^and to be very clear, as someone whose kid is considering both Dickinson and F&M, I do appreciate other suggestions of similar schools to check out. I think OP is being weirdly pedantic and aggressive over a simple suggestion outside the apparently rigid boundaries of their question. But your immature response isn’t helping your case.

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Anonymous wrote:Gettysburg

Thanks so much for your totally unhelpful comment. Any other school you'd like to throw in there? Idiot.

Screw you nerd. OP's kid clearly isn't fully sold on either Dickinson or F&M despite visiting both so why not check out a nearby peer school that draws from the same applicant pool?

Because that wasn't the question, obviously. Nobody asked you about Gettysburg. If I wanted to know (OP here) I would have included it in the question.

You're the one asking strangers for help. Don't be such a dill wacker when someone takes the time to give you a well-intentioned response just because it veers slightly outside of your tight parameters.

If you're trying to help people, answer the question they ask you instead of veering off into your weird agenda. Also, wtf is a dill wacker? You're nuts.

The whole point of this forum is asking stranger for help, which unfortunately results in having to deal with the dimwitted masses like you who failed at reading comprehension and can't answer a simple question, and live only to give snarky responses.

Drink pee. It was a simple, one-word suggestion that you were free to ignore. I feel sorry for your kid.

NP. “Dill wacker”? “Drink pee”? Are you 5?

D graduated from F&M and considered both schools.

She sat in on classes at both before applying and found that the kids (in the classes she observed) were more engaged at F&M.

Lanc is significantly larger than Carlisle — and as a family, we loved it.

Regarding Dickinson, I’d add that Carlisle is a very nice town. Lancaster is probably similar to Carlisle, just bigger.

Maybe the biggest difference is whether you want or go to a red brick college (F&M) or limestone (Dickinson). My DS looking at SLACs tells me that limestone is better but I’m not sure I agree.

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Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at F&M but I don’t know Dickinson that well. They are more similar than different. Neither is super political. My kid complains the workload at F&M is a grind but maybe that would be true for him anywhere. He liked F&M better for science, but I can’t remember what that was based on.

Boy or girl, athlete, musician, theater geek, what?

Boy, academic, science-y, interested in going to veterinary school.
My overall impression is the kids seem very nice and kind.

+1 Our son is there too, and he keeps saying every is so nice. All kinds of kids for sure, lots of international students, athletes, big film and theater crowd, great studio arts spaces; but apparently, universally kind. He also mentioned enjoying the dorm/House weekly salons, which have an "intellectual, but fun" vibe.

are you tallking about Dickinson? Can you say more about the salons?

No, F&M. The school is divided into Houses, and first years are in dorms with the people in their House. Long traditions. They take their Freshman Connections course with people in their House too, and it is taught by a professor affiliated with the House, so that is a part of creating community. There is also a faculty advisor who lives in the dorm (or has an office there). Every week they arrange a salon on the House library, which can be a lecture/discussion, musical performance, an open mike, debate, film, and so on. All House member from all years are welcome, they have snacks and discuss. Something different every week, like for Halloween, a professor of botany gave a killer plant lecture and a linguistics professor did one on words of magic and spells in different cultures. It's voluntary, social, not assigned or graded, just a part of the culture of life long learning.

Another intellectual/social space he is enjoying is the Writers House: https://www.fandm.edu/centers-institutes-and-initiatives/writers-house/

My son graduated from F&M recently and I can only speak to this school. Had a great experience, made terrific friends he is living with post-college. Lancaster is a really nice small city that the students utilize as everything is within walking distance--good restaurants, galleries, a minor league baseball stadium and lots of PA cultural stuff as well as fun bars and lots of coffee shops. Classes are small--many fewer than 25 students--and they have a great undergrad business program that you have to apply for during freshman year. Teachers were accessible and involved. Food was good in main cafeterias. Campus is pretty and big enough but everything within a 10 minute walk. Lots of nearby cool off campus housing that is run by the school for Junior and Senior year and robust study abroad program. We miss going to visit!

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at F&M but I don’t know Dickinson that well. They are more similar than different. Neither is super political. My kid complains the workload at F&M is a grind but maybe that would be true for him anywhere. He liked F&M better for science, but I can’t remember what that was based on.

Boy or girl, athlete, musician, theater geek, what?

Boy, academic, science-y, interested in going to veterinary school.
My overall impression is the kids seem very nice and kind.

+1 Our son is there too, and he keeps saying every is so nice. All kinds of kids for sure, lots of international students, athletes, big film and theater crowd, great studio arts spaces; but apparently, universally kind. He also mentioned enjoying the dorm/House weekly salons, which have an "intellectual, but fun" vibe.

are you tallking about Dickinson? Can you say more about the salons?

Since your kid is interested in pre-vet, F&M has a big vivarium (live animal lab) and an Animal Behavior Studies program, both of which are rare for an LAC. My kid is contemplating pre-vet, but chose to apply to Dickinson bc it felt a bit more liberal leaning from what she read online. Still may decide to apply to F&M, though, seems like a great school. She was attracted to the strong environmental science focus and study abroad options at Dickinson

Anonymous wrote:These schools, SLACs that are not weirdly impossible to get into, are now what Hamilton and Colby were in the early 2000s. I think they are both fine, normal, non-radicalized schools that kids enjoy attending and didn't have to burn out to get into and the kids havent been destroyed by competition in HS.

28% admit rate doesn't sound easy: isn't the rule of thumb that anything below 30% has to be considered a reach even if you have the stats?

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Anonymous wrote:Gettysburg

Thanks so much for your totally unhelpful comment. Any other school you'd like to throw in there? Idiot.

Screw you nerd. OP's kid clearly isn't fully sold on either Dickinson or F&M despite visiting both so why not check out a nearby peer school that draws from the same applicant pool?

Because that wasn't the question, obviously. Nobody asked you about Gettysburg. If I wanted to know (OP here) I would have included it in the question.

You're the one asking strangers for help. Don't be such a dill wacker when someone takes the time to give you a well-intentioned response just because it veers slightly outside of your tight parameters.

If you're trying to help people, answer the question they ask you instead of veering off into your weird agenda. Also, wtf is a dill wacker? You're nuts.

The whole point of this forum is asking stranger for help, which unfortunately results in having to deal with the dimwitted masses like you who failed at reading comprehension and can't answer a simple question, and live only to give snarky responses.

Drink pee. It was a simple, one-word suggestion that you were free to ignore. I feel sorry for your kid.

Not sure where your son would transfer to if he finds Dickinson extremely middle of the road student body to be too crazily liberal

High Point? Hillsdale?

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Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at F&M but I don’t know Dickinson that well. They are more similar than different. Neither is super political. My kid complains the workload at F&M is a grind but maybe that would be true for him anywhere. He liked F&M better for science, but I can’t remember what that was based on.

Boy or girl, athlete, musician, theater geek, what?

Boy, academic, science-y, interested in going to veterinary school.
My overall impression is the kids seem very nice and kind.

+1 Our son is there too, and he keeps saying every is so nice. All kinds of kids for sure, lots of international students, athletes, big film and theater crowd, great studio arts spaces; but apparently, universally kind. He also mentioned enjoying the dorm/House weekly salons, which have an "intellectual, but fun" vibe.