What is Allegheny LIke?

Scoutmom9 · 02-26-2009, 08:20 PM

My son has expressed an interest in Allegheny. We live in NJ and don't know anyone who has gone there so if there is anyone with personal experience could you give some feedback.
Son likes music and Track/cross country as activities. Undecided what he wants to study but good student. Active in leadership roles here.

fireflyscout · 02-26-2009, 09:17 PM

I don't think we've got any current Allegheny students posting here. PM Shennie - she's a graduate of Allegheny. My son will be visiting this weekend, and I'll be happy to report back if he'll actually tell me anything.

shennie · 02-27-2009, 06:25 PM

I am an Allegheny grad. I loved attending the school as did my husband. They foster a strong sense of community. Professors are involved with students and foster positive relationships. The campus is a mix of old and new buildings. It is pretty self contained up on the hill from downtown Meadville. It is bounded by residential areas and a cemetery. It is about a mile walk downtown.

Music as an extracurricular is strong there. The choir has a long and vibrant history. They have a band and a community orchestra. Lessons are available on most instruments. I don't know much about the track team. If you ask me some more specific questions, I will try and answer them.

Scoutmom9 · 02-27-2009, 08:28 PM

<<Music as an extracurricular is strong there. The choir has a long and vibrant history. They have a band and a community orchestra. Lessons are available on most instruments.>>
Glad to hear about all the music activities. My son also is in two chorus's and plays violin and guitar.

jmom09 · 03-13-2009, 10:34 PM

My husband and I both graduated from Allegheny. Their sports programs are good, they just built a new sports facility/field house there. The school is really a good community of learners, profs are very helpful and involved. They get a lot of NY/NJ students there. It is a small town, my daughter was accepted with $17000 in scholarships and turned it down, she wants a more urban community. AC is known for getting their students into grad school/med school/law school.

kayakct · 04-05-2009, 05:21 PM

I graduated from Allegheny and had a wonderful experience. I got a great job after and later went on to get my MBA at Wharton. I loved the laid back environment and the ease of working with professors. It is a special place.

Mirry · 04-05-2009, 09:35 PM

The campus is BEAUTIFUL, by the way. I don't know if that's important to you, but it really is the prettiest place in Meadville.

teskicks · 04-22-2009, 10:44 AM

My wife and I both attended Allegheny College as did my brother, his wife and my cousin. We each had a very different positive experience. That is part of what makes Allegheny a great place. My wife and I were both varsity athletes and earth science majors (Geology and Environmental Education) while my brother and his wife were very much into studio art. My cousin is now a lawyer.

My son reluctantly applied this past fall but quickly found Allegheny moving up his list of schools. He likes the concept "Unusual Combinations" that will allow him to pursue his interests in Environmental Science and Art. He has also been very impressed with the coaching staff in his chosen sport. He had an overnight campus visit and I think he made up his mind that weekend that AC was the place for him. He waited to see the results of his other applications before committing though. He will be attending Allegheny in the fall.

Scoutmom9 · 04-22-2009, 07:57 PM

Teskicks thanks for your post. My son wants to visit Allegheny, but we won't be able to squeeze it in until August. (But my s is only a junior now so he has time) I am a little concerned about Allegheny's graduation rate which I believe is 77% in four years.

Any other comments on Allegheny welcomed.

northeastmom · 04-27-2009, 06:05 PM

scoutmom, 77% is high when compared with many other schools. That is the shocking reality. We are also from NJ. This school is near OH so it is quite a drive from NJ. My concern is getting to and from the airport. If the plane is late, it could cost a mint if the shuttle to the school is missed. The school is quite far from a main airport. They really have not figured out the solution to this, but they do have transportation to and from 2 airports for a fee (no longer Erie bc people were not using this airport since flights tend to be more expensive). They are hoping to contract with someone new for airport transit, but this seems to really be a problem. Also, how would one get to the airport on an "off" weekend in an emergency?

shennie · 04-27-2009, 06:33 PM

It is a pain to get to and from the airport. I looked at the Greyhound schedule. It looks like there is a bus that goes up to Meadville twice a day and goes from Meadville to Pittsburgh once a day. From downtown Pittsburgh, a cab can be taken to the airport if nothing else but there may be public transportation available as well. So the situation is not completely untenable, just inconvenient.

northeastmom · 04-27-2009, 06:49 PM

shennie, thanks. I already wasted an hour trying to figure out the ins and outs of what you describe. Frankly, if you miss the Greyhound you are out of luck. Also, carrying luggage (ie: switching summer and winter attire btn. dorm and home, etc.) and waiting for Greyhound in the snow, sleet, and cold is not fun. I spoke with the most lovely person who is trying to remedy the problem. They are all too well aware of the problems. It is a shame that this very kind person has to regularly hear so many complaints. She told me that parents do call and complain and even threaten to remove their child from Allegheny over this problem. If a plane gets in late because of weather or other reasons, can you imagine what the cab fare must be to get onto campus! I rode buses and trains to airports while in college, but they were more convenient and shorter rides than this. Today, I don't think that most students really have the patience to jump through all of these hoops, and I can't blame them. It is a bit much. If there were enough students going to one area, which I guess there aren't, it would just be easier to charter a few buses to drive right to their destinations (ie: one to Cleveland, one to NYC, and one to Hartford, Boston) during breaks. Still, if there were a family emergency, or a wedding to attend on an off weekend, flying home is a MAJOR issue!! Oh, and there are ride boards, but I really don't necessarily want my child to rely on another student's driving experience in ice and snow on those rural roads (don't even know about the car's safety and if they have safe tires) to get home!

jmom09 · 04-27-2009, 09:54 PM

Northeast, I went to AC as well and there are tons of kids there from Pittsburgh as well as Erie, so rides were not a problem. The roads are not rural at all, it is I79 all the way. The Pgh airport is actually north of the city. I'm sure AC will be able to hook you up with transportation. As for clothing, I would take it all at the beginning of the year, by Oct it is pretty cold up there.
We had a pretty big NJ contingent when I was there too, so there might be some carpool potential as well. Hope this helps!

northeastmom · 04-27-2009, 10:06 PM

jmom, it does help. They did say that there is a ride board. I just prefer something a bit more organized. LOL, to me it seems kind of rural in the area. I only visited once, so my memory is probably not accurate.

jmom09 · 04-27-2009, 11:32 PM

The area is rural, but it is all highway driving to get there. I graduated in 75 and both my daughters were accepted there but did not go! My husband and I both loved it there, we even went back and were married there! It is great for preprofessional studies, good professors and resources. Hope your son takes a look at it this summer, we actually went to a college day over the summer and had a great time.