Franklin & Marshall

[wr8487]

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Anybody know anything about Franklin & Marshall? Got accepted, and deciding if I should go or not.

 

[kami333]

You mean Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA?

 

[wr8487]

yes

 

[The Enchanter]

I'm assuming you got accepted to F&M for undergrad. I grew up literally within walking distance from F&M. Everything I've ever heard about the school has been positive, however, I believe it is somewhat pricey. It's located in an excellent area to live and will give you a great education in a small, liberal arts atmosphere. Lancaster is a decent place to live if you're into the whole small city thing.

 

[kami333]

I graduated from there in 04 with a degree in bio (so keep in mind that some things have changed a bit).

It was/is a good school, if you stay in that region it's pretty well recognized, and a surprising number of physicians in the West have heard of it too (for a school its size). Classes are pretty much across the board tough (I've taken classes at 4 other universities) so it's hard to balance out the very rough ones (ie orgo) with easier ones. My least favorite part is that almost all classes count as 4credit hours (with labs included for the sciences) so compared to someone who doesn't any science you end up spending a lot more time in class (labs are only 1 credit hour at other places I've been but over 4years that's a good 12-16hours you could have earned). Classes were small, core classes were capped at 24 and electives at about 15 (I had a few history seminars with 4 people in them) which made scheduling for some popular classes such as genetics a little difficult.

Weekends were mostly about fraternity parties, Lancaster didn't have a huge nightlife itself though Philly was only about 1.5hours away. There was a decent amount to do during the day, there was a nice farmers market and other cutesy little things like good cafes. And you could always take the train to Philly or the bus to AC.

If you plan on majoring in bio, know that it was one of the more popular majors which sort of negates some of the advantages of a small school (though it's all relative, there were about 10 chemistry majors compared to 60 bio + 15 biochem majors my year). Another problem is getting research experience, since it's not a research heavy school there weren't that many opportunities though I think they've been trying to change that through collaborations and such.

The premed advising was pretty good, but they also won't write a committee letter if you don't meet certain requirements, such as taking all prereqs at F&M, which is why they boast of a 90+% acceptance rate to medical school. They had a formalized shadowing program with Lancaster General Hospital and I think they just started some genetic/outreach research involving the Amish community. Many of my friends did research at Hershey during the summer, or found NSF programs in Philly or NY.

 

[wr8487]

I graduated from there in 04 with a degree in bio (so keep in mind that some things have changed a bit).

It was/is a good school, if you stay in that region it's pretty well recognized, and a surprising number of physicians in the West have heard of it too (for a school its size). Classes are pretty much across the board tough (I've taken classes at 4 other universities) so it's hard to balance out the very rough ones (ie orgo) with easier ones. My least favorite part is that almost all classes count as 4credit hours (with labs included for the sciences) so compared to someone who doesn't any science you end up spending a lot more time in class (labs are only 1 credit hour at other places I've been but over 4years that's a good 12-16hours you could have earned). Classes were small, core classes were capped at 24 and electives at about 15 (I had a few history seminars with 4 people in them) which made scheduling for some popular classes such as genetics a little difficult.

Weekends were mostly about fraternity parties, Lancaster didn't have a huge nightlife itself though Philly was only about 1.5hours away. There was a decent amount to do during the day, there was a nice farmers market and other cutesy little things like good cafes. And you could always take the train to Philly or the bus to AC.

If you plan on majoring in bio, know that it was one of the more popular majors which sort of negates some of the advantages of a small school (though it's all relative, there were about 10 chemistry majors compared to 60 bio + 15 biochem majors my year). Another problem is getting research experience, since it's not a research heavy school there weren't that many opportunities though I think they've been trying to change that through collaborations and such.

The premed advising was pretty good, but they also won't write a committee letter if you don't meet certain requirements, such as taking all prereqs at F&M, which is why they boast of a 90+% acceptance rate to medical school. They had a formalized shadowing program with Lancaster General Hospital and I think they just started some genetic/outreach research involving the Amish community. Many of my friends did research at Hershey during the summer, or found NSF programs in Philly or NY.

Yeah, i heard the social life life isn't that great at F&M but i would be playing football there as well so that would give me something to do. So you would say that, overall, you found the school challenging?

 

[kami333]

Yeah, i heard the social life life isn't that great at F&M but i would be playing football there as well so that would give me something to do. So you would say that, overall, you found the school challenging?

Yes. I was taking some upper level postbac classes at my state's flagship public university (top 50) and it was night and day (granted I've gotten much better at studying, but still...)

PS it's good to see that the football program has improved. When I was there we had one season where we had no wins.

 

[wr8487]

Yes. I was taking some upper level postbac classes at my state's flagship public university (top 50) and it was night and day (granted I've gotten much better at studying, but still...)

PS it's good to see that the football program has improved. When I was there we had one season where we had no wins.

Yeah I'm a little concerned about having to balance playing football and that challenging coursework at the same time...ptobably the only thing that's holding me back right now.

 

[WNT Signaling]

A classmate of mine when I studied abroad went to F&M, and now she's at Pitt for med school. Did you apply to Swarthmore and Haverford?

 

[wr8487]

A classmate of mine when I studied abroad went to F&M, and now she's at Pitt for med school. Did you apply to Swarthmore and Haverford?

No I didn't. I had never even heard of the school until they started recruiting me for football. I was initially just expecting to attend school locally in new york.