Took this picture myself when I was on Warren Wilson Campus during their Summer music program called the Swannanoa Gathering.

Summary  ( 88 words )

Warren Wilson College is a Liberal Arts College located in Swannanoa, North Carolina.  The Curriculum is a mixture of In-classroom learning, work and community service ( which is required for Graduation ). It was founded  in 1894  as the Asheville Farm School and became a 4 year College in the mid 1960s. It’s a small private College with twenty one Majors, most of them being Humanities and Social Science. The Methods that the College uses to try and convince College students to go their College is Pathos and Imagining readers. 

Analysis ( 907 words ) 

First thing the audience sees when they enter the site  is a banner that says “ We believe the World needs curiosity “. The College wants the audience of potential students and their parents to know that the school prioritizes learning and encourages a thirst for knowledge. Below it there is another quote that says ;  “ Our Philosophy ; Academics, Work & Service. The World needs curiously  insightful, experienced, and capable individuals and we’re ready to help you be one. “ followed by a button under it that says “ we’re different “ . This button leads to their academic page which elaborates on the values of the college. They state upfront that they expect extracurricular activities along with college work. This College is focused on making sure their students are well rounded and provide them with opportunities for them to gain experience. Below that there is a link to the list of Majors,Minors and Concentrates. There are only twenty one majors, there are over thirty minors and twenty concentrations ( concentrations being a specific focus in a major or field ). Despite the fact that there are only 21 majors, students still have a lot of options to study. Obviously when clicking on each major, the College gives a brief description about what the courses are about and what the minors and concentrations are and also shows a couple of classes as a preview. 

When clicking onto the Students’ Life tab, it starts with a quote about working hard and finding answers that says ¨ If you like to dive in, climb high, play hard, and never stop searching for the best answers to hard questions, this is the place for you. “ Once again making it clear that learning is a priority for the College. It is followed by information about the College Campus, including the hiking trails and the nearest city, Asheville. After that there is information about food and board. 

The College boasts that the food served in the Cafeteria comes from a farm run by the Students themselves. There are also two additional cafes, the Owl’s Nest, that serves coffee and snacks and the Vegetarian Cowpie that serves vegetarian, vegan and gluten free food, claiming that the students are the ones cooking the food. The College really emphasizes the quality of the food they serve and the fact that students are the ones in charge of the planning and cooking/ baking of the food. Seems like they are demonstrating that they care about the students’ health and preferences on what they choose to eat. The next set of links explain where they get their food from ( aka the links about their farm, gardens and local food sources ) and the people behind it. 

For the Housing, The College requires that the Students live on Campus for three years and can only live off Campus if they either completed ninety credit hours or is under the age of twenty one but only under certain conditions such as they are living with someone nearby, have a kid, or are completely financially independent. That Information is followed by a quote  by Kathleen Maloney “ When you are part of a community, your level of accountability for yourself and your surroundings heightens. It’s not just a random face cleaning your bathroom, it’s your roommate’s or your neighbor’s. Treating everyone in my environment as a human being like me regardless of what they are doing rather than a task or a service is something that has stayed with me.” Which seems to be advice to a student living away from home, possibly for the first time with people who are also living away from home possibly for the first time. The College gives the students a survey about their lifestyle, habits and interests  then tries to assign a room and roommate according to the results, once again showing that the Schools cares more about the students as people than grades and test scores.

Like other Schools, Warren Wilson College provides extracurriculars and sports to entertain students and give them an opportunity for growth. They also give ideas for things that students can do other than the weekends which is mostly play music, create art, appreciate nature and go to Asheville. 

Warren Wilson College does not have a specific religion that it is associated with in fact, the College encourages inclusivity and tolerance between people of different Religions. They call it the Interfaith journey where they allow religious groups to meet and provide funding rituals, holidays and festivities. Not everything about it is Religious and some aspects focus on just spirituality and ‘ finding one’s self ‘ through activities like yoga, hiking, and art. 

The College is a liberal arts College meaning it focuses on Art, Literature , sociology. They use Pathos to portray a welcoming environment with staff that focus on students and their personal interests. They care more about them than as a number or statistic. When looking at the Website, they are acting like they are talking to the Potential Student and appealing to their personal interests. They provide many opportunities for the students to gain new and useful skills which are appealing to students and their parents who are the target audience by using the Imaginary audience strategy , using language like they’re presenting to someone and trying to make a personal connection by using ‘we’ and ‘our’ in the text. Warren Wilson College is trying to be a homey and inviting, drawing in people that enjoy socializing and the arts.

Response ( 203 words )

I enjoy the atmosphere that the School is trying to give for the students ; a tight- knit community that cares about the students personal preferences. If Warren Wilson College were to move to Atlanta and I didn’t have to worry about money, I still wouldn’t go to it. My reason is that I want to focus on Foreign Language and I haven’t seen any foreign language programs. They do have Study abroad programs but based on the sample courses, I would have to be in a specific major to go to a specific country and The College does not seem to have foreign language classes let alone a major in foreign language ( which is just studying the language and culture ). Warren Wilson College focuses on Art and Music which is further proven by the music programs they have over the summer called the Swannanoa Gathering, which is how I know about the School ( my family, especially my dad,is involved in the Celtic Music community ). If I wanted to a major in something involving art, music or agriculture then Warren Wilson would be a great candidate but because I am majoring in foreign Language, Warren Wilson is not  the right College for me. 

Sources ;

• “Warren Wilson College Webpage.” Warren Wilson College, 27 Mar. 2023, https://www.warren-wilson.edu/. 
• Board, College. “College Board.” BigFuture College Search, https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/colleges/warren-wilson-college/academics.