Thoughts on St. Mary's College of MD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD graduated from SMCM 2 years ago. Loved the small beautiful campus and her time there. It's only 90 minutes to DC and plenty of shopping within driving/shuttle distance. The school’s location on the river is a major draw for the students. You have to want a small liberal arts school. Campus life centers on the docks and the river. Very nice students and easy to get to know your professors. DD had internships and got involved with research. Still in touch with professors and lots of alum return each year for alumni weekend.

NP. I’m curious if your DD had any concerns about the remoteness prior to attending.

I suppose I’m trying to figure out how much a remote location *actually* matters to an enrolled student, vs how much they expect it will. So much of college life is centered on campus, and campuses tend to be vibrant places no matter their setting. I can imagine prospective students expecting it to matter far more than it actually turns out to.

dp I also want to add if you are used to living near DC it will be a big adjustment.

NP. For my DMV daughter, it was not so much a big adjustment as a literal breath of fresh air. She loves it there. Loves the location, the size, the professors, the activities. I get why some prospective students would find it too remote, and that's understandable, but for others it is a perfect fit. She was not worried at all about the remoteness, worth it for the water and dock. Car is definitely helpful, just to get a break from cafeteria food, although their food is quite good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD graduated from SMCM 2 years ago. Loved the small beautiful campus and her time there. It's only 90 minutes to DC and plenty of shopping within driving/shuttle distance. The school’s location on the river is a major draw for the students. You have to want a small liberal arts school. Campus life centers on the docks and the river. Very nice students and easy to get to know your professors. DD had internships and got involved with research. Still in touch with professors and lots of alum return each year for alumni weekend.

NP. I’m curious if your DD had any concerns about the remoteness prior to attending.

I suppose I’m trying to figure out how much a remote location *actually* matters to an enrolled student, vs how much they expect it will. So much of college life is centered on campus, and campuses tend to be vibrant places no matter their setting. I can imagine prospective students expecting it to matter far more than it actually turns out to.

dp I also want to add if you are used to living near DC it will be a big adjustment.

NP. For my DMV daughter, it was not so much a big adjustment as a literal breath of fresh air. She loves it there. Loves the location, the size, the professors, the activities. I get why some prospective students would find it too remote, and that's understandable, but for others it is a perfect fit. She was not worried at all about the remoteness, worth it for the water and dock. Car is definitely helpful, just to get a break from cafeteria food, although their food is quite good.

What year is she in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD graduated from SMCM 2 years ago. Loved the small beautiful campus and her time there. It's only 90 minutes to DC and plenty of shopping within driving/shuttle distance. The school’s location on the river is a major draw for the students. You have to want a small liberal arts school. Campus life centers on the docks and the river. Very nice students and easy to get to know your professors. DD had internships and got involved with research. Still in touch with professors and lots of alum return each year for alumni weekend.

NP. I’m curious if your DD had any concerns about the remoteness prior to attending.

I suppose I’m trying to figure out how much a remote location *actually* matters to an enrolled student, vs how much they expect it will. So much of college life is centered on campus, and campuses tend to be vibrant places no matter their setting. I can imagine prospective students expecting it to matter far more than it actually turns out to.

I think it matters a lot. Particularly small schools like SMCM. It's only about 1/2 size of many of MCPS high schools. Imagine living with same kids for 4 years on campus. If you kid can handle/likes it, more power to your kid, but you need to be very careful before putting your kid in that environment.

It’s 1500 kids. That’s the size of almost every other small liberal arts college and many of them are also rural/remote. My kid visited and she really liked it, ended up being her second choice. I went to a different rural/remote small liberal arts college from DC because I wanted something different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD graduated from SMCM 2 years ago. Loved the small beautiful campus and her time there. It's only 90 minutes to DC and plenty of shopping within driving/shuttle distance. The school’s location on the river is a major draw for the students. You have to want a small liberal arts school. Campus life centers on the docks and the river. Very nice students and easy to get to know your professors. DD had internships and got involved with research. Still in touch with professors and lots of alum return each year for alumni weekend.

NP. I’m curious if your DD had any concerns about the remoteness prior to attending.

