What Every Parent 
Wants to Know

“Choosing a college has been the biggest decision in our son Michael’s life."

  

"As parents, our concerns are obviously different than those of our son. Lycoming is in tune with the needs of parents. We felt at ease talking with the people of Lycoming from admissions counselor to faculty.  

The following pages contain questions that were important to us and to Michael when looking at Lycoming. Often times, we called the Admissions Office or one of the other campus offices with questions. Please feel as comfortable as we did and call any of the numbers listed if you have questions or concerns.”

-- Mr. and Mrs. Charles
   parents of Michael Charles

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(Just click on the question to read the answer.)

1. How do you select students for admission?

2. Will my daughter or son be successful academically?

3. What about cost? Can we afford it?

4. What if my son or daughter needs a little extra academic help?

5. My son or daughter is a top student. How will Lycoming College challenge him or her?

6. My son or daughter is not sure in which area to major. Is this common and how do you help students who apply as “undecided?”

7. How safe will my son or daughter be on campus?

8. How will my daughter or son be able to maintain good health and well-being at Lycoming? 

9. What about exercise?

10. How does student housing work?

11. What is there to do on weekends?

12. What about sports?

13. My son or daughter is active within our church. Are there ways in which this activity can continue at Lycoming?

14. This is all well and good, but will you help my son or daughter find a job?

15. Will my son or daughter be able to attend graduate school?

16.  What is unique about the city of Williamsport?

17. What will my son’s or daughter’s first year at Lycoming be like?

18. And, if I have any more questions?

ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. We offer admission to those students whom we feel will benefit from our academic and co-curricular offerings. Lycoming bases admission on the following criteria: college preparatory course work, GPA, SATs or ACTs, interviews, and a sample of the student’s writing.

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2. First-year Lycoming College students are given a faculty advisor to help them select their courses and eventually, to decide upon a major. The advisor/student relationship becomes an important, meaningful aspect of a Lycoming student’s education.

Furthermore, with a 13 to 1 student/faculty ratio, Lycoming students find Lycoming professors within reach and willing to meet with them. Lycoming faculty members have a personal interest in their students. Professors post their office hours and even their home phone numbers on their office doors.

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3. First of all, Lycoming College is competitively priced when compared to colleges of similar size and quality. In addition, 80% of our students receive some form of financial aid – from low interest loans to grants, including academic and talent scholarships in art, music, creative writing, or theatre, as well as a scholarship for community service. Students also have the opportunity to work on campus to earn extra money for books, supplies, and other college expenses. Through the Stafford Loan Program, all students can receive a low interest loan regardless of need. Parents also have the option to participate in the College’s tuition payment plan, which offers you the opportunity to spread your college payments over a ten-month period.  Finally, parents may also consider the Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). Parents may borrow up to the total cost of education less any financial aid received.  Repayment can be extended over a ten-year period, with the first payment due 60 days after a check is disbursed. 

To apply for financial aid, you must submit the following documents:

Lycoming Financial Aid Application (LFAA)
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

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4. Students can turn to Lycoming’s Academic Resource Center (ARC) which provides a variety of support services.

TUTORING
The Academic Resource Center offers both one-on-one and group tutoring in math, writing, science, and foreign languages. Our tutors, usually students in their junior and senior year, have the training and ability to help students discover the answers to their own problems.

SKILLS WORKSHOPS
A series of workshops are held each semester to assist students in developing, reviewing, and perfecting academic skills. Workshop topics include time management, stress management, note-taking, and word processing.

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5. For those students who excel academically, Lycoming offers the Scholars program. Freshmen are invited into the program based on their GPA and SAT or ACT scores. Others may petition to join upon recommendation of Lycoming faculty.  Being a Lycoming scholar is an honor. Students participate in Scholar Seminars, special monthly events, and receive such privileges as use of the Scholars’ Room and early registration for courses each semester.

The academic program also provides outstanding students with the opportunity to do independent study and to pursue honors projects within an individual department. 

In addition, departmental clubs, honorary societies and regularly scheduled colloquia allow students to grow academically beyond the classroom.

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6. Lycoming College offers 32 programs of study. Even with all these choices, about 40% of students applying to Lycoming are “undecided.”  Lycoming has a strong network of services and resource people to assess students’ strengths and weaknesses, areas of interest, and ultimately a major.

Lycoming’s academic advising program is designed to give students direction. Students meet with their advisors on a regular basis. Faculty advisors provide advice and identify strengths and weaknesses to help students select and schedule appropriate classes. Professors believe that this communication is crucial to the development of educational objectives in the decision-making process.

