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[adageorge]

Anyone have any thoughts/know anything about McDaniel College or life in Westminster MD? Cost of living, quality of community, etc -- any input welcome! (Two-body problem, no kids yet; different departments and we are both pre-tenure. One has a tenure-stream offer at McDaniel, the other might follow and adjunct until a tenure-stream offer comes along.)

[onlyanne]

My info on McDaniel comes from research I did before applying for a post earlier this year.  I'm a little peeved about one thing & I'm going to vent before answering your question: they first advertised on both their website and CHE for  "Blue" and then 3 days before the due date the ad on the website changed to "Green."  I wouldn't have applied for Green; I'm not qualified.  Grrrr.

Presumably at this point you're not going to have that problem. 

McDaniel has a solid but not spectacular academic reputation.  They're actively trying to improve their profile, although they do have some beef with college rankings I never got to the bottom of.

It's not a top-tier SLAC, but it's fairly innovative and has a intellectually engaged, intrepid student body.  I don't think the value of this can be overstated.  Having visited a couple of top-tier SLAC where the very bright students completely lack the ability to see outside their own skulls, the thought of working with imaginative students who just need a little more background is very appealing.  The curriculum reflects this intrepidness, at least in my field.

I'm not in social sciences, but I get the sense that they benefit enormously from the proximity to DC.   

Westminster is something of a Baltimore/DC exburb.  Coming from a pricey area, the housing looked like a good value - not dirt cheap, but a lot of variety.  My only information on this other than the web was a really biased native.  He loved it, went on and on about the pretty town, the fabulous landscape, the perfect weather, etc. etc. 

[eulerian]

I basically agree with onlyanne as to the general academic quality of McDaniel. It is solid, but not top-tier.

The housing in Baltimore is in general reasonable compared to many other East Coast cities. That being said, the price range for houses in Westminster was fairly higher than what I expected it to be. It was comparable to many good neighborhoods in Baltimore.

It seems that the research expectation for new faculty at McDaniel is growing. You should ask if the resources you'd need for your research can be provided at an adequate level.

Good luck.

[smurlein]

Several years ago, McDaniel College was my dream job. The college and the area offered everything that I wanted: great location, beautiful campus, great students, funny faculty, etc. It still makes me sad that they turned me down.

[adageorge]

Thank you! The info I had from 10+ years ago was that the students were *not* academically engaged, and that's been my main concern. Can't tell you how reassuring it is to hear what's been said above.

Still eagerly listening for any other comments!

[slipstream]

I'm considering applying for a job at McDaniel College, and came across this old thread. I'm curious to hear if anyone here has more recent opinions on McDaniel (and Westminster, MD). Thanks!