Wheaton College

[Class of 2007]

My son is interested in possibly attending Wheaton College (Massachusetts) and playing lacrosse. I'd appreciate any comments from Forum members with respect to Wheaton academics and the lacrosse program.

Thank you.

[WinnytheSully]

this guy from my town played there, sorry, not a lot of help

[DukeLax2]

can't say too much about it but one of the better players from my team a couple years ago went to play there. he chose it over gettysburg. played for 2 years and then gave up lacrosse...not a big name d3 school but they can compete within their league. dont know about the academics

[mass_elite21]

hey, i live about 20 minutes away from wheaton. it is very respectable academically, and its growing in popularity in all of those national rankings. the campus is pretty, and they just built new dorms a few years ago. our winter track team practices in there, as well as our swim team, and the sports facilities that i've seen are pretty nice. if you want to know anything else, feel free to PM me

[richlax5]

Wheaton is a good school academically. It was ranked as the 55th best Liberal Arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report...behind the likes of Amherst and Swarthmore and ahead of Hobart and Williams Smith (NY). As for a lacrosse school, its not a top D3 school and can compete in its league, but outside of that it does not look too strong, but academically the school is sound and that is what someone has to remember...The degree will take a person further than the sport, for the most part, and this is even true for many D1 players.

[DBPLAX8]

My uncle Chris Hade plays for wheaton, its a very good academic school as it has been said before but last years team they finished 2 in their league so its a good d3 school that can hold its own against springfield,brown,middlebury....etc

[thechosenone]

Wheaton has been picking up its lacrosse program as of late. A kid I play with from Proctor Academy committed to Wheaton for next year and a few other Top Gun Fighting Clams play there now. They will be a much better team in the next couple years I presume and as far as academics like everyone else said its respectable, but definately not Ivy or NESCAC level.

[lazylightning]

I'm the dad of a soon to be college bound kid from MA so I've done a little research. Academics are very good at Wheaton. Lacrosse has a bit of a ways to go but here is something more important: Check the college life of the school you're interested in. Wheaton may be considered a "suitcase school" where a lot of the kids leave on the weekends. for more info on college life check out www.princetonreview.com.

It's well worth it.

[CHSlax]

Ok wheaton is a pretty good school academically. As far as lacrosse they have been getting better and better every year. They can compete with some of the bigger D3 schools and in the next few years its possible for them to maybe break into the top 25. They have a good coaching staff there too. I know the assistant, hes a great coach coach and a really nice guy.

[Agent Orange]

This from the Wheaton website:

For academic year 2006-2007, Wheaton's annual charges for tuition, room and board, and required fees total $42,760 (Tuition $34,365; Room $4,300; Board $3,850; Fee $245)

Given that the max amount a freshman will receive in fed fin aid is $2625 subsidized Stafford loan, theres a gap there of about $40k. Granted, the school will probably kick in some institutional grant aid, but as a parent you're looking at coming up with at least $25K of that $40k. For parents who have to borrow, you're looking at federal PLUS loans with a fixed interest rate of 8.5%.

The questions for a family to ask themselves are these: What are we really paying for here, and can we get the same thing elsewhere for a lower price(?). How much debt do we want to take on over the next 4 years? Or, if you're paying out savings pocket, are we going to have to tap into our home equity or retirement funds for this? Since Wheaton requires you to complete the CSS Profile, your home equity and retirement funds will be considered as a cash asset (although the FAFSA won't).

If these questions are irrelevant at this time, then a good measure to follow is to at least apply to a financial "safe" (low cost) school.

Since your question is seeking opinions, here's mine:
Wheaton's a nice place, but as someone already wrote, it's not NESCAC (nor Ivy). It has some name recognition, but if you talk to people west of PA, they'll think you're talking about Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. My 2-cents here is that it's not worth the $42k (which, btw, will be $50k by the team your son graduates). And, don't be surprised if those institutional grants turn to institutional loans after sophomore year.

Other posters:
If you're a Wheaton fan, don't flame me here for writing this. The author is seeking informed opinions and I've provided. I work in the financial aid profession up in Boston and know some of the ins & outs of the biz. Thanks!





My son is interested in possibly attending Wheaton College (Massachusetts) and playing lacrosse. I'd appreciate any comments from Forum members with respect to Wheaton academics and the lacrosse program.

Thank you.

[truth]

Good post. There are many DIII schools in the Mid Atlantic region that fall into this category too.