Lynchburg College and Randolph-Macon
 

I'm back again....My son really liked Roanoke College and was accepted, but the 3 semesters of foreign language are a real sticking point - he has some LD issues and struggles with English, let alone another language. In the meantime, he's revisited the idea of Lynchburg College and Randolph Macon. One of the things he really liked about Roanoke was that it was not isolated in the suburbs or even farther away from the nearest town - it was in a very nice little downtown area and he could walk to a grocery, WalMart, etc. Could anyone tell me about the environs of Lynchburg and Randolph-Macon?

Sorry, I don't know the schools, but have you spoken with any body at Roanoke about your son's issues, and the possibility of being exempted from the foreign-language requirement or coming up with an alternative course plan perhaps in international studies or communications? Is it an on-campus requirement or could part of it be met by his high school courses?

I went to Lynchburg College and at that time Randolph Macon was an all girls school.

I'm assuming that has changed?

Anyway, I LOVED my time at Lynchburg College. Flunked out but it was an incredible place to be. Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the fall was amazing. Snow too.

Randolph Macon may be more conducive to walking around because it is on Rivermont Avenue/Boonesboro Road. It is also very near some cool restaurants and bars. Also the road is sidewalked and very tree lined dotted with 200+ year old homes.

Both campuses are very pretty but I think Randolph Macon's beats out LC by a mile.

BTW, if he attends RM he'll be refered to as a Randy Mack.

Thanks for the update, bellhouse. I'm so glad your son liked Roanoke--it's an awesome school with a great reputation. Please do talk with someone there about his LD issues. I feel sure the college is experienced in accommodating students with learning problems. If he really wants attend RC, I'd exhaust all possibilities before deciding to go somewhere else.

Betsy,
RC Grad

There is Randolph-Macon Women's College and also Randolph-Macon College. Since your son is a boy (duh) I assume you are talking about R-M College. I've never been there but it's 15 miles north of Richmond so it's probably not in the boonies or anything.

I visited Lynchburg 9 years ago but what really struck me (I'm a college counselor) and stays with me to this day after seeing hundreds of schools is that the student panel had about 7 kids on it who were REALLY happy there. It was a beautiful liberal arts college, kids seemed bright, but they were HAPPY. If I still remember this then it must really be true!

I just had one of my students get into Roanoke today! So congrats to your son and him!

Skiergirl is correct, Randolph-Macon College is located just north of Richmond in Ashland, Va., a very nice small, quiet, older town where nearly everything is within walking distance. Beautiful campus, nice town. It's a couple of miles off
I-95 and has an Amtrak station as well.

sinehat wrote:
Date: 12/05/2008, 05:53 am

'Randolph-Macon College is located just north of Richmond in Ashland, Va., a very nice small, quiet, older town where nearly everything is within walking distance.

Beautiful campus, nice town. It's a couple of miles off I-95 and has an Amtrak station as well."

I don't know where you live, bellhouse, but do not underestimate the importance of going to college in a place that is easy to get home from for vacations. Nothing takes the joy out of being a parent like a 7 hour ride to and from at every holiday, and the fear of having your child ride with friends is even worse. If you are in the East Coast Corridor, Amtrak access is a blessing, and your child will be only an hour from Washington National, and the Richmond airport is much closer, with direct flights to Boston, LGA, CLT, ATL.

Actually, Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg changed its name to Randolph College in 2007 when it went co-ed.

What a great response - thanks! Yes, we're still talking to Roanoke about a foreign language exemption, but they don't seem to be budging on the 3 semester requirement. The head of their learning center is looking at his testing and should be getting back to us by the first of next week. She is pretty positive that with all the support he would have (it's a great learning center!), he should be able to do it - I just worry that if he has to focus too much on that, he's going to miss out on other things. He can take a semester at our community college this summer to get a headstart on it - and perhaps once he is there, and if he really tries and if it just doesn't work, maybe they would make an exception - and he could always transfer if he had to. It sounds like R-M might have more of a town feel, but Lynchburg might have more outdoor stuff- which he loves. He went to boarding school in Vermont for two years and has complained ever since he got back home (FL) that it's too hot to do any camping and too flat to make running fun. Randy Mack - too funny! But we've had some other bad ones - Demon Deacons was one. Lynchburg is probably a bit easier to get home from. Can you take Amtrak from Ashland to an airport? Richmond or DC? I didn't realize that R_M went co-ed that recently.

Amtrak has regular service to Lynchburg and we used to take the train to DC on a regular basis.

Gee, and I wonder why I flunked out.

It really is a pretty little city of I'd guess around 100,000 people.

You know, GoTravel, you are NOT making me - as a mom - feel very good about Lynchburg! Although I did just have to explain to my oldest why I was laughing so hard.....I do have to admit, though, that I went to the big city - Nashville, TN - for college and had so much fun it took me 5 years to graduate and it was a close call even then.

Bellhouse-did you go to Vandy? I did-fun school!!! Thankfully I only took 4 years or my dad would have been very mad.

Yep. When were you there? I was there from '73 to '78, and then my husband and I stayed in Nashville for another 7 years. My father wasn't happy - I would have yanked me right out of there - but I did settle down some after the first bit.

Is it true they used to call Roanoke.....Rolling Toke...hey that's what I heard.

LOL, andrew8. I graduated before students started rolling tokes. Have no idea what happened after I left.

Bellhouse, I lived in Lynchburg for three years (but didn't go to college there). It's a nice, not-too-big nor too small town. You know it's the home of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, and there's that influence on the town; I would call Lynchburg more conservative than Roanoke. Roanoke is where we'd go to see concerts, as Lynchburg didn't attract many. My friends and I, at least, felt Roanoke had more stuff to do, more going on, especially if you were young, single and not really a church-goer. But of course Lynchburg does have things to do, and other people are right in telling you it would be easier for your son to get a train from Lynchburg than from Roanoke.

Both cities are in gorgeous scenic areas, in the Blue Ridge mountains. Lynchburg has a great walking/biking trail through town. It's not a far drive at all to get into the mountains and some good hiking places. Your son couldn't walk to Walmart in Lynchburg, but both campuses you're looking at are in town, and there are some stores he could walk to. I liked Lynchburg, it was a pretty enough, easygoing place.

Hellion - thanks for your assessment and for your restaurant suggestions on my other post. Cajun and burgers - I'm envious - maybe I'll take him after all! How long is the drive from Lynchburg to Roanoke? When I took him to look at Roanoke, we took the Parkway to Peaks of Otter - that looked like it was about 1/2 between the two cities, but I'm sure there's a faster way to get there. In fact, that was what convinced him to take a look at Lynchburg: the proximity to the mountains where we had been. The train isn't a factor - we're in Florida so planes are easier.

Come on Betsy !!
I bet your were a champ at rolling a fatty at Rolling Toke...LOL !!

Born too soon, andrew8. Born too soon.

However, after graduating, I worked in Northern VA, where there was one glorious afternoon by the Potomac....

It's about 45 minutes to an hour to drive between Roanoke and Lynchburg. Just take 460, that's the direct route, although the Parkway is prettier.