Huntingdon College

Huntingdon College (visited 2/18/24)

Fun fact – the campus is haunted by The Red Lady of Huntingdon. This college was founded in Tuskegee where there were first stories of her haunting Pratt. “She moved with the when they moved the campus here.” They had a celebratory passing of the Red Lady to the new building.

Harper Lee also attended Huntingdon for a year (but graduated from the University of Alabama).

Although this is a beautiful small liberal arts college in a lovely residential area of Montgomery, I’m still hard pressed to see what would draw students there from a distance which is a shame. This tracks with the current population – most of their 920 undergrads are local(ish): almost 70% are from Alabama; another 13% are from Florida and 10% from Georgia. Don’t let this deter you, however – I think it’s solid academically – and I would love to learn that there was some sort of hook to convince others to look at it as a viable option.

I spent some time talking to the rep before walking around campus and talking to a couple students I randomly bumped into. Although I was impressed with the physical campus itself (“Students are going to want a smaller liberal arts school,” said the rep) – and I absolutely wouldn’t discourage anyone from looking at Huntingdon – there’s not a lot I can use to entice my students from the mid-Atlantic and other parts of the country to seriously consider this in lieu of other nice, attractive, small liberal arts schools closer to home. However, one student said, “This is one of those places you have to come see.”

A few things that they really do have going for it:

• Their sticker price comes in under $40,000 before any sort of aid – and books and a laptop (that students keep at graduation) are included in tuition and fees. Additionally, everyone gets a scholarship.
• This is an accessible school in terms of admissions: students need a 3.0 or a 2.75 and a 20 ACT for unconditional admission. They’ll superscore both tests which can help with scholarships.
• For a small school, they offer a lot of extras like esports, marching and pep bands, a dance team, and cheerleading.
• Unlike a lot of smaller liberal arts colleges, their student population is almost equally balanced between females and males.

Montgomery is sort-of centrally located within Alabama – and the campus itself is not far from downtown. As the state capital, there’s plenty to do, and it’s rich in history. “Students can get a good student life experience here and a balance of things to do on and off campus. There’s some interaction with other universities.” For those students coming from a distance, they can fly into Montgomery and uber over.

Students here have to want to get involved – and most people do so. “Everyone has their cohort. They aren’t thrown into the moshpit,” said the rep. They have a robust DIII athletic program with 21 teams; many students come for that. The rep, an alum, came to wrestle and had a great experience. They have the expected range of sports (soccer, baseball, softball, volleyball, T&F, XC, etc); they do offer lacrosse which you don’t often find at a smaller school in the south. They also have beach volleyball, flag football, and esports! “That’s diversified the population of students in term of where they come from.” Lots of Saturday tailgating happen here in the fall – and they have a lot of space to do it in.

Classes meet either on Mon/Wed or on Tue/Thurs. This leaves Fridays wide open for a lot of things: yes, some students do head home for the long weekend, but a lot stick around, particularly since there are so many athletes here. This extra day is a good time for students to meet with faculty or get tutoring if they need help in a class. Some students work or do internships since they can go in for a full day without missing other commitments. Their Center for Career and Vocation does a good job helping students find jobs, internships, and externships (and often invites alums to come to campus to speak to students). Their intentional class schedule and leaving Fridays free also helps with athletic travel; dance, cheer, or choir practices; or getting in another workout for a sport.

“You can’t hide here,” said one student. “Classes are too small for that. The good news is that the teachers really want to be here and they’re super involved. They’re easy to talk to and will help. They’re not caught up doing their own things,” said a student. The rep said, “I like the intentionality. There’s an attention to detail here that you don’t get at a lot of places. People take the time to get to know people. Professors email students even before classes start. Real people are on the other end of texts we sent out to potential students. It’s not automated.”

They have attractive academic programs. Their majors skew a little more heavily towards the STEM fields – and they do them very well! Students do really well getting into grad and professional schools.

• Exercise Science (with options to do pre-Athletic Training, Pre-Occupational Therapy, or pre-physical therapy) majors are really well positioned her to get into grad programs – and on the exams, including a 100% pass rate on the exam from the Master of Athletic Training Program.
• They have a partnership with UAB Nursing: students complete 4 years here and 1 year in UAB. I asked the rep how competitive it is: “If you have the pre-reqs, including the interview, it’s pretty much a given.”
• They participate in the Marine Environmental Science Consortium on Dauphin Island. Students can get a Marine Science minor through there.

Criminal Justice is the fasted growing major. Students can pair Sports Management with Business and get both degrees in 4 years. The minors they offer are a little more varied with options like Aerospace Studies (AFROTC) and Military Science (Army ROTC), Creative Writing, and Professional Communications.

Although they’re affiliated with the Methodist Church, the religious makeup is fairly diverse. There’s absolutely no requirement to attend chapel services, but there is a pastor on campus who hosts Tuesday night worships and bible studies. However, there are 4 required classes in Judeo-Christian Tradition and History; students take 1 per semester for the first 2 years. “These are pretty general. We aren’t pushing the Methodist religion,” said the rep. All students take survey classes on the Old and New Testaments; students coming in with less than Junior Standing take 2 more electives chosen from about 12 options (including a couple that focus on the Torah or Hebrew scriptures). “It’s really meant to give students an overview of the Christianity, churches, and how we got to where we are now.”

© 2024

University of Mary Washington, Take 2

Univ. of Mary Washington (visited 12/8/23) (click here for notes and pictures from my previous visit).

Fun fact: this campus is literally on a battlefield; their sports fields are called the Battleground. 

I continue to love what Mary Washington offers. This school hits a sweet spot for a lot of students – it’s large enough to offer students a great “bigger experience” but small enough to limit class sizes, give personalized attention, and not let students fall through the cracks. The students get to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond in a way that’s often not possible in bigger schools. Fredericksburg’s also a draw: it’s an accessible, small city with plenty to do near campus as well as being less than an hour out of DC on the train.

Their badge of honor is that people take care of each other, “and we’re normalizing talking about it. This is a collaborative environment. People help others without expecting anything in return” – and demonstrated at all levels of the school. For example, the president hosts monthly dinners at his house to talk to students, see how they’re doing, and what the school could be doing better.

They aren’t looking to grow past about 4000 students; that’s the right spot for them and what they want to – and can – offer students at a high level of quality. They bring in 800-850 first year students a year, and have a large transfer population (about 300) for a school their size. Much of this aligns with being a public institution and the mission to provide a transfer pathway for students from the state’s community colleges. They’re intentional and holistic in admissions, making sure to bring in students who will thrive in this environment. They even have Faculty Fellows, professors who help to answer applicant’s questions or want connections in specific programs. These Fellows can address the nitty-gritty details and questions.

Admission is truly test-optional. They look at rigor in context of the high school when awarding merit scholarships. They don’t recalculate GPA; they use what’s provided by the high school. They give students the option to interview online for 15-20 minutes; these are used to evaluate applicants for an additional $1000-2000 1-year scholarships. “You’re basically guaranteed at least the $1,000 so there’s no reason not to!”

They wrap their arms around students needing academic support. “The academics aren’t easier; all students complete the same program, but we provide all needed accommodations, helping them advocate and learn how to be a college student.” They’re also increasing racial and ethnic diversity; in the 2022-23 school year, 33% of students overall (and 37% of the incoming class) self-identified as BiPOC. They provide a great deal of support for historically marginalized populations (First in family/First Gen, BiPOC/geographically diverse, and PELL recipients) through cohorts like Presidential Emerging Leaders, IMPACT, Rappahannock Scholars, and the Student Transition Program. They’ve recently received a $4m grant to support students from recruitment through completion. “Students who elect to take part in these programs have a higher graduation rate than the rest of UMW’s population.”

