<p>My D is a HS Junior from Mass. Would love descriptions of college life at Middlebury, Amherst, Georgetown and UPenn and the pros and cons for someone who does not want the wild drinking environment and would like a sense of community. Probably majoring in English. Thanks!</p>
<p>My kids ended up at Tufts and Carnegie Mellon - both medium size schools - they liked the choices and the ability to take graduate level courses. They’ve found smaller communities within the larger schools. Georgetown is the only school we visited - there was a somewhat tongue in cheek article about how to drink on campus without having people know you were drinking. My impression is that while academics are superstrong, there’s a fairly strong party culture there as well.</p>
<p>D went to a small LAC freshman year but transferred to a medium sized school (6000 or so) sophomore year. She had a very good social life at the LAC (she is not a partier), but she left for what were for her better academic opportunities. You can be happy in most any environment, but you will need to weigh the pros and cons according to your own needs.</p>
<p>That is a hard question to answer because the experience is going to be different for everyone. Will you visit these schools soon?</p>
<p>My youngest d went to a small school-Knox. She loved the intimate atmosphere. She liked knowing her professors and how she felt she could talk to them at anytime. Once when she and some fellow freshmen were lost on campus, they stopped the college president and asked him for directions. She really enjoyed her college experience and never felt that the school lacked for anything important.</p>
<p>The worm went to a U that had fewer people than his HS. However, he was surrounded by “his” people, those interested in STEM. He had opportunities in ECs he would not have had in a larger college. The President knew him from a committee. Most important, there were research opportunities.</p>
<p>DD went to a school with about 4200 undergrads. DS went to a school with about 20,000 undergrads. Both loved their schools. And both commented that they spent more time with students from their majors than with others. Reality check…even at a school with 20,000 students, YOUR kiddo is going to have their smaller circle of friends.</p>
<p>I will add…both of my kids went to college in urban areas. A school like Middlebury is going to have a vastly different personality than UPenn or Georgetown simply because Middlebury is in the middle of nowhere and UPenn and GT are in major metro areas.</p>
<p>So many ways to skin this cat and much depends on personal preference, area of study and grad school plans. D attended rural LAC (under 1000 students) and her grad school is larger uni in NYC. Polar opposites and for her, best of all worlds. Good luck with all your decisions.
S preferred mid-size urban college. I think it helps to get a feel for different options and see what variables emerge as most relevant to your decision.</p>