My son was accepted to the above 4 colleges. ( We expect a rejection from Lafayette tomorrow) None are his top choices. He was waitlisted at BC, HC and Bates. His dream school was Bowdoin. He could potentially go to UMASS Amherst as he was accepted but likes a smaller LAC. He’s at this point thinking of double majoring in theatre and poly sci ( with a possible minor in film or environmental studies). Law school maybe in his future. He may want to be a politician if he isn’t picked up by Hollywood (lol). He liked colleges with a decent college town feel. Hence Bowdoin. (Grandpa went there) His Dad went to school in Amherst and I Northampton. This is all we know for an undergrad experience. PS he is not that preppy or a prep school kid, but does get along with everyone. Does anyone have any thoughts on where might be best for him?
I think if he really wants to pursue Theater, UMass may be right up his alley. The 5College stage scene basically revolves around its productions. Why not carry on the family tradition?
Theater is a popular major at Muhlenberg.
My gut feeling is that Muhlenberg is a nice LAC with strong theater - may be a good fit.
We visited a number of the same schools. My D found Trinity too preppy for her tastes and did not apply. She liked Union a lot but IMO the school seemed pretty STEM oriented. My D ended up at Lafayette (and minored in theater) so if your S does get in feel free to PM me with any questions about the school you might have.
Some things you can do to try and get a better sense of the schools are: 1) go through the website carefully including looking at professors in his area of interest; 2) look at school newspapers online; 3) get your hands on some good college guide books like Fiske, Princeton Review etc. and read up on the colleges.
Was he able to visit any of these before the shut-down, and what did he think?
He might love Muhlenberg for its theatre and sense of friendliness. On the other hand, it has a very compact campus that my D (who wants a LAC) felt was too small for her. However, she’s not a theater kid. If she were, the great emphasis on theater there (and beautiful theater facility) might overcome her other objection about the campus.
Edited to add Connecticut College gave him the most merit combined with aid. Followed by Union. Muhlenberg was the highest even with more merit than Conn. Have not got aid package from Trinity but they meet full need. Negotiating with Muhlenberg (30.5K)ut not sure they’ll match Conn and also Union. We are pretty high need so if Muhlenberg doesn’t come down several thousand they are out!
Also my mother, who may help with college costs is pretty dead set against Muhlenberg bc its so small and so focused on theatre (she does NOT approve)
@circuitrider I really don’t think I can get him to agree to UMASS and its more expensive than Conn and perhaps Union and Trinity.
@happy1 DS did find Trinity pretty preppy, but said that wouldn’t bother him too much. His problem with Union isn’t STEM (my mom would like bc maybe he’d switch is major focus), but rather their trimester system. Will look into the Fiske guide.
@inthegarden He’s visited all the schools. He loved Bowdoin best. He think’s Muhlenberg is ok. Thinks Trinity, and Union are pretty and probably like Conn’s campus the best (while I prefer Trinity)
Also, Conn is building a brand new main stage theatre.
Ugh, hard to decide when none are really what he wanted.
Conn College is beautiful and has so many great programs and opportunities for students. I love the campus. The students seem to be very friendly and there are not frats. The shore is nearby, which is a nice thing. Trinity is gorgeous with older buildings. Love that campus. The school seems to have changed a lot in recent years with many students who are not the traditional prep-school type. Diversity is way up. Political opinions among students run the full spectrum of possibilities. Supposed to have fantastic professors and lots of great opportunities for internships, study abroad, etc. I really like both schools very much. We didn’t visit Unity or Muhlenberg but I have heard good things about both. I know that Trinity and Conn are both very different but if it were my child and he were choosing between those two it would be a very hard choice as I think highly of both schools.
@suteiki77 Thanks. It is so hard. I agree with everything you said.
If the play’s the thing, I would have recommended early on that your son take a look at Connecticut College, but it wouldn’t have occurred to me to recommend Bowdoin or Bates or some or some the other schools that have been mentioned. At this stage, I think your son’s choices are better than they’ve been portrayed.
