Bridgewater College

[Anonymous]

Asked a few months ago but looking for possible fresh crop of responses.
Took my son back to Bridgewater again today (2nd visit) and he really likes it.
Some folks in my circle have told me this school has a poor reputation.
We are not from around here so looking for feedback? Hoping some have personal experience.
His GPA is 3.6, sat is 1360. I'm sure he could easily get in.
Thanks very much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Asked a few months ago but looking for possible fresh crop of responses.
Took my son back to Bridgewater again today (2nd visit) and he really likes it.
Some folks in my circle have told me this school has a poor reputation.
We are not from around here so looking for feedback? Hoping some have personal experience.
His GPA is 3.6, sat is 1360. I'm sure he could easily get in.
Thanks very much.

He could probably do better, but he could get some merit aid @ Bridgewater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asked a few months ago but looking for possible fresh crop of responses.
Took my son back to Bridgewater again today (2nd visit) and he really likes it.
Some folks in my circle have told me this school has a poor reputation.
We are not from around here so looking for feedback? Hoping some have personal experience.
His GPA is 3.6, sat is 1360. I'm sure he could easily get in.
Thanks very much.

He could probably do better, but he could get some merit aid @ Bridgewater.

Thanks...this is kind of the thing. He really wants to try to get through undergraduate with as little debt as possible. Bridgewater basically is telling him that he will pay very little to go there--(he is an athlete as well). Not a free ride, but very little annually (like in the couple thousand dollar range). He wants to get his masters in nursing after undergrad, so wants to go somewhere where he can get a good (obviously not ivy) degree and graduate with little debt to ease the cost of his advanced degree.

So with that said, he likes this school, but a few folks have said "dont send him there...bad rep" or "dont send him there--all the kids who did awful in school from my hometown go there". That makes me concerned. I did research but nothing I see makes it look like a kid who did "awful" in school could get into Bridgewater--the acceptance rate is not any lower than JMU for instance (where one of these people who is saying this to me went to school). I'm so confused.

[Anonymous]

Adults tend to draw on college reputations from their own college days so you're going to get differing opinions. Also, since Bridgewater is in Virginia, you're going to find A LOT of opinions.

He can get a great education at a small college, especially if he is a diligent student. There is something to be said for rising to the top, although from what I know of the school (from dealing with it in a professional capacity and being on campus in the last five years), I think it's a good place.

With Bridgewater I'd be most concerned about the social aspects -- are students still required to keep a door open when a visitor of the opposite sex is there? Is it diverse enough? Are there still visiting hours in the dorms? Is he comfortable with its Mennonite roots?

These are questions that only the two of you can answer, but merit aid is extremely compelling.

[Anonymous]

The one thing I'd look for is the connection to nursing school. Does Bridgewater have an association with a masters/post-grad program, or are there examples of recent students that have gone to similar programs? I went to a similar school for similar reasons. The school had great connections and support for a handful of postgrad program. Students that were interested in something else were pretty much on their own, and coming from a school that didn't have much name recognition outside the local area.

At the far end of the spectrum are programs like Washington College 3-2 nursing program. Then there are probably schools that have informal associations, or just a track record of students from College A going to Nursing School B. I definitely think he can get a great and affordable education at a small regionally known school, but it's probably worth checking out a few others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adults tend to draw on college reputations from their own college days so you're going to get differing opinions. Also, since Bridgewater is in Virginia, you're going to find A LOT of opinions.

He can get a great education at a small college, especially if he is a diligent student. There is something to be said for rising to the top, although from what I know of the school (from dealing with it in a professional capacity and being on campus in the last five years), I think it's a good place.

With Bridgewater I'd be most concerned about the social aspects -- are students still required to keep a door open when a visitor of the opposite sex is there? Is it diverse enough? Are there still visiting hours in the dorms? Is he comfortable with its Mennonite roots?

These are questions that only the two of you can answer, but merit aid is extremely compelling.

