Favorite College that changes lives?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son looked at many of these schools and chose Whitman. He's a Junior now and is having a really good experience. It's not as hard to get to Whitman as described here; you just fly into Pasco airport, which is about 40 minutes from the school. You can set up rides through the school, with Uber, or with some private driver companies, who offer discount to students.

I’m the PP who described it as going to the moon. This is good to know. We drove there from Portland, then went back to SEATAC. Kid applied, and if she gets in, transportation was going to be our first Q.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nephew attends College of Wooster and loves it. They have a cool thesis programs for
seniors.

This is one of ours. I honestly wasn't sure dc would get accepted, they're more selective than some others and I know they're popular. I have a friend who went there about fifteen years ago and loved it and has done quite well in a very tough and very popular field. Wooster's even moved to the top of my list, but they're farther away than I'd like and there are some closer options that also do capstone projects and offer many things that seem similar.

Wooster does seem like it's in good financial shape, and the merit was good.

My dd attended Wooster for 3 semesters and then transferred. Granted, she was there during the height of Covid so she did not have a traditional experience. But the reality for her was very different based upon what she expected from several visits.

Dorms: Research this. You can’t choose (understandable) as a freshman but some dorms are fairly new with A/C and some are literally falling apart. The dorm sophomore year was so bad that dh was worried about leaving her there. Read articles about the bats, etc. in the dorms.

Finances: Check our recent issues of the school newspaper (dd occasionally still reads it and mentioned it). They are making some changes to reduce expenses. I’m not saying they are close to closing but some of the changes may affect the school going forward.

The school has a new president since dd was there. The former president is now at Whitman…

The dumpiest dorm I've seen is at Williams College and the second dumpiest right next to that one, so go figure.

That is great, except we know that anyone on this thread - including you - doesn’t have a kid in the running for Williams.

This post was uncommonly positive, so I guess you just had to go there, huh? Anyway, I know a student that applied to Williams (was accepted) and a CTCL. Kids have high reaches, and sometimes surprisingly get in!

[Anonymous]

Dennison and Hillsdale have the highest USNWR ranking of the CTCLs. I would start there and work your way down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nephew attends College of Wooster and loves it. They have a cool thesis programs for
seniors.

This is one of ours. I honestly wasn't sure dc would get accepted, they're more selective than some others and I know they're popular. I have a friend who went there about fifteen years ago and loved it and has done quite well in a very tough and very popular field. Wooster's even moved to the top of my list, but they're farther away than I'd like and there are some closer options that also do capstone projects and offer many things that seem similar.

Wooster does seem like it's in good financial shape, and the merit was good.

My dd attended Wooster for 3 semesters and then transferred. Granted, she was there during the height of Covid so she did not have a traditional experience. But the reality for her was very different based upon what she expected from several visits.

Dorms: Research this. You can’t choose (understandable) as a freshman but some dorms are fairly new with A/C and some are literally falling apart. The dorm sophomore year was so bad that dh was worried about leaving her there. Read articles about the bats, etc. in the dorms.

Finances: Check our recent issues of the school newspaper (dd occasionally still reads it and mentioned it). They are making some changes to reduce expenses. I’m not saying they are close to closing but some of the changes may affect the school going forward.

The school has a new president since dd was there. The former president is now at Whitman…

The dumpiest dorm I've seen is at Williams College and the second dumpiest right next to that one, so go figure.

That is great, except we know that anyone on this thread - including you - doesn’t have a kid in the running for Williams.

This post was uncommonly positive, so I guess you just had to go there, huh? Anyway, I know a student that applied to Williams (was accepted) and a CTCL. Kids have high reaches, and sometimes surprisingly get in!

Oh, just stop. It is not “overwhelmingly positive“ for someone to come on a thread about CTCL schools and talk about bad dorms at Williams. It is just ridiculous sour grapes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dennison and Hillsdale have the highest USNWR ranking of the CTCLs. I would start there and work your way down.

Yeah, that’s what the Bible says.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nephew attends College of Wooster and loves it. They have a cool thesis programs for
seniors.

This is one of ours. I honestly wasn't sure dc would get accepted, they're more selective than some others and I know they're popular. I have a friend who went there about fifteen years ago and loved it and has done quite well in a very tough and very popular field. Wooster's even moved to the top of my list, but they're farther away than I'd like and there are some closer options that also do capstone projects and offer many things that seem similar.

Wooster does seem like it's in good financial shape, and the merit was good.

My dd attended Wooster for 3 semesters and then transferred. Granted, she was there during the height of Covid so she did not have a traditional experience. But the reality for her was very different based upon what she expected from several visits.

Dorms: Research this. You can’t choose (understandable) as a freshman but some dorms are fairly new with A/C and some are literally falling apart. The dorm sophomore year was so bad that dh was worried about leaving her there. Read articles about the bats, etc. in the dorms.

Finances: Check our recent issues of the school newspaper (dd occasionally still reads it and mentioned it). They are making some changes to reduce expenses. I’m not saying they are close to closing but some of the changes may affect the school going forward.

The school has a new president since dd was there. The former president is now at Whitman…

The dumpiest dorm I've seen is at Williams College and the second dumpiest right next to that one, so go figure.

That is great, except we know that anyone on this thread - including you - doesn’t have a kid in the running for Williams.

This post was uncommonly positive, so I guess you just had to go there, huh? Anyway, I know a student that applied to Williams (was accepted) and a CTCL. Kids have high reaches, and sometimes surprisingly get in!

Oh, just stop. It is not “overwhelmingly positive“ for someone to come on a thread about CTCL schools and talk about bad dorms at Williams. It is just ridiculous sour grapes.

