Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Cornell University is unusual in that it houses four private and three public colleges.  If you are a New York state resident that means you can have the opportunity to get an Ivy League education at a state school price.  Cornell is well known for rigorous academics.  The engineering, architecture, and hotel administration programs are especially strong. 

The campus is spread out and very beautiful.  Gorges, ravines, waterfalls, lakes, and parks are all around.  The weather can be cold and snowy for much of the year. 

Freshmen live together on North campus.  Cornell's food is the best I've had on a college campus, hands down.  Greek life is popular and hockey is the most popular sport on campus.  There are more than 600 extracurricular clubs to get involved with.  Collegetown, which is next to campus, offers students plenty of restaurants and bars.

If you have visited or attended Cornell University lately, share your observations.

Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ

A student who wants a pre-professional or liberal arts education in a private school with small classes near the beach might find Monmouth University to be a good fit. The school is set on 156 acres and includes Woodrow Wilson Hall, a National Historic Landmark (pictured to the right).

The school has just under 4000 undergrads with housing on campus for 2000 undergrads.  Classes are small with an average class size of 22 and no lecture halls.  Experiential learning is part of the graduation requirement (e.g., internships, co-op education, and service learning courses).  Bachelors and Masters degrees can be completed in 5 years.  There is an Honors programs with a Senior thesis and special housing (if desired).  Merit awards of up to $16K a year are available.

The school has Division 1 athletics featuring excellent soccer teams, a nice athletic center, and sports fields.  There are 70 student groups with an involvement fair each semester.  Greek life, travel abroad, music, drama, theatre, a radio station and a TV station are available.  Students can travel to NY by train. 

If you've visited or attended Monmouth U, share your observations.

Time to Plan February College Visits

If you are a high school student with time off from school on President's weekend, plan a college visit.  On a week day during your break, visit a college that is in session.  Sign up, if needed, for a tour, information session, and to sit in on a class.  Take notes and photos to capture your college visit.

• For Seniors, visit or re-visit schools you have been accepted to (or are waiting to hear from).  Include an overnight stay if possible.
• For Juniors, who have a list of colleges they are considering, pick a school that is on your list. 
• For students who don't yet know what schools they are considering, use a visit to a nearby college to help you understand college characteristics better (e.g., whether you like big or small schools, whether you like city schools or schools in the suburbs, to see how you feel about a large lecture).

Share what schools you visited and what you learned.

Lafayette College

If you are looking for a small school with strong engineering, science, and liberal arts, as well as Division I sports and a formidable Greek presence, Lafayette may be for you. Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania has a main campus of about 100 acres with an additional 212 acres of athletic fields for its 2400 students.

Freshmen and sophomores participate in small seminars.  Over half the students study abroad and over 45% do community service.  There are more than 250 clubs. Top students may qualify for the Marquis Scholars merit scholarships of a minimum of $20,000 per year.

If you've visited Lafayette College recently or are a student there, share your thoughts on the college.

Questions Homeschoolers May Want To Ask

Homeschoolers may want to ask the following questions when they consider or visit a college:


1. As a homeschooler, how should I apply?

2. How many homeschoolers applied last year and how many were admitted? How does this compare with the overall admittance rate?

3. What are your policies for dealing with high school homeschoolers?

4. How do you evaluate homeschoolers? How is it different from how you evaluate other applicants?

5. How does the documentation you require from homeschoolers differ from applicants from small, private, unaccredited schools?

6. What concerns do you have about homeschoolers?

If you are a homeschooler who has recently visited or applied to a college, what questions did you ask because you are a homeschooler?

The College of New Jersey

If you want to go to a state college in New Jersey, but Rutgers feels way too big to you, there are plenty of other choices. The most academically challenging of your alternatives is The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), a school with an undergraduate enrollment of about 6000. TCNJ has a beautiful 289-acre campus in the suburbs with brick buildings, mostly in the Georgian style. The school has liberal arts, business, and education. The classes are small with the biggest class being 40 students and there are plenty of opportunities for research, internships, projects, and study abroad.

Everyone on your floor in the freshman dorm is in the same freshman seminar and there are 2 roommate switch dates just in case your freshman roommate doesn’t work out. Ninety-five percent of freshmen return for their sophomore year, while the average retention for state colleges is only sixty-seven percent. Popular activities include two big concerts per year; dances, concerts, movies, and parties; and free and low cost day trips to NY, Philly and Princeton. There are few classes on Wednesdays so clubs and sports meet then. It is easy to get involved but you need to be proactive about it. TCNJers are friendly, but it gets harder to meet people after freshman year.

I have one caveat for all NJ state colleges. With the NJ economy in the doldrums, state budget cuts may impact school quality, tuition, or a student’s ability to finish in four years.

For additional photos of TCNJ, check out the Slosberg College Solutions Facebook page.  If you have attended or visited TCNJ recently, share your impressions.

Bryn Mawr College

If you’re considering a women’s college, Bryn Mawr may be right for you. The beautiful campus is in the Philly suburbs, and the nearby train will take you downtown in twenty minutes. The school has a fine liberal arts program with a high percent of graduates continuing for a Ph.D., a strict academic honor code, and strong educational and social ties to nearby coed Haverford. The student body participates heavily in travel abroad and almost the entire student body lives on campus.
 
When you consider Bryn Mawr, also look closely at Haverford since you have the opportunity to take classes there. Bryn Mawr also has relationships with Swarthmore and University of Pennsylvania.

The school was impressive, but the article that I subsequently read about our tour guide, Jomaira Salas, was inspiring. She is making a difference in the community.  If she is representative of the Bryn Mawr woman, you will be in good company.