They offer 2 full-ride scholarship programs: Washington Scholars (Virginia residents) and Alvey Scholars (out-of-state residents); to be eligible for these, students must apply to – and be accepted into – the Honors Program. Another Honors benefit is potential access to an Early Selection Program to med school. However, University Honors isn’t the only option for a challenge – most majors also offer Departmental Honors. I met up with a former student; she’s in the process of applying for Biology Honors and recommends that path. “Departmental is worth it! Some friends realized that the university program wasn’t worth it for them.” All Honors students complete a capstone project; many majors also offer it, and non-honors students can opt into it. There’s no separate honors dorm; students are all mixed together (another way to build community).

“The academics here are not as intense as at William & Mary. Students are busy and it’s academically rigorous, but students choose to come here for the balance.” My former student agrees. “It’s challenging. I have definitely have to study, but I have time for a lot of other things, too.” The students we spoke to all had high praise for the professors: “they’re awesome!” UMW keeps classes small. One students said that his Gen Chem lecture section had 60 students, “which isn’t all that unusual for those popular first year classes,” but the group was broken up into 15-person lab sections. On the other end of the spectrum, his smallest class had 4 students in it.

They hold fast their Liberal Arts founding: “Liberal Arts is a practical education. These aren’t in conflict. Students are set up for success.” They’ve started a Life After MW initiative: “We’re conscious in thinking about plans and how to implement those over the 4 years to set students up for success.” They’re heavily focused on opportunities, including a long-term summer research program that’s fully internally funded (including free R&B and a stipend). A $30M alumni gift went both to fund research and to scholarships. “I don’t know of other schools in the country with $50m invested in the student experiences. If you want to do it, we’ll guarantee money to do it.” There’s been so much research that they’re offering more symposia in the fall in addition to the big spring one. 

We got to spend some time in the newly remodeled Comp Sci department, talking to professors and students. Over 300 students major in Comp Sci (Software Development focus) or Cyber Security (software-security focus) – or in the Data Science minor. Classes remain capped at 30 so there’s lots of interaction. “They get access to a larger school while maintaining individualized attention. Faculty focus on undergrad experiences.” The program’s designed so they can graduate in 4 years with no prior background, but AP CS classes can help. They have grad school partnerships with VTech (4+1) and George Mason (3+2); they start grad programs here. There are a ton of internship connections (70% do at least 1), many of which are paid. Grant programs for unpaid internships cover expenses like travel and lunch so they aren’t paying to do the internship. Their FCC connection provides a remote internship opportunity that’s not paid but gives class credit. On-campus activities give them Programming contests/hackathons on and off campus. Partnerships with Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, National Center for Women and Info Tech, EC-Council on Ethical Hacking.

This is a residential – and social – campus. In any given year, 85-89% of freshman live on campus; the rest come from a 30-mile radius (the commuter range). More than half of students overall live on campus. Students tend to get very involved, usually because of the first-year residential requirement. There’s no official Greek Life; a few informal and unsanctioned/unrecognized groups are off campus. One student I spoke with said that his favorite part of the school was being part of the community. “It’s not uncommon to eat meals – even off campus – with professors. Some of us went out to dinner with a Psych Professor recently.” Like all school, there are beloved traditions such as jumping into the fountain at least once before graduation and “Duck It Day” which we got to witness since the counselor event fell on that day. A professor hides mini ducks around campus (with some evil ducks mixed in). At the end of the day, you can adopt a duck.

They get lots of out-of-state recruited athletes (we got to speak to a student from Dallas who came for lacrosse). Lots of international students come for Rugby. They also now have esports teams, varsity equestrian, and club rowing and cheerleading. Their swimming and lax teams are strong, as is men’s soccer (they just lost in the Elite 8 round) and women’s volleyball (they made it to Sweet 16).

© 2024

University of New England

University of New England (visited 8/10/23)

UNE’s main campus in Biddford sits on the Saco River right where it meets the Atlantic; it’s an amazing spot which they use to their advantage, everything from maximizing the view and access to the water to the academics including a Marine Science Research Center. They even have their own beach, their own island, and 368 acres of protected lands on campus! No wonder their motto of “Innovation for a healthier planet” gets included into the things they do.

The people seem to be just as great as the location. One student I spoke to said that she was surprised at how genuine people were. “I didn’t think a whole community was capable of that! We’re big about making this a safe and comforting community.” She went on to talk about all the projects in class and how people want to work together. “It’s a great place.”

The school focuses on their 2300 undergrads, providing them with a ton of opportunities. One of the noteworthy is access to their campus in Tangier, Morocco (located 20 minutes to Spain on the ferry). This is a beautiful campus and has everything needed (dorms, lab spaces, etc.) for students in any major to study there without risking delaying graduation; in fact, about 1/3 of nursing majors will study there (which is a notoriously difficult major to fit in a study abroad due to all the classes and clinicals). All students’ scholarships and financial aid gets applied to their semester here.

They have a Global Education center centrally located in the student center, staffed by students who’ve returned from Study Abroad so they can answer questions and concerns from people thinking about travel.

They also have sister schools in Spain, France, and Iceland, but students can go pretty much anywhere. UNE students study abroad at 5 times the national average (although they count travel courses, even though those aren’t true study abroad in the sense of getting the immersion experience). They offer travel classes to approximately 15 places a year. Our tour guide said that “students do probably go more on the travel courses, but a lot go abroad for a semester or a year, particularly after getting a taste of travel.”

Campus is about 4 miles from downtown; UNE runs a shuttle that loops to all the main shops and the Transportation Center (Amtrak). The train goes both to the Portland airport or Logan in Boston. A round-trip ticket to Boston costs about $10 for students. There are also free bikes on campus (and we did see students taking advantage of these). “All you have to do is tap your student ID to unlock it; you have it for 8 hours.” Campus itself is easy to get around; the main part of campus has several interconnected walkways which is great in the Maine winters!

One of the dorms

Some dorms are close to the main section of campus, but some are a little bit more of a walk. Students are expected to live on campus for 3 years. Many rooms in the first-year dorms are triples. One student I spoke to was an RA in a first-year hall: “the triples mostly end up fine. The students have more space to share amongst themselves, and I think that it develops more of that helping and sharing culture – but also, fewer students tend to want to hang out in the room so they spread out, meet more people, and get more involved. I think it made them closer.” Freshmen can bring cars if space allows.

The dining hall gets high ranks from the kids – for both location and food itself. It’s on the 2^nd floor overlooking the bay: “A lot of people come up here to study just because of the view.” They have multiple meal options including swipes, flex dollars, and Nor’eastern dollars for restaurants downtown. They also get guest passes for the dining hall. The food is sourced locally as much as possible. “We switched venders a couple years ago. The food’s much better.” The Mongolian Grill is a huge hit: “that’s usually where the line will be if there is one, but they’re pretty quick about getting people served.”

The favorite tradition that every student I asked is the Teddy Bear Toss. Before the season’s first hockey games (both men’s and women’s), they’ll set up tables at the rink for students to Build-a-Bear, then after UNE’s first goal, the bears get thrown onto the ice and then donated to a children’s hospital. There’s a fairly strong sports culture here with Hockey and football being the biggest draws — but it doesn’t dominate the social scene. I spoke to a student who was recruited for lacrosse, and she loves the team! Has women’s club lax as well as DIII men’s and women’s – CCC. Endicott is their big rival.

The Cultural Center

The annual Thanksgiving Dinner also got mentioned a couple times (“It’s buffet-style; professors and administrators join us – it’s really great!”) as well as Winter Bingo: they give away some big ticket items like a paddle board, 6-Flag tickets, etc. “Hundreds of people show up for that.” There’s also a pub on campus. Anyone can come in for the food, but alcohol’s available for 21+.