Huh? It came up in a discussion about bad dorms at a CTCL, and whether that school was having financial problems. Williams was offered as an attempt to disentangle financial concerns, which Williams obviously doesn’t have, from the appearance of dorms and such things. What a fascinating way to have read that post, though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son looked at many of these schools and chose Whitman. He's a Junior now and is having a really good experience. It's not as hard to get to Whitman as described here; you just fly into Pasco airport, which is about 40 minutes from the school. You can set up rides through the school, with Uber, or with some private driver companies, who offer discount to students.

I’m the PP who described it as going to the moon. This is good to know. We drove there from Portland, then went back to SEATAC. Kid applied, and if she gets in, transportation was going to be our first Q.

Whitman graduate here, echoing the recommendation to fly into Pasco. And Walla Walla also has an airport, although flights are pretty limited. Best of luck to your kids -- I loved my time at Whitman. I worked hard, found my career passion, and made life-long friends there. I would love for my 11th-grader to consider it, or some of the other small colleges discussed on this thread, because I think she would flourish in that environment. At the moment she is convinced she wants to go to a large, urban university. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

It is so ironic that the CTCL gang bashes the ranking systems yet thinks CTCL schools are so special because they are listed in some book. What’s the difference?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is so ironic that the CTCL gang bashes the ranking systems yet thinks CTCL schools are so special because they are listed in some book. What’s the difference?

If you can’t understand the difference between an ordinal ranking and a grouping of schools that share certain characteristics, I can’t help you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nephew attends College of Wooster and loves it. They have a cool thesis programs for
seniors.

This is one of ours. I honestly wasn't sure dc would get accepted, they're more selective than some others and I know they're popular. I have a friend who went there about fifteen years ago and loved it and has done quite well in a very tough and very popular field. Wooster's even moved to the top of my list, but they're farther away than I'd like and there are some closer options that also do capstone projects and offer many things that seem similar.

Wooster does seem like it's in good financial shape, and the merit was good.

My dd attended Wooster for 3 semesters and then transferred. Granted, she was there during the height of Covid so she did not have a traditional experience. But the reality for her was very different based upon what she expected from several visits.

Dorms: Research this. You can’t choose (understandable) as a freshman but some dorms are fairly new with A/C and some are literally falling apart. The dorm sophomore year was so bad that dh was worried about leaving her there. Read articles about the bats, etc. in the dorms.

Finances: Check our recent issues of the school newspaper (dd occasionally still reads it and mentioned it). They are making some changes to reduce expenses. I’m not saying they are close to closing but some of the changes may affect the school going forward.

The school has a new president since dd was there. The former president is now at Whitman…

The dumpiest dorm I've seen is at Williams College and the second dumpiest right next to that one, so go figure.

That is great, except we know that anyone on this thread - including you - doesn’t have a kid in the running for Williams.

Three generations and going strong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nephew attends College of Wooster and loves it. They have a cool thesis programs for
seniors.

This is one of ours. I honestly wasn't sure dc would get accepted, they're more selective than some others and I know they're popular. I have a friend who went there about fifteen years ago and loved it and has done quite well in a very tough and very popular field. Wooster's even moved to the top of my list, but they're farther away than I'd like and there are some closer options that also do capstone projects and offer many things that seem similar.

Wooster does seem like it's in good financial shape, and the merit was good.

My dd attended Wooster for 3 semesters and then transferred. Granted, she was there during the height of Covid so she did not have a traditional experience. But the reality for her was very different based upon what she expected from several visits.

Dorms: Research this. You can’t choose (understandable) as a freshman but some dorms are fairly new with A/C and some are literally falling apart. The dorm sophomore year was so bad that dh was worried about leaving her there. Read articles about the bats, etc. in the dorms.

Finances: Check our recent issues of the school newspaper (dd occasionally still reads it and mentioned it). They are making some changes to reduce expenses. I’m not saying they are close to closing but some of the changes may affect the school going forward.

The school has a new president since dd was there. The former president is now at Whitman…

The dumpiest dorm I've seen is at Williams College and the second dumpiest right next to that one, so go figure.

That is great, except we know that anyone on this thread - including you - doesn’t have a kid in the running for Williams.

DP. I think the point was that quality of dorms is unrelated to either endowment or prestige. Also my older kid was accepted to Williams (and Whitman!), my younger is looking at CTCL schools. People can be interested in multiple types of threads.

Yes, I'm that PP. We were a little surprised to see the basement of the dorm to be not that different from my grandparents' root cellar when I was a kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is so ironic that the CTCL gang bashes the ranking systems yet thinks CTCL schools are so special because they are listed in some book. What’s the difference?

If you can’t understand the difference between an ordinal ranking and a grouping of schools that share certain characteristics, I can’t help you.

Right? And I don't think folks here are really bashing rankings. Some are simply sharing that they and/or their children have had very positive experiences and outcomes at some of these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our oldest just started at Beloit this year. He really likes it. Small classes, engaged professors, more relaxed vibe. And I really can't complain that it costs the same as our average state school.

+1 Ours too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dennison and Hillsdale have the highest USNWR ranking of the CTCLs. I would start there and work your way down.

Because rankings matter more than who your child is, and what he wants?

I feel bad for people like you. Driven to pursue the wrong outcomes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our oldest just started at Beloit this year. He really likes it. Small classes, engaged professors, more relaxed vibe. And I really can't complain that it costs the same as our average state school.

+1 Ours too!

Great to hear, thanks to both of you. They've been very personal in their communications (including the funniest, sharpest acceptance letter I've ever seen), but even the mass mailings feel like they were written specifically for DD. Makes me think she'd find a lot of her people there.