4 Colleges to Visit This Fall
Fall is for leaf peeping, but it’s also for college visits. Why not combine the two? Here are UAchieve’s recommendations for autumn trips and school tours:
Bates College, Lewiston, ME
Located in the second biggest city in Maine, Bates College is a private liberal arts college that offers Bachelor’s degrees across thirty majors. With roughly 1,800 students, the college is small in population, but big in outcomes. For example, Bates alumni include 86 Fulbright Scholars, 22 Watson Fellows, 5 Rhodes Scholars, and 12 members of the U.S. Congress. Numerous Emmy Award winners and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies also call Bates their academic home.
With their small population comes a selective admit rate of 14.1%. Unlike colleges who first entertained test optional policies during the pandemic, Bates has offered a test optional policy for over four decades. According to U.S. News, the most popular majors at the college are: “ocial Sciences; Psychology; Biological and Biomedical Sciences; English Language and Literature/Letters; Mathematics and Statistics; Visual and Performing Arts; Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics; Natural Resources and Conservation; Physical Sciences; and Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies” (2022).
Why visit in the fall? Besides being a beautiful time to visit the campus itself, you can make the most of the trip by taking an autumn drive on gorgeous Route 26, including a stop at Maine Wildlife Park and have a sourdough bagel from Forage Market. Avid hiker or trail blazer? Check out what the area has to offer recreationally, including Mount Apatite Park.
The College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA.
Located in the central Massachusetts city of Worcester, the College of the Holy Cross (more often referred to as simply Holy Cross) is the oldest Catholic college in New England. Home of the defending Patriotic League football champions and boasting of sports alumni like Bob Cousy and Tommy Heinsohn, this small private liberal arts college is a DI college with an academic punch. For example, Holy Cross sits proudly in the top 3% of four year colleges who send their students on to doctoral programs in their fields.
Athletic alumni aside, the college is also the undergraduate home of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President. Choose a liberal arts major of your preference and pair it with their Health Professions Advising career program and you too could be a leader in the field of medicine.
With an acceptance rate of 37.9%, Holy Cross is considered very selective. The college dropped their standardized testing requirement in 2006 and admissions feels that “the rigor of your program and your overall academic performance” are better indicators of one’s potential for success at the institution.
Visit the area this fall to see what Central Mass has to offer for autumnal day trips, including the New England Botanic Garden, the college’s stunning campus on a hill, various parks and hiking areas, and numerous fall festivals, including Annual Apple Fest at Wachusett Mountain. It’s a trip well worth it because Worcester is also home to seven other colleges, with half a dozen more in nearby towns, and one can tour them all. These colleges include: Assumption University, Clark University, Massachusetts College of Health & Pharmaceutical Studies (MCPHS), Quinsigamond Community College, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester State University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).
University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH.
Yet another spot to leaf peep, Durham, New Hampshire boasts of some great fall foliage from late September to mid-October. While visiting, hop over to the University of New Hampshire, a public land grant research university. And when they say research, they’re not kidding, as the university is in the top 20% of universities in the US in terms of research and associated funding.
If you’re looking for a university that is dedicated to sustainability, look no further than UNH and its commitment best practices. On the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), the university has maintained platinum status, the highest level attainable. Furthermore, UNH gets its power from renewable landfill gas and small hydro. And, since every college tour should involve food, you’ll want to check out the three 3-star green certified restaurants on campus.
UNH’s acceptance rate is 84% and the school is test optional. As their admissions page explains, they are looking for students with B/B+’s and above who have participated in a college preparatory curriculum.
While in the area, get into the spooky spirit by visiting nearby Lee, NH and their Enchanted Storybook Hayrides. Or, if you’re in a gridiron mood, make a point of visiting UNH during Homecoming weekend and watch as the Wildcats take on Stony Brook in a DI matchup on October 8 at 3:30 PM.
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT.
Formally known as the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, UVM is also a public land-grant research university and one of the oldest colleges in the United States. If you’re looking for a campus with a musical past and present, look no further than UVM’s history of hosted concerts, including Phish, R.E.M., The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, The Roots, MGMT, and many more. It doesn’t hurt that three of Phish’s members attended the university in the 1980s.
Students looking to engage in learning outside of the classroom will be interested in the university’s themed housing in various Learning Communities. Options range from Arts and Creativity (where students can share their artistic talents with faculty and peers) to Innovation and Entrepreneurship (where students’ curiosity can develop into design). Outdoor Experience and Sustainability are other options for the woodsy and greener students, all of which offer unique learning and living environments one likely will not find elsewhere.
Biological and Biomedical Sciences tops the list of most popular majors at UVM, with Social Sciences and Natural Resources and Conservation coming in closely behind. But with 100 majors, every student is sure to find their match. The school has an acceptance rate of 71.3% with an average accepted GPA of 3.9 for the class of 2022. But remember, UVM takes a holistic approach to their admissions process, so reach out to the school and discuss your application today.
Make the most of fall and get those college visits going (with some de-stressing autumn activities on the side). And as that college list begins to take form, book a free consultation with UAchieve College Consulting to ensure you have your bases covered this or next application season.
