<p>^^nice. swarthmore comes in at 932 wadddupppppppp</p>
<p>These schools may be wonderful schools, not knocking them. But I have not heard of them and I do not believe they are widely known. That doesn’t mean they are not good schools. Have many of you heard of Doane? Capital? The Masters? Covenant? I have lived my life so far on the East Coast and maybe that has something to do with it, even though I know hundreds of colleges around the country.</p>
<p>I’ve heard of Wabash and Covenant, but not any of the others.</p>
<p>Sooviet, you should have known at least three of those schools:</p>
<p>Wabash is one of only TWO of the all-male colleges in the country that had the ■■■■■■■ to withstand the whining that turned just about every male college in the country into a co-ed college.</p>
<p>Hillsdale is notable as just about the only truly conservative college in the country…and they are proud to avoid taking any federal money so they can do just about anything they want.</p>
<p>Westminster is where Churchill’s famous “Iron Curtain” speech was delivered.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I know of Wabash, Pac Lutheran, Hillsdale, Ripon, Principia, and Luther. I have actually visited Westminster, Wofford, Berry , and Austin and written about all but Berry (and maybe them, too) here on cc. Wabash and Austin are (or at least were) top 100 USNWR LAC’s. (See list below.)</p>
<p>“Who the heck even heard of some of these schools and Forbes actually placed these unknowns above other far more known and wonderful schools.”</p>
<p>Just because they are less known, it doesn’t mean they aren’t more wonderful. For example, D is going to Williams which may or may not deserve it’s #1 ranking. But, the majority of people I meet give me blank looks when I tell them she is going there. Is it then less wonderful?</p>
<p>Just for the record:</p>
<p>USNWR National LAC’s</p>
<p>Wabash 54
Wofford 62
Austin 68
Hillsdale 89
Luther 89
Westmont 92
Berry 112
Ripon 122</p>
<p>I have researched a ton of schools. Some of these schools I mentioned likely do not fit the criteria of the kinds of schools many of my students have been seeking. Also, often small LACs that are not too well known draw from their own region and that may account for why some in the East may not know of some of these, or some students on the West Coast either. They may not draw much from a national applicant pool. </p>
<p>As far as Wabash, I have yet to have a male student who wants a single sex college (one of the questions I ask them about). </p>
<p>I truly wonder how many have heard of St. Norbert, Capital, The Masters, Houghton, George Fox, Salem, or Doane? </p>
<p>Most of those 26 schools don’t appear in the common big college directory books either. </p>
<p>Again, all may be truly wonderful schools. But they are not widely known, at least here in the East.</p>
<p>soozievt, this ranking does not purport to rank how well-known the schools are but rather student satisfaction.</p>
<p>If you are a college counselor and don’t know of the schools above (top 100 LACs), I suggest you work on improving your skills because some of your clients might lose out on some great opportunities.</p>
<p>I have an outdated Princeton Review “Best 345 Colleges” directory. </p>
<p>Of those 25 schools I mentioned earlier that I had not heard of that Forbes had in the top 250 of “best collegs”, only the following appear in the book:</p>
<p>Wabash
Wofford
Ripon
Westminster
Austin</p>
<p>(thus I truly had “heard” of these five, but didn’t know much about them, but the rest, nope)</p>
<p>blaquedude, </p>
<p>Of course this ranking doesn’t purport to rank how well known the schools are. I was just commenting that this list of “best colleges” has some schools on it that are not widely known that are ranked quite high and above some very well known and well regarded colleges and universities. It was just an observation. </p>
<p>Many of them do not even appear in widely read college directories that list hundreds of colleges. </p>
<p>As far as student satisfaction, I think the way they went about it was not scientific data gathering whatsoever and not too valid. </p>
<p>I know of hundreds of colleges in the country. I don’t know every single college that exists. Most of the schools I listed tend not to meet criteria that many of my students are seeking. But I am always up for discovering more schools!</p>
<p>Several of the schools have religious affiliations and the majority of my students have specified not desiring religious affiliated schools. Several of those schools have under 1000 students or else under 1500 students and typically none of my students have been willing to apply to schools that small (though I suggest many LACs but they are not quite as small as some of these). I also work with many students seeking specialized degree programs and none of those schools have these particular programs as I know just about every school in the country that offers these particular specialized programs. </p>
