I just got back from a wonderful counselor event at Ursinus College in Collegeville PA. So much to share! First of all, instead of freshman English, they have the Common Intellectual Experience, a class all students take for 2 semesters. The students are taught to think and ask questions of themselves and their world through the reading of a diverse selection of literature including Plato, Darwin, Marx, and Frederick Douglass. They have a Summer Fellows program for students who wish to do research closely advised by a professor. These students get a stipend and free housing. Ursinus also offers a Philadelphia Experience which allows students to live for a semester in Philadelphia and take classes at Drexel while pursuing an internship. The classes are very small and during my two days here, I could not help but notice that there is tremendous opportunity for intellectual engagement and the faculty here are deeply involved in teaching and sharing their excitement for their intellectual pursuits with their students. The merit scholarships are very generous and I would not hesitate to send a student here!