nyc

An earlier thread asked about several schools including Alfred U (not Alfred State) and Drew, but none of the responses was about these two schools. Have any of you parents visited Alfred or Drew? Better still, do you have any reports from current students or recent grads?

Debruns

My son is at Drew, I don't know how much info I can give, but feel free to ask.

nyc

Why did you and your son choose Drew?

How would you describe the student body as a whole?

Do you get the sense that black students are intergrated into all aspects of the residential experience? Do students generally socialize across race lines?

What did you and your son like most about Drew? What did you like least?

Is there anything that is that was not on your son's radar as an applicant that is really important now that he's on campus?

Thanks!

Debruns

He's coming home for the weekend and I'll ask him more directly. He said diversity has increased a lot since he started and he knows students from all over the US and International. Some segregate, some don't. He grew up in a multi-cultural neighborhood and doesn't like to just be with more group of students which is good.
He honestly got the most merit/need money at Drew but also liked it. He also liked Clark because he was an future psychology major but didn't get great aid. He wanted a smaller school, good professors, small classes and no frats. He liked the train nearby and the ability to go to NYC if Madison got too small. (he didn't go as much as he thought he would though) His largest class was 50 and most are smaller and he knows his professors well. It helped his attention (mild ADD) and his wasn't just a body in the class, they knew him. I saw him grow and become really interested in many things through some of his professors which was nice. (a few not so great, but you will find that everywhere)
His complaints were few, but sometimes he said there wasn't enough to do. That said, there were things, but he didn't want to attend that weekend, speakers, films, plays, etc. but they just weren't his interest. He did find things to do and that aspect of his personality helped. He's not a whiner but nature. His other complaint was not finding enough work not being on workstudy. Not having a car, limited his options, he found things, but the hours were not always steady. On a larger campus, that might have been different.
Anything more specific, I will try to address.

nyc

Thanks. I am hoping to take D to visit, but even spending an overnight one gets only a glimpse, so reports from students who have walked the walk are terribly helpful.

As for not having a car - - did your son ues the ZipCars? I had hoped they would be a relatively inexpensive and convenient alternative to full-time car ownerhips.

SLUMOM

I guess I already covered Alfred with a recent PM to you.

Debruns

NYC, no he didn't. About that time, a friend on campus got one (at least for a semester) and he went to the store with him. They can be helpful though. He walks to some stores/restaurants when the weather is good and they had a van to go to Stop & Shop, I think that is still active.