<p>By the way, only 6 of the 25 schools I mentioned are ranked in the top 100 LACs by USNews (based on curm’s list). That leaves the other 19. However, I have never followed college rankings and don’t go by those in suggesting colleges. I go by fit.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, I have looked up many of the 26 schools in the “best 250 colleges” with which I wasn’t familiar. I can see why in most of these cases. A great many have an undergraduate population of under 1000 (or slightly over) and a great many are religiously affiliated schools. Both those two facts have yet to meet the criteria of any student I have had to date. When you add in location, many of these 26 schools I named are not located in geographical areas that many of my students have had as selection criteria. </p>
<p>There are actually 3 more schools I had not heard of as Forbes “best 250”:
College of Idaho
Hanover College
Wesleyan College (GA)</p>
<p>I know all 3 of those. College of Idaho is a name change from Albertson . I have visited Hanover College (my daughter applied as did another old time cc kid and he attended), and I recommend Wesleyan often to female students as a suggestion.</p>
<p>Sooz: Has no student ever asked about a pretty and excellent small college that is secular and conservative? (Hillsdale being the most notable such college)</p>
<p><a href=“404 Not Found - Hillsdale College”>404 Not Found - Hillsdale College;
<p>
LOL suze. Berry was so unknown it made it twice on your list!! Its actually just up the road a bit from here. It is a gorgeous campus!!</p>
<p>I made a mistake then on College of Idaho. I actually did know of Albertson, but was not aware of the name change. I know someone who attended a long time ago. Also, they were at the National Championships for collegiate ski racing which my daughter was in and I attended. </p>
<p>Schmaltz:
</p>
<p>Very few have specified “conservative” colleges. I recommend small schools ALL the time. But many of the ones I mentioned above are under 1000 (smaller than the size almost every student I have worked with is willing to do) and many of those were religiously affiliated ones (again, most of my students do NOT want that) and many were in locations that were not where my students were looking. Hillsdale was one of the only non-religious affiliated schools I mentioned earlier. Wesleyan (in GA) is all girls, besides the fact that it has 829 students and is religiously affiliated. So far, I have yet to have a student willing to apply to single-sex colleges though I have suggested them even so (i.e., Smith, Barnard). Wesleyan (GA)'s student body only has 10% of its students from out of state. Thus, it is not odd that since the majority of my clients have not been from Georgia (the two so far wanted specialized degree programs that Wesleyan in GA doesn’t offer), it is not far fetched that this school would not really be one that those whom I have worked with would be seeking. I also have a great many students seeking specialized programs and none of those 25 schools I named have these programs, as I am familiar with the schools that do. But indeed I suggest LACs frequently. I can think of only one student who had a preference toward conservative (but it wasn’t a must) and she ended up at William and Mary. Most have specified “liberal.” I work with students from all over the country and out of the country as well.</p>
<p>jym, some of this is regional. You live near Berry and so have heard of it. Berry’s student body is drawn from the Southeast. Many in the Southeast, for example, would not know Champlain College, here in my region.</p>
<p>True, sooze. But in addition to also having heard of the many Wesleyan colleges (north and south), I’m also familiar with Hillsdale, Hanover, Wabash, Wofford, Ripon, and Troy (who beat Rice in one of the few bowl games Rice made it to in recent years).</p>
<p>Jym, is Troy the school I know as Troy State?</p>
<p>And I had no prior knowledge of Champlain, Soozie. Got me on that one. ;)</p>
<p>As I wrote earlier, I had heard of Wabash, Wofford, and Ripon on the surface, having come across them in college directories. But many of the rest are religious schools, very small, and in regions that my clients have not been seeking (let alone most were unwilling to attend religious schools). In the case of Troy, yes, it is big and not religiously affiliated. But it is in Alabama, which quite honestly is an area where I have rarely had a student who is willing to attend college in terms of the geographic preferences. Actually, 57% of those who attend Troy University are from Alabama and I have yet to have any students from Alabama. I also have a large number of students who are seeking particular specialized programs and these schools don’t have these. You live in the South and also have kids who have gone to college in the South and so knowing Troy is understandable. It would not be a school that any student I have had so far would be seeking, given their selection criteria. I’m sure it is a fine school. There are a lot of neat schools in my neck of the woods and I can assure you that kids in certain regions don’t want to come here (Vermont)!</p>