UCONN vs. Gettysburg

College Search & Selection
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Before I start, I would like to say that I still have five weeks before I have to make a decision, and I plan on visiting these schools (well, I already visited Storrs).

Background: Ideally wanting an intellectual (but also fun) school, one with extensive musical opportunities and good career placement. Likely studying GIS, Public Policy, and maybe a little English.

Also admitted to Dickinson (50K…maybe appeal?), Bucknell (65K, nope!), Clark (46K), Trinity, and a few others.

…

University of Connecticut: Large school with plenty of academic offerings (and then some). Student body varies with a wide range of individuals. Strong offerings in GIS, and they’re solid in Public Policy and English, too. Campus is certainly rural, but I like to roam. Can’t really go wrong with this option, but I’m not sure if it’s reputation stacks up to other options. 39K/year. No honors/merit, just in-state.

Gettsyburg College: Small school, decent amount of academic offerings. Student body seems to be slightly Greek-centric with a focus on “preppy.” Not sure the student body is accepting of “quirky” people (and LGBTQ folks), but I have a friend there who loves it (and they think I’d love it). Like said above, I like to roam, but I think that the battlefields (and nearby Appalachians) will be my friend. GIS offerings are more limited compared to UCONN (UCONN has a GIS major), but it is a concentration within their Env. Science major—so it’s there, at least. Public Policy is outstanding. English is solid, too. 41K a year. I was offered their Eisenhower Scholarship—highest award at Gettysburg, and it would come with some great opportunities to intern and conduct research in DC.

Also, Gettysburg has a neat 3-2 Master’s program with Duke’s Nicholas School, but I cannot guarantee that I would utilize this opportunity.

…

Any thoughts? Oh, and I haven’t even visited Gettysburg, so I will be taking a trip down soon.

Thanks.

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The one thing I know is that a friend of mine’s son goes to Gettysburg and absolutely loves the school. His parents have been impressed by the experiences there.

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Don’t know anything about Gettysburg, but I can tell you that UConn Storrs has an excellent reputation, overall. You’ll just have to go take a look at Gettysburg. I suggest you try to sit in on some relevant classes, too, and stay for a weekend so that you can see what social life is like there.

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Gettysburg is a small town. It’s not that far from DC (or Balto/Annapolis or Harrisburg if looking for a gov’t internship) but Storrs is going to have more college and other entertainment just because it needs to entertain many more students.

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Does one school stand out as “better” to the others?

Storrs seems great, but it seems that (at least online) it has a reputation of being a second or third tier state school.

Gettysburg, while it’s not Swarthmore, still seems to have a higher reputation, at least in the finance sector.

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UConn is not Michigan or Berkeley. But it’s definitely in the second tier, right after those first tier schools. Its business school has an excellent reputation, if you’re going for finance. As someone who is not in the finance sector, I think of Gettysburg as an “also ran” LAC, one that is not on my radar at all. So if what you’re looking at is “prestige”, Gettysburg isn’t going to impress anyone. You need to decide on which school is the better match for YOU, and what YOU want and need. Don’t think that Gettysburg is going to open doors for you with its name - it won’t. Of course, if Gettysburg has a very specific program or connection that fits your specific needs (and you are absolutely sure that you will be staying in that field, and won’t change your mind), and UConn doesn’t have something similar that fits that need, then you should choose Gettysburg.

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So is Dickinson out? Based on your comments about Gettysburg, Dickinson sounds a bit more like your vibe than either UConn or Gburg. If you’re going all the way to Gettysburg, you should see Dickinson. They are less than an hour apart. I love Dickinson and I think it’s far less isolated than either U Conn or Gburg. Of all the schools you’ve been admitted too, I like it the best, though I really like Clark too.

If it’s important to you that a school be tolerant and not too preppy, I suggest you give Clark serious consideration.

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@Lindagaf @parentologist

Thanks for all the great advice. And yes, I will be visiting Dickinson, too.

I guess, if we’re being honest, there’s three internal conflicts.

  1. UCONN vs. Gettysburg.

  2. UCONN vs. Dickinson.

  3. Prestige…sigh. I’ve said this in previous posts, but I have a lot of pressure to “go to the most prestigious school.” And it’s not like I’ve even been admitted to “prestigious” schools—certainly, none of these schools are slacking, but you know what I mean.

UCONN has the most to offer in my desired field of study. At the same time, I might switch out of that field (who knows what will happen in college).

Dickinson and Clark seem to offer the best social environments. Clark has outstanding Geography, but mediocre music opportunities (at the moment). Dickinson has OK GIS and OK music.

And Gettysburg, well, it feels like they actually want me (that’s not to say the others don’t, but UCONN gave me the cold shoulder merit-wise).

So, visits are due for Dickinson and Gettysburg. Maybe I’ll take a second look at Clark, too.

