<p>very funny yabeyabe2!</p>
<p>you guys are cracking me up! D2 is a “death stare” expert - I embarrass her on a seemingly daily basis! and I am very familiar with being tolerated simply because I hold the car keys ;)</p>
<p>@yabeyabe2
Saw sussquehanna with D1 a few years ago as we were touring PA colleges. Loved that it is SAT optional. I think that was the tipping factor for her admission. She chose another college, but is now transferring anyway. I think she would have been very happy at sussque, as it turns out.
I loved the little town nearby and the school itself has the feel of top tier, but the kids are more down to earth.</p>
<p>Well - we’re back - had a wonderful day. College4three - you are right - very down to earth vibe. Yabeyabe - thanks for suggesting this one - would not have picked it otherwise. We had a very nice info session given by the Director of Admissions, Chris Markle, in the new science building - we were the first info session in the new bldg. He did a good job - covered everything you would want to know - good Powerpoint - took questions - nicely done. Then, we had our own private tour guide - a very attractive sophomore.</p>
<p>Impressions - campus is beautiful - really one of the nicest I have seen. All the facilities look new or recently renovated - gym - dining halls - dorms - not an old or decrepit bldg in the bunch. We liked the relatively small size of the campus - easy walk to everything, including the football stadium. S2 is interested in adding a psych minor to his business major - the tour guide was able to introduce us to the head of the psychology dept and they spoke for a few minutes - so that was an unexpected bonus.</p>
<p>We were not able to meet Rabbi Palley. However, in the info session it was mentioned that they are hoping to have her lead a trip to Israel in the future as part of the study abroad program. And, while our tour guide was not Jewish, she knew Rabbi Palley and said she was a very visible presence on campus, held many events and she showed us the Hillel House.</p>
<p>I liked that as part of the info session, he spoke a bit about financial aid and also merit aid - it really looks like a strong B/B+ student would be able to get decent merit aid. The cost this year is $43,000 - and merit aid ranges from $1000 - $16,000 per year. About 90% of students are getting some aid. They are planning to grow from present size of 2250 to about 2400 over the next few years. They are doing rolling admissions - so if you apply in the early fall - you could receive an acceptance as early as mid-December - followed by a merit award about 2 weeks later.</p>
<p>So, overall - good visit - we all liked the school and S2 wants to keep it on the list. I think the only reservation he has is the small size, so we’ll see how he feels about that as we continue to visit more schools.</p>
<p>We had a great lunch at BJ’s on the way out - so all in all - a very good day.</p>
<p>I also have to add I enjoyed your comments re embarrassing our teens and the “death stare”. I actually don’t get much of this. DH and the boys refer to me as a “rottweiler” in the sense that once I have something on my mind to do or say - not much is going to dissuade me. I think S2 is well past the point of embarrassment - although I do worry at times that his eyeballs are going to fall out of his head from excessive rolling!</p>
<p>Rockville Mom: Can you give any specifics about your visit such as what did you think about the Business offerings? Did they mention anything about how many kids had jobs at graduation from the B-School? How was the food on campus? Did you see the inside of Hillel? etc. Thanks so much.</p>
<p>mdcissp - they offer business majors in several areas - including accounting, marketing and management. Minors are also available. I believe they do offer a minor in actuarial science. They quoted a statistic that by 6 months after graduation, 92% of students were either employed full-time or in grad school. They did not break it down by subject area but implied that the majority of the business grads to go on to full-time employment. They are having a Business Action Day on October 11th for students interested in the business programs that are offered.</p>
<p>We did not eat on campus as they were having a carnival so the dining hall was closed. We saw several places to eat on campus and they all appeared very clean and with a wide variety of food. Our tour guide raved about the salads and wraps.</p>
<p>We were not able to go into the Hillel House as it was closed. It is open during the academic day and when they are having a program or meeting. But, our non-Jewish tour guide knew Rabbi Palley and commented that she was a very visible presence on campus - that everyone knows who she is and that Hillel sponsored a lot of programs.</p>
<p>So, for us - we were satisfied so far re academic offerings and reasonably pleased overall - just not sure if he wants to go somewhere that small.</p>
<p>Collegefthree, I hope your D is happy at her new school. Is she considering Susquehanna for her transfer?</p>
<p>MSCISSP, the business building–Apfelbaum Hall–is very nice. They just announced an upgrade to the accounting prorgram. Actuary Science is a minor. You enter the B school as a freshman–no secondary admission gauntlet.</p>
<p>From our exprience, Rockville’s description, like C43’s, is very accurate. </p>
<p>Re size, first, for our child, the we thought the plusses of a small classes and and close contact with faculty would be very valuable. Thinking of Rockville’s visit, the fact that a sophomore felt she could stop a department chairman and ask her to speak to a visiting HS junior–and that she did–is a great sign for kids, especially those who are not academic self-promoters or very confident. In his first week there, my son met with a professor advisor for his intended major, received an email a few days later form the adviser asking how it was going and an email from a upperclassman student advisor in the major offering any needed advice. He has 2 classes below 20 kids and no class is above 35–none of the large lecture classes his friends are experiencing.</p>
<p>We obviously don’t know yet whether the school will eventually seem too small. From the stats, nearly everyone who returns as a sophomore graduates in 4 years, so after the group who leave because it is too rural or whatever, kids are happy. When i raised this question with my son, he said an entering class of 650 was larger than his HS and he was still making new friends in his fourth year there. There are over 100 student clubs, plus lots of intramural sports. The school knows it is in a remote location and must offer a lot of on campus weekend events (as well as weekend bus trips to NY, DC, etc and river and mountain activities) to keep kids happy, just as it knows it has to emphasize job placement to justify private college tuition.</p>
<p>Do you get to watch big time sports at SU? No. Will there be some exotic courses offered at larger schools, but not there? Perhaps, although at many larger schools you cannot get into them or they are huge. Do you get to feel like you matter at SU, even if you were a B HS student and not an intercollegiate athlete, because professors look after everyone and you are surrounded by friendly, familiar faces? Yes. But I respect those for whom bigger schools, or schools closer to cities are a better fit.</p>
<p>Rockville Mom’s description of Susquehanna sounds very nice. Can anyone describe what the surrounding, walk to campus distance area, is like? Are there good ethnic restaurants?
