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Mrs. Aardvark
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Posted: Mon Apr 28th, 2008 02:18 pm |
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We've just returned from our first college visits. My daughter is a high school junior and top on her list of requirements is a school with palm trees (we all have to start somewhere....) Eckerd College has plenty of palm trees, and my daughter stats should be sufficient to get her in. We've started with Eckerd because if she does not see herself attending this school, we need to make sure she has another safety.
First, why the mother likes Eckerd. It is one of the Colleges That Change Lives, and one of the few that is near a major metropolitan area. Tuition, room and board are less than most private schools. Whereas most LACS emphasize the high achieving stats of applicants (scads of APs, stellar GPA and top drawer SATs), this is a school that is willing to work with the more average student. Freshmen arrive early in August to take a special for credit seminar. This course continues throughout the year with the same professor (mentor) and same students, providing for social and academic support from day one. Once students choose a major, they move to a mentor in their chosen subject.
As another example of their focus on undergrad education, the school offers Freshmen Research Associateships. Approx. 20 freshmen are selected to work closely with a member of the faculty on a research project of mutual interest.
Now for our visit. The sky was clear, breezes were blowing, and the temps were in the 80s. Eckerd is located just off a highway in a residential area. The feel of the area will be familiar to anyone who has vacationed in Florida. For serious helicopter parents of a certain age, I noted retirement living within walking distance. St. Pete’s Beach, where we stayed, is perhaps a 15 minute drive.
Eckerd is surrounded by water on three sides with a security gate at the entrance. Despite its beautiful setting, the architecture of most of the buildings leaves something to be desired. Although several of the buildings are newer and more stylish, notably the library, the marine science center and the building in which admissions is housed, most are non-descript concrete with flat roofs. (The tour guide did point out that most faculty offices and some classrooms open directly to the outside.) I suspect the school would be more popular if it simply had more attractive facilities.
On arrival at admissions, we found a sign outside listing all the prospective students (about a dozen) on our tour and their hometowns. I’d say about half were from Massachusetts and Maine.( Later, when the prospective students were asked their names and possible major, the boy from Florida said he hoped to “terminate with a law degree…”) The friendly woman in admissions handed out folders and water bottles with Eckerd labels. Our tour guide was a sophomore marine science major from Chicago. She was low-key and informative, also did well walking backwards.
The tour lasted an hour and half, and included a glance into a seminar-style classroom, a visit to the lecture hall, a peek into a dorm common room (a fishing rod was propped up next to an outside door). We stopped in the chapel, looked into a tank with sting rays outside the marine science building, and ogled a coed sunning herself at the small beach. We stopped in the library (more people in the library than at the beach), walked through the dining hall, and visited the waterfront, with its sailboats and kayaks. (A sign was posted, “No skateboarding.) We saw several students with dogs, which are permitted in at least one of the dorms. Some dorms had outside grills and hammocks, and one had a thriving garden. The school has “huts” for art students to work on their projects, as well as yellow communal bikes students can use to get from one point to the next.
With the exception of the dining hall, we did not see throngs of students. I did see one fellow skateboarding. Many of the young men had a skateboarder vibe; several students were completely barefoot although most wore flipflops.
Students are permitted to have cars and on campus apartments are available as a housing option.
I liked the school; my daughter could get a good education there. As for my daughter, she said she could see herself there, but that it didn’t wow her. She didn’t buy a t-shirt, although she says she will keep it on her list as a safety.
Last edited on Mon Apr 28th, 2008 02:21 pm by Mrs. Aardvark
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Mon Apr 28th, 2008 03:33 pm |
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Thanks for the review Mrs. A. I'll be visiting Eckerd myself at the end of June, but since students won't be there then, it was good to hear your impressions.
By the way, my daughter didn't buy a sweatshirt from any college we visited. She felt it was bad karma. We knew she'd decided where she was going when she asked if we could order a sweatshirt for her from the bookstore over the internet.
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outwest
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Posted: Mon Apr 28th, 2008 06:27 pm |
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I didn't know where in Florida it was located (it's a big state!), so looked it up. For others not in the know it is in St. Petersburg, Florida. Also, for those that care, I noticed it has a religious affiliation with the Presbyterian church. It sounds like a neat school and a great safety to have. None of my Ds bought Tshirts anywhere until they knew exactly where they wanted to go. Thanks for the terrific review.
