<p>In addition to the LACs and Ivies mentioned above, another mid-sized school to consider would be the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington. In addition to global issues, the University also has a Classics Department and the entire freshman general ed core requirement is oriented towards making the students more rounded in the humanities.</p>
<p>Lots of great input here! Interesting how things sometimes converge…at same time I posted this and our discussion was going on, my husband had a conversation with our son on a car ride together. Seems that on his own my son came to the thought that Rice and Emory would be good places to explore. Rochester is probably a so-called “safety,” from his perspective - another school mentioned by some of you. He does like schools adjacent to a city, but seems open to more rural settings if the school intrigues him and has an intellectual bent. Grinnell is one such school he said he would want to visit and investigate. </p>
<p>An interesting take on the whole application process is the book “Acceptance” by David Marcus (blogger on education issues for the NY Times), who follows legendary guidance counselor Gwyeth Smith during his last year before retirement. Smith talks about what an experience of growth the application process can be for kids, and I see that potential with my son - clarifying for himself how he thinks he learns, how he wants to be challenged, how he wants to grow intellectually and as a leader over the next four years. I love that perspective, hope we can maintain that over the next few months throughout the admissions process!</p>
<p>Grinnell was a great fit for my son. He was a quieter kid and really came out of his shell. The academics were meaty and the social scene accepting and fun. He liked the diversity of the student population and loved living in a small town… Since graduation he and his friends have spread out all over the US- there happens to be a big contingent in DC where he is now and they are busy and productive kids. Grinnell is definitely not the location for everyone, but for sure the kids who chose it a great college experience awaits. Good luck to your son in the search!</p>
<p>I’m a huge fan of LACs, but Classics can be tricky, as there is usually only one Latinist and one Greek specialist, and if one is on leave or there is a personality clash, there goes your major. The department might also not offer enough depth for a kid coming in with 7 years of Latin and some elementary Greek. Exceptions include Bryn Mawr (which a boy could access through the consortium with Swarthmore and Haverford) and Colgate.</p>
<p>St. Johns is not to be recommended for serious Classicists, as they only offer one year of Latin and less Greek.</p>
<p>Another vote for the midwestern LACs: Grinnell could be a great fit for your son: See <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/grinnell-college/438138-why-grinnell.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/grinnell-college/438138-why-grinnell.html</a></p>
<p>If he’s into music, than Oberlin, with their music conservatory pouring out musical performances every night of the year, and slightly larger student body size, might also be a good option.</p>
<p>Adding my support for Rice. Great, great place. Does he want Univ or LAC or does it not matter? Has he looked at Amherst, Williams, etc?</p>
<p>Hillsdale or the University of Dallas.</p>
<p>@ partyof6 and others,
I won’t lie and say that there weren’t frustrating moments along the college selection journey for us, but in general, I will look on with fondness on the process as perhaps the last time where I will see day to day our daughter’s judgement and discernment grow. We started in the spring of sophomore year with switching her weekend chores around so that she and I had 2 hours every Sunday afternoon in the office with the door closed. I was the research assistant and secretary - she was the boss. Initially, the most critical piece was what the food was like, and what the quick student reviews said. My opinion was listened to, but not necessarily taken seriously, and I learned to go with it. “You want to go to a school where it is small, 70% girls and 50% fine arts even though you are a straight girl with no particular interest in fine arts because it is in a really pretty part of New York City?? Great - let’s tour it.” As time went by, her discernment and listening skills got much better (SHOCK!!! Mom IS listening and CAN find interesting colleges based on my criterion!). Since she decided she only wanted urban campuses, and she did not want CA where we live, we had a FABULOUS time visiting NYC, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Jose. Parenting is a tough job - someone has to do it! 