In addition, all students regardless of their major have the opportunity to explore a variety of academic areas through our Distribution Program. The foundation of a Lycoming education, this program of electives prompts students to discover both the parallels and differences between disciplines. The result for most students is not only a broad-based liberal arts perspective, but confidence and focus in a major that is right for them.

Undecided students are usually advised to begin their college careers by delving into the Distribution Program. Distribution courses span the full spectrum of learning and are divided into 8 categories: English, Fine Arts, Foreign Language, Humanities, Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Cultural Diversity. By graduation, every Lycoming student has had at least one course in each of these categories.

Many students decide on a major after just one semester of Distribution courses. However, students are not required to declare a major until after the end of their sophomore year, giving them three full semesters to explore new interests.

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7. Lycoming is less affected by the many crimes common to larger campuses in more urban settings. However, the safety of Lycoming students is a top priority. The Lycoming College Department of Safety and Security is responsible for the safety and security of the entire campus. The department includes a director, patrol supervisor, seven patrol persons, and three dispatchers. All staff members are certified in First Aid and CPR.  Their services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Students will feel safe because security personnel conduct periodic checks of the campus and lock all residence halls and buildings each evening.

There is ample lighting throughout the campus and smoke detectors in each student’s room and in the hallways. An emergency telephone line, extension 4911, is monitored and can be used by students in serious situations.

The Safety and Security Department provides special services such as transportation for students to and from medical visits and escorts for walking home at night. The department is also active in campus awareness and holds self-defense classes and presentations on safety and security issues.

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8. Good health at college is essential. A leading national caterer under our management provides nutritious meals to our students in the college dining hall. Students can choose from a wide variety of foods at each meal including hot dishes, assorted breads and cereals and items from our deli, salad bar and sweet shop. Sick meals are provided to those students who cannot leave their residence halls due to illness.

Students who are ill can go to Lycoming’s Health and Counseling Office. A registered nurse is available during the week from 8:00 am to 4:30 p.m., and the college physician has office hours during the day. In addition, only a short distance from campus are Williamsport and Divine Providence Hospitals, should an emergency occur.

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9. Not only does exercise help students stay healthy, it is an excellent type of study break. Lamade Gymnasium has a large basketball and volleyball area as well as a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, weight room, and an aerobic/dance room. A new addition to campus is our Recreation Center, which includes treadmills, elliptical and rowing machines, and nautilus equipment, as well as an indoor running track.

10. Lycoming guarantees housing for all four academic years.  Most of the residence halls house both men and women.

As freshmen, students will live in Asbury or Skeath Halls, matched up with a roommate based on their answers to a questionnaire or by request. After the first year, students choose their own hall and room assignments by a lottery system, choosing from Williams, Rich, Crever, Wesley, Forrest, or East Halls. Any organization or major can petition to live on the same floor. Quiet and intensive study floors are also available. In addition, selected upperclassmen can live in one of our 17 college-owned apartments.

Each residence hall floor has a Resident Advisor, an exemplary upper-class student. The RAs plan special floor events and are always willing to give advice or just listen. If a problem occurs, students first report it to their RA who in turn, if necessary, directs it to a higher authority: the Coordinator of Residential Life, the Director of Residential Life, or the Dean of Students.

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11. Lycoming College is not a “suitcase college.” Lycoming students typically remain on campus on the weekends because of the wide variety of cultural, social and recreational events occurring both on campus and in Williamsport.

SPECIAL EVENTS
Many special events come to the Lycoming campus attracting large audiences. In the past years, groups that have performed include Sugar Ray, Blues Travelers, Live, as well as Adam Sandler and also various regional and local artists.  In addition, the College puts on five or six theatre productions yearly and bi-monthly exhibits of artists are displayed in the John G. Snowden Library art gallery. 

Students enjoy shopping in the area, whether it is in the boutiques in downtown Williamsport or in the Lycoming Mall, just 15 miles from campus.  Williamsport’s Community Arts Center is well known for its diversity in entertainment.  Visits from  Comedians like Bill Cosby and George Carlin, musical artists such as B.B. King and Sara Evans, and Broadway shows like Victor/Victoria, Rent, Cats and Annie have all traveled to the Community Arts Center.Orchestras and ballets perform at the Center and popular films are also shown.

The Williamsport area offers a variety of outdoor activities, such as beautiful hiking and mountain biking trails, boating and fishing in the Susquehanna River, hunting in nearby State Game lands and skiing at Ski Sawmill.

CAMPUS ACTIVITIES
Lycoming’s small size encourages involvement in campus activities and organizations. Many students use their free time on weekends to develop these outside interests. Students have the chance to exercise their leadership potential by participating in student government, a faculty committee, the Big Brother/Big Sister Program, Habitat for Humanity, and fraternities and sororities.

