College Snapshots: Anna Maria College

College Snap Shots

In an effort to provide Burlington High School students and their families with relevant and up-to-date college information, the Guidance Staff will be visiting various colleges and universities and providing you with information. The colleges visited do not represent a preference on the part of the BHS Guidance Department towards any particular school.

In the college search process, many things are taken into consideration. Things that are considered, but not limited to are: campus size, location, number of students on campus, majors, tuition, distance from home, athletic programs, clubs and other activities. When considering a college, students must also make realistic decisions based on personal interest, grades, test scores, etc.

The department feels that the college visit is an integral part of the process, and we strongly encourage students to visit any and all schools that interest them, especially if these schools are fairly close by. The information we provide is only a small snapshot into each respective college. We hope to add information about other schools in the future, and as always we appreciate any feedback that you have that would help us provide our students and their families useful information in the sometimes overwhelming college search process.

Furthermore we ask that students also research colleges by using their Naviance accounts and scheduling meetings with their counselor on a consistent basis. Please feel free to contact your son or daughter's individual counselor if you have any further questions.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Anna Maria College

Paxton, MA

Visited by Ms. Minty on 12/15/13

Population of school: 1000 undergraduates

Campus type: 192 acre campus surrounded by paths through woods, small farms, and nurseries about 10 minutes outside the city of Worcester. Anna Maria is a member of the Worcester Consortium, which includes 11 additional colleges.

Most popular majors: Nursing, Criminal Justice, Music, Social Work and Education.

President's Building

Unique majors: Music Therapy, Fire Science, Paramedics and Health and Community Services, a new major that prepares students to work within the health care system, but in a non-clinical setting, mainly helping patients with navigation of the health care system.

Snapshot: Anna Maria is a small, private, Catholic, coeducational Master's level college with career-oriented programs based in the liberal arts. Class sizes are extremely small (15 or fewer is typical) and most majors involve an internship.

Though only about 50% of the students on campus are Catholic, all students are required to take three religion courses and attending weekly Mass is very popular, though not required. There is a huge emphasis on community service, and Christmas is a very big event on campus. Most everywhere I went, I saw Christmas trees, wreaths and other decorations. Some of the most popular annual events are the "Giving Tree" where students buy Christmas presents for needy children in the community and host a party for them, as well as a fancy Christmas dinner put on by the college president and his wife. Two ice skating rinks were being built while I toured, and are an annual tradition, one for figure skating and one for hockey. Athletics and being "green" are also emphasized on campus. The college is heated entirely by silo and is in the process of building a large solar farm.

Admissions: Average admitted GPA is 2.6 and the college is SAT/ACT optional. Students are automatically considered for the Honors Program when they apply. There are currently three BHS alumni attending Anna Maria.

Typical dorm

Dorm kitchen

College Snapshots