What kind of transportation is available to come home? i.e. must have a car?</p>
<p>Do want to point out that the value of actuary science is in the preparation to pass the actuary exams–must pass these exams to be certified to work. Not sure if actuary minor is valuable–not an expert in this area.</p>
<p>This school sounds like a school Rockville Mom would like her son to apply to and see how the merit aid works out.</p>
<p>D auditioned at Susquehanna but decided the music program wasn’t right for her. I was a little disappointed, because I liked the school - the people were far and away the nicest we’d run across in her search and it seemed a good match except for that pesky bit about her major. 
(We had put it on the list when she was thinking about majoring in something else and doing music on the side.) They gave her really good scholarships too (she did the SAT optional application and sent in a couple of papers).</p>
<p>The immediate area is a pleasant residential neighborhood on three sides and it gets rural very quickly on the fourth. Within walking distance there is a quaint Main Street with shops and restaurants - we had a memorable meal at BJs and a good lunch at a small diner on the same block. The school apparently runs a shuttle to the local strip with the big box stores and I think someone mentioned a bus service into NY, but a car would definitely be on our list if D had ended up there. We also had a quick lunch on campus in the student center snack bar that was perfectly fine.</p>
<p>The school colors are orange and maroon, which can be a little jarring!</p>
<p>Adding to what stradmom wrote - the Susquehanna Valley Mall is pretty close - a few miles. Our tour guide said the university provides bus service to the mall a few times a semester. There is also a movie theatre within a few miles. Granted you would need a car - but typically someone your friends with will have a car as even freshmen are permitted to have cars and the parking permit is very inexpensive. I would have liked more time to walk up and down Main Street and see what else was there - but after lunch at BJ’s we were in a hurry to get home.</p>
<p>mdcissp - I think this one stays on the list. W’d like to visit again next fall and attend the business action day. I’m just not sure yet whether S2 is going to lean more towards the smaller schools like Muhlenberg and Susquehanna or the mid-sized schools like Towson, JMU and Delaware. I’d love to see him apply to all of the above and just see what happens.</p>
<p>Our next visit is American at the end of the month. I actually have some doubts about American being a good fit, but since it is so close, it’s not a big deal to visit. We like the Kogod business programs and the number of Jewish students. Proximity to DC and being able to use Metro is a plus. But, I just have a gut feeling that it is too intense academically and too oriented towards serious students who are interested in politics and so forth. I think S2’s basic vibe is more casual and laidback. But, we’ll see.</p>
<p>MDCISSP, I do not know about the quality of ethnic restaurants in the town. I recall noticing one each of Mexican, Chinese and Japanese places. I tend to think of small towns as not being hotbeds of good ethnic food.</p>
<p>I believe the cafeteria has Chinese options at every lunch and a Mongolian grill at every dinner. I think I saw a sign about weekly sushi. A snack bar called Benny’s burritos is popular. There is a pasta made to order station at lunch and dinner. At lunch, there is a salad bar, deli and grill, all of which were good, and 1 or more hot entrees ( I recall roast turkey and pulled pork). </p>
<p>It might be of interest that the Fall drama production is The Diary of Anne Frank and the current alumni and parents magazine discusses a Spring weekend program by 80 students and faculty devoted to an opera written at the Terezin concentration camp, including an appearance by a survivor. [url=<a href=“http://www.susqu.edu/galleries/opera.asp]Susquehanna”>http://www.susqu.edu/galleries/opera.asp]Susquehanna</a> - "Opera in Terez</p>
<p>^ my D is not transferring to Sussquehanna…she wants to be closer to home.</p>
<p>MDCISSP: had the BEST dessert ever in town there…chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting…divine!!</p>
<p>I think Rockville Mom’s son is very social, so a small school like Susquehanna might be very good for him. I am curious about Rockville Mom’s reactions to College of Charleston and Elon in comparison after visiting all the schools on her list. One big advantage to Susquehanna is not having to apply to the Business school like at JMU.</p>
<p>I really appreciate the info. about this school. Not sure if such a small school is right for my son because he has Aspergers. He is thriving at our local public high school because the school is big with a wide choice of friends. My son started a successful, specialized school club and made friends within his club. On the other hand, my son loves small classes, and the academic piece might be better at a smaller school. However, I recall Rockville Mom saying that the boy she knows from the Business school at Towson has mostly small classes around 30 kids each.</p>
