<p>I'm more of a lurker than an active poster, but I've learned so much from all of you here at CC and I want to say thanks..
I got a lot of great suggestions from people whenever I did post a question, and thanks in large part to some of the stories I read here, I was able to help my D compose a realistic list of 9 schools. She was accepted to 7 of them and has slowly whittled her list down to 4 schools.
I am typing this at Hamilton College's library while D overnights in the dorms. This is a beautiful schooland my only reservation is that it has such a long, cold winter. It actually snowed here this morning. D loves the school so I can't wait to hear her thoughts tomorrow after spending the night.
She is also considering Bucknell, which is somewhat ironic because i posted about my worries with drinking/partying/frats at Bucknell earlier, and to my surprise my D actually really liked Bucknell. i will have to hope that if she chooses Bucknell she will be able to find her nitch.
D will overnight at Bryn Mawr next week but I think that unless something really wows her, it will soon be in the "thanks but no thanks" pile. She loves the school but says she really thinks she'd prefer a coed environment.
So we wait anxiously for the final decision. As I told my D, there are positive and negative things about each of the Final Three . No school is perfect but one school might feel the most comfortable fit.</p>
<p>great post sarha. I've come to realize that all along the picture I had in my head of where my son was going to school was kind of a composite of all the best features of all the schools he had visited. Which is making the process of working with him to choose one school way more difficult emotionally than I thought it would be.</p>
<p>So are you pulling an all nighter in the library while your D parties in the dorm? Bucknell is a great place to visit with wonderful facilities, but I did sneak a peak at the student newspaper which chronicled an ongoing problem between the students and the town police and the students' propensity to party off campus in town. Don't know what progress if any has been made in that area. Hamilton is on the list for a visit soon. (I think they have an open house in a couple of weeks)</p>
<p>(oh, and checking your old thread, what about Lafayette? Dickinson? _ )</p>
<p>We're home from Hamilton, D liked it very much but is concerned about the very long winter. I was very impressed with the facilities and with the friendly student body. It's a great school. </p>
<pre><code> D will overnight at Bucknell next week. NJres, Thanks for the info re: student/town police relations. I have some concerns about Bucknell and it's drinking/partying reputation and I plan on checking out the campus security/safety office and asking questions.
D is still considering Lafayette and we will revisit soon.
</code></pre>
<p>Regarding town/gown relations, may I share an experience from the Fall Open House.</p>
<p>While attending a student panel discussion held in a large lecture room in the Student Center, I asked the panel to address that exact issue! It was a front page article on the Newspaper that day. (By the way I applaud Bucknell for not sweeping this under the carpet,allowing this to be on the front page of the Bucknellian, especially on Fall Open House Weekend).</p>
<p>Ok, so you could hear a pin drop as each panel member,including the Dean of Students, addressed the issue. They were honest and direct.</p>
<p>The bottom line-there was a new police chief this Fall, and he cracked down on the parties which had moved to downtown apartments, as a result of Bucknell's decision to close a couple more fraternities. </p>
<p>Is this a bad thing? I think not, because the lovely Lewisburg residents deserve to live in peace and quiet! As a parent I was reassured that there is a watchful eye in the community, as well as on campus.</p>
<p>There may be an difference of opinion on campus that the new police chief was/is being heavy handed. When do students like the people putting an end to their good times?</p>
<p>From a parents point of view, I like that Bucknellians are not running amuck in Lewisburg at all hours of the night.
(Duke Univ. Lacrosse could have used some reining before things got out of control.)</p>
<p>The students also explained about the mandatory alcohol/drug awareness course, and the pt system for infractions. I applaud Bucknell's attempts to keep the students safe and out of harm's way. </p>
<p>On a related issue, the President of Muhlenberg College, where our D is a freshman this year, sent home a letter stating that 19 students had been taken to the hospital during the first semester for alcohol poisoning. He hoped his letter would initiate a discussion at home with parents ( it did), and the school is also addressing this alarming problem. </p>
<p>I appreciate a college being forthright and upfront with parents and one who has the student's safety as their utmost concern!!!