I suppose I’m trying to figure out how much a remote location *actually* matters to an enrolled student, vs how much they expect it will. So much of college life is centered on campus, and campuses tend to be vibrant places no matter their setting. I can imagine prospective students expecting it to matter far more than it actually turns out to.

dp I also want to add if you are used to living near DC it will be a big adjustment.

NP. For my DMV daughter, it was not so much a big adjustment as a literal breath of fresh air. She loves it there. Loves the location, the size, the professors, the activities. I get why some prospective students would find it too remote, and that's understandable, but for others it is a perfect fit. She was not worried at all about the remoteness, worth it for the water and dock. Car is definitely helpful, just to get a break from cafeteria food, although their food is quite good.

That's great but, for my kids it did NOT work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD graduated from SMCM 2 years ago. Loved the small beautiful campus and her time there. It's only 90 minutes to DC and plenty of shopping within driving/shuttle distance. The school’s location on the river is a major draw for the students. You have to want a small liberal arts school. Campus life centers on the docks and the river. Very nice students and easy to get to know your professors. DD had internships and got involved with research. Still in touch with professors and lots of alum return each year for alumni weekend.

NP. I’m curious if your DD had any concerns about the remoteness prior to attending.

I suppose I’m trying to figure out how much a remote location *actually* matters to an enrolled student, vs how much they expect it will. So much of college life is centered on campus, and campuses tend to be vibrant places no matter their setting. I can imagine prospective students expecting it to matter far more than it actually turns out to.

I think it matters a lot. Particularly small schools like SMCM. It's only about 1/2 size of many of MCPS high schools. Imagine living with same kids for 4 years on campus. If you kid can handle/likes it, more power to your kid, but you need to be very careful before putting your kid in that environment.

It’s 1500 kids. That’s the size of almost every other small liberal arts college and many of them are also rural/remote. My kid visited and she really liked it, ended up being her second choice. I went to a different rural/remote small liberal arts college from DC because I wanted something different.

Many more selective liberal arts colleges are more like 2000 students (and a few as big as 3000). However, there are other smaller schools near DC (Washington College, Goucher, Hood, Juniata, Ursinus) that applicants to SMCM may also be considering, so by that measure SMCM might not seem particularly small.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD graduated from SMCM 2 years ago. Loved the small beautiful campus and her time there. It's only 90 minutes to DC and plenty of shopping within driving/shuttle distance. The school’s location on the river is a major draw for the students. You have to want a small liberal arts school. Campus life centers on the docks and the river. Very nice students and easy to get to know your professors. DD had internships and got involved with research. Still in touch with professors and lots of alum return each year for alumni weekend.

NP. I’m curious if your DD had any concerns about the remoteness prior to attending.

I suppose I’m trying to figure out how much a remote location *actually* matters to an enrolled student, vs how much they expect it will. So much of college life is centered on campus, and campuses tend to be vibrant places no matter their setting. I can imagine prospective students expecting it to matter far more than it actually turns out to.

dp I also want to add if you are used to living near DC it will be a big adjustment.

NP. For my DMV daughter, it was not so much a big adjustment as a literal breath of fresh air. She loves it there. Loves the location, the size, the professors, the activities. I get why some prospective students would find it too remote, and that's understandable, but for others it is a perfect fit. She was not worried at all about the remoteness, worth it for the water and dock. Car is definitely helpful, just to get a break from cafeteria food, although their food is quite good.

What year is she in?

Sophomore

[Anonymous]

We are likely looking at SMCM for my junior DS. These posts make me a bit worried about the remoteness. What are some other small LACs (similar ranking/selectivity to SMCM) that give good merit that are closer to small towns or in suburban areas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are likely looking at SMCM for my junior DS. These posts make me a bit worried about the remoteness. What are some other small LACs (similar ranking/selectivity to SMCM) that give good merit that are closer to small towns or in suburban areas?

You should probably start a new thread for this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are likely looking at SMCM for my junior DS. These posts make me a bit worried about the remoteness. What are some other small LACs (similar ranking/selectivity to SMCM) that give good merit that are closer to small towns or in suburban areas?

m

University of Mary Washington comes to mind.

