If not Bucknell, what about Susquehanna?

[PatsGirl]

Some other posts are certainly v. Bucknell for a variety of reasons and I appreciate all the comments and opinions that I'm reading about all the colleges in that PA area. Susquehanna is another one on our list that no one has mentioned. The one thing we don't mind about Bucknell (and the area) is that it is rural. The other locations DD is seriously considering are also very rural so no difference there (western Mass, Maine, upstate NY) and there are a few in more urban areas but she hasn't really liked the fact they are so close to or in the city.

So Susquehanna? Anyone?

 

[jerseygal]

Bucknell, Lehigh, Lafayette, imo are much better schools!

With that being said, obviously there are many different "tier" universities which are great fits for students... There is a "college" for every student, so individual!

Have you researched www.studentreviews.com? With both of our sons, found it "very much on point"...Read the student reviews extensively for both boys...Extremely VALUABLE!!!

IMO, gives you great information on culture, partying, academic life, social life, etc!!!

GOOD LUCK in your son/daughter decision making!

 

[PatsGirl]

True, its selectivity is more on par with University of Scranton. We are looking at both as financial safeties (assuming very generous merit aid awards). DD will be accepted at nearly every school she wants to attend, paying for it is another story so we are broadening our scope.

 

[PlutoPony]

Have you researched www.studentreviews.com?

That link is now redirected, going to a website that's not particularly useful with very few B+M schools. Have they changed their web address by chance?

 

[jerseygal]

Try this...www.studentsreview.com.

IMO, "the real deal", not what a university wants the tour guide to tell you or show you!

Hope that it works and you and your student find it useful!

 

[Procrastinate]

A good forum for discussion colleges is http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/

 

[deedeetoo]

I took a look at the studentsreview website. I was originally misdirected also but then typed in the name and got there.

Just FYI, I've been following these threads about college as my daughter is just starting to think about where she wants to go. My issues with that website is that their really aren't many reviews. For one school she is interested in there are only 125 reviews (when thousands graduate every year) and many of the complaints are specific to the individual's situation and the good reviews are along the lines of "go to this school, its great" Are there other websites that have reviews by students?

edited to add: just saw the college confidential one. You were posting while I was typing.

 

[PatsGirl]

I also just took a look at the studentreviews website and not impressed. I looked at a total of 10 schools on DD's list. I understand that they are written by the students themselves but honestly for college students/graduates their writing skills are pretty elementary and their insight rather shallow. Some almost seem vengeful.

College confidential makes me chuckle alot although I have managed to extract much useful information from the forums. It does seem, like a pp said in another thread of this sort, all the students are AP, with 4.0 GPA, and everyone is getting into Ivys Not a whole lot of action by those with "middle" students.

I'm not sure how to get a good idea of what a school is like. So far, we are using visits, talking to counselors, asking about them in forums like this, doing background information on locations, physical space, dining, dorm sizes, etc.

In the end, every single, without exception, student I have talked to about their college says they love(d) it. I have asked at least two dozen kids, in all phases of their four years, a few already graduated, and they all think they are in the best school.

Maybe, the school is what you make it? I do believe that a student can get a great education in almost every college/university if they set their mind to it. I hope the same can be said about the college "experience" itself.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

I took a look at the studentsreview website. I was originally misdirected also but then typed in the name and got there.

Just FYI, I've been following these threads about college as my daughter is just starting to think about where she wants to go. My issues with that website is that their really aren't many reviews. For one school she is interested in there are only 125 reviews (when thousands graduate every year) and many of the complaints are specific to the individual's situation and the good reviews are along the lines of "go to this school, its great" Are there other websites that have reviews by students?

edited to add: just saw the college confidential one. You were posting while I was typing.

DD has a handful of schools she is looking at and I just discovered this website this past week. Most of the reviews seem overwhelmingly negative! I was worried when I looked at her first choice school, then I realized the website is just a bunch of griping, no matter the school. I also agree that the grammar is so bad for some students, I'm not sure how they even got into college. And the complaints are funny- too much partying, not enough partying, classes too hard, classes too easy....for the same school.

 

[scubamouse]

Dickinson is another good option. Competes with Bucknell for students but may have more aid to offer.

Ursinus is another option closer to Susquehanna in terms of states. They have been very generous in merit aid and I know they've increased grants when they really want a student.

 

[czycropper]

My DH graduated from Susquehanna and really loved it! He wishes that my DD would at least look at the school but she keeps saying NO! I have gone with him for some reunions and I will tell you that it's very rural but it seems to have a big sense of community - all the kids know each other, I guess that happens when it's a small school.

If she's looking at rural school, I think she should go visit.

We're going to UPenn & Temple later this week. And will be traveling up to Boston in Nov. to visit about 5 schools - we'll be there Tues-Sat.

Enjoy your visits!!!

 

[leebee]

The one thing we don't mind about Bucknell (and the area) is that it is rural. The other locations DD is seriously considering are also very rural so no difference there (western Mass, Maine, upstate NY) and there are a few in more urban areas but she hasn't really liked the fact they are so close to or in the city.

I lived 3 years in Lewisburg, PA, and am now in Orono, ME (and have lived in Maine for 16+ years). If your DD is looking at Bates, Colby, or Bowdoin, I can tell you that these locations are vastly different from Lewisburg. At least the Maine schools have proximity to Portland, an exciting small, developing city where students will head for a day trip (heck, we'll go for the day from here, and it's a 2 hour drive) to shop, eat, browse the Old Port, go to museums, hike the coastal paths, etc. Lewisburg isn't near much except Harrisburg- and I promise you, nobody is going to Harrisburg for a fun afternoon or evening. There is rural and then there's isolated- and Lewisburg is isolated!

