 5-10 degree difference more than once. He hates the cold and one day when he was picked up, it was about 75 there and 65 at home, and he went, "Geez it's cold here". (we are from CT) I think he made the right decision to avoid schools like Syracuse, etc. : )
Madison is a small town, but it's safe and quiet and you can pick up food with their shuttle van now. Knowing he can leave by train to NYC or other places in N.Jersey helped his feeling of claustrophobia. When we were at Wheaton MA, he said half way through, Mom I can't go here...it's too small and I'll only last a year. There was no easy way out and at Drew, just knowing he could, was enough. He didn't use the train until the latter part of the year, but will more in the future.</p>

<p>Clarification: When I said "Amherst center is a bit larger, but it is also further from campus," I was referring to UMass (where I did my graduate work). Amherst College is actually very close to the center. Sorry for any confusion.</p>