In the end, she chose a school that could not be more perfect - a school that at the beginning I did not think was a great choice but I have also completely embraced. The PROCESS was wonderful - don’t miss it in the details!!</p>
<p>Geneseo…</p>
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<p>As someone who, well, actually attends the school, that is just a complete hearsay lie. I personally think that Northwestern has a quite close student-faculty relationship for a school with such strong graduate programs. Admittedly, it’s no LAC, but I’ve developed some nice relationships with several of my professors, and almost all of them were always available for office hours and personal inquiries. The professors were open and understanding and willing. I’ve actually taken courses there and attend there, and what you just said is utterly ridiculous. Did you do a great deal of research to arrive at that profoundly hollow statement?</p>
<p>Control the dark side, you must, young padawan Tinfoyl, before calling people out.</p>
<p>If having a close faculty-student relationship is defined by having said faculty almost always show up for office hours and talk to students, then you are correct, NU has a great faculty-student tie. I look for a bit more than that.</p>
<p>Oh, and unlike you, I actually graduated from Northwestern.</p>
<p>Easy, Tinfoyl. Gratuitous insults don’t work well in the parents’ threads. You’re welcome to hang around, but watch your manners if you do.</p>
<p>I don’t understand what you expect of a faculty…is a good student-faculty relationship one where they invite you out to the movies every Friday and hug you after class? C’mon. Practically every professor I had was incredibly open to discussion in or after class, and they were always willing to lend a hand for academic help. In most of my smaller classes (which virtually meant “all” considering 3/4 of classes are under 20 students), the classes were incredibly individualized with the professor developing friendly relationships with many of the students. For a potential applicant, you’re just flat-out not telling the truth. Northwestern has great graduate programs and a good number of graduate students, but to say that the 8000+ undergraduates suffer from lack of attention is garbage. If you’re comparing private universities in general to LACs, then you’re correct i saying that the latter is more undergraduate focused - that’s their only focus after all. But then you can’t single Northwestern out compared to all the other top private universities or else you succumb to the dark side.</p>
<p>And mafool, I didn’t realize I said anything remotely close to a “gratuitous insult.” I said that in my experience attending Northwestern, that is not even remotely true. And then I provided how my experience differed from everything the poster said. If that’s some type of barb then I wish the world was only that cruel - it’d be a better place. You might want to reread my post…</p>
<p>Vanderbilt? We have some colleagues who taught there and it is a robust, dynamic environment. Or Johns Hopkins, which has some excellent humanities departments? I know a recent Rice undergrad who loved it, especially the Residence colleges which seem to foster passion and loyalty similar to ND residence halls. </p>
<p>Another idea, though it would not appeal to the name-brand concern, is Univ Iowa-- much smaller than IU, with about 18,000 undergrads so more the size of an extra big private. We were told entering freshman class is only 50% Iowa residents (though Illinois is a strong second). Active Honors program which is inclusive and could create the smaller experience, plus lovely campus adjoining Iowa City which is a neat college town.</p>
<p>Also, please check your messages, I sent a private message. </p>
<p>Good luck with the explorations!</p>
<p>Case Western? D. turned down Northwestern for Case. But she liked Cleveland more than Chicago also, and she totally does not care about prestige. Cleveland is a problem for many others, they do not care for it. Case is very famous for huge Merit awards.</p>
<p>Perhaps Michigan.</p>
<p>For LACs, how about Carlton College or Grinnell.</p>
<p>A little known but uber-prestigious college for men is Deep Springs. It is unique - students attend for two years, work a cattle ranch in the Sierras out in California, study and live and work the ranch with distinguished professors, then go off to the Ivy or whatever school is their choice to finish their undergrad education. It’s completely free, btw. The thrust is largely literature, philosophy and history but many graduates also pursue the physical sciences. The application is a huge amount of writing, SATs, transcripts and interview.</p>
<p>Our son thought about pursuing Deep Springs but backed away. He says he kind of wishes he’d done it. In many respects, physical work in the outdoors combined with a very cerebral scholarly existence for two years is a cool concept.</p>
<p>I mention Deep Springs to the OP simply because she mentioned her son reads the classics on his own. I think that’s the sort of student that might do well at Deep Springs.</p>
<p>[Deep</a> Springs College](<a href=“http://www.deepsprings.edu/home]Deep”>http://www.deepsprings.edu/home)</p>
<p>Tinfoyl. IMO, this is a “gratuitous insult”:</p>
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<p>And then when you tell someone who calls you out on it that “you might want to reread my post” you pour gasoline on the flames.</p>
<p>If you disagree, that’s fine, but you should be aware that when you choose to be a spokesperson for your college and say things that at least some of us think are very rude, you hurt the college’s rep.</p>
<p>" don’t understand what you expect of a faculty…is a good student-faculty relationship one where they invite you out to the movies every Friday and hug you after class?"</p>
<p>-If classes are huge, prof simply does not have a chance to attend to everybody’s questions/concerns/inquiries/complaints. So, it is much more to a college than individual prof. Profs also have personal lives, they have to eat, sleep, spend time with family. Being part of class of 10 is not the same as being part of class of 300. D. had even smaller classes than 10, and she also had classes of 300. Also, her UG does not utilize TA for lectures, many others do. </p>
<p>So, IMO, going to the movies is redundant, but having opportunity to work with every single student who needs academic help or at least being able to hire assistant to run officially scheduled tutoring sessions (paid position - SI) depends on university much more than individual prof. To seek colleges like this is a good strategy.</p>
<p>FWIW, son’s friends who went to NU had a wonderful experience, lots of research under good professors, internships – have never heard anything negative except it can be very cold near the lake when there is a wind.</p>