Anonymous wrote:It was on our short list last year. Went with Allegheny, but WC was a very strong contender. Chestertown is adorable and has great restaurants and a bookstore... So it's ideal for *visiting* your student.

The student body seems affluent and very preppy. DC wasn't sure that was a fit, that was probably the biggest reservation.

What made your student choose Allegheny? Are they also majoring in environmental science? What was on their short list besides Allegheny and Washington?

It was on our short list last year. Went with Allegheny, but WC was a very strong contender. Chestertown is adorable and has great restaurants and a bookstore... So it's ideal for *visiting* your student.

The student body seems affluent and very preppy. DC wasn't sure that was a fit, that was probably the biggest reservation.

Anonymous wrote:I was wondering if that was the one! My son has been accepted to Juniata and Washington College with their top merit. I much prefer Juniata for him. We have visited both twice. I think the Raystown Field House puts Juniata over Washington for those ES students who are interested in more wildlife focused (compared to marine). He was accepted to Juniata’s 3+1 BS/MS and he is weighing and balancing that versus the 3+2 WC has with Duke.

That was definitely a factor. DD is most interested in ecological restoration work and is doing the restoration-focused semester at the field station this spring. They seem to have a good network in the DC area for ES work. DD had an ES job this summer with a Juniata connection who told her there are a lot of alums in the area. But I imagine WC is similar, especially for work around the Bay.

I was wondering if that was the one! My son has been accepted to Juniata and Washington College with their top merit. I much prefer Juniata for him. We have visited both twice. I think the Raystown Field House puts Juniata over Washington for those ES students who are interested in more wildlife focused (compared to marine). He was accepted to Juniata’s 3+1 BS/MS and he is weighing and balancing that versus the 3+2 WC has with Duke.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:'80's alum here.

For the right person, this is heaven. The writing program and environmental sciences are the signature programs.

It's a small school (under 1000) in a small but charming town. Kids who need constant stimulation will not do well here, although retail therapy is less than an hour away. That said, there's plenty to do on campus if you get involved in the various clubs or sports.

Academics are strong, but as with any school, it is what you make of it. You have full access to your profs and classes are small.

Athletics are hit and miss. Men's lacrosse was one of the strongest programs in the country for decades but that was in an era when they were a big fish in a small pond; the program has struggled as more schools expanded into the sport. Men's soccer has been to the NCAA tournament several times in recent years, going as far as the Final Four in '23. The stadium is a state of the art turf facility. The rowing teams, particularly the women, have been dominant in their conference and have also been to the national championships recently.

The waterfront facilities are also top-notch. A new boat house was built recently, as well as a facility for environmental sciences specific to the bay's ecology. Additionally, the college has a field station of several hundred acres for other environmental studies, such as ornithology.

The college recently received a HUGE grant which helps knock off a large chunk of tuition.

All in all, it's a great place for the right kind of person.

Environmental is definitely a stand out, including their "Chesapeake Semester" and they participate in a 3:2 master's program with Duke, along with some much more competitive LACs. DD strongly considered it but ended up at a different LAC with a strong environmental program that, for whatever reason, just felt like a better fit. But I'd have been happy if she'd picked WC.

Curious what LAC she chose? My son applied to WC for ES and has been admitted with a nice merit package.

Juniata - it also has an off campus ES-focus semester. Things that made her choose it were 1) Revisited both and just felt the "vibe" was a better fit for her at Juniata and 2) She preferred their music program, most notably that it has a pep band and WC didn't, and she gets a small additional scholarship for that. Cost was similar with both schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oops, forgot about the social atmosphere.

Greek life is there if you want it. In my day the fraternities and sororities were the hub of social life, but that seems to have faded to the background, as it has with most SLACs (from what I'm told).

The college is exponentially more diverse than it was in the 80s, when WC has half-jokingly referred to as "White College". It wasn't because of any overt racism, just kind of the way it worked out. Most kids came from middle to upper class Baltimore families, and many of them were multi-generational legacies.

The highlight of the social calendar is the annual Birthday Ball on George Washington's birthday. It used to be a black tie affair, but it's now a bit less formal (sigh).

How's the party scene? Do they throw down or is it more low-key social gatherings? Are the campus cops overzealous about breaking up parties and handing out MIP's, or are they more live-and-let-live as long as no one's getting hurt?

I'm sure it's much more low-key than it was 40 years ago (it would have to be!). I don't really know how it is now.

Anonymous wrote:Oops, forgot about the social atmosphere.

Greek life is there if you want it. In my day the fraternities and sororities were the hub of social life, but that seems to have faded to the background, as it has with most SLACs (from what I'm told).

The college is exponentially more diverse than it was in the 80s, when WC has half-jokingly referred to as "White College". It wasn't because of any overt racism, just kind of the way it worked out. Most kids came from middle to upper class Baltimore families, and many of them were multi-generational legacies.

The highlight of the social calendar is the annual Birthday Ball on George Washington's birthday. It used to be a black tie affair, but it's now a bit less formal (sigh).

How's the party scene? Do they throw down or is it more low-key social gatherings? Are the campus cops overzealous about breaking up parties and handing out MIP's, or are they more live-and-let-live as long as no one's getting hurt?