Academics are strong here with lots of things to take note of:

• UNE ranks #1 in Maine for graduates getting jobs.
• Regardless of major, students complete either research or an internship. Our tour guide was doing cultural research on the effects of covid on community-building.
• Students get a general academic advisor for the first 2 years; in Junior year, they get a faculty advisor in the major. “By then, you’ve figured out colleges; this one helps students look beyond graduation because they know the field.”
• Students get lots of academic support. Undecided students are “enrolled” in Guided Undergrad Studies (GUST) where they work with 4 advisors who support them as they explore options.
• They’ve recently added new majors including Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture, Aquaculture, Aquarium Science, and Aquaponics and Marine Entrepreneurship within Marine Sciences (where students can do a 4+1 BS/MS option or choose the Marine Bio or Oceanography track). The students have full access to 4 research vessels, a private island, 2 seawater teaching labs, and aquaculture and other research labs.
• Their Portland Campus houses the Health Sciences:
  • Nursing students spend 2 years at Biddeford and finish their BSN in Portland (and are allowed to move off campus for Junior year; many live in Old Orchard, about halfway between the 2 campuses). Unfortunately, there’s no shuttle between campuses so they’re on their own, “but a lot of them have cars or will carpool with friends in the cohort with a car.” This can be a turn-off for some students, but they’ve made friends and often return to campus for the social aspect.
  • Currently, undergrads and grads share the Health Science building on the Biddeford campus, but when Portland’s new building is finished, the grad students will be exclusively there, and this will be undergrad only again.
  • They big in experiential education and community outreach; there are state-of-the-art sim labs for Nursing and Dental students, and they run a free dental clinic that serves over 5000 people a year.
  • They offer competitive Accelerated Programs (like MedBio) in a 3+4 format. Interested students should apply in the Early Action round; if they don’t get into that, they’ll usually be offered the 4+4 program.
• Although known for Health and Marine Sciences, the Liberal Arts & Social Sciences and Business programs are also strong (and classes in these tend to be smaller). Our tour guide said that she likes that classes are held everywhere on campus: her philosophy class, for example, was in the Marine Science Building. They offer things like Sustainability & Business, Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, Climate Change Studies, Applied Social and Cultural Studies, and Art Therapy.
• They offer Sports and Recreation Management, Athletic Exercise Science (which is more into coaching) and Athletic Training (which is more about hands-on rehab). They offer a 3+2 MSAT; the 5^th year is fully immersive anywhere the student wants.
• GradVantage streamlines the process of applying to and enrolling in a participating UNE grad program (both online and in person). Students can indicate interest on the application and will get additional support. They offer this rather than direct-entry.

The largest lecture hall fits 120 students, but classes are rarely held there: it’s more often used for club meetings (particularly student government since it’s such a large group) or to show movies or host other activities. Our tour guide’s smallest classes have 6 (Sociology) and 10 (anatomy); the largest were in the mid to upper 20s. “I love the professors here. I’ve met with them in the pub to go over projects or to review on Friday evenings and Sunday mornings. They’re around a lot and up for anything.” Some of the favorite classes of the students I talked to are:

• Gross Anatomy: they have a lab which (almost unheard of in a school this size) aligning with their strength in Health Sciences. “I had an amazing hands-on experience! For Health Science majors, this is so important.”
• Sociology of Food and Health: “It was eye opening!”
• Latin American Culture through Cinema

Admissions is test-blind EXCEPT for Nursing and Accelerated programs; those are test-optional. For Nursing, they want to see Chem on the transcript and students should apply in the Early Action round since it’s Direct Entry with only 60 spots which tends to fill in that early round.

© 2023

College of the Holy Cross

College of the Holy Cross (visited 8/9/23)

Holy Cross is doing a whole lot right. This small Jesuit institution focuses only on their 3,200 undergraduates (there are no grad students at all) – and boast a 95% retention rate and 86% 4-year grad rate (the national 6-year average is in the low 60s!). Students have also won 38 Fulbrights in the last 5 years (as well as med and law school acceptances about double the national average). They’re clearly helping students feel comfortable academically and socially very quickly and providing the support they need to succeed.

All first-semester freshman come in as Undeclared. “There’s no rush to decide. As 17-year-olds, you don’t need to know what you’re going to do for the rest of your life. Studies have shown that 80% of all college students change their major at least once before graduation. You can come in with a plan, and if that solidifies, great. However, you have until the end of the 2^nd year to allow yourself to be surprised.” They found that this takes the pressure off and allows students to come into college with an open mind. “If you try it and flip the idea on the head, students end up looking for the unfamiliar where they can’t articulate exactly what it’s about. It’s then easy to see why people change their minds.” It also simplifies the admissions process; students are admitted to any program the college offers and won’t penalize applicants because they’re interested in a popular major.

Students feel that they develop lots of organic conversations with faculty members who really want to be here and are the hallmark of the Holy Cross experience. First year students meet with advisors 6 times in the first year, but that’s not the only support they get. Our tour guide told a really great story of her experiences that show how students are encouraged to slow down and take care of themselves. In her first year, she went to see a professor with a draft way ahead of the deadline; he told her to take a breath, and before taking the paper, asked her how her year was going the year. “He genuinely wanted to know. That’s when I knew that I was where I was supposed to be.” She wanted to be challenged but also supported. “Everyone is looking out for others here.”

The Fauci Integrative Science Center

Holy Cross does challenge expectations and expects students to explore freely and to dive deep, believing in the interconnectivity of knowledge. It’s not surprising that they’ve ranked #33 nationally for Best Liberal Arts College. Double majors and major/minor combinations are popular, and they find that most students get involved in interdisciplinary stuff like music and physics or classics majors going into med school. “This establishes foundational skills for long-term success years down the road.” Not surprisingly, they have a lot of big-name alumni, the most well-known is probably Dr. Anthony Fauci (and they’ve named an interdisciplinary science center after him).

Holy Cross ranks #1 for long-term study abroad – and I appreciate that they separate this out. A lot of colleges brag about their study abroad numbers, but they count Study-Trips (often 1-2 weeks abroad during or after completing a related class) which, while a wonderful opportunity that I would’ve loved in college, isn’t Study Abroad. Holy Cross has 29 host countries but will work with students interested in other places. They do also offer short-term options, particularly during Maymester, a 5-week program offering multiple locations and disciplines; students can start with these programs as early as the end of the 1^st year – and often this is the impetus for students going abroad for a full semester or year because it builds confidence and sparks more interest. For students interested in Public Policy and related disciplines, they have the option of a semester away in DC; housing is provided, and students have access to local university libraries (which comes in handy for the 50 page thesis they have to write).

Clearly this is a Catholic institution, but “we celebrate all faith backgrounds and beliefs” – and it shows. Like all other Jesuit institutions, they are invested in the whole person. Other than the name and a few statues, there’s very little on campus that indicates a religious affiliation, nor does that exist in the vibes on campus. They run the Joyce Contemplative Center, located about 20 minutes north. They run numerous retreats (ranging from a few hours to several days) allowing for reflection and prayer – athletic groups, classes, alumni, and LGBTQI+ groups, to name a few, run programs out there.

All first-year students (and almost 90% of all students) live on campus which is a key part of building community. First year students participate in Montserrat, Holy Cross’ 1^st-year, interdisciplinary living experience. Incoming students pick their 6 top options for their year-long seminar and are housed with someone in their related cluster (based on themes such as Global Society, Natural World, Contemporary Challenges, or Divine). “It definitely eased the transition,” said the tour guide. “Some assignments were pretty basic, like find printers or talk to a research librarian but they’re necessary skills.” Her class was Mapping the South: “we read memoirs, learned a lot of sociology. It was great.” Most dorms are coed by floor. A couple have mixed gender floors. They get an unlimited meal plan for the first 3 years. “The Chicken Parm on Tuesdays is really popular. The line goes out the door! My mom comes here for lunch. That should tell you something,” said the tour guide. This isn’t a dry campus: there’s even a bar on campus on Tuesday. “Cookies and booze! What more do you need?”