For other ideas, take a look at the peer schools identified by SMCM:

https://www.smcm.edu/ir/peer-lists/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are likely looking at SMCM for my junior DS. These posts make me a bit worried about the remoteness. What are some other small LACs (similar ranking/selectivity to SMCM) that give good merit that are closer to small towns or in suburban areas?

My DD applied to SMCM. Other schools on her list of similar tier were UMW (larger), Washington College, Juniata, Allegheny. She was mainly focused on environmental science programs.

[Anonymous]

This is PP 12:11. Thank you both!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are likely looking at SMCM for my junior DS. These posts make me a bit worried about the remoteness. What are some other small LACs (similar ranking/selectivity to SMCM) that give good merit that are closer to small towns or in suburban areas?

Goucher College

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t a lot of the expensive private SLAC in small towns ?
I don’t see the difference.

My DD considered SMCM and only applied to LACs. She preferred the rural, small town locations. But the problem with SMCM was that it isn't in/right next to a small town. You have to drive 15 min to get to a suburban strip mall area. She preferred the schools where you could easily walk into a cute town and she ended up at a school like that. She doesn't have a car so it matters that the grocery store is a quick bike ride away, that she and friends can stroll into town to visit the thrift shops or see a movie. At SMCM you need a car, a friend with a car, or work around when a shuttle can be used.

Good point but with low instate tuition that is the compromise for students.

True. We're in VA and with merit SMCM was similar in price to private LACs that gave merit. Might have been a different calculation if we were in MD. She could have gone to UMW for less than the LAC she chose but it didn't have some things that were important to her.

Can you share the private LAC's your DD considered that gave merit? We are in Virginia but we are looking for a small LAC for our DD but really can only spend roughly in-state tuition money. OOS at SMCM is about the same price as the more expensive VA state schools which is why we are considering it, along with UMW. What LAC private's would be similar in price?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t a lot of the expensive private SLAC in small towns ?
I don’t see the difference.

My DD considered SMCM and only applied to LACs. She preferred the rural, small town locations. But the problem with SMCM was that it isn't in/right next to a small town. You have to drive 15 min to get to a suburban strip mall area. She preferred the schools where you could easily walk into a cute town and she ended up at a school like that. She doesn't have a car so it matters that the grocery store is a quick bike ride away, that she and friends can stroll into town to visit the thrift shops or see a movie. At SMCM you need a car, a friend with a car, or work around when a shuttle can be used.

Good point but with low instate tuition that is the compromise for students.

True. We're in VA and with merit SMCM was similar in price to private LACs that gave merit. Might have been a different calculation if we were in MD. She could have gone to UMW for less than the LAC she chose but it didn't have some things that were important to her.

Can you share the private LAC's your DD considered that gave merit? We are in Virginia but we are looking for a small LAC for our DD but really can only spend roughly in-state tuition money. OOS at SMCM is about the same price as the more expensive VA state schools which is why we are considering it, along with UMW. What LAC private's would be similar in price?

DD received offers that were all around $30-$35k for SMCM, Allegheny, Juniata, Washington College. UMW w/ merit was $17k. Juniata and Washington also both offered additional awards to apply for on top of the initial merit award.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t a lot of the expensive private SLAC in small towns ?
I don’t see the difference.

My DD considered SMCM and only applied to LACs. She preferred the rural, small town locations. But the problem with SMCM was that it isn't in/right next to a small town. You have to drive 15 min to get to a suburban strip mall area. She preferred the schools where you could easily walk into a cute town and she ended up at a school like that. She doesn't have a car so it matters that the grocery store is a quick bike ride away, that she and friends can stroll into town to visit the thrift shops or see a movie. At SMCM you need a car, a friend with a car, or work around when a shuttle can be used.

This was the reason my child ultimately chose Hood over SMCM (we are OOS so the tuition wasn't going to be a deciding factor). She found a lot to like on both campuses but the need for a vehicle to do anything off campus at SMCM was a deal breaker for her. Hood is a short walk into downtown Frederick and she does it almost every day, so her instincts were definitely right.