Others may choose to join an organization that directly affects campus life such as the Campus Activities Board (CAB), United Campus Ministry, the radio station (WRLC), the bi-weekly newspaper THE LYCOURIER, or take part in a singing ensemble, the renowned Lycoming College Choir, the concert band, or one of the College's theatrical productions.

The “whole college experience” becomes complete through participation in campus activities and organizations. This is especially important for freshmen.

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12. Lycoming students can choose from nine men’s sports and eight women’s sports or from a variety of intramural sports.

Varsity team sports include:
Basketball
Cross-country
Football (men)
Golf (men)
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball (women)
Swimming
Tennis
Volleyball (women)
Wrestling (men)

Intramurals include:
Flag Football
Soccer
Softball
Ultimate Frisbee
Volleyball

Club Sports include:
Crew
Karate
Water Polo

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13. Students who wish to become active in spiritual events on campus are welcome to join Lycoming’s United Campus Ministry Group. Members meet every Sunday and join together for a fellowship meal. Students help others by preparing meals at St. Anthony’s Center in Williamsport, participating in the Crop Walk for Hunger, and building homes under the Habitat for Humanity program. The Group also organizes the annual Christmas Candlelight Service, the Homecoming Weekend Dance and a number of fun events for themselves.

Lycoming College has both a campus minister and a Roman Catholic chaplain on its staff. Bible studies are held weekly and two retreats are scheduled in the spring and fall. In addition, students are welcome to join local churches and synagogues.

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14. The Lycoming College Career Development Center helps students as early as their freshman year to begin thinking about career paths.

SHARE Program
Freshmen and sophomores are encouraged to participate in the SHARE (Students Having A Real Experience) program. This is allows students to shadow professionals in a career area that they may choose to pursue.

INTERNSHIPS
Internships are normally done during the junior and senior year. They include positions within businesses such as Shearson Lehman and Merrill Lynch, government, schools, social service agencies, and numerous other organizations in Williamsport and the Middle Atlantic region.  Internships are a way to apply classroom learning to a real career experience.

CAREER WORKSHOPS AND FAIRS
Seniors take advantage of the various workshops including résumé writing, interviewing techniques, “Dressing for Success,” and “How to Make a First Impression.” Lycoming students also have the opportunity to attend the Williamsport YMCA job fair held every April, which includes recruiters from all areas of career interests. Also students attend fairs at neighboring schools such as Bucknell, Susquehanna, Penn State and Bloomsburg, as well as large job fairs in Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia.

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15. Faculty advisors as well as Career Development personnel give advice to students interested in attending a graduate or professional school. Those preparing for a professional school will receive special counseling from the appropriate pre-professional advising team – including the health professions, law, and theology. A large selection of books and practice tests are available to help students prepare for the MCAT, LSAT, GRE, DAT, and the MAT.

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16. The city of Williamsport has an interesting history. In the late 1800’s Williamsport was known as the Lumber Capital of the World. The wealthy lumber barons resided in Victorian mansions still in existence and know as “Millionaires’ Row.” Today, visitors can relive the era by taking a tour on the town trolley or by riding down the Susquehanna River on the Hiawatha paddlewheel riverboat. 

Each August thousands of fans come to Williamsport, the birthplace of Little League Baseball, to watch the Little League World Series. 

The business climate in Williamsport is alive and strong. The Williamsport area is home to more than 260 businesses and companies with total employment exceeding 56,000. Examples of some industries include Frito-Lay, Kellogg’s, and Tetley Tea.  The Lycoming Mall with 110 stores is located to the east of Williamsport.

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17.  The first year begins with a student’s decision to attend Lycoming. First-year students and parents are welcomed to the campus during the early part of the summer for New Student Orientation. This gives students the chance to become familiar with the campus before the arrival of the upperclassmen in the fall. Students choose their courses for the following semester and establish lasting friendships with their classmates. Some even meet a friend whom they can request to be their roommate for the fall.

Lycoming also realizes that first-year students have special academic needs. College is a whole new lifestyle as well as a way of learning. Our Dean for Freshmen assists students with their academic experiences before and during that first year.

As a parent, you’ll be able to take part in your son’s or daughter’s first year by visiting the campus on Family Weekend, held every year in the fall. By attending classes, you’ll have the chance to get to know your son’s or daughter’s professors. The President’s Forum gives you the opportunity to meet the President along with all of the Deans and ask them questions.

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18. Should you have questions about your son/daughter during the academic year, the answers are only a phone call away by calling Regina Collins, Assistant Dean for Freshmen (570-321-4358).

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