Thanks. We did think about the religious aspect of the school. We are Catholic (kind of...in the cafeteria kind of way). My son asked a couple of the students about it while he was there yesterday, and none of them knew or understood what the college's religious connection even was. One of them said that it had no religious connection. That told us that obviously its not "pushed" on the kids and really isnt part of the culture (and these kids were juniors/seniors). The only place we've seen this even a tiny bit, is in the letters from the school that reference "blessings", in the prayers done by the team he is being recruited to play for, etc-but none of that bothers us, thats fine. A little religion isnt going to hurt my kid lol.

Seriously, keeping your door open in a dorm if you have a girlfriend over??? LOL. Look I am not a fan of my kid having sex but seriously, in college??? Thats nuts. These are adults! But anyway, I just read the student handbook and it says nothing about that, but I am going to have him follow up on all the dorm "rules" just to be sure. Thats craziness...

Thanks for this input, very helpful! I did also email his school counselor to see if she had any impressions of the school she could share with us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The one thing I'd look for is the connection to nursing school. Does Bridgewater have an association with a masters/post-grad program, or are there examples of recent students that have gone to similar programs? I went to a similar school for similar reasons. The school had great connections and support for a handful of postgrad program. Students that were interested in something else were pretty much on their own, and coming from a school that didn't have much name recognition outside the local area.

At the far end of the spectrum are programs like Washington College 3-2 nursing program. Then there are probably schools that have informal associations, or just a track record of students from College A going to Nursing School B. I definitely think he can get a great and affordable education at a small regionally known school, but it's probably worth checking out a few others.

Thank you! Yes, we did check out the connection to nursing programs, had a discussion with the academic team. It's good from that perspective. They gave us a couple of kids to contact who went there for undergrad and are now in nursing/med school which is where my son is thinking about heading.

Thanks very much!

[Anonymous]

We looked at it last March it. I had high hopes as want somethng small for our DC, not too far away, and he likes a rural environment. It just felt " blah." Even the kids giving the tour could not think of things to say about it. They were happy, friendly but did not seem over - the- top in enthusiasm. Family friend's son just graduated from there and he said it was " okay."

If you are Catholic, like us, I would look at Mt. Saint Mary's in Emittsburg. Still, small rural but liked it much better and kids seem way more engaged. They have equally good merit aid.

Lastly, we circled all the way back to VA and looked at Mary Washington and Longwood. Liked both very much.

Also, I will say, what one kid loves another does not so go with what feels good to your DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We looked at it last March it. I had high hopes as want somethng small for our DC, not too far away, and he likes a rural environment. It just felt " blah." Even the kids giving the tour could not think of things to say about it. They were happy, friendly but did not seem over - the- top in enthusiasm. Family friend's son just graduated from there and he said it was " okay."

If you are Catholic, like us, I would look at Mt. Saint Mary's in Emittsburg. Still, small rural but liked it much better and kids seem way more engaged. They have equally good merit aid.

Lastly, we circled all the way back to VA and looked at Mary Washington and Longwood. Liked both very much.

Also, I will say, what one kid loves another does not so go with what feels good to your DC.

Thank you! None of those other schools have football teams so that's an issue..
We have only talked to football players so wonder if the enthusiasm is different....?
Interesting.

[Anonymous]

If there is a path forward to the masters program he is interested in, and he has a real connection of whatever sort to the college, I think it's highly worth considering. Enthusiasm matters. If he can, he should try to talk to some kids in his intended major to see if they like the professors and coursework.

[Anonymous]

Op, try the College Confidential website

[Anonymous]

Why not JMU?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not JMU?

He wants a small school.

[Anonymous]

We know some of the players there. All seem to have enjoyed the experience and the coaches. If you are concerned about money it's a great option as well as playing in a conference where you can see every game. I believe some of the current seniors are applying to graduate schools and you can get better information from them about real data. I would disregard 30 year old feelings about a school and focus on how the current students and players are faring in their college endeavors. If those kids can get into the graduate schools you are looking for then you have a real game plan.