 

[marcyinPA]

My DH was going to go to Susquehanna, but chose community college instead because of a girl... I was not the girl! I teach with someone who went there and she loved it. My son has a friend who went there for two years but has moved back home. It wasn't the school- he just wasn't digging being away and is still uncertain what he wants to do with his future.

Someone mentioned Dickinson. Great school. My bil and my niece are both alumni.

How about Lebanon Valley? Probably along the same lines at Susquehanna. My friends DS goes there and he LOVES it.

 

[jrmasm]

Elizabethtown and York College might be similar to Susquehanna.

 

[PatsGirl]

leebee ~ thank you for making the "rural" clear to us. I had no idea. And yes, DD is looking at those three schools in Maine. WHile I think it is important to see each campus if possible I think its just as important to see the area. We've only been to PA once and it was a short trip to Dutch Country about 15 years ago so its all new to us both.

Thanks everyone for the other ideas. I'll have to spend some time looking up the various schools. Hate to miss something while we are there, doubtful we'll go back until/unless acceptance letters come in and she chooses to revisit before deciding.

 

[PlutoPony]

One other thing to consider about smaller, rural schools is do a large chunk of the students go home for weekends? Being from further away means not getting home often and you probably don't want to be one of a small minority left on campus during the weekends, especially at a small school. Some of the these schools draw primarily from a fairly local geographic area and going home regularly is just the way it is. Yes - I've been in this position and really dreaded weekends for a while....

Good luck in your search!

 

[MouseMomx2]

Maybe, the school is what you make it?

Most definitely! Any school can give you the education, it is what you do with that education that matters. Any school will offer activities/sporting events/clubs/etc., but it is up to the student to participate. Any school can help you by providing interview opportunities, but you still have to go into that room, be personable and sell yourself. And this isn't just true of colleges...it is true of all aspects of life.

 

[DopeyDame]

I missed the bucknell thread, so I'm not sure what feedback you got there.
As a PP mentioned, though, Bucknell and Susquehanna aren't in the same league competitiveness/prestige-wise. That isn't a knock on Susquehanna necessarily - I don't know much about the school at all - but I definitely wouldn't think of it as an "instead of Bucknell" school if you can get into Bucknell.

And I think the "school is what you make of it" may be the single most true and important thing ever written about college choices.

Good luck!

 

[leebee]

leebee ~ thank you for making the "rural" clear to us. I had no idea. And yes, DD is looking at those three schools in Maine.

Those 3 schools aren't hard to guess- you ARE talking about Maine, after all! If climate makes any difference to your DD, the climate in Lewisburg was the same as the climate we had living in E. Lansing, MI, that my MIL has outside of Cleveland, and that my family has in southern Maine and Boston. WE have a different, colder climate up here outside of Bangor, but Portland and surrounding areas have the Boston-type climate. It changes just round Augusta, so Colby might be a little colder (but oddly, not snowier) than the more southern climate band. Bates and Bowdoin will be more like Portland, weather-wise.

I hope I haven't been labeled as a Bucknell-hater, necessarily, but we have a different perspective on the school than the students, or many of the "college confidential"-type sites, might have. Also, while living in Lewisburg was very isolated, it was a nice community in which to raise children. However, I didn't work while there; there're no "professional" industries (although many small independent firms- lawyers, independent tax business, accountants, etc.) and my only options would have been minimum wage at either McD's or Walmart- or a position at one of the jails.

IDK if I mentioned it, but DD has a friend who is about to start junior year at Muhlenberg, and he absolutely loves it. It's expensive, though!

 

[JM4321]

I have had 3 kids attend Bucknell over the past 8 years, plus I have a close friend who lives nearby, so I have a pretty good perspective. I think some of the comments have been unfairly negative and sometimes inaccurate. A few comments:

1. First, Lewisburg's weather is much warmer in the winter and spring than East Lansing. Also warmer than Portland. This is easy to confirm on weather. com. That shouldn't be surprising since it is much further south than those cities. Also much lower elevation than East Lansing.

2. Lewisburg is rural but it has a great downtown that is ranked in top ten on a list of best small college towns and also appears on the National Register of Historic Places. Market Street has seen a lot of new shops and restaurants open in the past decade and is thriving. Has a lot of fairs, concerts, winter carnival etc that draw people from all over the area. Definitely one of the prettiest small town downtowns you'll see anywhere. It's not Manhattan, though, so anyone who is looking for that will be disappointed.

3. I saw a comment about horse and buggies being frequently seen on Market Street. Not sure if that was just hyperbole to show that it is rural, but it is certainly not accurate. I've been in downtown Lewisburg over 200 times in recent years and have seen a grand total of one horse. There are some Amish in the outlying rural areas however.

4. One major "professional" employer is nearby Geisinger Medical Center, which is one of the state's largest and most prestigious medical centers. A number of spouses of Bucknell professors are employed there, and many Bucknell students majoring in bio, neuroscience, biomedical engineering etc do internships there. It has almost 600 physicians and thousands of related personnel. They do a huge amount of research work as well as treating patients.

5. FWIW, Bucknell students rank among the happiest students at any U.S. college according to Princeton Review.

6. Very few Bucknell students ever go home on weekends.


As you might guess, all three of my kids loved it there and hated to leave. They all made a large number of great friends.