The library Reading Room

Campus is built basically on a hill – officially Mount Joseph. During our tour, when we reached the highest point we’d get to, the tour guide said, “Congrats! You just climbed a mountain” – but in all honesty, it’s really not so bad, and you shouldn’t let the name scare you. I’ve seen hillier campuses. Easy Street runs through campus and is so named because it’s the only flat one running through the school.

Part of the new Arts Center

There’s plenty to do to keep students engaged on campus; students are usually active in multiple organizations. The Prior Performing Arts Center for academic and artistic exploration is new and has a concert hall, flex theaters, a Media Lab (including VR), Art Galleries, ensemble rooms, recording spaces, and a Club theater/black box with a garage door to expand into the lobby. The Black Student Union does an annual fashion show there. Concerts are held on the lawn every Friday and Saturday with food trucks. The tour guide said that this is also a great sports school, including tailgating, particularly when they play Boston College, the big rival. Tickets to games are free. “Athletes here really are students first – there’s a 99% grad rate among student athletes, and most teams have 100%. Three students have won Patriot’s League scholar athletes of the year; several more have earned All-American.

The city of Worcester as seen from one of the main buildings.

When then need to get off campus, they have lots to choose from. Worcester is the 2^nd largest city in New England, and the city is growing. Shrewsbury Street is the restaurant district. There are 8 colleges in the vicinity, and businesses cater to the students. The college regularly runs shuttles to 3 places in town, including the Union Commuter Train Station and the WooSox (Minor League) stadium.

© 2023

Merrimack College

Merrimack College (visited 8/9/23)

I was pleasantly surprised by Merrimack – and not just because they have a campus “Comfort Dog” named Merri! This is a solid school that won’t let students fall through the cracks. Everyone I talked to raved about the community. “It’s like no other: welcoming, supportive, caring.” Another said, “There’s unparalleled support: what you need, when you need it.” The campus is attractive and walkable, and they’re expanding in physical size and in their programs to keep up with changing job markets and demands (and in fact, has been named one of the fasted growing universities in the country). Located in the town of North Andover, there’s plenty to do within walking distance of campus, but they’re also only 25 miles from Boston (a shuttle runs from campus to the light rail station in town) and 35 miles from Manchester, NH. Pretty much anything students need is within a 10-minute walk of campus. The students really have the best of all worlds.

The new chapel (part of a new building with lots of other services) and one of the main college signs.

Merrimack has been named in the Top 10 Most Innovative Schools with flexible majors and programs which are customizable and changeable. “Everything we do is for you! We want you to be the best version of yourself.” They offer 100+ programs in 5 schools: Business, Arts & Sciences, Nursing & Health Science, Engineering & Comp Sci, and Education & Social Policy. Students are also allowed to do a self-designed major or minor. Classes won’t have more than 32-35 students in the intro classes (and there are plenty of classes with fewer than 10 students). All students enroll in a 1-credit FYE class that helps them adapt to college-level classes, research expectations, etc. It meets in the library; students learn how to access online resources, will meet the librarians, work in built in study groups, and more.

The pond with an academic building next to it.

These are a few new or notable things to know about Merrimack:

• They offer 3-year Bachelor’s Degree with a streamlined curriculum in 96 credits as well as Direct-entry Master’s which can be completed in as little as 1 year.
• They’re the 3^rd college in New England to be named an Apple Distinguished School: all students get an iPad which they keep after graduation.
• Merrimack is in the top 2% (ranking 90/4500 schools) for 10-year earnings for their graduates.
• Students are guaranteed internships (with an 87% participation rate).
• Their Center for Health Inclusion, Research, and Practice provides students the opportunity to get involved in research surrounding equity and inclusion within the health sciences.
• They have a few unusual majors: Ethics & Political Philosophy; Rehab Sciences; Power Engineering (part of their Electrical Engo program); and Ecology, Evolution, & Behavior.

Some of the new townhouses.

There are just over 4,200 undergrads coming from 36 states and 42 countries (although they do draw heavily from New England); this isn’t a suitcase school since a lot of people can’t get home easily – and almost ¾ of students live on campus. They guarantee housing for all 4 years in 9 residence buildings offering a range of options including apartments, suites, and townhouses. The frosh quad even has grills and a fire pit that our tour guide said got used on a regular basis and often becomes a hub of informal weekend and evening events. Commuters don’t get left out – many will stick around, and there are even special events organized for them, as well (and they get a dedicated commuter advisor and lounges).

A shuttle stop on campus.

Part of the new Student Cntr

They run a lot of activities (including bringing on food trucks which are a big hit). The new Student Union has a bowling alley ($1 per game), a golf simulator, an esports center, lots of lounge spaces, and additional dining options. “The Weekender tells us all the activities going on around campus.” Athletics are a big draw both for participation and to watch. They’re DI which is great for a school this size. They now have 27 sports since recently adding men’s golf and volleyball and women’s bowling. They do have Greek Life “but it’s not really the driving factor of the social life on campus and there’s no Greek housing.” The students I spoke to all mentioned school-wide traditions as more of the events people look forward Some of their favorites include Block Party (with a biergarten for students 21+), homecoming, Mack Gives Back, and Cram Jam.

The old chapel

This is a Catholic school, but there’s very little at the college to indicate this if you were just wandering around without knowing anything about the college. Yes, they have a couple chapels (an old and a new) but they aren’t the central focus of campus. In fact, one is located on the 2^nd floor of one of their new buildings – and you wouldn’t know it was there from the outside of the building. The college is Augustinian (and is the 2^nd in the country after Villanova), and holds to the Catholic values of service to others. This is shown through groups on campus, their Austin Scholars LLC, community service). They have a robust Campus Ministry for students interested in getting involved, but it’s also fairly easy to ignore if they aren’t interested. 1 religion class required

It’s free to apply to Merrimack, and they’re test-blind which is great! They really are holistic. They also only require 1 rec letter except for students interested in nursing who should submit 2.

© 2023

University of Chicago

University of Chicago (visited 5/10/23)

If having a Zombie Apocalypse Readiness Task Force club on campus doesn’t scream “University of Chicago” at you, I don’t know what would!

The students we met and saw around campus live up to the hype of UChicago – they’re quirky, smart, curious, willing to problem-solve, and able to think outside the box. “You’ll meet incredible people here,” said one of our tour guides (there were two counselors touring with 3 guides, so we got several perspectives on our tour which was great!). She said she was surprised how interdisciplinary it is at the University. “People aren’t one-hit wonders here. It’s just a great opportunity. You’ll become the best version of yourself here and develop your Chicago Superpower!” Another guide jumped on that – “I had never thought of it that way, but it’s totally true. People are doing incredible things here, just because they can.”

A couple cool facts that we learned during our tour:

• A student invented and sold the world’s first Impossible Burger at one of the cafes on campus.
• The first self-sustaining nuclear reaction was done on campus: it happened under a football field that now has the library on top of it.
• “We’ve been named the most caffeinated campus in the US” with 18 shops across campus.
• Edwin Hubble was a basketball player here – and one of the balls he played with has gone into space.
• There are 90+ Nobel Prizes associated with the university.
• Their athletics had been DI for a while (“We’re the only team undefeated against Notre Dame!”) but now are DIII.

The iconic building

The university operates classes on 10-week quarters with students taking 3-4 classes in each one. “Classes are hefty!” said one of the guides, “but students tend to like them because they can get through some classes more quickly.” Classes are often taught in the Socratic Seminar style, encouraging debate. Core classes are capped at 18; most others are capped at 25. Intro to Chem is an outlier – the two guides who took that class had 107 and 227 in their sections. Their smallest classes ranged from one student who had taken 3 independent studies with just her and the professor; 2 other classes only had three students. Another guide had a couple classes with 5 students. Almost all classes (98%) are taught by Full-time faculty. “We get lots of face time with professors.”

