I’ve been admitted to Wheaton MA, Lake Forest IL, Hiram OH, Eckerd FL, Case Western OH, Penn State PA (candidate for Shreyer), Centre KY. Am waiting on Rhodes, Allegheny, and Trinity CT. As of now, my favorites are Wheaton and Lake Forest. Anything to distinguish them from each other as far as you’re concerned? What about factors I could take into account when evaluating the others? Anyone who has points about the other colleges, that should make one a top contender? I am fortunate in that money is no object, I’ve talked at length with my parents and they can easily cover the cost of these even without the scholarships I won. They specifically do not want me to take scholarships into account since it won’t make a difference to them. I am interested in biology and neuroscience. I want smaller classes and if possible a close relationship with professors. I hope to be involved in scientific research. I don’t want to spend 12 hours a day studying but I do want to be a an atmosphere where students are serious about their learning. I also hope to have some fun, but I’m not a drinker/partier and I’m a bit wary of fraternities. I love playing football (ex-captain at U18 level) and sports in general both for practice and for spectator opportunities, but that could be professional sports as well as college sports. Being able to “walk on” the football team would be a plus if the team’s commitment is academics, otherwise a strong intramural program is important. Finally, I hope for a strong culture of volunteering and philanthropy. Thank you for any opinion, advice, or anecdotes you may have!
I have son who is a junior in HS and plays baseball. We are from the east coast and had heard good things about Rhodes. We are looking at mostly better academic DIII type schools. Decided to look outside the box and went to visit in the fall. We were thoroughly impressed. The campus is absolutely beautiful and Memphis has it’s good and bad points. Certainly the weather is more agreeable and Memphis can be dicey but there are enough things to do for a college student and I was ok with surrounding area around campus. The school really seemed to have it’s academics together, there is a football team (a need for my DIII son, does not want a school without a football team) and has a very involved student body in volunteerism. Secretly hope he chooses Rhodes and hoping coach has some interest. I visited Trinity with my older son and area was less desirable than Rhodes. All schools you have mentioned good but certainly Penn State totally different than others mentioned.
Case Western is very rigorous, probably more rigorous than all of these - not sure but I think even more than PSU Shreyer except for the Shreyer-only classes?
Penn State is HUGE compared to most of your universities.
Most of those on your list are LACs. Case Western and Penn State (/Shreyer) are large universities. All things being equal, do you prefer the smaller LACs or the larger universities?
Would you like to be in/near a city, or rather in the mountains/in a less populated area?
I prefer the smaller LACs and I’d rather live near a city.
I prefer the smaller LACs and I’d rather live near a city.
I have been admitted to Marist and they’ll let me know within the next two weeks if they award me any scholarship.
CWRU is indeed large when you consider the grad students. But the undergrad has the vibe of an LAC. A very cool place, IMO. And Cleveland has a lot going for it these days.
Your LACs are all excellent; it may come down to “fit” and who gives you the best merit package.
Well, the one who gives me the best merit package is Wheaton.
Wheaton is located in the small town of Norton, MA. Norton is about 30 miles from Boston and 20 miles from Providence, RI. There is not a lot to do in Norton itself, although the college seems to have plenty of activities from what I see in the paper (I live in the next town). There is a bus that runs from Wheaton to the Mansfield train station, where you can get the train to either Boston or Providence. So Wheaton is not “near” a city, but certainly has pretty easy access to two great cities.
Hello Afrenchi36—I am an alumnus of Lake Forest College. I was a biology and chemistry major and subsequently went on to get a PhD in Biochemistry and a Medical Degree (UNC Chapel Hill) and I am a practicing physician in an academic setting. Both campuses are lovely with nice facilities and in VERY nice suburbs of Chicago; however, Lake Forest is in an even more upscale “storybook” suburb than Wheaton which is beautiful enough. I routinely walked to Lake Michigan when I was there (about a 10 minute walk to the beach). Lake Forest is highly accessible to downtown Chicago and I definitely would not call it a commuter school. Both schools attract a significant population from the Chicago suburbs. Wheaton attracts from across the nation due to it’s religious affiliation; while Lake Forest attracts a significant number of students from New England.Wheaton definitely has a better reputation than Lake Forest in all of the college polls. Lake Forest gives great scholarship/financial aid money in order to attract a proportion of stronger students and that is why I attended (and turned down my top choice Univ of Chicago). However, Lake Forest has always been strong in the biological sciences and sends many students on to medical school and graduate school. My basic science education there was excellent. I’m sure this would be the case at Wheaton as well. If you don’t have a preference for campuses I would talk to the departmental heads at each institution about research opportunities and collaboration at some of the larger universities or pharmaceutical industries in the greater Chicagoland area. Find out how each school can accommodate the needs of students who want to do research early on in their college careers and this should lead you to your decision. Goodluck!
I have 2 children who graduated from Eckerd. A son with a degree in international business who attended law school and a daughter with a degree in marine biology who is applying to vet schools and grad schools. Eckerd is located directly on the water, (Boca Ciega Bay), about 8 minutes from downtown St. Petersburg, (a bus comes on campus and the college runs buses to first friday and other events). There is a brand new Molecular and Life Sciences building. One of the major draws is the professor-mentor/student relationship. My daughter still works with her mentor on her research. All classes are taught by professors who have terminal degrees and they are evaluated on how well they integrate their students into their research. Research can begin fall semester of freshman year. Professors bring their students to conferences and they have the opportunity as undergrads to present. You can also have the opportunity to present a senior thesis. One Eckerd alum is a MD/PhD. at Harvard medical and selects 12 students each summer to go to Boston on a paid research internship. My daughter’s boyfriend did this for 2 summers, then worked for her full time in Boston. He was accepted into the UNC Phd. program this past fall. The career resource center begins to work with students during the 3 week Autumn term as new freshman. At least 1 internship will be required for graduation. The schedule is 4-1-4. The winter term allows for travel abroad with a professor and fellow Eckerd students. One of Eckerd’s professors is working with shipworms as alternative bio fuel and another that I know is working with neurotoxins. My daughter studied the gulf loop current during a winter term on a research vessel in the gulf of Mexico. The EPA used their data and trained my daughter and another student to determine where the oil spill from B/P would wash up on the shoreline. She has worked on several other projects with the EPA as an undergrad. There is no football team. If I can answer any other questions about Eckerd, don’t hesitate to ask. If possible try to attend some of the accepted student days. You have some wonderful choices! Best of luck.
Hello AFrenchie 36 I apologize for being confused about your Wheaton choice as there is another similar post considering Lake Forest College with Wheaton in Illinois. I am not familiar with Wheaton in MA still I hope my comments are helpful regarding searching for a small liberal arts college that can also provide opportunities in biological research.
It is alright. I kinda guessed your confusion with Wheaton Illinois^^ However, you gave me some great informations about Lake Forest College, thank you!