UVM review
First, I have to say that the Vermont vacation was wonderful. Sure the mountains are short :)) but they are very pretty! We had family ranging from age 2 to 84 and everyone had a great time. My oldest D and my Dad joined us for the campus visit. On to UVM…
This was a special visit day (just lucky it fit in with the vacation!), so before the information session there were tables set up where students could talk to representatives in the different departments. From the website, it seemed EE was doing renewable energy work, but not clear how big a focus it was. D headed for the engineering table and asked the rep if they had any kind of focus or concentration area in renewable energy and the rep said no, that there were no particular concentration areas. But then an EE prof who was there talked to D further and told her that even though there wasn’t an “official” concentration or certificate, that there were two EE professors doing research in that area and that is an expanding area in the engineering department. There is also a “Smart Grid” class and that is one renewable area D is leaning towards.
She then asked about UG research, co-op/internships, and hands-on work. According to the prof UG research is common, but there is no co-op. He said as far as internships, they are mostly local and not something most students do (although paid UG research is available). He said hands-on is very big, with two hands-on labs each in freshman and sophomore year, three junior year, and a design project senior year. He told D that the EE department is a great place to be. There are 800 students in engineering, but only 150 in EE, so they are a pretty close community. The prof was very helpful and D really enjoyed talking to him.
The information session was pretty useful – not the best but above average. They really emphasized the green and sustainable aspects of the school which made D and I more confident about the EE program being serious about renewable energy. I didn’t write down everything, but they have 22 environmentally themed majors and concentrations. Burlington is the #2 greenest place to live, and they are one of the top schools for using locally sourced food (and working on improving in this area). Burlington is also the #1 college town. (Says who? :-? ) Okay, well I’ll grant them probably one of the best. They are the #9 school for having <20 students per class. (Not quite sure how the math works with that – I guess it would have to be proportional). Tutoring is available one hour per class per week. This seems on the low side, but I’m not sure if other schools have specified or just said generally “tutoring is available.”
So then they split into a question and answer session or financial aid session. I started out going to the finaid session (while the two D’s went to Q&A and Dad played with his smart phone in the lobby). But after a few minutes I decided I wasn’t going to get anything out of it I didn’t know (or couldn’t find out about) on CC, so I went to the Q&A which is when trouble started brewing.Oldest D explained in whispers that instead of old-fashioned hand-raising, questions had to be asked on twitter with a special hash-tag. Well, D17 doesn’t even have a twitter account, I don’t have it on my phone (and don’t remember my password). D11 has twitter, but had no reception! And of course D had a question. So I went out and eventually found an information desk to inquire about guest wi-fi, which the kid assured me they had, but he wasn’t sure how to find it, tried for a while, eventually went and got someone else and finally I had a password. Seems like the info desk should have this info close at hand. Anyway, I hurry back, D11 signs on and D17 types her question. They say they have time for one more question and holy-shamoly it is D’s! So yes, you can do study abroad as an engineer without pushing back graduation because they have programs designed for engineering (this often is not the case).
And then, the tour. The tour groups were big (20+ people), of course ours was on the quiet side, and they didn’t use headsets. Unfortunately we were near the back of the group for much of the tour and missed much of what she said. The standard double dorm room we saw was average and according to the guide was the smallest one. It did have a bigger than usual window. There are no forced triples. Students are required to live on campus for the first two years (seems like it’s usually only first year). Laundry costs 1 cent/load. There was a reason for this but I can’t remember it!
We then went down to the waterfront and ate at “The Skinny Pancake” where even my gluten-free vegan daughter was able to find good choices. The waterfront is a nice place to walk around. While we there they were setting up for a concert in a big field. There were a number of vendor tents and the D’s found one where they simply had to buy some clothing (and take a while making their decisions) so I joined Dad under a shady tree. A security woman came up and told us we had to leave because they were clearing the field for the upcoming event. We explained we were just waiting for the D’s to buy stuff but I don’t think she believed us. After some further questioning, she grudgingly let us stay put. Later when we were walking back out we came across her and she asked the D’s what they had bought. I seriously think she was checking up on our story! Anyway, this was our only unpleasant encounter in the state, so I just repeat it for the sheer oddity.
Just before leaving the waterfront area we all had “Creemee’s,” the well-known local soft-serve ice cream which was quite tasty. Watch out for that freshman 15! We headed up to Church Street and felt very much at home because it is so much like our local pedestrian mall. Apparently the main difference, at least as noted by D11, was that street performers can use amplifiers/speakers which is not allowed on Pearl Street. She has done some street performing and has to bring along a real live drummer! Anyway, we loved this area as well.
D’s thoughts post-visit: She really liked UVM, but with some reservations. The whole twitter thing and badly planned tour put her off, even though I reminded her that those probably shouldn’t affect her decision about attending the school. She felt very positive about her conversation with the EE prof (which I think is much more important). She found the campus average, but campuses don’t affect her judgment of a school unless they are actually bad. She loved Burlington and the surrounding area (so basically, the state of Vermont!) I think the biggest negative for her was the lack of a co-op program or strong support for internships. UVM ended up tied for #5 out of the 8 visited colleges that still remain on the list. She will definitely apply.
Congratulations if you made it this far – you deserve a Creemee! :)>-