The main quad

Before we went on tour, a rep sat with us to share admissions information. They look for students who are curious, creative, outside-the-box thinkers who want to engage, debate, and look at ideas from 360 degrees. She had one of the best comparisons I’ve ever seen: “Think of Fit as ‘Fun Intellectual Time.’ Ask yourself, would I thrive in the intellectual party happening here? You’re joining a party, and vibe is not going to change because you showed up.” They look particularly carefully at their supplemental writing prompts which tend towards the quirky (they really do reflect the style and values of the campus!). “We also look for a lot of self-reflection in the Why Chicago? question. We want to see how students engage in the SPIRIT of the prompts. We look at their approach, not as much the answer. There is no prefect answer except what works for that student as long as it identifies what that person needs.” She said that some of her favorite answers included a crossword, poems, and a data graph. 

The Chem Building

They fill about 25% of class in each of the 2 Early Decision rounds.

They don’t require a Counselor letter but do require 2 teacher recs. They’re still test-optional but will superscore both the SAT and ACT if students send them. They also allow for an optional video interview up to 2 minutes long that applicants can upload after submitting the app either to showcase interests or hobbies that don’t show up anywhere else (cooking, sailing, cooking) or to share things like research, art, or creative writing. Applicants can indicate an area of academic interest on the app, but Admissions doesn’t take it heavily into consideration. However, if students are interested in areas like math, pre-med, and sciences, they may look more closely at the math and science grades and classes taken.

“We want students interested in the impact of the classroom. When you’re looking at the undergrad experience, that’s what you’re going to remember.” At Chicago, it’s a 3-part journey:

1^st – The Core. Students take 15 courses in 8 areas, “exposing them to things they think they aren’t interested in. We’re not going to tell you what think but show you how to go about thinking so you can debate ideas and write effectively about what you come to believe in in your major.”

One of the streets running through campus.

2^nd – The Major. Students have until the end of the 3^rd year to declare (which is almost unheard of!) “We’re all about flexibility! You’ll see that a lot here.” Students get assigned both Career and Major advisors; they must meet at least once a quarter in the first year, then once a year after that. Approximately ¼ of students end up double majoring; lots more have minors or are doing a certificate.

3^rd – Elective Space. “Students are all over the board with what they explore.” They can also just sign up for grad classes if they’re interested in the topic.

The Egg with the main library behind.

Campus is a great mix of old and new; the main quad has many of the original buildings, including the iconic church-like building now housing the Econ department. The university has spread out over several blocks with several residential buildings, the science quad, and more. The main library looks like the Hogwarts Great Room. Attached to this is the ‘Egg Library’ where all the books are housed underground in an extensive 5-block area without oxygen: “robots get the books for you.” In this area, they keep a lot of rare editions like a 13^th Century copy of The Canterbury Tales or an original Chopin score. “It’s so cool to think that we’re handling the exact paper that he actually wrote the music on!” said one of the guides who does a lot with music.

They have extensive music, art, and theater majors and other programs that anyone can get involved in regardless of major. “They’ll put you in a group based on your level. Grad students can also join ensembles so it’s a great way to meet a lot of people.” They also run an “Art to Life program” where students can get a painting from the collection (including famous painters) to hang in their dorm rooms; lines start forming around 4am at the beginnings of semesters to get access to these.

The majors – and classes in general – are as varied and can be as quirky as the students themselves. I asked the 3 guides what the coolest class they’ve taken was. They said: Bright and Dark Side of Empathy; Star Wars and Religion; and Ethnomusicology. UChicago offers several Interdisciplinary major options, including Clinical & Translational Science or Big Problems. They also have a ton of language and ethnic regional study options, including Basque, Yiddish, Norwegian, Swahili, Armenian, Egyptian Languages, Czech, Bengali, Tibetan, Sanskrit, and Malayalam. “They’ll even pay students to study a language or research abroad if you can justify it,” said one of the guides.

Students can pursue a Joint (dual) degree by taking Masters classes in their last undergrad year which often count as double-duty for elective classes. The CompSci BA/BS+MS and other computational programs (Computational Analysis & Public Policy and Digital Humanities) are particularly popular as are their multiple programs in Math/Stats (Computational & Applied Math, Financial Math, Stats, and Math). Their Business School is only a Graduate Program, but students can apply into it as an undergrad; if admitted, they’re given a 2-year deferral to go get experience before starting the degree.

North Housing

The Housing system is interesting: they have “house clusters” within the larger res halls that become the central part of the social system. Multiple people ranging from Resident Advisors to Resident Heads (usually faculty members) live there to mentor students and organize the multiple activities and trips. Members of houses usually form intramural sports teams, and I think they come together to graduate together, too.

It’s easy to get downtown; there’s an L stop (orange line) on campus. All students get a Metro pass. Some class assignments require that they go somewhere or use resources in the city. Students get free passes museums and massive discounts to the symphony and other activities (which often run about 10% of the full cost).

The Arches that students walk through

We asked the students what some of their favorite traditions are:

• The Annual Hamantaschen vs Latke Debate
• Walking through the gates at Orientation and then again at Graduation
• The Largest Scavenger Hunt aka ‘Scav Hunt’ – “They make your team find the most random things like, “Get a Michelin tire signed by a Michelin rated chef.”
• Dollar Shake Day which happens every Wednesday.

© 2023

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest College (visited 5/10/23)

Lake Forest feels like it should be on the Colleges That Change Lives list! The students and admissions people I met were all phenomenal; people go out of their way for each other; and the academics, supports in and out of the classroom, and general campus vibes were all impressive.

The school goes way beyond expectations, and many more students should have this on their list – and word is getting out, showing in a significant uptick in interest: Applications have jumped 25% for 3 years in a row, “and we’ve overenrolled for the last 2 of 3 years. We’re trying to manage that with care and compassion but only have so many beds.” The rep said that they’ve seen growth in different populations: “This year it was international students; last year it was local. No one population seems to be driving the increase.” They came out of Covid far stronger than their peers and it shows – they aren’t scraping to get by.

North Campus

Although small college towns are a tougher draw, Lake Forest’s urban proximity is a huge draw. They have all the benefits of a major metropolitan area (international airports, extensive public transportation, major league sporting events, internships, recreation, etc) with the safety and quiet of a smaller town. “The Morton Salt estate and the Schwepps mansion are both literally down the street. This is kind of a cool place.” Main Street/downtown Lake Forest has restaurants, cafes, mom-n-pop stores that students frequent. There’s a mall about 10 minutes away with Walmart, Target, and lots more stores. There are plenty of public transit options. “Students take Metra [the longer distance trains that run from Chicago into the suburbs] most often if they want to get off campus.” The school also offers shuttles to O’Hare at breaks. Midway is an option, but it’s further away.

“We tend to draw the Doers – the students from the more adventurous side of the spectrum. They’re more worried about learning as a process rather than just getting the A – and students tend to have multiple interests which shows in that more than half of students double-major.

They’re looking for a small community and the liberal arts, but also don’t want to live in a bubble. They want more than pretty buildings and fun on the weekends; they want to go into Chicago, and they look for internships and professional development early. They want to be pushed beyond,” said the rep. They’re proud of the fact that their professors take classes into the city more than 200 times every year, that students get (and use!) free admission to many area museums, and that due to their proximity to the city, the university can draw in speakers, musicians, and other performers to campus on a regular basis.  

The Cleveland Young International House

The school’s mission also wants to “burst the bubble” – and their demographics align with this. This place is anything but homogenous: it’s one of the most diverse liberal arts colleges in the Midwest. They pull in students from 48 states; 60% of domestic students are from outside Illinois with 47 other states represented which is amazing for a smaller college. “Students will quickly find people from their neck of the woods.” They have lots of international students (17% of the population) – and they give them aid! My tour guide was from Brazil and came here because of their commitment to students coming from abroad. This commitment extends to all students; 33% are Pell-Eligible, and they do a great job supporting them and the First-Gen population. I had met with the rep after the tour; although this was technically move-out day, there were still a lot of students on campus (and the dining hall was fairly full when I went over for dinner). The racial diversity was apparent just from walking around on my tour; the rep confirmed this: “We’re 40% domestic Students of Color. The numbers match what you see.”  Students interested in a global or DEI LLC can apply to live in the Cleveland Young International House (which has a kitchen – the tour guide was very excited about that). Each year, 15-20 students (including first-years) can live there. They attend some programming revolving around DEI as part of the LLC experience.

