Academics
A hop, skip, and a jump from stunning Acadia National Park, with its campus on Maine’s Frenchman Bay, College of the Atlantic (COA) offers undergraduates “an extreme degree of academic freedom.” COA’s “interdisciplinary structure” lets students create their own course of study with creative pedagogy from professors who regularly “provide immersive activities such as field work, class trips, and experiential opportunities.” Students rave about faculty who have “big hearts” while upholding a “rigorous academic” standard. Students have a chance to take traditional classes, but there is also an “incredible amount of experiential learning opportunities,” including hands-on projects like “working on a research boat” and building a “tiny house with other students” in a class dedicated to—yep—designing and building tiny houses. Furthermore, students say “the professors at COA foster a class environment that honors and values class discussion and a balanced student-teacher relationship.” This is evidenced by “everyone go[ing] by their first name,” and faculty “participating in every other aspect of life at COA” outside of the classroom. Independent students also noted that they were able to receive “substantial financial aid,” and had “flexibility in shaping [their] own education.” Students have numerous internship, residency, and study abroad opportunities, all of which complement the school’s “culture of social responsibility and environmental sustainability.” “Workshops,” one student adds, “most notably, the Thoreau gatherings held once per term...on student skill-sets enable us to better organize and advocate for change.”
Student Body
At the College of the Atlantic, you’ll find a fascinating assortment of “geologists, guitarists, teachers, poets, fashionistas, sailors, rock climbers, film makers, and economists” among the student body, who are “curious about learning, especially in the field setting,” “passionate about global climate change and social equality,” and “overwhelmingly willing to contribute to projects and help out people in need even if there is no individual benefit to be claimed.” Another student trait that “seems to be universal” is a “willingness for academic discussion on a range of topics, in settings like classrooms to the line in the dining hall, in which students are keen to take sides and find real depths of thought together in a safe way without coming to personal jabs.” Proud COA students note that they have “few traditions” and are “experimental in the best sense of the word.” Students are inspired by “the words of...former school president Ed Kaelber: ‘Any college that is not constantly seeking new ways of doing things is only half alive.’” Students say their “tiny community is tied together much closer than most colleges get their students to be,” and full of “self-directed learners who want to take charge of their learning rather than follow the general current.”
Campus Life
Students are drawn to COA’s “small community with a commitment to sustainability.” Many classes “move outdoors in good weather” to “explore Acadia National Park across the street or other sites on the coast of Maine.” COA students also “play a large part in the governance and daily operation of the college, participating in work study positions and serving on committees.” Between classes, students “often hang out at a cafeteria called TAB (Take-A-Break), “a central location on campus,” that “besides being used for meals, is a common study or social space.” Hiking is popular year round, or playing water polo at the YMCA in town. Skiing and winter camping are go-to activities in the winter. Popular on weekends year round is the “movie theatre/pizza place in town, Reel Pizza.” And “a lot of people go contra dancing once a month in a nearby city.” Students are generally passionate about their coursework and fieldwork, and serve “on the school’s research vessel, the MV Osprey,” and at the “Peggy Rockefeller Farm.”
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