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Any boardies with kids at College of Wooster?


prim*rose
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Dd (16) is starting to look seriously at it and likes a lot that she sees. We're thinking about going to Scot Day this weekend (or, if not this weekend, then another visit weekend this fall) and I know she'd love to chat with someone who attends. I thought I'd check here to see if anyone has a child who attends to see if they would mind answering some of her questions. It doesn't have to be in person; email would be fine as well. Thanks!

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Yes, Jane in NC's ds and my ds are both Wooster grads. There was another WTM student there though the mom's board name eludes me. (I think that student would have graduated by now as well.)

 

Anyway, the two Wooster grads I know both loved their time there and are still close to the friends they made and are still in contact with some of their professors. Jane and I have plugged the school many times over the years as we were both highly impressed with the school, the professors and the campus culture.

 

Ask away! I can alert Jane to come over to the thread -- she and I hang out with the book a week group on the chat board.

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Yes, Jane in NC's ds and my ds are both Wooster grads. There was another WTM student there though the mom's board name eludes me. (I think that student would have graduated by now as well.)

 

Anyway, the two Wooster grads I know both loved their time there and are still close to the friends they made and are still in contact with some of their professors. Jane and I have plugged the school many times over the years as we were both highly impressed with the school, the professors and the campus culture.

 

Ask away! I can alert Jane to come over to the thread -- she and I hang out with the book a week group on the chat board.

Thank you so much! Here are some of her questions:

 

What is the learning environment like - collaborative? Competitive?

 
What are the professors like? Dd is thinking of a major in physics or chem.
 
How big are the gen eds?
 
Lively campus community, or is it dead on weekends? 
 
Are there a wide range of sections for classes? In other words, are there classes that only have one section or very limited times (like only before 10 am, etc)?
 
How does the school help you figure out what to major in if you are undecided?
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Thank you so much! Here are some of her questions:

 

What is the learning environment like - collaborative? Competitive?

 

Definitely collaborative, very supportive. Lots of very smart students who don't want a competitive environment
 
What are the professors like? Dd is thinking of a major in physics or chem.
 
While they of course are doing research and aiming to get published, they are there to teach and mentor. As it is an undergrad school, there are loads of research opportunities available. My ds, for instance, who went in wanting to major in chem or physics, decided upon Geology early on, and was working in a professor's lab starting Freshman year. He did field work with the department all 3 summers, once to Iceland and three times to Utah. He attended and presented at the Geo society of America twice. All the travel was paid for by research grants and he was paid a nice stipend, too -- just as a grad student would be at a big university. 
 
 
How big are the gen eds?
 
class size or number of courses required?  I'd say my ds never had a class with more than 40 students. The nice thing about the gen ed requirements is that you could double dip -- have a course count for 2 requirements. There is lots of writing required to prepare students for the big Independent Study, the senior capstone project. 
 
Lively campus community, or is it dead on weekends? 
 
Everyone lives on campus, and there is a lot to do. Lots of clubs, downtown is an easy walk as are the movie theaters on the outskirts of town. There is a coffee shop co-op that has board games which was my ds's freshman hang out. Food is available throughout the day and late into the night -- something not necessarily true on other small campuses. 
 
Are there a wide range of sections for classes? In other words, are there classes that only have one section or very limited times (like only before 10 am, etc)
 
It is a small campus, so few sections, often only 1. I don't recall my ds having any trouble, though I could be wrong. Young adult males don't share everything with mom :tongue_smilie:  
 
How does the school help you figure out what to major in if you are undecided?
 
Students are assigned a faculty adviser freshman year -- the prof who teaches that first freshman seminar class. Some professor recruit, too. My ds had a note on his first exam asking if he'd considered majoring in geology!

 

 

 

Following :) My 11th grader is also interested in Wooster, to which I give Jane in NC the credit. She put it on my radar.

 

We are wondering what the surrounding area is like.

 

I must be the most forgettable long time poster --- I've been talking up Wooster for years now yet nobody ever remembers!! :lol:

 

Ohio is stunningly beautiful, at least to this California girl. My ds LOVED the trees, the rolling hills and farm land, the quaint small midwestern downtown. Loved that everything was so green. His classmates loved his first experience seeing snow fall from the sky! He loved having 4 seasons, and was one of the students who helped fill the arch at Kaulke Hall with snow one especially snowy winter. (The video is probably still on the webiste -- from 2015 I think.)

 

The county Wooster is in has the largest concentration of Amish in the country, and there is even a hitching post outside Walmart for the horse & buggies. There are some rowdy high schoolers (not Amish!) who will drive by from time to time and shout obscenities at the students. It was never a problem off campus, though. OSU has an extension in the area, so Wooster kids are not the only students. 

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Thank you so much, JennW! This is immensely helpful. I think the biggest thing for my dd will be the location (we live in small town Ohio, so it won't be new and shiny like it was for your ds) and possibly the time of the classes (she has a medical condition and early morning classes will be very hard on her). But definitely still on the list. 

 

Thanks again!

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Let me add for those of you who have kids with medical conditions: Wooster has doctors available by appointment, nurses 24/7.

 

I concur with Jenn except for one issue: availability of classes. My son was not always able to get into classes outside of his major. This was not always a bad thing since he was occasionally pushed into something he did not think would be terribly interesting but was.

 

Also..the writing experience begins the first semester in the First Year Seminar. Wooster students do not take a Basic Comp class in the English department; rather, they choose a writing intensive course from across the disciplines. My son, the archaeologist, took his first year seminar in the music department.

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We might be interested in Wooster, too.   Do you know if they accept dual enrollment credits?  

 

My ds entered with 7 or 8 dual enrollment credits. They accepted the credits and while it didn't shorten his stay there, or reduce our financial obligation, it allowed him some breathing room in having a lighter load a semester or two. The college is set up to be a 4 year college, to prepare students to produce a lengthy, in depth senior capstone project akin to a Master's thesis. 

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My ds entered with 7 or 8 dual enrollment credits. They accepted the credits and while it didn't shorten his stay there, or reduce our financial obligation, it allowed him some breathing room in having a lighter load a semester or two. The college is set up to be a 4 year college, to prepare students to produce a lengthy, in depth senior capstone project akin to a Master's thesis. 

 

 

Thank you!  My dd will complete high school with a lot of DE credits, but I don't expect her to complete college in under four years.  I just don't want her to have to repeat courses if she's already mastered the information.  She has a lot of interests and I'd love for her to have more room in her schedule to explore them during college.  Or, like your son, to have a lighter load (this is what happened with one of my sons as well - he entered college with over 60 DE credits).  

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