Hi I’m in desperate need of help in regards to making my college decision. I’m currently choosing between Whitman College in Washington, Bard College in New York, and UC Irvine in southern California. I live in northern California and am interested in pursuing English and the humanities. I’m having a lot of trouble making the decision so I was hoping any of you could help me weigh the pros and cons or if you have any helpful information on any of these colleges please share, thanks!!
It’s hard to give you advice without knowing more about what you want out of your college experience, and a bit more about yourself. UC Irvine is obviously very different than Whitman and Bard. A big public university in a Southern California suburban area, not too far from the beach, with a lot of students living off campus. With all the resources and opportunities of a large research institutions. Whitman, in Walla Walla - your classic liberal arts college, in a small town. A bit awkward to get to, but probably not a lot harder to get to than Bard. However, not near any big city. Bard is close enough to NYC to be influenced by the city - many of the professors live in the city and commute. And the city itself is accessible to the students. However, all students live on campus at least for a few years, and most students stay on campus on the weekends. The English department is one of the best, bar none. Humanities are strong. (I know more about Bard than Whitman since my younger S graduated from there - but my other son almost went to Whitman, and I know students who did go there and loved it.) In the end, the son who almost went to Whitman went to another LAC - in retrospect, he might have been happier at a large public university because he could have used more choices in his major. The choice of classes are more limited at LACs than large universities. Why not compare the course lists to see what classes you’d be signing up for at each school?
Can you tell us a bit more about what you’re looking for in a college? What kind of environment suits you and what are your broader interests?
My son attended Whitman and had a wonderful experience there. He loved the easy access to outdoor adventures and went on quite a few trips with the outdoor program, it’s one of the best in the country. There are a small number of pure English majors, but the largest number of graduates earn degrees in the social sciences, The next largest group are those in the life sciences, followed by the physical sciences. My son majored in geology and loved his inspiring professors. The theater department is top notch, I loved attending the performances! The quality of the faculty is very high, he encountered a dud here and there, but it made a very short list. He was very pleasantly surprised by the rigor of the academics and intellects of his classmates, and he loved the relaxed friendly atmosphere on the campus.
It is far from Seattle and Portland, but that doesn’t mean the students don’t get to the cities, just not every weekend. Walla Walla is charming and cozy, and there is most everything a student will need within walking distance, but campus is where most of the action is. Whitman brings in all sorts of speakers, bands, comedians, authors, experts, artists, you name it.
I know very little about Bard, so I can’t tell you how Bard and Whitman are the same or different. Have you visited the campuses? UC Irvine offers a much different experience, a broader selection of classes, but probably a less intimate community in a more urban/suburban setting.
Limiting the criteria to English, Bard.
I second this ^ . The undergraduate experience at Bard for humanities will be excellent.
Whitman takes it’s tradition as a liberal arts college seriously and all students, no matter what their major get a thorough grounding in the humanities. All freshman take a year long seminar course called Encounters: Transformations. There are many sections, which provides each student with a small discussion based class and close contact with their professor. The school describes it this way:
“A two-semester introduction to the liberal arts and the academic construction of knowledge. Organized around a variable theme, this course takes as its broad topic the examination of encounters between peoples and cultures, and the formation and transformation of dominant and competing worldviews. The study of primary sources, discussion, writing, and the construction of knowledge across academic fields will be emphasized.”
They read important texts that have influenced cultural development and divided civilizations. It’s the history of the world through it’s belief systems. Of course there is Genesis, The Bhagavad-Gita, the Koran, as well as Marx, Plato, Darwin, Freud and Gandhi, and the list goes on.
I remember this had a profound effect on my son and his friends, the discussions carried well beyond the classrooms. I love that he now as such a deep historical understanding of our cultural underpinnings. Whitman is fantastic for humanities.