Washington College gives everyone merit aid ($30kish on average), so don't be too concerned with the rack rate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:'80's alum here.

For the right person, this is heaven. The writing program and environmental sciences are the signature programs.

It's a small school (under 1000) in a small but charming town. Kids who need constant stimulation will not do well here, although retail therapy is less than an hour away. That said, there's plenty to do on campus if you get involved in the various clubs or sports.

Academics are strong, but as with any school, it is what you make of it. You have full access to your profs and classes are small.

Athletics are hit and miss. Men's lacrosse was one of the strongest programs in the country for decades but that was in an era when they were a big fish in a small pond; the program has struggled as more schools expanded into the sport. Men's soccer has been to the NCAA tournament several times in recent years, going as far as the Final Four in '23. The stadium is a state of the art turf facility. The rowing teams, particularly the women, have been dominant in their conference and have also been to the national championships recently.

The waterfront facilities are also top-notch. A new boat house was built recently, as well as a facility for environmental sciences specific to the bay's ecology. Additionally, the college has a field station of several hundred acres for other environmental studies, such as ornithology.

The college recently received a HUGE grant which helps knock off a large chunk of tuition.

All in all, it's a great place for the right kind of person.

Environmental is definitely a stand out, including their "Chesapeake Semester" and they participate in a 3:2 master's program with Duke, along with some much more competitive LACs. DD strongly considered it but ended up at a different LAC with a strong environmental program that, for whatever reason, just felt like a better fit. But I'd have been happy if she'd picked WC.

Curious what LAC she chose? My son applied to WC for ES and has been admitted with a nice merit package.

Oops, forgot about the social atmosphere.

Greek life is there if you want it. In my day the fraternities and sororities were the hub of social life, but that seems to have faded to the background, as it has with most SLACs (from what I'm told).

The college is exponentially more diverse than it was in the 80s, when WC has half-jokingly referred to as "White College". It wasn't because of any overt racism, just kind of the way it worked out. Most kids came from middle to upper class Baltimore families, and many of them were multi-generational legacies.

The highlight of the social calendar is the annual Birthday Ball on George Washington's birthday. It used to be a black tie affair, but it's now a bit less formal (sigh).

Anonymous wrote:'80's alum here.

For the right person, this is heaven. The writing program and environmental sciences are the signature programs.

It's a small school (under 1000) in a small but charming town. Kids who need constant stimulation will not do well here, although retail therapy is less than an hour away. That said, there's plenty to do on campus if you get involved in the various clubs or sports.

Academics are strong, but as with any school, it is what you make of it. You have full access to your profs and classes are small.

Athletics are hit and miss. Men's lacrosse was one of the strongest programs in the country for decades but that was in an era when they were a big fish in a small pond; the program has struggled as more schools expanded into the sport. Men's soccer has been to the NCAA tournament several times in recent years, going as far as the Final Four in '23. The stadium is a state of the art turf facility. The rowing teams, particularly the women, have been dominant in their conference and have also been to the national championships recently.

The waterfront facilities are also top-notch. A new boat house was built recently, as well as a facility for environmental sciences specific to the bay's ecology. Additionally, the college has a field station of several hundred acres for other environmental studies, such as ornithology.

The college recently received a HUGE grant which helps knock off a large chunk of tuition.

All in all, it's a great place for the right kind of person.

Environmental is definitely a stand out, including their "Chesapeake Semester" and they participate in a 3:2 master's program with Duke, along with some much more competitive LACs. DD strongly considered it but ended up at a different LAC with a strong environmental program that, for whatever reason, just felt like a better fit. But I'd have been happy if she'd picked WC.

'80's alum here.

For the right person, this is heaven. The writing program and environmental sciences are the signature programs.

It's a small school (under 1000) in a small but charming town. Kids who need constant stimulation will not do well here, although retail therapy is less than an hour away. That said, there's plenty to do on campus if you get involved in the various clubs or sports.

Academics are strong, but as with any school, it is what you make of it. You have full access to your profs and classes are small.

Athletics are hit and miss. Men's lacrosse was one of the strongest programs in the country for decades but that was in an era when they were a big fish in a small pond; the program has struggled as more schools expanded into the sport. Men's soccer has been to the NCAA tournament several times in recent years, going as far as the Final Four in '23. The stadium is a state of the art turf facility. The rowing teams, particularly the women, have been dominant in their conference and have also been to the national championships recently.

The waterfront facilities are also top-notch. A new boat house was built recently, as well as a facility for environmental sciences specific to the bay's ecology. Additionally, the college has a field station of several hundred acres for other environmental studies, such as ornithology.

The college recently received a HUGE grant which helps knock off a large chunk of tuition.

All in all, it's a great place for the right kind of person.

Neighbor’s son goes there. He really likes it. It’s small but close enough to Baltimore, DC, Annapolis and DC if he wants to do something on the weekend. It has a strong writing program. He got a nice merit package there. Had average grades A’s and B’s) at our rigorous private(not a ton of rigor, a few AP classes)and TO.

DS did a summer program there two years ago. I mainly remember there is very little to do in the town. Not much in the way of restaurants, theaters etc.

Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782.

Has about a 75% acceptance rate.

Anyone here attended the college, or know someone who did? What can you share? Vibe, academics, social life, academic-ish/research opportunities?