Christopher has been talking about attending Reed College in Portland, OR for the last two years. Now the time has come for him to get serious about his choices and decision. On Monday the 14th I decided to go online and see if and when Reed would have an admissions representative in our area. Holy cow, there was a rep. coming to Carmel, IN (just northwest of Indianapolis) the very next day.
I asked christopher if he was interested in going. Yes he was. I called Zeke's mom and talked to her. They wanted to go also. The four of us made the trip on Tuesday after school.
The college fair was sponsored by a non-profit organization called Colleges That Change Lives. It is an organization that highlights the 40 best (in their opinion) private, liberal arts colleges.
Christopher did not spend much time talking to the Reed representative. He figured that he already knows a lot about Reed, so he invested his time talking to other colleges. Beloit College intrigued him. It is an immersive learning experience. Students that attend Beloit are not passive students that sit in class and take notes. These students are expected to be actively involved in class, the campus, and the community. the representative said that, "If a prospective student does not want to be up to the elbows involved, please don't attend Beloit. We are not the right school for you."
Christopher asked about their Anthropology and Chemistry departments. They have the only college anthropology museum that is staffed by students. They are supposedly world-known for their anthropology program. As far as chemistry goes, they just opened their $38 million "green" science building. I can't remember how many stories it is, but classes from different departments (chemistry, biology, physics, etc.) are intermingled on the floors. The classes communicate together because the faculty believes that the sciences relate to each other in many ways.
Wisconsin is much closer than Oregon. Beloit is less expensive than Reed. These are two good reasons for us to look into Beloit College a little more seriously.
I am the mom of a Reed sophomore and a Beloit senior. They are both great schools, but I must admit I have a special fondness in my heart for Beloit. They have a more open curriculum and emphasize "real world" learning more than Reed, and my daughter has thrived there. Beloit has TRULY changed my daughter's life. :) If you have the opportunity, be sure to visit both colleges. While both can be great schools for the right student, there are very real differences between them, and only time on campus will highlight those differences. Beloit has that friendly mid-western feel and makes sure everyone feels welcomed and included. Reed, while a great place, has more of a "we're special" attitude and those differences permeate the two campuses but are not readily apparent from talking to their admissions representatives or reading their websites. Both a great schools, but not right for everyone. So, do visit!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Reed may come out ahead for some areas, but when it comes to anthropology and archeology, Beloit has the superior program. Beloit also sends more students on to doctoral programs in Anthro than Reed (actually, Beloit and Bryn Mawr are the two top producers of doctoral students -- Bryn Mawr is out for your son though.) Beloit's anthro department offers some incredible opportunities for a small school, including the amazing Logan Museum (link: http://www.beloit.edu/logan/) and summer field studies as well. And, Beloit's museum studies minor is a plus for anthro majors. Finally, it is entirely possible to double major at Beloit (or like my daughter have one major and two minors) because of their open curriculum. The sciences are strong at Beloit as well -- their brand new science building puts Reed's facilities to shame. Reed makes it incredibly difficult to double major, and that has been a big disappointment for my son. Again, both are great schools, but Beloit is hardly a "back up" to Reed, and is, in my opinion, one of the true hidden gems among small liberal arts colleges. Do visit both.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing: in three years, the largest class that my daughter has had at Beloit had 20 students. That was an introductory science course. Note: I am not talking about 20 kids in the lab portion of the course, but 20 kids total in the course.
ReplyDeleteThis is my son's second year at Reed, and he has had several large lecture courses (50+) at the intro level. True, the lectures break down into small discussion courses, but at a small liberal arts college, one would expect classes to be taught more along the lines of Beloit's approach than Reed's (especially as we are paying a lot more for Reed!).
If your son visits, have him ask admissions to set up an appointment to talk to Professor Rob Lefleur in the anthro department. One of my daughter's favorite teachers, and a conversation with him when she visited in junior year contributed to her decision to choose Beloit over several other colleges. Beloit's admissions office is MORE than happy to set up appointments for prospective students to talk with faculty, and I highly recommend doing so. One of the other teachers my daughter talked to in Junior year remembered her when she showed up in his intro course a year and a half later -- and has since become a mentor and valued friend.
Again, Reed is a great school in many ways. But, for kids who are interested in a lot of different subjects, and who want a lot of room and flexibility to explore, Beloit is my choice.
I am sorry to sound like such an insane Beloit fanatic, but it really is a wonderful place. :) In addition to Beloit, other colleges that are favorites of mine in the midwest are Carleton College, Lawrence University, Grinnell College, Macalester, Kalamazoo, Knox, and St. Olaf. All of these can give Reed a run for the money in terms of being happy places with excellent academics.
Insane Beloit mom is signing off now. LOL.