After reading the myriad college view books that will miraculously appear in your mailbox, after numerous information sessions and after many walking tours of college campuses, you may begin to wonder how you could ever differentiate one school from another.
It's often those things that you don't typically hear about on a tour or in an information session which give the college its personality. I love learning about a school's traditions, unique history, or fun and interesting facts which set it apart from others. Here's a little of what College Counselor
Jo Miller has discovered:
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Harvard University's alumni include seven United States presidents.
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Commencement at Williams College includes a tradition that of dropping a watch from the 80-foot spire of the college chapel. The belief is that if the watch breaks, the class will be lucky.
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At Hamilton College, each graduating senior presents the college president with a green apple; the apples recognize Hamilton's merger with Kirkland College, whose symbol was a green apple, in 1978.
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Smith College students dine by candlelight every Thursday night. And once each fall, the president announces a surprise day off from classes by ringing the college bells.
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The University of Virginia has a secret society called The Seven Society; when a member dies, the chapel bell tolls seven times.
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Grinnell College's open curriculum, where there are no core or distribution requirements, allows students to devise their own individual academic plans.
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Kalamazoo College ranks first nationwide in the number of graduates participating in the Peace Corps.
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At Kenyon, all students in each entering class are expected to take the matriculation oath and sign a matriculation book that dates back at least a century. In addition, entering freshmen gather on the steps of Rosse Hall to sing Kenyon songs before they're considered officially a part of the Kenyon community. On the day before commencement, seniors again gather on the Rosse steps to sing Kenyon songs.
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Founded in 1855 by ardent abolitionists and radical reformers, Berea College was the first interracial and coeducational college in the South. Berea charges no tuition, and all students work 10 hours each week in campus and service jobs.
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At Bates College, 96 percent of the energy used on campus is from renewable resources.
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In 2000, Centre College set a national record when 75.4 percent of their alumni contributed to the school's annual fund; the record remains unbroken.
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The University of Miami was the first university in the nation to offer athletic scholarships to female student-athletes. The first scholarships were offered in swimming and diving.
So...the next time you're on a college campus or meeting with a visiting admissions representative, don't just settle for information about student/faculty ratios, percentages of students involved in the Greek system, how many study abroad, the types of majors offered, or the number of student organizations on campus. Ask about the kind of things that give the college you're visiting its personality and its pulse. This will make it easier in the long run telling one from the other.