Agnes Scott College- Way, way, up, like to the moon up! We visited Agnes Scott College last week and it is hard to imagine D26, spouse and I more impressed. We are from Northern CA, and had never heard of the school before a school college counselor recommended it in February and now it is one of the schools at the top of the list after the visit.
Location - we knew Atlanta, and like the city, particularly because of its diverse college and young professional population with a lot of upwardly mobile black folks. But, we were unfamiliar with Decatur Georgia where Agnes Scott is located. Decatur is an absolutely lovely and charming small city. We stayed in a hotel in downtown Decatur, a short walk from to Agnes Scott. There were so many great restaurants of all types, and we had delicious food at every meal, from burgers and wings, to chicken, to nice italian, to mexican to asian noodles and ice cream. All were good. And there are a bunch of quaint shops and a MARTA station right there, to easily take public transit into Atlanta. As a town to call home base for college, it was a home run for what D26 likes.
The welcome - first of all, they did an incredible job of making us feel welcome and special. While that is by no means a reason to choose a school, when it has the other elements, it really does put it over the top and make it stand out. When we arrived to admissions, there was a little sign out front welcoming D26 and the other students visiting that day by name (because it’s a tiny school, only a couple names there). Person at the front desk gave off genuine happiness to see us and engaged in small talk in a way that felt as if she was really trying to get to know us a bit and welcome us. Then, as you enter and wait for information session and tour, they have this wonderful room of displays that walk through the experience and the key elements of their curriculum/offerings - organized by year - first year, second, junior, senior. It is really well done and gives a real sense of the experience. I don’t know who did their marketing research on both how to package a welcome and tour and packaging what is unique about them, but whoever it is really nailed this piece. It was the best impression I’ve had of any school on this. Really top notch.
The unique features that resonated - Agnes Scott is a very small women’s college (less than 900 students) that really leans into the individualized attention, and supporting students in gaining global experiences, developing leadership in their own way, and growing into their career path. They have a program called SUMMIT which starts freshman year and has a classroom element that culminates in a short study abroad trip (could be domestic too for some themes) that all freshman participate in. They also start on career development support in freshman year with mentors, etc, and have built into their program short internship opportunities for students to explore things. And, the curriculum has leadership development elements for students, often including community service elements. All of these things scaffold throughout the 4 years so that students develop into their own path for each of these. D26 loved this and said, she feels like after going through that she’d be well prepared for real “adulting” in addition to getting to explore international interests. In addition to that, it is the most diverse school of any that we have looked at. Student population is roughly 40% white, 35ish% black, 15ish% Latino, and Asian and multiracial students as well. On top of that, there are a large number of lower income and middle income students compared to a lot of small liberal arts colleges. As a non-white family, having a place were there are a ton of students of color, and not all rich kids feels like a breath of fresh air. And our tour guide, who was white, consistent with what we had read about the school, said that students really do have close, sisterhood type friendships across race and class in a way that is special. It seems like an incredible, unicorn of a place in that way.
Academics - it was clear that there are lots of students who really enjoy learning, and are really collaborative and supportive of each other. The school also has tons of resources to support students in writing, sciences, etc for such a small school. It is a quirky, nerdy type of student population where academics and clubs/activities are the center of life. No sorority scene and kids like to chill with each other more than party. Close relationships with professors like lots of LACs, and good outcomes for students, especially considering that the student population is not as privileged as some peers. D26 felt she’d thrive in this environment.
Traditions - we loved the women’s college traditions they have, like all sophomores get an Onyx ring symbolizing their becoming a part of the community. Rings have been the same for decades and lots of alums who still wear theirs. Spring senior year tradition of ringing bell when get grad school acceptance or job.
Money - every incoming student gets $25k “merit” money, and out of state students get $3k on top of that. This makes the school as affordable as a UC for us, but with a bespoke education that would be more tailored to our daughter. Not to mention, there is a real possibility D26 would get additional merit on top of that.
Overall, the school was almost a perfect fit for what our kid is looking for. Small school with collaborative environment, diverse, great support, kids who love learning, international, career and leadership supports but not overbearing or cookie cutter. The only downsides are that the population is very regional with most students from Georgia and vast majority from Southeast. But, it has skyrocketed to being one of the top two schools on D26s list. Given that she had never been to Georgia before this visit, pretty great visit overall. Regardless of what happens, Agnes Scott is a gem of a school.