@merc81 Well, to him the play’s the thing. Plus Poly Sci. To his Gram, not so much. He really loves Maine and his dying (now recently deceased) Grandpa went to Bowdoin. He was also attracted to colleges with a “college town feel”. But Conn’s rising on the list I think. Thanks
Connecticut College offers a nice international relations program, in particular, should that area of government studies be of interest to your son.
I’m sorry about the loss in your family, @Charlie2772.
UMass students are members of the Five College Consortium. If he liked Bowdoin, he might well like the atmosphere at Amherst College (or possibly Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire.) Amherst is the easiest to get to from UMass. All schools can cross register with each other, as well as join each other’s clubs and I think club sports.
So if you are a UMass student you can take classes at Amherst College and it won’t cost you any more than UMass tuition. There’s free shuttle buses as well.
I have heard very good things about all 4 schools and don’t think you really have a bad choice there. I think your son is very lucky! All things being equal, I would look at the money. I don’t think you could make a wrong choice, honestly. Also, I’m sorry about your loss. That is hard.
I would’ve said Conn even before I saw they gave the most aid. Muhlenberg would also be a good choice.
Based on what you have said, I would give another nod to Conn College or Muhlenberg. (All are great options, congrats!)
I know a current Conn student whose first choice was Bowdoin. He absolutely loves Conn.
Muhlenberg is not a professional conservatory/acting academy. It’s a liberal arts college which has strong programs in the performing arts, but I know kids who are M grads working in finance, education, consumer products marketing, etc. so if you’ve got a reluctant family member, you’ve got time to educate her.
I think these are all solid choices; I would encourage you to help your son back off a bit from “loving the campus”. It’s an easy decision factor because it’s so graphic and visceral (BU does not look the same as Middlebury, to put it in start contrast) but in reality, most kids at residential colleges come to love/like/appreciate the physical campus, but it doesn’t play as much a role in student satisfaction as people think. Kids transfer out because their first college doesn’t have the academic program they decide they want; they transfer out because they don’t find their “peeps”; they transfer out because they can’t afford to stay, so need a cheaper option; they transfer out because they discover their college is too pre-professional (or not enough) and their goals have changed.
Kids don’t transfer out because they wanted Georgian red brick but ended up with gothic, or being so close to the water is a drag when they wanted to be in the mountains, or because the sciences library closes at midnight but the humanities library is open until 2 am.
So I think if your son loved Bowdoin, the question is, which college of his choices is the closest to the “essence”, not which campus looks the most like Bowdoin.
I think there are very happy kids at all the colleges you’ve mentioned.
D20 had interviews and 2 visits at each of the schools you mentioned (and at Lafayette), applied to all but Trinity (something felt “off” on the last visit) and Union (they do seem much more focused on STEM). Muhlenberg didn’t start out as a serious contender but after spending a lot of time there, it moved up significantly. Conn had a more serene campus and she absolutely loved the Arboretum and could see herself walking around to relieve stress. She was looking for challenging academics and lots of opportunities to continue playing the violin. I don’t see a “wrong” choice. If you need your mom’s help with the costs, I would go with Conn. If you don’t, it’s a toss up. My D is a pretty serious student and while she really liked Muhlenberg, between those two she would have chosen Conn because it felt more like her.
Hi, My daughter went to Union and loved it - but I have never heard her mention Theater or anything like that during her stay in Union so not sure if that is a big thing there. She took up Computer science, minor in Statistics and Math so obviously very STEM-oriented. Hope that helps. She graduated a year ago.
If he loves theatre, I really think Muhlenberg would be the way to go. I love Union, I’m a proud alum, but as much as it’s improved in the 30 years since I was there, there’s not much of a college town there. Same goes for Trinity. And kinda Conn College. Good luck to him - I hope he lands somewhere he loves. Or loves where he lands. 