St. Michaels College (Chester, Wilmington, Saxtons River: job, campus, retire)

[OhBeeHave]

Anyone know anything about this school from either a faculty, current student or alumni perspective?


My son has reached the age where post secondary education is rapidly approaching. This is one of the schools which has sent him information.

Opinions anyone? Courses? Tuition? Social life? Dorms?

Thanks

[KNOTTE]

St. Mike's is a very good private, Catholic college. It has a very good reputation. It's a private college, so it's pricier than say, UVM. The campus is on the cusp of residential / commercial area and is rather quaint. I don't know a whole lot more than that about it, but if one of my kids decided to go there, I would proudly display one of those "My kid and my money go to... " stickers!

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by KNOTTE

St. Mike's is a very good private, Catholic college. It has a very good reputation. It's a private college, so it's pricier than say, UVM. The campus is on the cusp of residential / commercial area and is rather quaint. I don't know a whole lot more than that about it, but if one of my kids decided to go there, I would proudly display one of those "My kid and my money go to... " stickers!

Thank you for giving me something to build upon

(You gave me a laugh with your last remark )

[vter]

While I don't know anyone who went there, I can tell you that it has a good reputation in these parts.

[caprt]

St. Michael's used to sponsor the state-wide Scholar's Bowl (the VT NEA took over in 1994). Players on the top team won scholarships. I played for Green Mountain UHS; I think we only made it to the quarter-finals, but I wish I had won a scholarship. The school has a great reputation, and the campus is lovely.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by caprt

St. Michael's used to sponsor the state-wide Scholar's Bowl (the VT NEA took over in 1994). Players on the top team won scholarships. I played for Green Mountain UHS; I think we only made it to the quarter-finals, but I wish I had won a scholarship. The school has a great reputation, and the campus is lovely.

Thank you.

I see you're a GMUHS alumi; how long ago, and what are your opinions of it? I am located in Chester bordering Andover and if/when I make the permanent move my daughter would attend school there.

Do you feel the school prepared you well or not? How were the courses and track levels? AP courses? Any outside programs like Intel? Extracurriculars? Student life?

Thanks!

[caprt]

Hi OhBeeHave--

I graduated from GMUHS twenty years ago, so my information will be a bit dated. Also, some of the things you are asking about, such as tracking, I was not aware of as a teenager. But I will take a stab at giving you my impressions.

I feel like my education at GMUHS was pretty average for a rural school--neither great nor horrible. At least at the time I was there, you had to be a pretty self-motivated student to get anywhere. Both of my siblings ended up going to different schools because they were doing poorly (in terms of academics and discipline) at GMUHS. My sister went to Vermont Academy, in Saxtons River, and my brother went to Wilmington, where my dad was teaching. GMUHS does offer several AP classes--I took Biology and English, and did well on the exams. I also felt like I had been pretty well prepared for the SATs. I took Russian as an elective for six years; it was a pretty unusual offering for such a small school. I don't know if it is still taught or not. However, when I graduated and got to UVM, I really felt the difference between my education and that of the students from more competitive, larger, and out-of-state schools. I left after a year, for various reasons, but not least because I just didn't have the background and study skills to keep up with my peers.

All that said, that was twenty years ago--now I only know what I hear through the grapevine. I have heard that the athletic programs have improved considerably in the past several years. They have gone through a lot of administrators since I was there, and I understand there has been a lot of strife recently between the current principal and the school board. I don't hear much about academics, though. One of your best bets would be to try to chat up some parents of teenagers who go to the school. I'll bet you could get opinions out of even the most taciturn locals on this subject. Also, my dad recently retired from working for the state Board of Ed.--his job was to work with school administrators on their curricula and standards programs. One of the schools he worked with was GMUHS--I am sure he could give you some more professional information about their programs, etc. If you direct message me, I will pass his e-mail on to you. Also, I would be glad to try to answer any other questions you might have myself.

Cheers, and stay warm. Glad you are enjoying living in Chester!

Carolyn

[seanpecor]

Insofar as St. Michael's College is concerned, I think the good reputation is well deserved. However, it's quite the party school. I saw this first-hand in my previous life as an area pizza delivery driver in my very early twenties. The funniest memory I have is delivering pizza to one of the dorms on a Friday night to a guy who was a) completely wasted and b) completely _naked_. I wonder how many rosaries the dorm girls (and some of the boys) had to pray over that evening for checking out the dude's package Thankfully I had the pizza box warmer strategically placed to block my view and keep a straight face Out of the four colleges to which I delivered pizza, St. Mikes was the most wild IMHO.

Sean

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by seanpecor

Insofar as St. Michael's College is concerned, I think the good reputation is well deserved. However, it's quite the party school. I saw this first-hand in my previous life as an area pizza delivery driver in my very early twenties. The funniest memory I have is delivering pizza to one of the dorms on a Friday night to a guy who was a) completely wasted and b) completely _naked_. I wonder how many rosaries the dorm girls (and some of the boys) had to pray over that evening for checking out the dude's package Thankfully I had the pizza box warmer strategically placed to block my view and keep a straight face Out of the four colleges to which I delivered pizza, St. Mikes was the most wild IMHO.

Sean

Thank you for that, umm, first hand account LOL

It reminds me of my ex husband, who worked for a major courier service when we were dating. He was covering the Hamptons at the time, and it was a hot summer day. He lumbered up to the front door with an overnight letter and his signature board. You can imagine his surprise when a stark naked man greeted him at the door! The man never sought out a towel, signed for the letter and then extend the use of his pool to my then future ex. Mr future ex turned rapidly on his heels and high tailed it outta there!

As for those kids getting an eyeful of their classmate's God given attributes, I believe that the going rate is one rosary per inch.

[KNOTTE]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

I believe that the going rate is one rosary per inch.

I am so glad I was not drinking anything when I read that. I would need to buy a new laptop! LOL!