The Rain Garden with the dining hall in the background

“We straddle two parts of Liberal Arts: we have the English, philosophy, and history kids like everywhere – but we’re also not the type of Liberal Arts school that’s afraid of change. We have business, data analytics, and public policy programs to embrace a contemporary market.” They add new majors as the job market dictates. The rep told me that they overhauled the Career Services center several years ago. “We reinvented the wheel. A lot of places don’t always do a great job linking what students learn in the class to what happens later. Here, they’re intentional. We only hire specialists like an equity trader from Wall Street or a PhD in Neuroscience.” The tour guide, even as a freshman, said that she gives them high marks (and mentioned the clothes closet – students can get up to 5 items of clothing that they don’t have to return). They’re accessible, focused, and helpful. The data regarding placement and satisfaction after graduation backs this up.

Most of the academic buildings are in Central Campus (with the exception of the Arts building on North Campus and some Sports/Human Performance classes in the athletic complex of South Campus). This makes it really convenient during the academic day, but students can walk from one end of campus to the other easily in 15 minutes without rushing. Fun fact: Brown, one of the original campus buildings, is the tallest building in town. My tour guide’s classes ranged from 10 students (Chinese) to 30 (Intro to Econ); she said that this range was fairly typical for the students she knew. People don’t fall through the cracks here. In addition to the ubiquitous Writing Center, they have a quantitative center (becoming more popular on campuses) AND a science resource center which I rarely see.

The dining hall is also in Central Campus; I got to eat dinner there; the food was great and has the typical wide range of options. The people in the dining hall knew the students and were talking to them, asking them how finals went and if they were around for the summer.

For students looking to enhance their experiences with a semester right in Chicago, they offer The Loop Program downtown: “This is an urban immersion to counter the traditional campus experience. This provides the most adult training wheels you can get,” said the rep. Students live in college-owned apartments in the Loop and take classes at partner institutions. They can cross-register at Roosevelt (particularly for STEM and Business classes), SAIC, Columbia, and UIC. They’ll get a food stipend instead of a traditional meal plan. Most of them also complete a hefty internship as part of this semester.

One of the science labs

My tour guide is sticking around for the summer as part of the Richter Scholars Program which is designed for rising sophomores who got As in the subject area in their first year and want to do some research. “It’s specifically meant to help students get into research early.” Depending on interest and the number who qualify, 40-50 students stay on campus over the summer to work with the professors. “They can dip their toes in the pond – this almost always leads to more down the track,” said the rep. My tour guide will be working with a PoliSci professor looking at how the US is leading by example in National Security.

One of the dorms on South Campus

Dorms are clustered on North or South Campus; North is the smallest with only 3 (the 4^th building there is the Arts building) and is the closest part of campus to the town of Lake Forest and the beach (about 15 minutes). One of those First-Year dorms is divided by gender; the others are gender inclusive. South Campus has the Athletic Center/sports fields and a lot of dorms.

“This is a very school-spirity place,” said the rep. “They love their sports.” They have 25 DIII teams. “We got clobbered by John Carroll in lacrosse, but most of our players are mostly sophomores. We’re going to be great in the next couple years.” Their football team won league championship last year. “The culture is healthy. Academics come first. They balance wanting a winning program and making sure students are doing what they need to do.” In addition to sports (either participating or supporting), students get involved in a lot of clubs and activities; leadership and options are there for students who want it. My tour guide already had taken on leadership in a couple clubs just because of her interest and involvement. I asked about Greek life: “It’s more like another club option. There are maybe 200 students involved. It’s not a big part of the life on campus.”

© 2023

Ithaca College

Ithaca College (visited 3/21/23)

Anyone who wants an amazing mid-sized university with easy access to outdoor activities AND a small city won’t be disappointed with IC.

Ithaca, colloquially known as “South Hill,” is a wonderful liberal arts college with well-renowned, Conservatory-style Music, Theater, and Dance departments. In fact, the school was founded as the Ithaca Conservatory of Music and has held tightly to that part of their identity, inspiring their motto of “Theory. Practice. Performance” which translates to their 70+ academic programs. Like most universities, classes meet 2-3 times a week: “the first class is usually the theory: reading, lecture, videos. The others put this into practice through labs, clinics, and other practical applications. We want students to DO, not just understand.” Students graduate from here ready to do things. During the tour, our guide said, “I can’t give the hands-on experiences enough credit.”

A view of Cayuga Lake from campus.

Be forewarned that the “South Hill” isn’t a misnomer. Located on the south side of the city (about a mile from downtown), campus IS hilly! It’s going to be hard to gain those Freshman 15 – but there are ways around the hills. There are multiple paths through buildings, elevators, and even a tunnel/hallway from the main building to the campus center – all helpful in snowy upstate NY winters.

The Towers (some of the dorms)

About half of the 4,600 undergrads come from New York, but few students commute. Although there is a 3-year residency requirement, most stay on campus senior year. Part of this is due to having to fight for off-campus housing; they have to compete with Cornell students (including grad students) for the available houses and apartments. IC does a good job with housing, though, including several Res Learning Communities (LGBTQ, religious, health & wellness, etc). The 27 res halls are spread around campus; all dorm clusters house students from all years, but they provide a First-year Res Experience.

The current dining situation leaves a bit to be desired. The dining hall was so packed when I went for lunch that I didn’t even bother trying – and I overheard several students saying that they were taking their food to go since there wasn’t any point in looking for seats. One of the dining halls was being renovated when I was visiting (which was part of the crowding problem) but they have lots of grab and go options (also busy). It took about 20 minutes to get a sandwich, but they’ve partnered with GrubHub so students can order ahead. I appreciate that these are all local franchises like Ithaca Bakery or Gimme! Coffee rather than national chains – “That’s very much the Ithaca way,” said a student, referring to the town’s progressive attitude towards helping small local businesses. The quality of the food is pretty good. The 2 dining halls locally source their food whenever possible, and there are plenty of Kosher, Hallel, vegetarian, allergy-free, and other food options.

Students wanting other food options are in luck! The city of Ithaca has more restaurants per capita than New York City. Students can have cars on campus, but city buses run through campus twice an hour to downtown. There’s a ton to do in town; businesses cater to the students from the 2 universities. There’s also the lake, hiking trails, waterfalls, wineries, and a lot more to occupy students.

Students don’t need to leave campus to have plenty to do. The students I spoke to aren’t bored. There are hundreds of clubs and organizations (including a hammock club and a nationally ranked student newspaper). There are 600 acres of natural land next to campus with trails. They have robust DIII athletics (the Equestrian team participates in IHSA). Fun fact: The Ithaca-Cortland football game is the only DIII football game that can be bet on in Vegas! The Women’s Rowing team is phenomenal, going to Nationals 13 times in the last 18 years (and winning several times) – and several rowers have gone to the Olympic trials or the Olympics themselves! True to the IC way … Communications students do all the media (including live-streaming) for the games, and Business students do the marketing, ticket sales, etc. Also part of the IC way – students aren’t one-hit wonders: for example, a starting varsity football player, a music major, sang the anthem in his uniform.

Ithaca does a great job getting students real-life experiences on and off campus. Recently, they had 15 students on the field for the Super Bowl and others at the Olympics. They have one of the oldest US-based programs at their London Center (they own a Victorian building in Kensington; students often intern, study theater, or study over the summer) and a program in Los Angeles for students majoring or minoring in 1 of the 10 communications fields.

Students looking for anything in Communications should look at IC. They offer some amazing programs in Documentary Studies, Emerging Media, Screenwriting, TV & Digital Media Production, Integrated Marketing Communications, Life Event Design & Management, Sports Media, and more.

