My D is looking for a college environment that is cooperative and collaborative, not super competitive. She wants a socially and emotionally safe an environment as possible. She seeks a socially cohesive (i.e. not too cliquey) student body.Here are the schools she has applied to: Willamette, Puget Sound, Whitman, St. Mary’s (CA), Grinnell, Knox, Beloit, Ohio Wesleyan, College of Wooster, Kenyon, Sarah Lawrence, Wheaton (MA), Goucher, Drew, and Juniata. (We cast a wide net looking for merit money.) Any insights GREATLY APPRECIATED!
I only know Whitman well enough to respond to the cooperative/collaborative question. My son graduated two years ago, but I imagine it hasn’t changed much in such a short time. He had a broad spectrum of friends, students didn’t form into exclusive groups by club, sport or major. For example, he joined a fraternity but lived in an off-campus house with independents and guys who belonged to different fraternities. Greek life is pretty low key, and seems like just another option for being social. The academics are demanding, but study groups popped up spontaneously so suffering alone wasn’t necessary. Friends went out of their way to help each other get through classes, and there is also extensive tutoring and counseling services available to all students. Whitties tend to be nice, enthusiastic and adventurous, so, while I can say with great certainty that the Whitman culture is friendly and supportive, it is not, however, overly insulating. Whitman encourages students to try new things and stretch themselves socially, academically and emotionally. That philosophy means that students will try things they aren’t already good at and sometimes they will fail, but they also can discover hidden passions and abilities they hadn’t tested before. The culture supports getting out of one’s comfort zone. I would say at Whitman it’s emotionally safe to not always succeed, and isn’t that what developing grit and resilience is all about?
This is so helpful. Just exactly the kind of insight we are looking for.