Sunday, February 9, 2014

HOGGER GOES SOUTH - DAY 2 - (STETSON)

Stetson University
DeLand, FL

www.stetson.edu

Stetson is the oldest private institution in Florida.  It has a population of 2,500 undergraduate students and is anticipating growing to 3,000 in the next few years.







 Mascot:  Officially: "The Hatters" Unofficially, "John B." for John B. Stetson, the Philadelphia hat maker who gave generously in 1889 to financially stabilize and support the institution   The embodiment of the mascot at events and on clothing though is the most famous hatter of them all, John B. Stetson, wearing his famous Stetson Hat.
 








Student Name: Ben ‘16


Where are you from? Windermere, FL

What is your major?
Biology and Environmental Science (Honors College)


Why did you choose this institution?
“Actually my first choice was Davidson College (NC) where my brother is a student. I’ve spent a lot of time at Davidson visiting my brother, and I really was impressed by the prestige and students it attracts. I applied to Stetson as only of my safety schools. When I was accepted to Stetson, I was also informed that I had been admitted in the Honors College. I decided to attend a special event on campus for students accepted into the Honors College. Needless to say, I was blown away by the quality of the professors, opportunities, and fellow accepted Honors  College students, that i could not turn down their offer of admission.”


What are the benefits of being part of the Stetson Honors College?
- Freshmen year we all live together in the “Honors House” and immediately became a close cohort.
-Stetson will wave many of the general education requirements, which I benefited from, because it made it very easy for me to double major. I may even pick up a minor.
-The opportunity to design your own major. Some examples:Feeder Management, Non-profit Management, and Art Restoration.


What clubs and organizations are you affiliated with at Stetson?
-President and Co-founder of the Bee Keeping Club- the bees arrive in 2 weeks!
-Co-founder of the Improve Club
-Member of Hat and Harvest (an organic gardening club)
-Habitat for Humanity
-Intramural Soccer and Ultimate Frisbee teams

The little differences from institution to institution are the things that often stand out the most for me.  One of those awesome little things about Stetson is that it is pet friendly.  Students are allowed to have pets with them in the dorm, so long as they are less than 30 lbs.  Gus would be excited about their progressive stance on species-acceptance, but saddened by their size-ism. http://www.stetson.edu/administration/residential-life/residence-halls/stetson-cove.php


The Business school at Stetson is a large source of pride and also offers and MBA and Executive MBA program. I had the chance to pop into the business building, and it was gorgeous in and out. Among the most popular majors at Stetson are Business and Psychology. Stetson also has a highly selective audition based music program and offers a pretty unique comprehensive Russian Studies major.

 

I have felt incredibly spoiled by the access we have had at many of the institutions we are visiting.  Usually, when I just drop into a school while on vacation, or swing by on a weekend to meet up with an admissions rep, it is a pretty low key visit.  Because all of these visits have been planned for months, presidents of colleges keep dropping in to meet us.  President Dr. Libby has been at Stetson for 4 years and is known for the immediate impact she has had upon environmental sustainability, and upon Stetson's recent surge of investment in fundraising, facilities and facultyStudents also remarked that she seems particularly adept at being respectful of Stetson's past Baptist affiliation (until 1995), while continuing Stetson's development as a premier, private, academic institution in the South.   

While I am not the kind of counselor who over-values "local climate" as one of the most important criteria for college selection, I must admit that each time I see a team practicing outside in shorts at 5pm in February, I do get a little jealous.  And it is nice to be getting up and running outside each day!

This is Sophie. She lives on the Stetson campus in a dorm.  Doesn't she look happy?

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