<p>Well, the ongoing debate in our house tends to focus on the issue of small school vs. bigger school. DH and both sons are sports nuts - so there is always some level of bias towards a D1 school with the bigger sports atmosphere. But, everyone also sees my points about the advantages of smaller schools when it comes to housing - usually guaranteed, easier registration, closer interaction with faculty, etc. But, then they remind me how I attended a small LAC myself and was kind of bored - and by senior year - could not wait to get out of there. But, I counter, the smaller schools have recognized this problem and have a lot more activities, clubs and trips now - so I think that argument is moot.</p>
<p>I really think S1 has the perfect situation at Wake Forest. He’s got the best of both worlds - at 4800 students - he has all of the benefits of a smaller school - but also D1 sports. There is plenty to do -but he also has had very smooth sailing with housing, course registration, quality and access to professors, etc. We really have no complaints whatsoever. My mental image is finding “Wake-lite” for S2 - with a few more Jewish kids thrown in as long as I’m dreaming - but it has proven harder than I expected.</p>
<p>I think Elon might come closest - looking forward to our visit there in November. But, I’m not sure S2 would get in - unless he applied ED. But anyway, next up is American - so trying to read more about that one - which is kind of funny because it has changed so much since DH went there - which makes sense - I mean - 30 years is 30 years - but it’s hard to remember that AU is a much more serious institution - much more academically rigorous - then what we remember. I also went there for a semester - did the Washington semester program my junior year to escape from boring LAC - and I loved DC - but I also remember classes being kind of a joke. So, I have to get the new, serious AU “wonk” image in my head.</p>
<p>What about the University of Miami in Coconut Grove? Just wondering what your thoughts were about that school (since it is midsized, nice Jewish population, major football team). Do you rule it out because the bar is too high for merit money or is it on the visit list? My son’s new college advisor told us it would be a safety for him but IDK, since I believe that his GPA this year is going to drop a bit (too early to determine how much). I was wondering though how UMiami was thought of out of state. I had never even heard of schools like Towson or Susquehanna before this thread. My criteria for my son includes the school being accessible to a major airport. I do know floridians who have kids at U Delaware and U Maryland and Elon (but the two girls that I know who went to Elon were not Jewish).</p>
<p>If we decide to include Florida - Miami would be on the list. When I look at our hs Naviance - it looks a little reachy for S2 at present - we’ll have to see how those ACT scores come out! I also have a very strong bias towards having him within driving range - just not comfortable with the notion of having him a plane ride away. But it is absolutely a possibility. We are also adding Delaware - I had suggested it a few times and he just kind of shrugged - but last I heard - it’s on his wish-list to visit this spring.</p>
<p>If we limit DS to “within driving range” he could not apply to schools out of Florida!</p>
<p>Rockville, that’s a great summary of the issues.</p>
<p>Re Wake and the best of both worlds, a friend who is a Duke alum and parent said that he liked Duke having a major commitment to sports not just for the games to attend, but because the large number of athletes in the small school made the grading curve much easier.</p>
<p>An amusing aspect of Elon’s sports program is that last year its football team won as many games as its basketball team–despite playing 20 fewer games. Their conference plays in the second tier of divison 1 in football. Do most northern kids get very excited when Elon plays its rivals who they may never have heard of–its home football opponents this year are Shaw, Samford, Wofford, Furman and Western Carolina? </p>
<p>I think junior year or semester abroad or away programs help a lot of kids avoid feeling stale. I would be interested in a poll of whether big school kids are less antsy by senior year–when I went to law school, the saying was “Tthe first year they scare you to death; the second year they work you to death; and the third year they bore you to death.” </p>
<p>Just as many kids suffer senioritis in HS, I think lots of kids, wherever they are, by the last year have a “been there, done that” feeling and are anxious to move on. This might be different for kids who as seniors are leaders of groups (which is easier in a small school), athletes, actors, etc.</p>
<p>A lot also depends on how adventurous your child is–a student who yearns to explore big cities will feel more confined in an rural school than a student who loves weekends playing basketball and video games with friendly kids from the dorm.</p>
<p>And you are so right about the need to change 30 year old images of schools–back then, Miami and Boston U were party schools and Holy Cross, BC and Wake and most others much, much easier to get into.</p>
<p>Hey, I went to BU 30 years ago! I worked pretty hard in the (now defunct) nursing program there and I partied pretty hard on the weekends. I do recall that Sunday nite was .25 cent screwdriver nite and Thursday nights were dollar/pitcher night over at Father’s Too (a popular BU bar).</p>