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My mom isn't very enthusiastic about my college list.

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BrokenBlossoms36
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06 Apr 2016, 4:06 pm

Darmok wrote:
Everyone's situation is of course different and individual. But I'm much more positive about the opportunities you will have than some people here. In financial terms it is true that you have to be cautious, and taking out *loans* is almost never a good idea and should be avoided. However, if you can get by with grants/scholarships, part-time campus jobs, and family payments, then I think going away to college will be a wonderful experience for you.

Once you are accepted, ask about getting a part time job in the campus library -- that's one of the best jobs you can get, and it will immediately plug you in to the best groups of people, both students and faculty. You can also try to work as an assistant for a professor, either in a lab or perhaps doing library research. Attach yourself right away to good groups of people, and avoid the partiers/drunks/frat houses like the plague. There will be plenty of niches for you.

Care to mention what colleges you are considering? There are many good small places in Vermont, as you know already.


I always thought I'd be good at working in a library so that's a really good idea. I'm not sure about my financial plan yet but I'll probably apply for financial aid and maybe find a scholarship or two.

Here's a list of the colleges I'm considering:
Hampshire College in MA
Marlboro College in VT
Mount Holyoke in MA
Augsburg College in MN
Willamette University in OR
Eckerd College in FL



Feyokien
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06 Apr 2016, 4:16 pm

^ In relation to the above list of schools :lol:, I know why my advice was ignored.

Feyokien wrote:
the liberal arts and sciences tend to be where people run into large amounts of trouble


If you really think you can make it, go for it, especially if those schools have good records for having graduates finding jobs. My advice more of pertained to Public universities and such, but I'm assuming private universities tailored for the Lib Arts and Sciences, if you can afford them, have much better connections for those fields. Best of luck :)



Darmok
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06 Apr 2016, 5:58 pm

BrokenBlossoms36 wrote:
Here's a list of the colleges I'm considering:
Hampshire College in MA
Marlboro College in VT
Mount Holyoke in MA
Augsburg College in MN
Willamette University in OR
Eckerd College in FL


Marlboro is a tiny beautiful place, with a very strong sense of community I think, and a good academic reputation. Mount Holyoke is very well known, also with a strong academic reputation and a distinguished history; it's all women, of course, which may be good or bad depending on your outlook. I'm afraid I could not recommend Hampshire anymore to anyone -- it's gone so far off the radical leftist deep end that it's more like a cult headquarters than a real college. If you got a degree from Hampshire College, you might get a few raised eyebrows in the job market from people familiar with the place.

Eckerd is similar in style but completely opposite in climate -- it's literally on the beach, with White Ibises walking around on the lawns. It also has a good academic reputation.

There are also a number of liberal-arts-style state college campuses in New England that you might consider, especially if finances are an issue. You would have the out-of-state tuition rate, but it would still be a lot cheaper than (say) Mount Holyoke, I expect. Places like the Mass. College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, or Castleston State in Vermont, or U. Maine at Machias -- all these are similar in size to the places you're looking at. (And there's no place like New England in the Fall.) :D


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