Coming out of her shell.
The 36 will open doors …and merit at those that give.
That’s awesome. If you go see Pitzer check Oxy.
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Okay, I’m going down rabbit holes thinking about tacking on some schools to our spring break trip.
I would like her to see Mount Holyoke to get a sense of a women’s college but they (and the other school’s in the consortium are on break and don’t have tours). Is it worth visiting Mount Holyoke and Amherst without tours? Or we could go to Vermont and see Middlebury (also no tours) and University of Vermont. Or do I just leave it at BBC and Clark?
We watched an Amherst video last night and D said if looked good but the kids were too normal. 
So what schools on her list have more non normal kids? lol I’m guessing she means just a little alternative - maybe Doc Martens , colorful hair, goth? Who knows.
Bates
Bowdoin
Carleton
Clark
Colby
Lewis and Clark
Macalester
Middlebury
Mount Holyoke
Oberlin
Pitzer
Scripps
University of Oregon
University of Vermont
Willamette
Of your list I would say UVM, Oberlin and Mt Holyoke will have the most kids that look less normal :). I’m not familiar with any west coast schools so don’t know about those. Middlebury and UVM are close enough to visit together, but Middlebury kids will look similar to Amherst I think.
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I know you’re not planning your west coast trip yet, but more alternative, purple hair, piercings and Doc Martens will be highly visible at Lewis and Clark, Willamette, and probably U of Oregon, although Oregon will have a wide variety in addition. As for New England - Mt Holyoke and Smith (not on your list but a good visit since it’s nearby) will both represent in this area. I wouldn’t visit the women’s colleges without students on campus, my daughter’s view of them was influenced significantly by seeing lots of students around.
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We’re doing Oregon over the summer.
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Remember that it’s not necessary to visit everywhere before you apply. You could toss in a few applications for schools you have not visited (especially schools she’s very likely to get into, like MHC), and then you can see what your choices are next year. If you don’t visit and decide to apply (or have a plan to apply if ED doesn’t work out), try to sign up for an interview or virtual tour or info session to demonstrate interest.
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Thanks. That’s very true. I think we just need to make sure she visits any potential ED schools.
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Do you think that Amherst or Middlebury offer anything “better” than BBC for environmental studies?
I don’t know about “better,” but environmental studies is every bit as great at Middlebury. Not sure about Amherst.
All of these schools have strong environmental studies programs … but Middlebury’s is nationally famous, particularly if you are interested in the human/social/cultural side of environmental studies (for which its strengths make it stand out, though it also has excellent scientists). In addition to a strong regular faculty, they include such scholars-in-residence as Bill McKibben… I would put it a definite step ahead of BBC and Amherst, which I would see as more similar (strong for sure).
There are definite reasons that a student interested in Env Studies might still select BBC or A, and get a great education with great outcomes, but Middlebury (like Oberlin) has a national reputation for ES that is hard to beat.
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I don’t know much about ES but D mentions being interested in ecology.
And now I’m going down the rabbit hole of how the heck do students get back and forth to these schools for breaks?!?
Regional airports in Portland, Burlington, and Manchester. Buses and trains to Logan. It would be a good idea to look at each college’s website to check out available transportation options to bus stations, train stations, and airports.
Coming to and from New England (beyond the Boston area) when you live well outside the region means long travel days, but it is doable.
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Many students go to college with a somewhat undefined interest in nature or the environment or ecology. Typically such students have only had Environmental Science, Biology, or Chemistry as related courses in high school (with rare exceptions for schools that offer additional environmentally focused electives). They might have volunteered or been in an environmentally themed club.
For such students it can be really tricky to figure out how their interest or passion translates into a particular major - they have not had experience with many of the possible options at the college level. These include: Environmental Science (interdisciplinary within the sciences, including biology, chemistry, and earth or geosciences), Environmental Studies (interdisciplinary between the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences), Biology/Ecology (a science degree focused just in biology), or environmental study within any other traditional discipline (like majoring in political science, with an environmental policy focus, or economics with an environmental economics focus, or chemistry with an environmental chemistry focus, etc.). There are also some schools which offer versions of Outdoor/Environmental Education; Recreation; Forestry, etc.
My biggest recommendation to students is to be open minded and take a schedule your first year that allows exposure to the environmental sciences and studies (ie, an intro environmental studies course and perhaps an intro biology or geoscience course), as well as an elective or two in traditional disciplines that excite you. Hopefully, you will quickly figure out what appeals to your way of thinking, at the very least helping to identify if your interests fall within the environmental sciences or the more interdisciplinary environmental studies.