Last edited on Mon Apr 28th, 2008 06:29 pm by outwest
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kdmom
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Posted: Mon Apr 28th, 2008 06:28 pm |
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Great review, Mrs. A! Thanks!
LOL - For serious helicopter parents of a certain age, I noted retirement living within walking distance. 
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defyingravity1
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Posted: Mon Apr 28th, 2008 06:31 pm |
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| As someone who said " Daddy buy me a sweatshirt at Elon (waitlisted) and Lawrence( rejected) I learned my lesson and when we went into the Earlham bookstore refrained from buying one though it was very hard. I will now though.
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Mrs. Aardvark
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Posted: Mon Apr 28th, 2008 08:04 pm |
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Although the college is associated with the Presbyterian church (chapel also had Presbyterian hymnals), our tour guide told us that some people were in the chapel every day and others never entered the chapel doors during their four years at the school. (Afterwards she said she herself is conservative and a church goer but most are not.)
I've bought my daugher t-shirts from Tulane (when I visited without her) and Smith (which she has never had any intention of attending). She also bought one at University of Miami. Since she is not big on discussing her thoughts on colleges, I am trying to read any possible signs of interest or lack thereof (she did buy a t-shirt on this trip from University of South Florida).
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Canadian
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Posted: Mon Apr 28th, 2008 11:36 pm |
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| I find the whole T-shirt thing hysterical, reading T-shirts rather than tea leaves these days.
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HijinksAndSue
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Posted: Wed Apr 30th, 2008 06:31 pm |
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My D bought a Berklee T-shirt and shorts on her first visit there, a second Berklee T-shirt and keychain/lanyard on her second visit, and a Berklee zip-up sweatshirt and sweatpants on her third (for audition and interview).
I joked (nervously) in the intervening long two months between the audition and notification that if she didn't get in, we were going to go broke buying her a new wardrobe.
I also bought myself a Berklee T-shirt on the audition/interview trip but being more superstitious did not wear it until Feb. 2 
BTW, my aunt gave her an online gift certificate to the school bookstore when she got in, and she managed to find plenty more items that she had not yet bought (another T-shirt, another sweatshirt, and a fleece blanket). The mind boggles.
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Consolation
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Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 02:57 pm |
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We knew my S had made his choice when he had H take him to the college store and buy a tshirt and a sweatshirt, which he came home wearing.
S is very frugal and hates to shop, and he would never have considered buying them had he not intended to attend!
Re Eckerd: the boy across the street from us went to Eckerd, after being rejected from every school he applied to in the normal round, much to everyone's astonishment and horror. (It seemed as if he had an appropriate list. This was about 6 years ago or so.) According to reports from his parents, he enjoyed it very much, and did very well. His first year, according to his father, he often found himself repeating material from his senior year of high school, where he was in many honors courses. (He got some Cs, and probably had some kind of mid-to-low B average and was at about the halfway point in his class due to our HS's lack of weighting, which is apparently what doomed him at the places where he originally applied. ) He enjoyed being more at the top of the academic heap than he had been in his HS honors classes, although I have the impression that after freshman year the challenge level of his courses rose to a more appropriate level for him.
I know that the D of one of our librarians went there to study marine biology, and loved it. (It's an academically-oriented family.) I think that the boy above majored in something like business and biochem. They seem to be strong in the life sciences.
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Mrs. Aardvark
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Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 04:39 pm |
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We were there on April 24th, and the admissions officer leading the info session said she had read several apps that day.
So this is indeed a school to keep in mind for last minute applications.Last edited on Thu May 1st, 2008 04:41 pm by Mrs. Aardvark
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skibum
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Posted: Sun May 4th, 2008 09:21 pm |
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| Eckerd has had some financial problems, so one might keep this in mind. There were apparently some unfortunate deccisions made in the (mis) management of their endowment, and they lost a LOT of $$$. I hear many of the buildings are in need or repair. Did you notice this?
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Mrs. Aardvark
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Posted: Sun May 4th, 2008 09:56 pm |
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I felt the campus was in good shape.
The new fitness center is in the space formerly occupied by the library, and I must say that I was somewhat taken aback by that, as it wasn't much of a space.
But the new library looked fine.
The campus has a fabulous setting -- it's just that the architectural decisions made in the past were unfortunate.
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