( stepping off the soap box now :)</p>
<p>Sarha---My D is also deciding between Bucknell and the Hamilton school of Colgate. What did you think of the town of Hamilton? I too am worried about the very long, cold winters up north. The party scene at both is schools is apparently pretty big, but I wonder how much does that partying effect their GPA's.</p>
<p>I too am looking foward to an end to this process. Being in the home stretch is pretty anxiety provoking for me. I'm ready to just go shopping for school supplies! ha-ha</p>
<p>Kristy'smom I am so glad you are meeting Sarha- both have been communicating with me and YOU HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON :)</p>
<p>kristy's mom, my D is looking at Hamilton College which is in the town of Clinton, but it's about 20 minutes from Colgate. I have a feeling the weather may turn out to be the deal breaker for my D, otherwise she really loves Hamilton. Even more than the cold, my concern is that the long winter can lead to depression and SAD.
D will overnight at Bucknell this week and then sort thru her feelings. I think both schools will offer great educational experiences, only my D can decide where she feels most comfortable.</p>
<p>SouthJerseyChessMom, are you trying to play matchmaker? :-)</p>
<p>Sarha..............LOL , LOL ,........well, yes! </p>
<p>Do you know how hard it has been for me to keep the two of you straight? One is looking at Colgate,one Hamilton, and now there is Colgate in Hamilton, confusion. Oy vey!!!</p>
<p>Yes, quilty of playing matchmaker,
but I am here to assist............you know that :)
as is TexasTaxiMom,
who may not find this thread off Bucknell forum.................m,m,m, sending it her way now.</p>
<p><em>waves</em></p>
<p>feel free to ask me any questions and I'll do my best. I've got a soph at Bucknell (he picked it over Colgate) and another in the frozen tundra that is Carleton in MN. The weather hasn't been an issue for either of my kids. Maybe it is a refreshing break from the heat of south Texas?</p>
<p>I am glad you are going to visit--because really the stories you hear on the boards are all personal perspectives, mine included.</p>
<p>Hi, texastaximom. Sorry to hijack this thread a bit, but my junior d is looking at Bucknell. I think it's actually the largest school on her list; we'll be visiting next week. </p>
<p>Since Bucknell is a university, I have a question about intro class sizes. Are they large? Are sections taught by TA's? Research isn't that much an issue since my d is a humanities kid, but she's a very active learner, loves discussions, etc. and hates lectures. Are there a lot of lectures at Bucknell?</p>
<p>Thanks for any info.</p>
<p>Bucknell is primarily an undergraduate university. It lists a few hundred grad students in their total, and the web site says "masters degrees in a few select fields." I don't really know much about that. At any rate, that is why you have professors teaching instead of TAs, even in the lower level classes. There isn't a huge grad population to draw from.</p>
<p>There are some lecture classes at the intro levels. I think my son said he had about 100 in his largest, which was a philosophy of music class that is only taught every few years. It's a very popular class. Most of his classes have 25 or fewer. He placed out of a lot of his "core" classes. (Compare this to a large uni lecture of 350+ students)</p>
<p>Bucknell assigns you an academic advisor based on your required intro freshman seminar, which has about 12-15 students. You can then switch advisors as you become more familiar with content area of your major. As it turns out, my son has kept his advisor, and he contacts him regularly. </p>
<p>As a poli sci/philo major, my son also prefers smaller classes with discussion and written work over large lectures with scantron tests. Although it is larger than a lot of PA LACs in that neck of the woods, it still has that <em>small school</em> feel. We noticed there are not a lot of schools in that size range. Most are half or double in size.</p>
<p>Another advantage in the smaller sized university is the ability to become involved, even as freshmen, in a lot of the leadership roles in the activities and clubs.</p>