For college selection, that means identifying schools with a broad range of environmental options that are not just found in one narrow corner of the curriculum.
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Thank you. That is very helpful. She has taken Bio and AP ES at school. In her zoo volunteer program she has worked with partula snails and is going to work with American burying beetles. She enjoyed going to ESSYI last summer. She applied to a local program that does field research. She loves the ocean, but doesn’t have a strong interest in marine science at this time.
She is very outdoorsy. She likes hiking and kayaking and such. She has been looking at different schools outing clubs.
D23 attends Mount Holyoke but has visited some of the other schools on your east coast list. Though I never visited the MIddlebury campus I have been to that area of Vermont. Middlebury would be the hardest campus to get to from the schools listed. They did restart the Amtrak train recently there is a station in Middlebury but not sure how often the train runs. The campus looks amazing in videos and pictures and there will be plenty of outdoor opportunities. If you were to visit in the spring during break the drive would be long from Clark. I’m from the Worcester area. We visited Bates, Colby, and Bowdoin in the summer of 22. Only an official visit at Bates. Visits when schools are on breaks can be hard for some kids to picture themselves especially more isolated campuses like Middlebury, Colby or Mount Holyoke as they are all small and sometimes a little more spread out. D23 didn’t apply to any of the Maine schools as her applications were a little closer to home. She considered Bates the most because she could have her car on campus as a first year. She has her car at Mount Holyoke. I don’t think you need a car at Mount Holyoke or Bates and most students with cars drive other students without cars to the grocery store etc. Students that are not from the Mount Holyoke area tended to go home with other students from the area for Thanksgiving and then went home for Winter Break not sure about spring break but the dorms do remain open you just have to notify housing. If you were to visit Amherst even on break there would be more activity because the campus is right in town and many students live off campus (mostly UMASS) and would still stay in the area. There is transportation between the schools in the consortium and D23 has 2 friends taking classes at UMASS Amherst this semester. Clark is a totally different vibe from all the other schools listed with it’s urban location. D23 was accepted to Clark with a great merit scholarship and aid package but unfortunately it was a little too close to home. Clark would be probably be the easiest school to get to with a regional airport in Worcester and the commuter rail to Boston. I call the look at Mount Holyoke eclectic. You have a great list of schools to look at. D23 is not a stem major so no advice there. D23 was a 3 season runner in hs but not at Mount Holyoke. There is a nice running/walking path on campus and an indoor outdoor track as well as small pond. Phys Ed is required for several semesters and D23 enjoys the requirement. No running club but I think an outdoor/hike? group. Close to hiking options. A great list of schools to tour. I would look at some of the consortium school options with the Worcester colleges and the 5 college consortium. I would also research the 12 College Exchange since Mount Holyoke, Amherst, and Bowdoin all take part. Good luck with tours and feel free to ask any questions.
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Thanks. Middlebury seems the hardest to get to, plus Southwest doesn’t fly to Burlington.
Right now she likes Macalester the best of the schools that we have visited. It is so easy to get to. Macalester and Oberlin would be super easy transportation wise and have direct flights. But I don’t want her to pick a school based on that.
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The Ethan Allen Express operates daily between Burlington and NYC, with one train in each direction. The train leaves Middlebury around 11 am and arrives at NYC Penn Station around 5:45 pm. In the other direction, the train leaves NYC at 2:19 pm and arrives in Middlebury at 8:50 pm. The train also stops in Albany, which has an airport. That trip is just under 4 hours. The college offers shuttles to Burlington’s airport during breaks. That trip is about 50 mins.
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Still trying to finalize our spring break plans. We are definitely going to Bates, Bowdoin, and Colby. We’re trying to decide if either Amherst if Middlebury is worth the visit.
D25 really wants to ED to get top choice once she figures out what that is. I really don’t care if she Eds or not.
Is Macalester at the same “level” as BBC etc?
Out of Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Amherst, and Middlebury…
Do you think research opportunities are easier at any over the others?
What about internships?
Are any better for an introverted, non-partier who will likely do outing club activities?
Thanks.
I think Middlebury is worth a visit if you include UVM. S24 will probably end up at UVM for environmental science and D26 (who seems similar to D25) absolutely loved Burlington and the campus vibe. If you do visit UVM, be sure to stop by Rubenstein and ask about research opportunities/internships.
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