Are there state schools that have a small school feel?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Are all state schools pretty much the same (huge, known for parties, football and Greek life) as I have assumed, or are there some state schools that really don't fit that description....that might have a more "Selective LAC" feel, or a true small school within a big school feel (Maybe with an Honors college)?</p>

<p>Our search is primarily in Florida and the Southeast.</p>

<p>I've realized that my impression of what state schools are like (ALL state schools) is really just based on what little I know about our Florida state schools. My daughter hasn't shown any interest in going to a big state U. We know that finances will pay a big part in where she ends up, and Florida state schools might be the most affordable, as in-state schools, but I also keep reading, here and there, about other state schools that give merit aid, or waive out-of state fees, but I hadn't paid much attention to those, thinking that all state schools are pretty much the same, so why wouldn't she just go to a Florida State school if he was going to go to any state school?</p>

<p>Are there state schools we are overlooking that might offer that selective small school feel?<br>
(D has already pretty much crossed New College of Florida off her list.)</p>

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<p>[COPLAC</a> | Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges](<a href=“http://www.coplac.org/students/admissions.php]COPLAC”>http://www.coplac.org/students/admissions.php) has a list of small state schools that try to be more of liberal arts colleges.</p>

<p>Some, but not all, of them are fairly inexpensive for out-of-state students, such as University of Minnesota - Morris and Truman State.</p>

<p>With a different academic emphasis (engineering), there are also small state schools like South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and Colorado School of Mines. The first two are relatively inexpensive for out-of-state students.</p>

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<p>My daughter has UNC-Asheville and University of Minnesota-Morris on her list. Truman State in Missouri is another state school. I know all are outside of Florida but they all have relatively low OOS tuition and fees. They are all on the small side - maybe too small.</p>

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<p>Arizona has NAU Northern Arizona University up in the mountains about two hours from Phoenix, with brick buildings and snow and everything…not selective but smaller state university with LAC feel.</p>

5

<p>The University of South Carolina Honors College has a small school feel. Only 350 kids in the program as freshmen and they take a lot of honors classes. My dd has 14 of her 17 hours in honors. All of her honors classes have less than 30 kids in them - two of them are in the Honors Dorm on the first floor! Now, once you leave the Honors classes and Honors dorm you are in big school SEC/Football/Greeklife (only 28% of student body) world - to my dd this was the best of both worlds. AND… if you can get into the Honors College (which is pretty competitive - and 8 essays!) then you are almost assured to get in state tuition and then possibly more scholarship on top of that! We are in Ohio and my DD is going to USC cheaper that she could have gone to Ohio State!</p>

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<p>William and Mary, SUNY-Geneseo</p>

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<p>College of Charleston in SC.</p>

<p>If you can get good need-based/merit aid, UMiami wouldn’t cost much more than an in-state school. It’s 10,000 students on a 230 acre campus.</p>

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<p>UNC - Asheville’s Integrated Liberal Studies core curriculum is described here:
[Welcome</a> | Integrative Liberal Studies](<a href=“http://ils.unca.edu/]Welcome”>http://ils.unca.edu/)</p>

<p>Looks like about 18 courses, which is slightly more than half of one’s courses if students average about 32 courses over 8 semesters, although it is possible that some courses for the ILS core overlap with the student’s major.</p>

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<p>UNC Asheville</p>

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<p>Has she looked at University of West FL, FAU or Florida Gulf Coast (FGCU)? All of these are Florida public Universities that are smaller and have a different feel compared to our big state schools!</p>

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<p>Unc-Asheville is a school that comes to my mind when I think of state schools that are also liberal arts schools.</p>

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<p>New College of Florida <a href=“https://www.ncf.edu/[/url]”>https://www.ncf.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Edit: Sorry, I just re-read that your D crossed it off. Leaving this here in case someone else wonders about Florida public LACs.</p>

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<p>The College of Charleston and UNC Asheville both pop up frequently in this thread, and I think both fit the bill. The two schools have very different personalities. CofC is VERY urban (which I much prefer, but that’s me) and has an impressive history. UNCA, while a terrific school, is quite suburban-feeling, despite it’s relative close proximity to Downtown Asheville (which is awesome!). It’s also a fairly new school by comparison. Both are excellent possibilities.</p>

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<p>FAU has a stand-alone Honors College with its own campus near hospitals (premed is very big as are all the sciences). It’s called Harriett Wilkes and has about 400 students. Scholarships make it very cheap in state. It’s less quirky than New College but is pretty intense.</p>