If reputation wasn’t involved, UCONN would be getting more attention from me. The biggest con is that I’m a little tired of CT.

Dickinson just feels like it’s missing a few pieces of what I want. But to be fair, so does every school.

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If prestige matters, than probably Trinity’s your best bet. I assume Trinity in Hartford, correct? It’s a NESCAC and has a great alumni network.

If preppy isn’t your vibe though, Trinity, Gettysburg, U Conn to a lesser extent, mainly due to size, are probably not your best options. You have to decide what to sacrifice. You can’t have it all, unfortunately. As far as UConn, it’s a safe bet, but I don’t think it’s any more prestigious than any of the others. Bucknell is out due to costs.

You have to prioritize what matters most.
Personal happiness, or prestige? More class options or getting more access to professors? Smaller classes or bigger classes? LACs offer more limited majors, but at the same time, there’s usually enough flexibility that a student can make it work for them. The Professor connections you will make at a smaller school shouldn’t be underestimated.

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You can make those at a bigger school too, but you have to make the effort. I had one daughter at a smaller school (3500) and she made connections with 2-3 professors, but that was it. One she had for a couple of courses and then worked for him too. My other daughter at a 10k student school knew all the professors in her department and they helped her get accepted to grad school with full funding. She also made connections with professors in other departments where she took several courses. My kids have different personalities and having those relationships was important to one but not to the other.

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Yes, true. I should have said making the connections is easier at smaller schools.

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I’ve got to imagine that UCONN will have the most extensive musical opportunities. Gettysburg is relatively rare among LACs I think by having a conservatory.

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Visit and hopefully one affordable school will feel right and present the most opportunities. I would NOT focus on "prestige "-- but FWIW I would not consider UCONN less prestigious than Gettysburg. I think at times people underestimate the worth of their in-state public colleges.

And I would not worry about getting out of CT as college will be a whole new experience regardless of where you go – and you can always do a semester abroad or in another US school to get a different experience.

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Makes sense.

Clark is also somewhat attractive due to their 4-1 BA/MS program…although only 1/3 of all Clarkies pursue it.

Dickinson…any thoughts? Definitely worth a visit, but is there anything that stands out about Dickinson over UCONN/Gettysburg?

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I think of SLAC Dickinson more in comparison to Gettysburg vs big UCONN. Dickinson feels stronger on international studies, and the guaranteed internship stands out, but I don’t have any experience with that and haven’t spoken with others who did an internship through the school. Still, it seems like internships carry more emphasis these days vs my era, so comparing such opportunities among the schools could be a good idea.

Here’s what Dickinson thinks makes them distinctive:

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A few comments:

–I did look at Dickinson with my D a number of years ago. We did like the school (it make her top few but she attended elsewhere). She didn’t like the road going through campus but that is pretty unimportant LOL. I know a couple of people who attended Dickinson and liked it a lot but I can’t directly comment on the student experience. When we visited there seemed to be an emphasis on international studies - not sure if that is still the case.

–I also know someone who attended Clark and liked it and he did go on to get a MS in Teaching there.

–As a large school UConn will provide a different experience as compared to a LAC – not better or worse, just different. Only you can decide which is best for you.

–My personal sense of LACs is that it is all about finding an affordable school that is the right fit (there should be more than one college that will be a good fit). Two reasonable people could easily choose to attend two different LACs and both be thrilled with their choice. So again, I urge you to focus on affordability and fit.

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UConn is superb for GIS, Superb. (So is Clark.) GIS is a growing field and will provide excellent opportunities.

The Eisenhower Institute, both on campus and in DC, makes
Gettysburg a place that provides excellent opportunities for public policy.

You have several highly desirable options here. I would just remind you that college is not a destination. It’s a stop along the way to the future that you choose to create. The time in college will slip by quickly just as it has in high school. At that point, you can always leave CT. That doesn’t have to happen now.

Given that this is a decision about educational opportunity first and foremost, I would seriously consider UConn and Clark before the others. Much better opportunity at both for GIS, which is a field you can plan your future around.

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In-state publics don’t give as much merit because they don’t cost as much as a Dickinson or a Gettyburg. Don’t be offended.

I loved our visit to Dickinson. And it seems less Greek-focused as Gettysburg.

But ya gotta visit to get the vibes and see which appeal to you.

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Absolutely. I do believe in “loving the school that loves you,” but you can’t expect the same “love language” from schools with very different sticker prices and rates of offering merit.

Based on the Common Data Set, 41% of Gettysburg undergrads receive merit. At UConn, it’s only 19%… and that includes athletic scholarships, which aren’t in the mix at Gettysburg since they are D3.

If you feel you’ll have a better experience at one of the private LAC’s, go for it, but I’d definitely urge you not to feel dissed by UConn over the merit differential. That’s an apples-to-oranges issue. UConn seems like potentially a terrific choice for you - it deserves full consideration.