How did you like the W&L visit? We had a great day - everyone (current students/admin/faculty and prospectives) was super friendly and engaged (less kids and parents on phones than I’ve seen at any other school).
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Still waiting on the decision!
Thoughts / observations on your later visits ? Well maybe just W&L was later.
Here it is:
Still deciding! We are down to U Penn, W&L and Bowdoin. I can see a case for each. He had great visits at Bowdoin and W&L. Penn was good too. Had no idea this could be so hard. Bowdoin: Great school, engaged faculty is it too cold, athlete vs non athlete
W&L: Good school, good connections, is it too greek, too southern
Penn: Is Penn, is it too competitive for clubs to get internships and fellowships
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Internships are had by zillions of kids at zillions of schools. They are student dependent as much as school - so if he’s a go getter he’ll be fine - most especially at Penn which will have more postings than most. But many kids today find them on their own…both mine did and most I know do - whether at elite or non-elite schools.
Yes, they are different - but it seems to me Penn would either be the choice or easiest eliminated.
Good luck
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I agree with internships. I am really talking about how competitive it is to get into clubs. Applications and multiple rounds of selection. Also so many kids want fellowships it is hard to get the school nom.
My son is finishing up his freshman year at Bowdoin. It’s been an amazing experience. I’ve been so impressed with how many internship and fellowship opportunities they facilitate, with funding, even for first year students.
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All three schools are excellent. There isn’t much of a difference in terms of opportunities/outcomes. It now comes down to fit and finances.
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If Bowdoin bring too cold is the biggest downside then I think you found your winner. Your concerns about other schools are more serious. Our son at Bowdoin has not found it particularly cold. Certainly not any more cold than Penn would be. We are from Chicago and his four winters in Brunswick have been warmer than here!
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Agreed. Penn is the outlier in this group of three. Way different than the LACs.
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Note that, by historical averages, January mornings in Philadelphia are 17 degrees warmer than those in Brunswick, Maine and 3 degrees warmer than those in Lexington, Virginia.
https://www.bestplaces.net/climate/city/pennsylvania/philadelphia
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Except that Bowdoin and W&L will offer similar experiences, and W&L is completely free with a stipend.
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I don’t think W&L and Bowdoin offer similar experiences at all…and am surprised the two visits didn’t result in a preference. Bowdoin is also a full ride according to OP, so I probably wouldn’t make the decision based on getting the Johnson stipend.
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Agreed. It does seem a little odd that the student didn’t feel the fit more at one of the LACs versus the other. I’m not sure I can think of two LACs that are much different in vibe than Bowdoin and W&L.
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Have you visited W&L?
In fairness, I have not visited Bowdoin, but it was on my son’s short list as he went through athletic recruiting. Besides W&L, he was focused on (and had offers from some) Williams, Amherst, Bates, Connecticut College, Skidmore etc. It is true that each has their own vibe, but my son would have been happy at any of them. The only school he nixed, was Tufts, for reasons he couldn’t articulate 
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I have not but I know a male student there and the Greek, southern vibe is pretty different than Bowdoin. And I’m 99.9 percent sure it is more conservative (with of course pockets of kids who are more liberal) but Bowdoin leans pretty far left.
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My brother, a Bowdoin alum, sent his son to W&L. It was a disaster. He felt a lot of social pressure to go Greek, and also found the student body to be extremely wealthy. The social scene was very tough for him, and he’s a Northern Virginia kid. He ended up transferring to UVA but my brother told me that if he had it to do over again he would have encouraged him to more seriously consider Bowdoin or another northern LAC.
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W&L doesn’t have a 22/23 CDS up yet but in the last one 250 of 484 freshman were determined to have need (how much, I don’t know).
For Bowdoin, it’s 249 of 508.
No doubt W&L is high Greek - and we don’t know the level of need but I’m guessing both have tons of wealth and in comparing the two CDS (at least different years), W&L is helping a higher percentage than Bowdoin.
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I’m sorry to read about any kid having a negative experience. It is particularly difficult when it is a kid you know and care for. But it can happen anywhere, as anyone on CC will know from the transfer threads. That is why it is so important to ask questions and determine if the “fit” is there for a particular student. Which is why my posts in this thread have stressed asking the questions to determine that. Surely everyone contributing to this thread hopes this student will find the best fit for him and his goals.
Per the 2022 end of year review, a very high percentage of kids who attend do find W&L a good fit:
“Our graduation and retention rates continue to be among the highest in the country: 97% of our first-year undergraduates return for their sophomore year — the highest percentage of all liberal arts colleges — and 91% of our students graduate in four years — the highest percentage of all colleges and universities.”
But statistics and anecdotes do not matter at this point. All that matters is what this student sees as the best fit for his college experience.
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Highly selective private LACs tend to have students that skew from wealthy families, so WLU and Bowdoin both appear fairly typical in this respect. However, the extent to which students’ family wealth affects the social scene can vary from one school to another, and the differences in social scene between WLU and Bowdoin can be quite large despite the similarity in students’ family wealth.
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