Consider a top-notch education in beautiful Burlington…
Picking your college is one of life’s more impactful decisions. What you learn, who you befriend, and how you enter the adult world are all affected by this decision. To help in this process, we profile a different college in each addition of American Teen. In this issue we want to tell you about Champlain College, a small school located in the stunningly beautiful state of Vermont. With 29 undergraduate degree choices, amazing instructors, and a boatload of cool extracurriculars this school is definitely worth checking out.
By Señor K
The school
Champlain College was founded in 1878 as a small men’s business school, but has since morphed into a much larger school with over 2,100 students and tons of majors. The campus itself is located on 27 acres in the Quaint Hill neighborhood of Burlington, the largest city in Vermont. Beautiful, Victorian mansions serve as student residences and there are elegant, modern, apartment-style dorms available as well. Many of these residences offer stunning views of the nearby Adirondack mountains and Lake Champlain, after which the school is named.
Overall, the school enrolls 2,100 students from across the US and 18 other countries. Student to teacher ratios are an impressive 12:1 and one hundred percent of the courses are taught by faculty (rather than graduate students). Average class size is about 14 and financial aid is pretty generous. In fact, ninety percent of students receive some sort of financial assistance. Upon matriculating, over 92% of graduates are either employed or continuing their education within six months.
What to study
Uniquely, Champlain College offers an immediate dive into one’s selected field of study, eschewing the tradition many colleges have of requiring a core of general education courses. It’s called an ‘upside down curriculum’, and it allows students to take as many as six classes in their selected major during the first year at Champlain. This way students get to spend their later years developing the expertise necessary for a rewarding professional career.
The undergraduate school comprises four distinct schools that include business, education, IT and sciences, and communications. Inside each of these schools there is a huge diversity of classes offered from accounting and early childhood education to criminal justice and filmmaking. In total, there are more than 100 subject areas available to study including both online options and the possibility to design your own custom major. There are also cool study abroad options that include campuses in both Montreal and the fair city of Dublin. More than half of enrolled students choose to study abroad, so this is a popular option and at times can be a life-changing experience.
Out of class
When classes are over there are crazy amounts of both indoor and outdoor activities. During the winter, snow blankets northern Vermont so there is top-notch skiing and ice climbing as well as other cold weather sports; while in the warmer months there are bike trails galore as well as opportunities to fish, kayak, swim and sail on the clear blue lake. There is also an on-campus student center known as the IDX Student Life Center where one can relax by the fireplace, hit the fitness room, or kick it with some friends in the dining hall with its huge windows and lakeside views. Intramural sports also abound with offerings such as climbing, hockey, rugby, shooting, volleyball and more.
If you are a gamer one of the coolest recreational options is the ESports program. Here teams compete at popular games such as Valorant, Rocket League and Overwatch at both club level and varsity levels. There is a state of the art facility known as the Game Studio where students not only compete but can study one of six new majors offered in the field of esports and game design. Classes are taught by industry leaders with years of expertise and real-world experience and they guide students to complete the entire game design process from conception to completion. Upon graduation, these students will be fully prepared for a fulfilling and successful career in game development.
So many choices
Across the nation, there are almost 6,000 colleges, so choosing the right one is never a quick decision. Location, student body, affordability, school size and lots of other metrics need to be accounted for when considering where to apply. For those looking for a small school, in a stunning location, that offers both generous financial aid and amazing real-world job preparing majors; one should definitely think about Champlain College. Like their motto says, “Audeamus…Let Us Dare.”