I am accepted to both schools this year, and have nearly full need. What schools should I consider? About amount of Ph.D, , expectations to attend grad school, amount research I can conducts? About off campus activities.
Anyone helps me, please!
I really don’t know a thing about Wabash but I am familiar with Earlham and really like what I have heard regarding academic vigor and overall quality of undergrad education. Do you have a chance to visit both schools? Are your FA offers similar?
I am an international students and luckily contact with both of their international conselors through skype, or real life. I am intersted in Biology and both school have high concentration on it. Someone told me Wabash have more challenging environments. As myself, I felt Earlham iss more world class and has rigous academics.
You can go to graduate school from either one. Earlham does note themselves that they rank 9th in the nation in percentage of graduates who go onto receive a PhD in the biological sciences, and 29th in the nation in the percentage of students who get any PhD.
One thing to consider is that Wabash is a men’s college, so that will change the experience. Earlham is affiliated with the Quakers, which apparently changes the atmosphere (apparently, everyone addresses each other by their first name - faculty included).
Greek life appears to be pretty big at Wabash - 50-60% of the undergraduate student body is in one of 9 fraternities; 10 fraternities seems like an enormous number of chapters for a school that’s only 910 students strong. So I would imagine that has an outsize influence on student life. Apparently most fraternity members live in their fraternity house all four years of college.
Earlham has a pretty neat wilderness program. They also have the only all-student-run equestrian program and the most international students of any small college in the country (200 from 77 countries, which is about 20% of the student body). Most Earlham students study abroad for at least a semester, and there are a lot of Maymester study abroad programs too.
Crawfordsville is about half the size of Richmond.
I don’t know, I think I would lean towards Earlham. Both are academically rigorous, but I think Earlham has an edge in this area plus they seem to have a more robust and varied social life. (I’m also swayed by the Quaker affiliation, as I think the Quaker worldview is kind of neat.)
Julliet has a great description of the key differences – we have visited Earlham and know some kids at Wabash, and Earlham seems a much more international, open, community. The all-male population plus the fact that many students join fraternities affects campus life, significantly, at Wabash. My kid looked into Wabash and we were curious to discover that they don’t actually have enough dorm rooms for the students, so housing in the frat houses is an essential part of campus life, though I believe they are building a new dorm, which will help offer more housing options after freshman year.
Earlham is a cooperative school, not cutthroat. The teachers want you to succeed and to thrive, you will often work with other students rather than trying to beat them in grades. As a result, most kids in the small biology department have access to anything they might need within the new science building, as well as higher grades than at other schools.
Earlham also has a cadaver lab if you’re into that.
Thank you so much for alll responses. I am considering the Biological Science! Any one(alumni) can say to me which school have good Bio department, career, more challeging, competitive, global?
@CogniSperanza Earlham is not very competitive, so you’re not going to be wanting to kill your classmate to get a better rank. Earlham is also less challenging since the teachers are a bit more invested and will help you more. Earlham alum are very successful and gain entry into amazing graduate programs. As far as global, Earlham is the most diverse school with students representing 80 different countries and with financial aid being applied to study abroad, it is very accessible to students and more students spend a semester in one of the many programs offered through sister colleges. The Earlham science building alone should put it at the top of your list, macbooks for loan, multiple conference rooms with projectors to collaborate on projects or study, full undergrad cadaver lab, and walls that are made out of whiteboard.
Most of Earlham’s professors are ivy phd graduates.
Earlham has everything at your disposal for a successful career and future.