Visited October 2012.
The first week of October last year I travelled to Vermont to visit Bennington College, Landmark College, Middlebury College, the University of Vermont, Champlain College. Since I was in the area, I also drove south one day to visit Williams College and on another day I travelled to New Hampshire to visit Dartmouth. I convinced my husband to travel with me and helped him line up golf courses to play while I worked. Although this turned out to be a fabulous trip, the weather did not cooperate. It rained seven out of the eight days we were there!
This was truly a visit of a lifetime! Each school I visited was truly outstanding. I started my tour at Bennington College, which has 700 students. Bennington offers one of the most individualized curriculums; each student works with a professor during his/her first year to develop the PLAN that the student will follow for the next three years. Another unique aspect of Bennington is that all students organize and experience an internship for seven weeks during January and February. This arrangement actually allows a student to travel abroad four times during his/her college experience. An interesting final note about Bennington is that it started as a women’s college specializing in dance; Martha Graham actually taught there for a time period.
The next day I drove down to Williams College just south of the Massachusetts border. I immediately fell in love with the college and the quaint village of Williamstown, MA. This liberal arts college of 2,000 students is well renowned for its excellent academics, phenomenal study abroad programs and the opportunity to take courses in a tutorial setting where two students and one professor meet throughout the semester in a similar format as that at Oxford University in England.
The next day was cold and rainy as I drove to Landmark College in Putney, Vermont. It has always been a dream of mine to visit Landmark since it is known as one of the only colleges designed specifically for students with learning disabilities. Traditionally Landmark has been a two year college where a student receives an associate degree then moves on to a mainstream college their junior year. Last year Landmark initiated a BA in Liberal Arts program. This allows a student to complete his/her entire college education at Landmark. Landmark also offers a Bridge Program for students who are struggling at their college and wish to take a semester off to study at Landmark in order to strengthen his/her basic academic skills.
After spending a wonderful night at the Squire House, a lovely bed and breakfast in Dorsett, Vermont, we drove to Hanover, New Hampshire to visit Dartmouth. (continued in Part 2)