I had a good experience at Shorter College and I would recommend it to prospective students who are more interested in studying than having a big social life.
Some tips/advice I would give to prospective students is to take a good look at how much this school is going to cost you in the end versus a public school. Also, take time to compare the social offerings this college has or does not have. (ex: limited sorority/fraternity experience, no alcohol permitted on campus, must attend chapel a certain amount of times per semester, etc.)
One of the big cons for me turned out to be money. Since it is a private school, it is very expensive. Being 18 years old when I entered college, I was not concerned with this. After graduation, reality hit and I found out how much I would end up paying toward student loans....WOW! You always think you're going to make more money right out of college! If money were taken out of the scenario, I would attend Shorter again just because of the lifelong friends I made. That being said, I feel like I could have gotten the same education for less at a public school and I would have had more of the "college experience".
A big PRO for me was the sorority experience, which also had pros and cons within itself. I loved being a part of one of the oldest sororities in the nation, but the restrictions that the college placed on the sorority did hinder the experience.
A few things people should know about Shorter College that they may not have heard would be:
- This is a private Baptist College, which means more restrictions on student activities than a public school.
- There is a "curfew" and visitation rule: Guys/Girls are not permitted to enter the building housing the opposite sex without an escort (ex: you want to go see your boyfriend - he has to come downstairs, meet you at the door, and walk you back upstairs to his room); Guys/girls are not allowed in the building housing the opposite sex after 10pm on weeknights/ 1am on weekends (This may have changed since I left...but I doubt it! It used to be 10pm every night!)
- Chapel is every Tuesday morning at 11am. During your first year, you are required to go almost every Tuesday
- This school boasts about its admission rates for medical school being very high... The reason the rates are so high is that they discourage students with lower grades (B or below) from even taking the MCAT, and discourage students with low MCAT scores from applying to med school. (This is probably true at other schools as well.)
- Shorter is a very small school and probably not what you would think of as the "true college experience". A group of friends from Shorter spent most weekends with friends at UGA. Sorority/fraternity "parties" are alcohol free... and there are limited parties otherwise.
- Most people are not permitted to live off campus unless you lie and say your parents live in Rome.
