When we went to BU they made it very clear that they value showing interest and they don’t want to be seen as a safety…similar to Lehigh. Your essays need to reflect why you are a fit for the school, and they don’t want you talking about Boston…at all.
If you like Colgate University, then Bucknell University should be considered.
Fiske Guide To Colleges 2020: Bucknell overlaps:
Colgate
Univ. of Richmond
Villanova
Wash & Lee
Boston College
& others.
I think that Colgate & Bucknell are quite similiar.
NEU does have sororities so that does provide a social outlet for those that join. Definitely has more of a campus than BU.
@Lindagaf by traditional fun I’m thinking Big Ten fun which translates to football tailgates and basketball games. She’s a dancer and would love to be on a dance team at a big school like that out on the field. But doesn’t want a big school for the rest of the stuff. Ha! Wants community feeling where kids know each other. She will obviously have to compromise on something.
Even S19, who never went to a football game in high school, now misses the idea of big football in college. I told him to hop on the train and go to a game with his BC friends.
Davidson is a place where a conservative student can feel comfortable, but the majority, by a significant margin, of the students are not conservative. I agree W&L is more conservative and the Greek system is a bigger part of the social scene, so that’s two differences.
@homerdog – I know you’ve considered, but I have to throw Elon into the mix again if you’re thinking more pre-professional! A good contrast to Northeastern, if nothing else. It’s a very well run college on the way up, and she’d be a top student with a lot of opportunity. For example, their communications program is top notch, and they have a Fellows program. We know someone who is doing it – they get a little merit $$ and lots of trips and other opportunities. The person we know wants to do sports journalism/broadcasting, and they have access to lots of resources to learn the profession on campus and access to internships at places like ESPN. Just one example of the pre-professional focus. Here’s a link:
https://www.elon.edu/u/academics/communications/about-the-school/communications-fellows/
Also, is Lehigh on her list? We’ve not visited but are thinking of a Spring Break visit – they have an integrated engineering and business program my son is intrigued by. Based on CC, people either love it or hate it? I really don’t know that much. The cost scares me b/c I’m not sure how good they are on aid.
Note that many other colleges have optional co-op programs, though they may seem mainly done by engineering students. Doing co-ops will extend calendar time to graduation, but not tuition-paying school semesters (although a student could end up needing more semesters of school for other typical reasons like taking light course loads, failing courses, poor planning of choosing required and prerequisite courses, late change of major, etc.).
Other colleges where co-op is a more integral part of the curriculum are Cincinnati and Drexel.
Coops programs are fine but college students can definitely get work experience and build resumes without them through summer employment and internships and externships during breaks. Taking advantage of those times to build a good start on a resume are just as important (I’d argue more important) than a school’s career center.
W&L is apparently well connected with the typical “elite” employers (Wall Street and consulting) that seem to otherwise be associated with Ivy League recruiting.
Despite being seen as a LAC, about a quarter of bachelor’s graduates are in business or accounting ( https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=washington+lee&s=all&id=234207#programs ). W&L’s business division has AACSB accreditation, and AACSB lists an even larger number of bachelor’s graduates ( https://datadirect.aacsb.edu/public/profiles/profile.cfm?interstitialComplete=1&runReport=1&unitid=55032&userType=All ), but that may include other majors in the business division (e.g. economics).
According to https://www.wlu.edu/document/2018-common-data-set , 75% of women and men join sororities and fraternities. Sororities are listed at https://www.wlu.edu/student-life/student-activities/greek-life/greek-organizations/sororities .
@AlmostThere2018 I put Elon back on the list to see this March. As for Lehigh, I thought that was a good idea but she met the rep at school and thought he was a dud. Not sure I can get her back on the band wagon.
@homerdog Michigan. Biased parent here.
Yes, 30,000 undergrads, but has a smaller feeling IMO. Central Campus is compact, but doesn’t feel crowded. IMO. Both A2 commercial areas, S. State and S. University, are adjacent to campus and only feel crowded on move-in or Parents Weekend. Teacher-student ratio is 15:1. Free tutoring and advising readily available. Honors program and Living Learning Communities available for those that want an even smaller feeling.
Of course, B1G spirit galore.
Regarding Richmond, it probably would be best to know going in that women technically enroll in Westhampton College (which, as with all-male Richmond College, constitutes a college within the coeducational university). Though most aspects of UR life (classes, dining, housing) are mixed across gender lines, a few single-sex events and traditions endure. In actual experience, most students probably regard this as simply quaint and anodyne, however.
