Worcester is better than Rochester, but not by much in comparison to FL.
I suggest at either getting a sun lamp (Google for ones that are bright enough and how to use them).
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Will definitely do that if she lands anywhere up north! She’s not a kid prone to depression, but she is highly anxious and has been her whole life.
The good thing is a) we’re on top of her anxiety and treatment thereof, so I think she’d know what to look for with seasonal affective disorder, and b) she’s not an outdoorsy kid at all (preferred activities are burrowing in her room to crochet and watch YouTube, lol). So lack of sun may not affect her.
Of course, she hasn’t had any chance to experience that here in Georgia. She was very excited about the opportunity to buy a big coat and good boots, LOL. (Neither of which we own – we dressed in like 8 layers to tour RIT, and then ended up overheating and stripping down in the admissions office bathroom. Boy did we feel like idiot southerners.)
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Even if not prone, I suspect it will be a huge change to have such grey weather all the time, and also angle of sun, etc etc. You clearly now but just pointing out it is a real issue for many! That said, may not be an issue at all:) and snow reflects a lot of light, so feels sunnier if covered in snow! You may be better with MORE snow than less, in a weird way.
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Hi! My kid is not attending Clark but it was in his final 3, and was his top choice of his early action schools. He ended up getting into one of his reach schools (Bowdoin) with outstanding financial aid, and over 4 years it’s going to be cheaper than Clark. Two of his other reaches that don’t give merit but meet financial aid were also cheaper than Clark, even after we successfully appealed for a merit increase. If he hadn’t gotten into those schools, he’d have gone to Clark.
My kid prefers small schools, so we weren’t worried about the size. A couple of students told us that the presence of the (small) graduate school and the fact that it’s right in Worcester keep Clark from feeling claustrophobic. My son visited 2 sample classes (poli sci & sociology, both great), and we both went to several student panels on admitted students day. I thought the students were incredibly impressive–thoughtful, mature, ambitious, from a wide range of backgrounds. They all spoke about significant internship opportunities (especially the game design students!) & the robustness of the club/art scene at Clark. Most of the students seemed to have a strong desire to give back & do good in the world, more so than any other school we visited.The location in Worcester isn’t to everyone’s taste, but my kid’s a city kid & he loved it (lots of great cheap eats in walking distance). My kid was confident that he would be academically challenged & socially comfortable there.
I’ve been recommending Clark to everyone, and it will be on my S27’s list if he doesn’t do engineering. It was the hardest school for me to let go when it was time for him to commit.
Best of luck to your DD!
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Thank you so much for all this info! It does seem like a lot of people really love the school.
We won’t qualify for any financial aid, but D26 is a strong student, top of her class with high SAT and lots of leadership, so I’m crossing my fingers for some good merit.
She’s a kid that will weigh her options and then trust her gut – so I’m curious to see what she thinks!
Thank you all for chiming in – I’ll report back after our visit the weekend of June 22. 
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