College of the Week: St. Michael's College

Founded in 1904, St. Michael's College is a small private catholic liberal arts college located in Colchester, Vt. just five minutes from Burlington. The college itself is small, around 2,000 undergraduate students, but the campus sits on 440 acres overlooking the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Winooski River. According to the Fiske's Guide to Colleges, St. Mike's offers a "plethora of solid programs" its strongest being sited as Biology, Chemistry, English, History, Religious Studies, Mathematics, Psychology, and Accounting. They have some shared programing with nearby UVM, including a 3-2 Engineering degree. The classes are small, and the college professors are praised for their knowledge and investment in their students.

There is no Greek life on campus but, the social scene isn't lacking. Students are required to live on campus all four years, so a variety of living situations are offered and St. Mike's is not a suitcase school. They have various weekend programing on campus and Burlington is nearby with three other colleges located in the city. Montreal is also only a short drive away.

St. Michaels offers 21 Varsity woman's and men's Division II sports teams and competes in the Northeast 10 conference. There is also many recreational and intramural sports teams. Because of its location, their Wilderness Program is popular which offers activities such as kayaking, rock and ice climbing, white water rafting and other outdoor activities. If you like to ski,there is a free shuttle from campus to Smugglers notch and reduced student ski passes.

Over 68 % of St. Michael's students participate in undergraduate research, and many receive stipends to work with professors on research. The St. Mike's students tend to be interested in social justice and political issues.