what do you know/think of these colleges?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm a junior, trying to narrow down my college list. So far, I've cut it to 37...! Obviously, I'm in need of some major list slashing! I have a few college guides, have gotten some mail, and looked at the websites. Some of the places I feel quite sure about, but other not. That is partly because I haven't found enough info about them (aside from the websites, which tend to be pretty much the same... I want more objective information!), but I'm also afraid it may be that I haven't heard of some of them before so I'm more inclined to be "suspicious" of them for that reason too. Which is stupid, and I don't want to end up cutting a great school that I'd love from my list simply because I don't know much about it! (and the reason these schools are on my list in the first place is that I read something about them that appealed to me... but having so many on my list I can't remember exactly what it was; I need to get rid of some places!)</p>

<p>So, my purpose with this thread is to ask you all what your oppinions about the following colleges are:</p>

<ul>
<li>Allegheny </li>
<li>Beloit</li>
<li>Denison</li>
<li>University of Denver</li>
<li>Dickinson</li>
<li>Earlham</li>
<li>Eckerd</li>
<li>Elon</li>
<li>Franklin and Marshall</li>
<li>Hartwick</li>
<li>Kalamazoo</li>
<li>Knox</li>
<li>Lafayette</li>
<li>Lawrence</li>
<li>Marlboro</li>
<li>Rochester</li>
<li>Trinity (in Texas)</li>
<li>Vassar</li>
<li>Wooster</li>
</ul>

2

<p>Sorry, I don't have anything relevent to say, but that is probably the list with the best college names I have ever seen. Go look in the "Colleges with best/worst names" and I bet over half of those are on there</p>

3

<p>If you let us know what you might like to study and other preferences, some idea of grades and standardized test scores, we might be able to offer more help.</p>

4

<p>I suggest you revise your approach. Guides, webpages and college brochures can be misleading and often don't provide sufficient information to make sound choices.</p>

<p>I would suggest you start by assessing your college goals. Include academic strengths, possible special programs or majors, cost, selectivity and the chances for admission, location, and the very important issues of fit and campus culture/environment. Visit and spend some time on campuses. That should help to define your preferences. Of course, it is best to visit colleges that already seem to be a good fit.</p>

5

<p>You have several good Liberal Arts Colleges (LACs) in your list but Rochester is the only university. Which do you prefer? Rochester is a great school. Like mominva said, give us more information about yourself.</p>

6

<p>I visited University of Dennver last fall and had the opportunity to tour the campus. $400M invested in new facilities in the last 5-6 years; new science, business, sports, art facilities. Dorms are olde but are scheduled to be replaced. Good leadership. Very prestigous in the mountain region. Had a party school reputation long time ago but most frats have been torn down. Nice suburban location. Close to mountains for lots of recreation.</p>

<p>What do you want to major in? Rural/Suburban/Big City? Small/Medium/Big Size? Do you want the same environment as where you live now? What EC's are important to you? Public/Private - what's your money situation?</p>

<p>I think you need to answer these questiosn before you can reduce your list.</p>

7

<p>I'm in the IB diploma program. My grades have gone from pretty bad to fairly good (mostly 6s and 7s now) from the beginning of high school to now. No idea what my GPA is though.</p>

<p>Taking the SAT on May 5th. I'm expecting to get around 2000/2100 or so. </p>

<p>I'm pretty sure I want to major in psychology. </p>

<p>My family does not have a lot of money, so I need to find a place that gives good financial aid packages. Also, since I live abroad (but I am a US citizen), I won't be getting in-state tuition anywhere. (Also, I won't be able to go visit a lot of places, unfortunatly)</p>

<p>Although not terribly important, I prefer not to be in a big city. Geographic location is not that important either. </p>

<p>Size wise, I think I'd like a smallish/medium sized school. I like small class sizes and being able to interact with the professors. </p>

<p>Research opportunities for undergrads would be good.</p>

<p>The less requirements/core things, the better! I want to be able to choose what I want to study myself!</p>

<p>I'd like the students to be interested in their studies and enjoy learning, without being obsessed by it. </p>

<p>I'm not too keen on a large Greek scene. </p>

<p>Diversity is good. Not necessarily racial diversity (although it'd be nice). I'd prefer a place with a fairly high percentage of international students, for example, and think I might feel out of place if practically everyone was super-rich. </p>

<p>I really would like a place with a beautiful campus...</p>

8

<p>Do your parents have a legal residence state?</p>

9

<p>No, I don't think so...</p>

10

<p>I'd recommend Denison for sure. My son goes there and loves it. It fits many of the criteria you have described. Of course, it is a little hard to assess your chances for admissions to any of these schools without better information on your stats. </p>

<p>Denison has a very lovely campus. I know international kids who attend who were unable to visit and were very pleased upon arrival about both the campus and the very welcoming, personal feeling they got from staff and faculty. </p>

<p>If you are a good student and work hard to make good connections with professors you may get a research position. My son got one this summer, and several of his friends did too, but he also knows some kids who could get a position.</p>

<p>There are lots of kids at Denison with excellent merit aid and financial aid packages - you will not feel like the only "poor" kid! LOL</p>

<p>While Denison does have frats and sororities, they got rid of their houses and so they have to just live in the regular dorms. In other words, it's a very watered down Greek scene.</p>

<p>My son's largest class has been about 25 kids. It has ranged from 9 to 25 in the 2 years he's been there.</p>

