Thanks to the Kliman family for providing this summery of their recent trip.
The campus is well-maintained; flowers, grass, fountains. One of us thought it looked rather like a country club. It has two moderately large swimming pools. They are not for the sport; they are for the students. The grounds are very nice, the buildings well-maintained and clearly (from the naming) the result of good fundraising. The cafeteria is large, pleasant, and the food is good. Our visit included student visits to classes, a guided tour for the family and an informal interview from someone in admissions with the potential student.
Our tour guide was a delightful student from Ecuador, very enthusiastic and clear about the advantages of a college that has no big lectures, only small classes that never get above 30 students and often hover around 8-12. She described the student community in very warm terms and was upbeat, informative and encouraging. Our daughter loved a class in Anatomy and Physiology; they were reviewing a recent test. She felt the teacher was excellent and showed that even very difficult material can be made understandable; i.e., she answered questions in depth and with an eye to whether the students understood the material. Strong departments seem to be music, communications, aviation, liberal arts, education, and business.
There is an excellent support program for students with learning differences. Each person in that program has an individualized plan that aims at academic independence by senior year. Tutors have masters and doctorates as well as real life experience in their fields. We heard very positive feedback about the support program from current students.
