<p>I'm pretty sure that my college choice will come down to these two schools and I was wondering if anyone has any significant insight on the major differences between these two schools. I'm not sure yet what I want to do but I'm interested in Economics, Finance, Political Science, and other related subjects. I also want to be involved in musical theatre at whatever school I go to. </p>
<p>Thank you for any help you can offer!!</p>
<p>Have you visited the schools? I'm a central Floridian, and my school search took me to both campuses in addition to UCF, and there is a HUGE difference in the culture at the two schools, which everyone I have talked to who's been both places has noticed.
The best way I've heard Rollins discribed, not my words, but perfectly summed up my experience there, was "The Country Club." The campus is beautiful, and I fell in love with all the Spanish architecture, but the vibe was very posh and felt potentially clique-ish...I don't want to come across negatively, that was just how I felt. I'm going to leave it at that(unless you want me to keep going...), because I got that vibe off of just about everyone and I knew it wasn't the place for me, but I don't want to badmouth them, because it is a great school!
Stetson, honestly, I was kind of sick the day I went, and still managed to fall completely in love with the whole school-the campus is really nice(going to be honest, liked Rollins a little better from an architecture stand point, but we're not going to Uni to stare at buildings, are we?), the 'higher-ups' who did the entro presentation were down to earth, enthusiastic, and got me excited about my future, all the students I talked to were really nice and friendly(hard to explain the difference between from Rollins, just a different vibe). They had multiple classes during one session so you could get a feel for the learning environment, which I thought was a really cool idea, and I really enjoyed the one I went to; in that same vein, all of the teachers and advisers I and my mom have talked to have been really helpful and chatty. Stetson just has a really laid back, friendly vibe going on.
Stetson has wound up being my first choice school, which I was kind of surprised by, I'm legacy UCF through my Mom, and was really excited about being a Knight...but once I got into the application process, Stetson started looking really good, and at the open house, it just clicked. Definitely visit the schools if you can and haven't already, I'm not sure about Rollins, but Stetson has all kinds of campus stuff, including Shadow Days(you schedule, it's not a set day) where you get to go to classes, meet a professor from your intended major, eat in the cafeteria, etc.
Hope that helps! Good luck!</p>
<p>Hi, my daughter is a freshman at Rollins. I checked out this thread because my son is now looking for a college and we want to check a few out while we are in Florida visiting her over his spring break. We are looking at Stetson because many of my duaghters friends from Rollins had considered Stetson but chose Rollins (He doesn't think he wants to be at the same school as his sister).
I saw the comments about Rollins and felt compelled to share my impressions.</p>
<p>when my daughter was looking at colleges, we read all of the bolgs, books etc, and were very concerned about the 'country club' atmosphere/rich snobby kids, that everyone writes about. There were many coliques at her high school (which she was not a part of) and I was concerned that it would be even worse. But she fell in love with the school and got a great scholarship, so that is where she is going. </p>
<p>She loves the school and I have asked her about the atmosphere, and she doesn't feel that is an accurate discription of the school at all. I was very impressed with the school when we first toured, when we went to their 'summer o' (orientation) and with everyone I have been in contact with. All of the students she has met - her roommate, fellow classmates, new sorority friends, all seem down to earth, not at all snobby, even thought it is obvious that many of them have lots of money (not us :-) )</p>
<p>My recommendation, like everyone else, is to visit the college and make up your own mind. because my doughter wanted to go to a college far away (we live in WI - she wanted warm!), and because of her school schedule, we could not visit many schools before she applied. But once she was accepted and narrowed it down to a few, we visited them so she could make her decision. We both fell in love with Rollins, and I am so happy that she made this decision. She has made more friends at Rollins since September, than she did her entire 4 years at our local high school.<br>
Good luck!</p>
<p>We are seriously looking at both schools. Does anyone want to share merit awards? How generous are the schools for a kid who would easily be in the top 10% stats-wise.</p>