<p>I was going to say Oberlin would be a better fit. Swarthmore, too.</p>
<p>St. Benedict in MN feels like a high school. (yes, I’ve spent time on campus at a retreat. And in the very cold middle of nowhere.)</p>
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<p>I will strongly disagree with the “high school” feel. A summer retreat is vastly different than going to school there. There is a strong community feel though. It’s not in the middle of no where but it is in a small town, which is nice but close to a major regional shopping/medical center town, St. Cloud. Yes, it’s Minnesota, it’s cold in the winter. From what the OP said though, it sounds like a perfect fit or a very good fit for her daughter.</p>
<p>IMO Bates and Carleton kids are more ‘wholesome’ than preppy and not crunchy. Even liberal in a wholesome sort of way. I don’t know where the OP lives, but I can’t imagine shipping a kid a long distance for St. Benedict.</p>
<p>I’ll add my vote for Carleton. Intellectual, individualistic, quirky and fun student body with great science programs - certainly sounds like a fit. Add to that the Weitz Center for Creativity, a brand new facility to promote the arts and integrate them with traditional academic departments. Write up this weekend in the Chronicle of Higher Education:</p>
<p>[In</a> an Old School Building, Carleton College and Its Community Enjoy New Lessons - Administration - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“In an Old School Building, Carleton College and Its Community Enjoy New Lessons”>In an Old School Building, Carleton College and Its Community Enjoy New Lessons)</p>
<p>Would agree with looking into Wesleyan, Vassar, Swarthmore, Oberlin, and Williams. Would add Macalester to the list. If uni’s are not out of the question, certainly Brown, Yale, Chicago and possibly Columbia. Bard, Pitzer and Kenyon, somewhat less competitive admissions wise, would be considerations as well.</p>
<p>It wasn’t a summer retreat. School was in session. There is no draw. Sorry. Also, the place is full of nuns who are 97 years old.</p>
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I think kids are a lot more flexible than people think. There is frequently a bit of a knee-jerk reaction on these forums (Intellectual? Go to Swarthmore! Math/science? Go to Mudd! Musical? Go to Oberlin!), but truthfully most top colleges are pretty diverse and have students that run the gamut from apathetic to intellectual, poor to exorbitantly wealthy, and sports-challenged to star athletes.</p>
<p>I was the intellectual, quirky kid in high school and desperately wanted to go to Chicago. Due to financial aid needs, I wound up at a school in many ways similar to Davidson, loved it, and was crushed when I eventually had to graduate. My boyfriend attended a fairly preppy LAC but found his niche and made awesome friends through some clubs on campus – film society, a nerf wars club, a board game club, choir, etc. He too was very sad to graduate. </p>
<p>Davidson is a truly excellent college with a lot going for it. My Chicago alum interviewer, a professor at Davidson, spent nearly as much time convincing me to apply there as he did talking about Chicago. I eventually decided it was too close to home for my taste, but otherwise it would have been at or near the top of my list without a doubt.</p>
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<p>Well, that tends to happen at colleges established by monastic communities. To each his own but those 97 year old nuns are highly educated too…</p>
<p>It’s a great school, very well respected with a very high percentage of students getting into medical schools around the nation (98% at last count)-higher than Mac and Carleton actually.</p>
<p>^Schools with high medical acceptance rates have usually bumped kids off the pre-med track earlier. Sometimes with weeder courses, sometimes by the way they handle medical school recommendations.</p>
<p>If you’d like a college visit away from the east coast I would also suggest as others have an Ohio tour w/Kenyon and Oberlin.</p>
<p>^True but Mac and Carleton do the same so the comparison is pretty close to apples to apples. Regardless, St. Ben’s is a great school, no where near close to a “high school” feel and has a great reputation in the medical school community. It also closely fits the OP’s DD’s interests and the sense of community they found at Davidson.</p>
<p>I’ll put in another vote for Wesleyan. My D started in a good OOS Honors Program where it felt exactly as you described–kids were friendly, worked at schoolwork, but then much more into sports, social life, big parties, etc. School was what you did to get ahead. Little out of class eclectic discussions. She transfered to Wes, where she immediately even as a transfer felt welcomed in a community where she was accepted for who she was, rather than urged to dress up on the weekends, wear make-up, drink, etc. Class discussions were far-ranging and deeper level, and spilled out of the class afterward. Was life-changing for her, including making many friends that i feel certain will be lifelong.</p>
<p>St. Benedict and Davidson are vastly different. Davidson has D1 sports (Such as it is) and really bears no resemblance to a tiny school in nowhere Minnesota. I realize the OP wants some alternatives based on a few specific concerns, but the things they DID really like about Davidson are not going to be found at St. Benedict. It’s basically a convent.</p>
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<p>You are flat out wrong but whatever. Having toured Davidson and having been on the St. Ben’s campus more than once for a couple days for a retreat, you are flat out wrong, AND it has everything the OP’s DD wants in a school. No where did she say anything about DI sports but if she wants sports, St. Ben’s and St. John’s have top DIII sports teams across the board, including the winningest college football coach of all time at ANY level. The only real difference is that St. Ben’s is bigger than Davidson.</p>
<p>I’m not going to argue with you. It’s a fine place for the right student, which is going to be a Catholic from Minnesota. It’s a Benedictine women’s college sharing space with a convent.</p>
<p>I cannot imagine a fit between the OP’s D and a tiny religious school associated with a convent in Minnesota. Really.</p>
<p>If she’s open to Minnesota, Carleton would seem like the obvious fit. There have ben many other excellent suggestions in this thread: Wesleyan, Williams, Oberlin, Vassar, Bates, Chicago, Brown, Swarthmore, Smith, Wellesley, et al.</p>
<p>adding Grinnell to your list. New arts building: here’s links to the facilities.</p>
<p>[Facilities</a> - Art | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/art/facilities]Facilities”>http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/art/facilities)</p>
<p>[Bucksbaum</a> Center for the Arts Photo Gallery - About | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/aboutinfo/map/bucksbaum/photogallery]Bucksbaum”>http://www.grinnell.edu/aboutinfo/map/bucksbaum/photogallery)</p>
<p>This story, featured on the main page of the school’s website, might be of interest, too:</p>
<p>[Drawn</a> Together - News | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/news/features/drawntogether]Drawn”>http://www.grinnell.edu/news/features/drawntogether)</p>
<p>Consolation–just for the record, St. Ben’s is larger than Davidson, Carleton and Macalester–add St. John’s into the mix and they it is twice the size. It is not a "convent’ school either, no more than Notre Dame is a monastery.</p>
<p>It’s like a cross between Fargo and The Flying Nun!</p>
<p>My artsy son loves Pitzer, where he is a junior. Whether OP’s daughter wants to major in art is not clear to me; if so, I am not well acquainted with studio art at Pitz. But my son, who is a math major says he can’t imagine being anywhere else. He is active in a artist collective that provides space and materials for student non-class art projects as well as a group of musicians that provides space with instruments. </p>
<p>My son’s impression of Davidson after a weekend visit was that social life was centered in fraternities. He did not apply there.</p>
<p>Oh MOWC I rarely read stuff to my H but I did and he’s sitting reading the newspaper and chuckling.</p>