The weather at the College of Wooster today was gloomy, but my reception was not! I was thrilled to speak with three upperclassmen to learn all about why COW is ranked second to Princeton for senior capstone projects in quality, not quantity. I now understand why this truly is a college that changes lives. The first-year seminar, a class with about 10 students, teaches them how to do college-level work. The writing-intensive class sophomore year is tailored to the student's major. Junior year, they do a small project as an independent study, which is a springboard for senior year when they do a very large independent study involving original research and an extensive paper and/or project. This is a major part of the culture here so plan on getting your own private study carrel assigned to you where you can leave your materials and lock up at night. A couple of other great things: all science classrooms are attached to a lab, because learning science and doing science are intertwined. Merit Scholarships are generous, up to $42,000. Lastly, I've never seen such large dorm rooms!