@“apathetic panda” I think there were vegetarian and vegan options at the Stevens dining hall, but I only had lunch there one day. I’d suggest posting to the Stevens board here on College Confidential as there are two or three parents of current Stevens students who are pretty good about answering questions.
@tpcrd66 Not only is the dining hall at Muhlenberg amazing but the food that comes out of there is great as well. They made a mushroom risotto that made it hard to justify going off campus to eat when we would go to visit. Best of luck with DD18!
@“apathetic panda”
This is in regarding to your comment that Vassar didn’t have many middle income students, in your assessment.
This article places Vassar in among the top 10 for having middle income students, interestingly. (scroll down for the chart)
I may not be reading the chart right though
thanks, @ Dustyfeathers!
@“apathetic panda” …how did your trip go?!
@tpcrd66 , unfortunately, we weren’t able to see as many schools as we intended because of all the exciting alternatives in NYC, coupled with some bad weather that made us decide to nix a couple of tours. We did do tours at Lafayette (thumbs up), Muhlenberg (unfortunately, thumbs sideways), and Fordham Lincoln Center (also sideways).
Lafayette seemed very vibrant, with a great campus layout and walkable proximity to at least a few restaurants in a town that seems to be on the upswing. The students seemed more diverse, racially and otherwise, than we expected, which was a huge plus, and the modern library was very appealing. Greek rush is held off until sophomore year, which was a positive, although Greek life might still be a more than ideal focus (from the perspective of someone uninterested in Greek life). The tour guide was friendly, intelligent, and seemed happy to be there. The info session was ok. Lafayette and Muhlenberg are similar in size, but Lafayette seemed bigger and more exciting by far, at least to us.
Muhlenberg didn’t live up to the high hopes we pinned on it. The general student feel wasn’t diverse or eclectic enough (of course, this is a matter of personal preference) and there seemed to be more emphasis on religious life, based on comments by the tour guide than expected (again, a matter of personal preference, obviously). The campus layout also wasn’t particularly enticing. Also, they were one of the few schools that asked for a pretty detailed sheet of high school stats in advance, but made no reference to them in the small info session or follow up letter. Also, the follow up letter emphasized in BOLD that an in-person interview was HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, which was a little off-putting for a high stats, OOS student who had already visited the campus. We thought the feel would be friendlier, more interesting, and more vibrant. Last, the area was more suburban than we anticipated. Won’t apply.
Finally, Lincoln Center was architecturally really incredible. The new freshman dorms are in a high rise with amazing views (our tour group was allowed to enter the occupied room of some very pleasant students while they were in the room, which was nice but a bit awkward) and there’s a great central grassy area between all of the buildings. We also liked the underground corridors connecting the buildings. The Manhattan location is fantastic if that’s what you’re looking for. The well-attended info session was incredibly rote and non-informative if you read anything about the school ahead of time. Also, there was a surprising lack of bustle. After this tour, the decision was made that it is not worth the time to visit religious schools because they are probably a better fit for other people. Won’t apply.
FYI, we did all of the visits on school days while class was in session.
@“apathetic panda” …glad you had some success! Sorry you didn’t have great weather but hope you had some fun here in the Big Apple!
@tpcrd66, thanks - we had a fantastic time!! We hope to visit again soon.