<p>Can’t we keep this civil? Your first line, JohnAdams, great. But your second? BTW – I was very interested in your saga because you’re such a lively poster.</p>
<p>Where are you going to school? Is it Hamilton? If so, a beautiful school.</p>
<p>mythom, I am a Princeton and Stanford B-School alumnus that strongly believes that Williams could very well be in the company of HYPSM for many a student.</p>
<p>Wow. You have a wonderful resume. So sweet of you to support so many incoming students.</p>
<p>boone292929: In retrospect QB was a mistake; I got caught up in the hype of possibly finding out a decision for an early application to up to 8 colleges by December. That’s probably the major reason why many students opted for QuestBridge, at least amongst my friends that is the reason.</p>
<p>And yes, I’m being derogatory of the CUNY system, I will admit that because I have taken CUNY courses and so have many of my peers. Simply put, the classes are way too easy; perhaps the honors courses will be more challenging and engaging, but it’s still CUNY. I’m just stating what I, and many others (including students choosing between Boston U and Macaulay Baruch), feel about the Macaulay Honors Program and the CUNY system in general. Macaulay is a great program by its own merit mind you, but it does not compare to Williams in terms of undergraduate experience. Williams is #1 LAC for a reason. I just don’t think hoveringmom’s daughter should go to a school where the median GPA is between 70 and 80 for a Macbook, a $7500 stipend, and a citypass. (btw, I do not and will not go to Williams.)</p>
<p>As of 10/11, Williams will not offer any courses in linguistics. It has excellent program in English, comparative literature, and many language departments offer terrific literature courses in English - your daughter can study French, Spanish, South American, African, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, German literature in translation. She can also take excellent language courses. </p>
<p>Williams is an especially wonderful place for those interested in art history and studio art; singing classes are remarkable as well. There is much less emphasis on archaeology, and not enough resources, but still, there are opportunities for field work.</p>
<p>Study abroad program is fully funded, as are travel courses in January; freshmen cannot go away from Williams during Winter Study but in all subsequent years the option is open and the College funds financial aid students. </p>
<p>How did your daughter’s visit go? Which classess did she visit and what were her impressions? My daughter faces a choice similar in some respects: Williams vs. acting studio at Tisch NYU - and of course the question of urban vs. rural life for an aspiring artist is very much alive in our discussions. But given the huge difference in financial aid (Williams offer is much better than NYU) and the fact that she wasn’t assigned to her favorite studio, she is leaning towards Williams now.</p>
<p>Hi all, Thanks once more. My D hasn’t visited yet–next week is accepted students’ overnight.</p>
<p>While everyone is of course entitled to their opinion, I have to agree with Mythmom that it does no good to insult one program in an effort to prove the other’s superiority. If we thought that Macaulay was clearly an inferior program, I wouldn’t be posting this question. Please assume my D and I have a small degree of intelligence. In addition, immortalix, you have your facts wrong about Macaulay Hunter, or else you are confusing CUNY with Macaulay–this year, acceptance rate was 8 per cent; Macaulay Hunter’s average GPA was 95, average SAT was over 1400 for CR & M. Also, I wish college were so ‘affordable’ now! Even Williams’ extremely generous $8000/year is difficult, as I have five children and am not well off and so cannot help my D all that much. </p>
<p>OK, got that off my chest. Ponornica, when you and others say study abroad is ‘fully funded,’ do you mean it includes airfare, food and other travel expenses? These costs can add up. My own S went to Tisch (Adler). If you want, you can PM me – I can share his experience, for what it’s worth (bearing in mind it’s only his experience). Another son of mine, who is 15, acts professionally and semi-professionally (stage acting). He has 36 equity points (so far). </p>
<p>My D is definitely looking forward to her visit; I’m hoping this will help resolve many of her questions; your feedback has been incredibly helpful.</p>
<p>Ponornica: You can PM me too; DS has been in productions and taken quite a few theater courses, though he is not a drama major.</p>
<p>Food will be paid for abroad if it’s part of the room and board of the program. Obviously, an ice cream cone the kid buys on the street will not be paid for.</p>
<p>I am not sure about airfare. I think it may be, but my S elected not to go abroad, much to my dismay.</p>
<p>To be fair he has been to Rome with Latin oriented folks and Florence with other violinists and violists. But still, sniff, sniff, he broke my heart in using FA to study abroad. Oh well. Win some, you lose some.</p>
<p>I apologize for being a complete *** toward Macaulay. My statements are unfounded and are not grounded in anything other than personal bias toward the entire CUNY system. I’m sure your daughter will be happy with either program.</p>
<p>In terms of academics, Williams is no doubt superior, even to the Macaulay Honors Program. As for your financial aid consideration, I can’t really comment on it, but taking out a loan to cover some part of the 8k is feasible for such a quality education; she will have at most a $32k loan upon graduation which is really not too steep for a top LAC education. The biggest difference between the two schools is obviously environment: idyllic vs. Manhattan, but almost everybody is content with living in isolated college locations, so I don’t think that’s much of a problem either.</p>
<p>Thanks for saying that, immortalix; it’s hard to apologize on a site! I do know what you mean about CUNY in general; not meaning any insult to Hunter students as a whole, but my major worry is the overall caliber of the students in the Hunter classroom, even Honors (not Macaulay students). But I hear it’s much much worse at the lower level, and very quickly weeds itself out at the higher level; also it depends on the major. Well, she’ll have to figure it out. Again, I think she’ll learn a lot more once she visits.</p>
<p>so…what was the decision??? I have a D deciding between Tufts and Macaulay but waiting to hear finances for Tufts. Did you daughter pick Williams or Macaulay and what does she think now?</p>