<p>Good luck - you have a lot great schools on your list. Really, I don't think you need to obsess too much over the LACs. Many are very similar, and if that's what you want I'd narrow it to a few you like and that will likely give you good aid packages. Look up all their financial aid information on either CollegeBoard.com or on US News premium online college edition. You will see differences in how much aid they give out. </p>

<p>Off hand, the schools on your list, that I know about, that are most similar to Denison are Wooster and Allegheny. Vassar may be a big reach for you. U of Rochester has a MUCH bigger feel than Denison - you will have much larger classes (especially in Pysch!) and lots of TAs and all that stuff. I think your opportunities for research will be tough - there's just so much competition, especially with all the pre-med types there.</p>

11

<p>From all the names on your list, Hartwick stands out as being not quite at the same quality level as most the others. A son of one of my wife's colleagues got a free ride there but was pretty disappointed I think. So unless you really like the campus or the city of Oneonta, NY, or can get a good financial package, I would cross that off.
Marlboro stands out as being a radically different kind of environment from typical colleges. It is extremely small, somewhat cloistered, and tends to foster its own particular atmosphere. The big question is, are you the kind of person who would fit in there? If not you might end up pretty unhappy. Again this is just me, but I would cross it off if you view yourself as a kind of middle-of-road type person.
Wooster emphasizes independent study, if you like that prospect great but if not, it might not be a very good fit.
Lawrence may be a good choice if you are involved in music in any way, it supposedly has a great music department.
Allegheny is a great college but in an isolated and not-so-great location in Northwestern Pa. I think I would cross that off if the local town environment and town/college relationship was important to me</p>

12

<p>Lawrence fits a lot of the criteria you have described. Beautiful campus, a lot of international students, small (but very nice) city, good financial aid. But it's tough to get into, and while I'm not exactly sure how IB grades translate, I'd guess you'd be borderline. Knox has good racial and social diversity, a good number of internationals, small town, attractive campus, good aid. Prides itself on helping students find their own educational path, so the flexibility is there. Beloit has a very attractive campus in a smaller city, very liberal cultural atmosphere. Kalamazoo has fewer internationals because its emphasis is on its own students studying abroad. Very nice campus, medium sized city, good aid.</p>

<p>All those schools would be worth a look.</p>

13

<p>


</p>

<p>Not being locked into the northeast, esp. New England, is a good thing in your favor. Schools can be just as good in the midwest but are easier to get into, and they actually offer merit awards to attract students.</p>

<p>Yes, Denison should be on your list. Other somewhat similar schools offering merit aid are Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan. Unfortunately, you can never assume a merit award is definite. You need to apply and then see what happens. You need a backup plan in case adequate merit doesn't come through.</p>

<p>Kalamazoo has a great academic reputation and is an admissions bargain compared to NE schools. Vassar is hard to get into.</p>

<p>If you do visit URochester, also consider nearby SUNY-Geneseo which, like all the NY state schools, has low tuition for out-of-staters. MiamiU in Ohio is larger than the schools on your list, but might be more affordable as another state school alternative.</p>

<p>You should run some Financial Aid estimators. Depending on how that comes out compared to your parents' true financial situation, your list could change to endowed private schools, or state schools/merit schools.</p>

14

<p>Earlham is a nice small college which offers pretty good merit aid. Quiet alcohol free campus.</p>

15

<p>Lafayette and Rochester are probably the best academically out of those.</p>

16

<p>Allegheny fits a lot of your criteria. They offer merit aid. I would guess that close to 70% of the students get some kind of need based aid as well so it is not full of rich kids. Greek is present but doesn't dominate. I don't think they have a lot of international students, but they have some. Most classes are small and teachers are very interested in working with undergrad students. You will have lots of opportunities to get to know your profs. They have a good psychology department as well.</p>

17

<p>Thanks for all the replies! :)</p>

18

<p>Flattie, I will second Lawrence for you. My son grew up and had residency in the EU but is an American citizen. He earned the IB diploma and entered college at 19. Although he applied to other schools, Lawrence was his favorite once he visited the school. It just clicked with him. He is involved in the I-house now and has also made many Midwestern/American friends. He loves the area, the snow, the close knit campus.</p>

<p>Your 6 and 7s are very good. It shows you can meet the muster. LU is a place that emphasizes your education and demands scholarship. My son's life is being changed by his participation in the "program." And he definitely likes to have a good time and be involved in a full campus life beyond academics. :) He's learning to balance things. I am particularly impressed with the honor system there. Anyway, I could go on and on. The best thing you can do is research and then visit top picks. My son visited LU on his own. He heard about it from someone on CC. It certainly isn't high on many folks' radars (maybe just as well) especially overseas although about 8-10% of the school population is international. One great thing is the airport is a 15 minute drive from campus and he hops on a plane very easily there with decent connections. It is a modern, tiny functional airport. Another thing, the financial aid for Americans is very, very good depending on your need and they also have merit scholarships. I knew nothing about this school until about 3 years ago. I am now very happy to have my son there. He loves it and finds internships and jobs in the summer so he can stay throughout the year. It's his home now.</p>

19

<p>I would have to take issue with Weldon's comment on Hartwick being a lower quality school, quite the opposite. Hartwick has raised and invested a ton of money in their facilites over the last 4 years, including a new science center and now a new, state of the art social sciences building. Hartwick also offers an amazing study abroad program. The city of Oneonta leaves something to be desired, but Hartwick is a wonderful small college on the rise.</p>