(For general reading on this topic, see *Coordinate Colleges for American Women: a Convergence of Interests, 1947-78/i, in which Westhampton, William Smith, Stern and Benedict are named as the remaining examples of coordinate education.)
I was wondering what makes it “not a fit”?
I really see Lehigh as a school your D would like…I would try and get her to change her mind. They are looking for students who are not from NY-NJ-PA…another plus for your D. It has strong academics, a great reputation, huge school spirit, a gorgeous campus, etc.
We visited twice and my D attended two local events. She had a great relationship with the local admissions rep and definitely hit it off with him.
I think I would gently nudge her to reconsider…just my opinion. I see it as a great match.
When I read the description of your daughter’s preferences in post #123 above, it screams state university honors college.
Ole Miss may be the smallest SEC school It offers merit scholarship awards, good environment for talented writers, big time college fun without the huge school environment. Of course, no honors college is in the running without a strong ACT or SAT score.
When will your daughter receive her ACT score ?
University of Mississippi scholarships are mostly test score based, as shown by the table that they publish: https://finaid.olemiss.edu/scholarships/#8 . Higher ACT (up to 33) or SAT (up to 1450) increases the scholarship amount.
Apparently Ole Miss has outstanding Arabic & Chinese language programs as well.
Full out-of-state tuition for an ACT score of 33. GPA requirement is quite low.
Academic partial scholarships automatically awarded starting at ACT 25 / SAT 1200. Increase for each ACT point up to ACT 33 or SAT 1450 for full out-of-state tuition. Great deal if school offers a program of interest. Has cutting edge one year masters programs in accounting & data science / data analysis.
My first connection with Ole Miss was through The Croft Institute (foreign relations/diplomacy type program) over a decade ago.
Ole Miss is much smaller than the typical Big 10 school (but not smaller than Northwestern) & offers a cozy atmosphere.
Also, I believe Ole Miss permits scholarship stacking up to the full cost of attendance. Ole Miss offers a lot of scholarships including for Eagle Scout or Gold Award. Not difficult to qualify for multiple scholarships.
Potential applicants should inquire about the structure of the honors college to assure small class sizes with the best students.
Oxford, Mississippi is a great college town. And, apparently, a great place for authors & musicians to live. ( William Faulkner.)
I would seriously consider UIUC/Gies, especially since it’s in-state. Here are a few links addressing some things you mentioned in this thread:
You daughter could dance and be an Illinette. There are several on the team who are business majors. https://www.illinettesdanceteam.com/meet-the-team
Gies has an excellent Business Career Services department. The pipeline for post-graduation employment to the Chicago area is incredible. https://giesbusiness.illinois.edu/docs/default-source/default-document-library/units/giesoutcomes.pdf?sfvrsn=ef23e988_4
My kids felt Gies is a very comfortable size. There are about 600 in a freshman class…and about 3100 for all business undergrads.
http://www.dmi.illinois.edu/stuenr/abstracts/FA19freshman_ten.htm
@Publisher Is Ole Miss paying you a commission? You keep beating on that drum. 
No big state schools. She’s been on campus at UIUC and Wisconsin and doesn’t want to walk far to class or take busses. She wants smaller traditional campus. And, believe me, I have looked at honors colleges and they don’t work like liberal arts schools within a school. Mostly, though, she just does not want a big school. She wants what her brother has at Bowdoin - small class size from the get go, nice dorms, good food, a community feeling where it’s very easy to find your people. She doesn’t want to move off campus after freshman year into an apartment so res life for four (or at least three) year is important to her.
We know a lot of kids at UIUC. Classes were huge all of freshman year no matter what the major. She’s undecided and needs small classes right away to help narrow things down. The dorms are dumpy and the food is pretty bad. Our niece had the hardest time in her Calc class. Couldn’t understand the prof and the TA was even worse. Ended up using the digital version of her book for extra help. That does not happen at Bowdoin at least. We want the same experience for D.
When we visited Wisconsin she almost cried when she saw the old dingy dorm room and so did I. Plus, walking 15-20 min in the freezing cold all winter just isn’t an option in her head. She felt the campus was crowded. She liked the space she felt at the LACs she’s seen so far. And everyone on our tour was from Wisconsin. She said “ I don’t want everyone I meet to be from Wisconsin.” Illinois would even be worse in that department. 50+ kids to each year from our school. She is looking to branch out.
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@88jm19 she does not want to be a business major. She is close to our niece who is a business major there and those classes are not interesting to her at all. She wants to study something in the liberal arts - English, poli sci, history, psych. She has a friend there who is an Illiniette and is having a blast so yes that part would be fun. But she could do that at some of the schools on her list like Wake or dance in dance troupes at places like Richmond.