MUSIC/THEATER/DANCE CONSERVATORY

These programs are a major draw; about 20% of students are in this school. Although these are Conservatory-STYLE programs, these students are integrated into campus as a whole with all the benefits of the broad, deep study that comes with a Liberal Arts community. They believe that a liberal arts training makes them better at what they do. Partly because of this, there are cool collaborations across departments.

Applicants to this school go through a 3-step application process. 1) to IC. 2) Pre-screen through Accept’d (they don’t want a professionally done thing!) by 12/1, including a subject-specific rec letter and resume, and they should list preferred audition dates. They usually get thousands of applicants and feel that it’s more ethical to tell students early if they’re a good fit because auditions are time- and money-intensive. 3) Invited to interview/audition virtually, at IC, or at select cities around the countries. Decisions are sent out in Feb/Mar. Scholarships aren’t stackable but “are factored in.”

MUSIC:

There are 400 music majors within the departments of Music Education and Music Performance. Non-majors can get involved, take a minor, or learn an instrument. There are tons of performing opportunities (credit-bearing and extra-curricular) on campus and in the community; all auditions are blind. There’s even a Gamer Symphony Orchestra! They put on an entirely student-run opera each year, including the instrumentalists in the pit.

• Music Education and Performance is their flagship program and the biggest major. Students take hour-long lessons all 4 years and get training on a 2^ndary instrument. The juniors teach for a full year; local kids get dropped off on campus for lessons!
• BMO (Music Combine with an Outside Field) is NOT a dual degree; rather it combines the core music with 23 credits in another area (such as pre-med or psych as a precursor to music therapy).
• Sound Recording Technology is in this school and is a Bachelor of Music degree. It combines music and audio training. In addition to a senior year internship, all students get 4 years of experience and a paid work-study position.
• Although most students in the department will earn the Bachelors of Music, the BA is an option for those who want to do a dual degree.
• There’s often cross-departmental collaboration, particularly with the Park School of Communications: film majors may use music or composition majors. Recording majors, as well! Things come up organically.

THEATER:

All incoming students take foundation courses in dramatic lit, crew, acting, and more. “It’s the same idea as a liberal arts core: they have a respect for the other disciplines and it builds pride and camaraderie. Students come in as a cohort (they aim to admit 80-100 students per year with the largest groups in Acting, Musical Theater, and general theater studies, and groups about half the size for Theater Production & Design, Theater Administration (the only BS degree in the school), and Stage Management, the newest BFA that’s a couple years old. Musical Theater is the most intense because they’re essentially completing 2 majors (acting and voice) and a dance minor.

They require performance majors to audition every semester starting freshman year. They can take themselves out of callbacks if they want, but they want the students to have the experience of being on stage and a “push out the door – but with support.” In senior year, seniors transition into the profession: things get more intense, they’re directing and getting experience of being in charge.  In the week before Spring Break, students do Field Studies where they attend panels, discussions, and workshops with alumni. “It’s the most exhausting week of your life! You’ll make so many connections with what we lovingly call Ithaca Mafia.”

One student “highly recommends the London Program. It’s built for acting majors in mind. You also don’t have classes on Fridays so you can travel.” Students can also work with the National Theater Institute in a variety of places, although “Moscow is on hold for obvious reasons.”

© 2023

Bucknell University

Bucknell University (visited 3/21/23)

In many ways, Bucknell reminds me of Lehigh and Lafayette in terms of size, offerings, and the types of students they’re going to attract (and these schools get a lot of crossover-apps along with Colgate and some others). This is an undergraduate-focused institution – and although they have 11 graduate programs (6 of which are in Engineering), the tour guide made sure to point out that 95% of the research on campus goes to the undergrads.

The main quad

Although known for Engineering, Bucknell is a solid liberal-arts university with three colleges. Like many others, their largest is Arts & Sciences enrolling about 60% of students; Engineering and Management each have another 20%. Because of their size, they’re able to offer a range of options within these schools including cross-over/cross-disciplinary options. They encourage students to look at seemingly diverse majors like Econ and Religion to see how things transfer and connect.

Students can apply/come into Bucknell by major or by college (Undecided Arts & Science, for example); the rep recommends that students apply for the more competitive major as their first choice because some are limited by numbers and lab space. It’s highly recommended that students apply into Engineering if they’re thinking about it at all and transfer out if they change their minds. Admissions will be more careful admitting students to a 2^nd choice if it seems like they’re more strongly focused on the 1^st choice.

The Bison (school mascot)

All students take a writing class each year, but most are major-specific. There is a language requirement at Bucknell as part of their distribution classes. Study abroad is highly popular with about 75% of students going abroad; it’s possible to go multiple times. This is harder for the engineering students, but that department runs some specific programs for them.

Some specifics about the schools:

• In Arts &Sciences, the BS degrees tend to be the most competitive with Animal Behavior possibly the most competitive in this college. They offer some unusual majors/minors including Environmental Geosciences, Children’s Studies, Arabic & Arab World Studies, and Biophysics.
• Management applications are spiking so it’s becoming increasingly competitive – and students cannot transfer into the college once here. There are 5 majors offered in this school (Accounting, Business Analytics, Finance, Management & Organizations, and Markets, Innovation, & Design). Currently, there are 2 minors but are slated to have 3 or 4 more in the fall: general, Real Estate, analytics, heath care management. All students in this school take Business 101 – lots of reps, identify a non-profit, create a product, profits go to that non-profit.
• Engineering: they offer all the standard engineering majors you’d expect as well as Environmental and Biomedical engineering. All students in this college take Engo 101 instead of a First Year Seminar. They also have access to Engineering in a Global and Societal Context class which provides 3-week experience abroad.

This year, they’ve started “ED2.5;” admissions may reach out to some of the RD applicants to ask if they want to switch. If they do, they’ll get an answer in early March vs later in the month. Athletes (about 20%) are asked to apply ED 1; all told, they admit about 60% of their freshman class in the ED1 and ED2/2.5 rounds. “Unfortunately, we’ve been seeing a trend in people not taking the ED agreement as seriously as they should” leading to a bit more melt than they should.

Students need to apply separately for scholarships. They can apply in any order – once applied, they get a bounce-back email with links and a “don’t forget to apply for scholarships” message. Some scholarships are major-specific (engo, arts, etc) and a Dean’s scholarship that’s a catch-all.  This year, they’ve started a new Gateway Scholars program; they brought the first class in this year. For these students, Bucknell meets full demonstrated need without loans. Ultimately, the goal is 20 students per year. They’re also opening Student Success as part of Enrollment Management.

All told, Bucknell enrolls just under 4000 students. It’s a highly residential campus with “200 housing spots set aside in the lottery for seniors to opt for off-campus/not campus owned housing,” said the rep. Like most liberal arts colleges, there’s a variety of housing options on campus, including senior apartments. In terms of food, the students aren’t hurting for options. I ate lunch in the main dining hall for lunch and loved the food – there were plenty of options, and lines were quick. Students can also get grab-n-go/takeout from places around campus; The Bison, a popular one in the student center, has made-to-order food from 5am-11pm.

The town of Lewisburg is cute; students say that there’s plenty to do downtown, a 5-10 minute walk away. The college also runs shuttles so it’s easy for students get what they need. Town-gown relations tend to be strong. “Meet the Locals” is an orientation event: students visit a bunch of stores and introduce themselves until they find the one that has their goody bag.

Getting to Lewisburg, however, can be a challenge for students coming from a distance, particularly since freshman can’t have cars. The Harrisburg airport is 90 minutes away, and even most regional airports are an hour. They do help students by running shuttles before and after breaks to Harrisburg airport as well as BWI, Newark, and Philly (all about 2.5-2.75 hours away). There is a Greyhound stop in town.

