Day 1: Pennsylvania Schools

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Dear All,

I have logged nearly 600 miles of road time and boy does it feel nice to settle into my hotel tonight (Lancaster Arts Hotel, a national landmark) courtesy of Franklin and Marshall. I regret no pictures will accompany my postings until I return home. Until then, I will try to paint a word picture for you in the form of notes I create for myself as well.

For a visual aid to my travels, click on the "blog map" found in the first entry.

Schools Visited Today

Dickinson College, (http://www.dickinson.edu)

Student Body Population--2400

Classroom Performance of Students 48% in top 10th of high school class

Mid 50% Test Scores (if required) SAT 1190-1370, ACT 27-30

% Out of State 72 %

% Male 49%


Step onto this campus and you will be struck by the well manicured grounds, old limestone buildings and red Adirondack chairs. I met with our regional admissions officer (Bethany) prior to the tour and she is looking forward to returning to Christ School to meet with our students. She shared with me the school president's initiatives to become more diverse student body and their latest project, completion of a new science addition to accomodate a larger number of students interested in this field.

My tour guide (Heidi) was representative of the diverse student bodythat exists on campus. She is from Argentina and became interested in the school when a vice president of the school came to promote the school in her home country. As an international business major, she says she has already had a study abroad experience in China in just her second year of college. This is unusual; most students (travel overseas in their junior year. Before they graduate from Dickinson, 60% will have studied abroad .

Student Experience: Heidi recalled a freshman seminar class on the history of wine making and how enthusiastic and helpful her professor was in sharing this interest with her. The professor makes his own wine! Insnpiring professors arecommon at Dickinson, but her professor went out of his way to help her with follow-up research. Professors at Dickinson love teaching here because of students like Heidi.who are passionate about learning. Professors, not teacher assistants teach all classes, unlike what you may find at large universities.

Tour Group: Three families, one from Maryland, another from Pennsylvania and a couple from China. Parents asked all the questions. Memorable parent comment: "This campus feels safe" as we left the dormitory. Since the Virginia Tech incident, campus security is mentioned in every tour with tour guides talking about "Blue Light" stations and campus escort services.

From my tour, I remember the following additional morsels of information:

Classes are small and range from 18-35 students The teacher student/student ratio is approximately 13:1
The Quarry is a popular hang out for students and the president. Grab a coffee, study or hang out in the lounge upstairs or play pool downstairs. This is one of four eating areas on campus.
25% of population is Greek
33% play a varsity sport
Div III sports (When I visit a campus, I often find other conference schools listed in the rafters of the basketball gym. This is where you might find their competitor schools, not just with athletics, but also with admissions.
Dickinson wa declared "the Fittest Campus" accoring to a 2006 publication
Its library was "declared" one of the twelth best by another publication.
Career Planning and Placement Center: Heidi did an internship with the United Nations in NY. The school helped her get this.. Dickinson has a Monster.com equivalent online service for its alumni where students and alumni can post their resumes.
25% of students have cars. Most, says Heidi, do not want to leave campus with all of the activities available.
New $80 science building was impressive with solar panels that help facilitate light and temperature of building. The builidng was constructed with student suggestions. Meeting spaces where scattered throughout.
From school bulletin I observed: Several students (six?) received Fullbright Scholarship
Dorms are coed by wing. Rooms are spacious and have all the amenities you would expect with the exception of one. Students are notified by email once their laundry is done! Unbelievable!

Following my tour of Dickinson, I drove an hour down the road and had lunch with Peter Van Buskirk,author of Winning the College Admissions Game.

I met with Peter at the Old Hill Brewery and discussed his book, but also the competitive nature of college admissions. With 25 plus years of experience, several as VP of Enrollment Management, he reminded me of the "business" decisions admissions deans are faced with each year. These decision involve insuring presidents of their respective colleges that enrollment numbers will be met and that test scores and gpa for each class are equal to, close to, or more competitive than the year before. Parents may understand the pressure deans are confronted with when they realize that a schoolannually loses 25% of its revenue (senior class graduates) and a new class of academically gifted and talented freshmen are needed.

We also discussed the competitive nature of college admissions and he surprised me when he said there may be a slight dip in the number of students applying to colleges, but it will not decrease significantly in future years. Aware of how this might strike parents, he reminded me that "hidden agendas" as discussed in his book (level of interest, compelling life stories, special talents) are still significant factors that admissions officers consider when reviewing a file. It is important to remember that students need to keep in mind school mid 50% ranges (gpa, SAT, ACT) and be assured that there are any number of "good fit" schools from which to choose. Students just need to be realistic with their list and get to know which schools value them for their abilities (prior perfromance) in and out of the classroom.

For those of you interested in his book or free newsletter, please check out http://www.amazon.com/Winning-College-Admission-Game-Stratgies/dp/076892491X
Peter encourages you to join his free blog. Having read his book, I can tell you that you will find his thoughts both interesting and useful.

Franklin and Marshall (www.fandm.edu)

Student Body Population—2100

Classroom Performance 63% of admitted students had a cumulative gpa of 3.5 or higher

Mid 50% Test Scores (if required) SAT 1210-1380

% Out of State 68%

% Male 47 %


Another pleasant surprise. This school is in Loren Pope''s Forty Colleges that Change Lives and I understand why!

Tour Sarah, a sophomore from Princeton, NJ, is like most students who come to Franklin and Marshall. She is involved! A member of the field hockey team and sorority member, she is also an admissions ambassador. Academically, the school is strong across the board. Nearly 60 % of students complete an independent project. One student, at the age of 20, is in the process of publishing a book. During the tour, Sarah seemed to spend more time in the new science addition and performing arts facilities, leading me to believe that these might be two of the stronger areas.

What I will Take Away From The Tour

Students, here, are real go-getters. I did not sense a lot of academic pressure, but know the students do work hard/play hard. They are involved and engaged in their studies and in their extra-crricular interests. Hard to believe there is enough time in the day for everything, but they have learned valuable time management lessions in high school.

From my tour, I remember the following additional morsels of information:

People-friendly, (examples offered during tour)
-tireless worker librarian who comes to the rescue of a student in distress over a term paper,
-a writing center tutor who works with a student on his/her paper or
- all nighters in the library where bagels and coffee are delivered to students during exam time
student who made pigs and a blanket for her suitemates.
My favorite: Ben's Underground is a non-alcohol pub for students. I am told if you IM them your order, they will deliver items from their menu including their famous milk shakes!
Pride In Campus
It may have gone unnoticed, but as we walked out of the dormitory, Sarah, turned the AC down in a public hallway. My observation-many students may have let an adult handle this, but she showed she cared when she interrupted the tour briefly to take care of a cold hallway.
The grounds were immaculate and well kept. I attribute this to the overall happiness of employees as well. Sarah said the leadership here is excellent. I could tell!


Note To Parents: When touring PA, I recommend you visit Gettysburg, then Dickinson and last, Franklin and Marshall. Consider having your son spend the night on campus during which time he may sit in on classes, meet with professors and or a coach and/or experience the college at night (preferably on a Friday) While your son is spending the night on campus, you may wish to enjoy the Lancaster Arts Hotel, blocks from campus and one of two restaurants, Iron Hill Brewery or Gibraltar (expensive).

A gps makes all this manageable.

From the hotel Business Center, I am signing off untill tomorrow. Stay tuned for visits to Lehigh, Lafayette and Muhlenburg.

Best,

Kirk

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Photos

Dickinson College
This sign reflects the school's emphasis on international programs and international students.