InTheMiddle

Hi all =]. I'm a 1st year student in the UK atm, and I've applied to do a year abroad in my 2nd year. It was a bit competitive, especially since a lot of people (including myself) applied to go to the US. I had to pick 5 schools, and my top 3 were Haverford College, University of Washington (Seattle), and University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign).
I couldn't choose between the three, and let them know at the interview that they were equal choices for me.

After all of the application stuff I had to get good grades, and I decided that I might as well put Haverford top on the form , since it *apparently* has the best academic reputation (parents said that was a deciding factor), even if it is small, and it is close to Philadelphia. BUT I didn't think I would get to go.

**surprise** I DID get it. And now I'm wondering if going to such a small college will "limit" my study abroad experience... I know for sure there are big pros...
- amazing academics, small classes, get to know all professors, apparently they "care"
- close to Philadelphia
-can take some classes at UPenn and Swathmore, Bryn Mawr etc
- Small private liberal arts colleges part of the US "cultural experience" too, which I might not want to miss.

But I MIGHT be missing out on other things, like massive universities, diversity, that strong support for their college teams and all that stuff that people associate with US Unis..
Has anyone had either of the experiences I'm talking about? Studied/visited/studied abroad at a big uni/teeny liberal arts college? And would I get a taste of that experience if I took a class at UPenn? What are liberal arts colleges ACTUALLY like?

^_^ Thanks so much! xx (I'm an itsy bit clueless)

p.s. what about drinking? legal age here is 18!!

teenage_cliche

I will tell you this: the academics at Haverford are stronger than at your other two picks. Its size, I think, is excellent; you really can get to know people and professors very well. If you decide that you want a larger social scene, you can always go to parties at UPenn on the weekends. And the party culture does exist at smaller schools, but it tends to be smaller and less all-inclusive than at bigger schools. So you really do have the best of both worlds because you have the intimacy and community of a small school but have access to the resources and social scene of a larger one.

IBclass06

I think you'd be fine at any of them, personally. There's less hand-holding at UK universities than at even the large American universities, so I doubt you would have a problem adapting.

You could find what you're looking for at any of the three, so it's really just down to personal preference. It sounds like you're leaning toward Haverford, so go for it. It's probably slightly easier to travel and visit places from Philly than from Seattle or Champaign (e.g. NYC, Boston, or DC).

Drinking age is 21. UW and UIUC would be fairly lenient about it; I don't know about Haverford.

Take3

It's debatable whether UIUC is lenient about drinking.

The residence halls are going to be strict about underage drinking if they detect it. Law enforcement raids the bars frequently and issues very expensive tickets (fines) to anyone under 21 caught even being at the same table as an open container of alcohol. You don't even need to have been drinking yourself. Private parties are frequently raided or shut down. Interestingly, in an entire year at UIUC, I never once heard of any fraternity event getting in trouble for underage drinking. (Frankly, the fraternity party scene at UIUC is best avoided even if you can get into the parties.)

Incidentally, UW is only about 3 hours from Vancouver, Canada. The drinking age there - and in most Canadian provinces - is only 19.

Take3

Also, a large university is not necessarily diverse. Nor is a liberal arts college necessarily homogeneous.

Even if a campus has diversity, it is far from guaranteed that the different groups actually interact with each other. It may be the case that most people socialize with people who are very similar to themselves.

Additionally, the social scene at large universities is not necessarily all-inclusive.

You'll want to thoroughly research your 3 choices to confirm that they are in fact diverse and inclusive.

InTheMiddle

Thanks for the advice people, I think I might go with Haverford, I was just a bit worried that I would miss out on a few things. And I think I can do without the drink for a while!

Done a lot of research, and the fact that I can travel to places from haverford is a big plus!

Again, thanks.

ducks121

Haverford is a wonderful school, no better education for most stuff.

in terms of drinking - they won't stop you. the honor code maintains that you can do your own thing

barrons

As long as H has the major you need or might want it would be fine. UW and UI would have far more choices of major.