In terms of diversity, “we’re doing well admitting students of color but not yielding them,” said the rep: 19% of matriculated students self-identify as BiPOC. They’ve had some good traction with their diversity fly-in program (with both in-person and virtual components) which is has been expanded to include rural, LGBTQ, and First Gen students. They’re switching to a spring fly-in for those who have applied. “We’re looking carefully to make sure we’re communicating effectively and diversifying where we’re visiting to recruit.”

The main quad where many traditions are held, including watching the sunset.

Some favorite traditions that the tour guide talked about include:

• Thanksgiving is a huge deal! The line for dinner starts hours in advance.
• They run large-scale events once a semester. Flo Rida and Yung Gravy came this year (22-23). Mid-scale events like bingo are more often. Like all colleges that have this, “you can win a bunch of random stuff,” said the tour guide.
• E-Week: this is a national program, apparently. The 8 engineering majors compete against each other in things like pie eating and frisbee. “It’s a great bonding experience.”
• The quad faces west – and it’s a big deal to watch the sunsets here. There’s even a camera set up on one of the buildings so you can watch online. Many traditions revolve around the quad and/or sunset. For example, Freshman convocation starts at the chapel; from there, new students go through the gates and into the quad. All are given candles and they light each other’s. They time it to sing the Alma Mater at sunset. To bookend that, on Senior Night, they all come together as a class; professors join them for champagne to celebrate their final night together.

© 2023

Elmira College

Elmira College (visited 3/21/23)

Full disclosure, this is my alma mater – and I had a great experience there. I hadn’t been back in almost 15 years, though, and I knew that they had some changes in curriculum and had built or renovated some buildings. I was curious to see what was going on – there are definite changes (there are fewer students than when I was there, and athletics are a bit more prominent now, for example), but the core of the experience is there. It’s still a wonderful, student-centered school that takes care of the people there. If you want a college where you can be on a first-name basis with faculty, babysit their kids and play with their dogs, make a ton of connections, and know that the school will open doors you didn’t even know existed, this is the place to go.

Cowles Hall (the original building, newly remodeled inside) and The Puddle where many of the campus traditions take place (like cardboard boat races and Candlelight Ceremony). The Twain study is the small building on the left.

One of the best things about EC is Term 3 which I can’t see going away. Their academics are on a 12-12-6 schedule: The first 2 semesters are 12 weeks each in which students take 4 classes/12-ish credits (labs may add a credit or 2). The 6-week Term 3 runs from mid-April to the end of May; most of these classes are experiential, quirky, and/or abroad/away. There are usually 6-10 classes offered away from campus. These range from language immersions to marine biology in the Bahamas or Costa Rica, student teaching or other internships abroad to Classics (art, history, philosophy) in Greece or Rome, or geology of National Parks to wildlife in Alaska. Classes taught on campus offer deep-dives into topics such as the 1960s (PoliSci), The Hero in Popular Culture (English), Field Botany, or archaeological digs. Students can also do internships; for example, education majors often get placed into classrooms as early as freshman year to do observations or start student teaching in a low-risk setting before their final placement as seniors. Students can also use this time to do an intensive internship away from campus so they can either start early (and continue all summer) or have summers open for work or other things.

The academics they offer are fairly typical for most liberal arts colleges with a couple exceptions:

The lobby of Kolker Hall, one of the science buildings

• Direct-Entry nursing (with amazing new clinical and Anatomy/Physiology labs built since I was there) and strong Pre-Med/other pre-health professions.
  • They have Early Admittance programs in multiple disciplines like dentistry, medicine, and pharmacy: 3+4 Podiatric Med, 3+3 Chiropractic, and 3+4 Pharmacy
• Speech and Hearing/Communication Disorders (and ASL classes). Qualified students can apply for an Early Assurance MS Speech Language Pathology program at Thiel College Early Assurance Program The Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology at Thiel College. Juniors who have at least a 3.0 GPA and no more than 2 Cs in all required classes in the major (including bio and stats) are eligible to apply.
• Strong Education programs.
• Business programs have grown, as well, since my time there:
  • Strong financial options like Finance, Accounting, and Actuarial and Financial Science
    • 4+1 MBA or MS in Accounting options are available through Clarkson, Union, RIT, Alfred, and SUNY Buffalo
  • Their newest programs, developed in the last couple years, are Fashion Merchandising and Fashion Marketing through the newly built Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School.
    • Students can go on to earn a Global Fashion Management master’s through FIT in NYC.

Mackenzies, the campus pub.

The Core classes of my time – a 3-semester sequence which covered themes, texts, and thinkers from Ancient times (think Gilgamesh and The Bible), Medieval/Renaissance (Canterbury Tales, etc), and the Modern Age (such as Darwin, Freud, and The Handmaid’s Tale) – is gone now which is unfortunate. Although I likely would’ve read many of these as an English major, it did provide a great overview of things that culturally-literate, educated people are expected to know about, and we were taking the classes with a variety of professors (mine came from the Philosophy, Classics, and the English departments). They’ve now adopted what seems to be the ubiquitous First-Year Seminar (although I think I really would’ve liked the Hiking with a Geologist class!). Students complete “pillars” now (essentially the same as core/distribution requirements at other liberal arts schools). Field Experience is one of the pillars comprising of both a career-related internship and community service/engagement (60 hours).

Tompkins, a dorm on the Historic Registry

There are two options for students who excel in academics:

• The Honors Program: This is a traditional honors program like at many other universities.
• Academic Fellows: this is similar to (but shouldn’t be confused with) a Teaching Assistant sort of role. Juniors and Seniors with at least a 3.0 and who have earned at least 6 credits in a particular department can apply to assist professors with lower-level courses. They can get credit for this (graded P/F).

The Cottages (apts)

This is a residential campus with almost all students on campus all 4 years. First-years are mostly housed in 2 very traditional dorms – long hallways, double rooms, bathrooms down the hall. After that, there are a variety of options. The Towers and Perry have suites, singles are available in Tompkins (now the only all-female dorm and on the historical Registry with beautiful hardwood floors), and the “Cottages” (apartments) are taken mostly by seniors although some Juniors can get in, too. Their newest dorm (opened just a couple years ago) is Meier Hall – and it’s absolutely gorgeous! There’s a huge open community spaces on the first floor, some of the rooms have fireplaces, and there are 2 “penthouses” on the 5^th floor housing 7 and 9 people. Teams will often sign up for these as a group. The tour guide said that these are used to fundraise for the senior class; last year, the winning bid for one of the rooms was $200 – but the year before it was several thousand!

The windows in the Chapel showing some of the college traditions

EC is huge on traditions – the Chapel in the newly renovated Cowles Hall (the original college building) has been restored to include gorgeous stained glass windows picturing these from Orientation to Commencement. (As a side note, EC is totally non-sectarian; the chapel is more of a general meeting space than a religious one, which is why the stained glass has secular images vs. religious ones). Mountain Day is a big traditions – students sing at the President’s house for several days until he cancels classes and declares a Mountain Day. Candlelight Ceremony is another big one – First-years gather at the puddle before classes start to celebrate the start of their journey at EC – and then to bookmark that, seniors gather the night before commencement along the hill next to The Puddle for singing, speakers, and fun as a class one last time before they leave.

There’s never a shortage of things to do on campus: movies, speakers, off-campus trips, club activities, and sports are there. It’s like anywhere else: if you don’t get involved, you’ll be bored, but you have to try to be bored here. Athletics are DIII. Wrestling (men’s AND women’s) were just added this year. They also now offer esports. Men’s and Women’s ice hockey is in NEHC; Men’s Volleyball is in UVC (Women’s in in the NCAA). There is no Greek life, however.

EC has strong ties to Mark Twain whose wife had graduated from the college. Their summer home – Quarry Farm – is in Elmira and is now owned by the college. Twain’s octagon-shaped study is on campus (which is why the octagon is the official college shape!). EC has a Twain Archives and is the Center for Twain Studies.

© 2023