<p>My son has been accepted to his top three choices for college: College of Wooster in Ohio, Dickinson College in Pennsylvania and American University in Washington, DC. All have strong programs in his desired major of International Affairs/Relations, but American has the enviable position of being situated in D.C., the hotbed of all things political and international in this country. Still, Wooster and Dickinson have much to recommend them. He's coming out of a very small, very diverse private school, which would make Wooster and Dickinson feel more comfortable. But he's also ready to take on the world, which might make American a better choice.</p>
<p>I'd love to hear from any students who attend/have attended these schools or have chosen them, or are considering them, or from anyone who might have a similar choice on their hands. Small school vs. large school? Small town vs. big city? Internship possibilities? Study abroad considerations? Will distance from home affect your decision? How about school size?</p>
<p>American seems like the clear choice to me, assuming cost is not an issue. American’s International Relations program is rated much higher than those of the other schools, and the internship/work opportunities in DC can’t be beat. American’s student body is also small and diverse, so it shouldn’t be too much of a shock for him.</p>
<p>I am planning to double major in poly sci and econ, and was so excited to have been accepted to Dickinson! I also have a good friend attending Wooster, and I would have looked at American except that I live in the DC area and the school would have been too close. </p>
<p>I was looking only at large public university’s (I live in VA, so I have a lot of good options), until THREE teachers who have a close relationship recommended Dickinson to me. The school has a great international focus, and a wonderful program in poly sci, as well as in International Affairs/Relations. Dickison has one of the top study abroad programs in the country and is considered to be one of the best schools for modern foreign languages. They are also big on sustainibilty, another important decision in my choice, as well as the fact that the school is only 2 hours away. The school is smaller than mine (my high school has almost 3000 students) but I was in all advanced classes so the school felt small. The town is small and I have heard complaints about how it is not really college town, but it looked nice enough and had plenty of off campus dining options. The school is still very close to DC, and many people who go to school there get internships and job offers in the Washington area. The one concern I have is that the school is SO expensive. They have offered to cover almost have of my tuition, but it will still be 24,000 a year, plus another 10,000 for room and board. I may attend a state school for finiancal reasons, but I would definitely go to Dickinson if money was no object.</p>
<p>I personally love the atmosphere at Dickinson the best (I’m a parent), but the DC card probably make American the best choice. I like Wooster College a lot too. Nice choices to have, and really any one of them will make a great college experience. Congrats on having such a nice selection.</p>
<p>Son thought he wanted an LAC…he had come from a nurturing-but-competitive small high school and really disliked the big campuses we had visited.</p>
<p>Son3 loved Dickinson, wanted something internationally-flavored, loves foreign policy, loved the campus and the students he met. Really liked the soccer coach and team…he had attended their soccer camp and was ready to join the team.</p>
<p>Son had talked to the admissions rep at American, liked it on paper but not enough to check it out…he was sure he wanted an LAC.</p>
<p>We went to DC to visit his brother and SIL, after a third and final trip to Dickinson and University of Richmond, for him to decide which he preferred for him to do ED (necessary per the coaches).</p>
<p>The night before we hit DC, he received a random email from the American U rep…and decided to check it out as long as we were going to be in DC.</p>
<p>American and its programs and the students he met on the campus blew him away…he is now a happy junior at AU with more opportunities than he can handle. The classes have been small…they don’t have any large lecture halls. And the campus is a real campus, which he wanted. He likes the fact that the campus is small and has a cozy feel to it, although it is in the most powerful city in the world. He likes that the students are not only from all over the country, but all over the world. Classroom discussions and 3 a.m. discussions have a real diversity of perspectives…diversity is not limited just to the color of skin or democrat vs. republican or sexual orientation.</p>
<p>most surprisingly, he turned down the soccer team…after meeting with the coach, he did not want a Division 1 level of commitment. He has played on the club team and a whole bunch of really talented rec teams instead. He did not want soccer (which will always be a major love in his life) to limit his opportunity to take advantage of all the opportunities!</p>
<p>Congratulations! I would go with Dickinson if he wants a LAC environment - they are well know for global studies/study abroad. I heard the president of Dickinson speak this year and he was very impressive – he had a clear vision of the importance of the school’s focus on the undergraduate and the need to be prepared to work within a global environment. The school has tons of study abroad opportunities as well. I would put American as the top choice if he wants a larger, city school – DC would be great for international studies. I’ve heard good things about Wooster, but given your son’s area of interest, I’d go with Dickinson or American.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your thoughtful input. He’s definitely leaning toward American at this point, and we’re going up in a couple of weeks over his spring break to have a more thorough look. He did receive very nice scholarship/aid packages from all three schools, but AU will be a few thousand more than the others. Still, as has been said, you can’t beat that DC location. It’s funny because I myself like Dickinson best of the three, and my husband likes Wooster (it’s closest to home at 5 hours away). My son, though, fell in love with AU on our first visit. He, too, was blown away by the students he met and loved the diversity and the potential for internships and guest speakers. (Not to mention all the ethnic restaurants in Adams Morgan!) As I said, though, it’s going to be a very different experience from the high school he’s coming out of, and also different from what he’d initially planned for college. (At first, all he wanted to look at were small LACs. I actually had to talk him into looking at AU when we were so near it looking at other schools, because I attended GWU for grad school and also fell in love with DC.)</p>
<p>Anyway, again, thank you! You’ve give us much to think about. </p>
<p>I think your son would be miserable at Wooster. It just doesn’t live up to its reputation. They put a lot of emphasis on being small and personal, but it really isn’t that way at all.</p>
<p>We will start looking into colleges for my younger S. He is Math/Science type, but with strong interest in Music Performance. We are looking for a smaller school. He wishes to pursue either Physics or Biomed Engr track, and then move on to Medicine - so there are several factors at play here. Can someone give us feedback on Wooster, Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, Dennison University, adn Kenyon college re: overall focus on the student’s interest ; strength in Science and PreMed career tracks; help from career counseling in landing paid summer internships in Science/health care allied fields; and overall student life including alcohol/drug scene adn how that is managed (or not ) ? Thanks !</p>
<p>Hi, we’ve just visited Wooster and Beloit and really liked both of them … I was very surprised by the negative comment about Wooster only seeming to be “small and personal.” Any elaboration on that … I mean it clearly is a small school, so you must mean it is somehow impersonal?</p>