<p>URochester is a small research university with an LAC-like feel and DivIII athletics.</p>
<p>Holy Cross is in Worcester which is on the commuter rail to Boston and is 40 miles to both Boston and Providence, RI. Division 1 sports.</p>
<p>I highly recommend Div. III sports for scholar-athletes, having had a kid play at the Div. I level and now one playing in Div. III. I also highly recommend the small LAC's - Amherst, Middlebury and Pomona in particular. Davidson is an awesome small LAC that is Div. I (the smallest Div. I school). I have no first-hand experience, but I would imagine it is more accommodating to scholar-athletes than most Div. I schools.</p>
<p>^^^I wouldn't be so sure. Davidson almost met Duke last year in the NCAA quarterfinals.</p>
<p>Rice
Richmond
Wake Forest
Rochester
Colgate
Dartmouth</p>
<p>These are all schools that really are on the fence between LAC and University in terms of feel. Some (Colgate, Richmond) are the biggest LAC's I can think of while U of R, Dartmouth, Rice, and Wake are a few of the smallest liberal-arts-based universities I can think of.</p>
<p>How about the Claremont consortium?</p>
<p>We did visit Pomona and Claremont, and both were very appealing, though very different. They came across as quite separate, despite sharing the same chunk of land, so I'm not convinced the consortium makes a significant difference. She liked them both, but they did feel small. I think they'll stay on her list, but I'm seeing some new possibilities from all the suggestions here. Thanks again, everyone!</p>
<p>Not that I have any local bias <em>cough</em>, but Davidson made it to the Elite Eight (whoo!) last year AND is a rigorous school without grade inflation (though it's certainly not impossible to be a scholar-athlete). I think any LAC will be more accommodating of athletes than bigger universities because of professor contact, though. However, Davidson is in a small town (though about 20-30 minutes from a major airport) if she wants a bigger feel.</p>
<p>For small universities, Rice and Tufts seem applicable, though I can't comment on their sports.</p>
<p>Are her stats such that schools like Swarthmore, Middlebury are reasonable? Lots of good schools out there. It's easier to roll out the list of name brands than to look for some schools less known that are matches and safeties. Do include some of those on her list. Some of the Catholic schools might be a good deal if she is willing to go that route.</p>
<p>My daughter is at Pomona. She has students from the other colleges in her language school, regularly eats at the other schools and her sport (I don't know if it is a club sport or not)has women from all 5 colleges. Other sports are broken up Pomona-Pitzer and CMC-Scripps-Mudd. She has met students from all over the country. Her experience has definitely more than the one college.</p>
<p>Thanks for the comments on Davidson and Pomona. They both really appeal to her (and to me - I wish I had known about them back in the day!) </p>
<p>captain - We don't have her SAT's yet, but her track record makes me think colleges like Swarthmore and Midd would be attainable if she gets on a coach's list. She doesn't need a big tip, but just something to help her stand out from the crowd. She might get in without the tip, but I wouldn't bank on it. Her GPA will be very good within the context of her school, but it won't stand out unless the adcoms know her school well. The upshot of this is that she can aim for top-tier LACs where she matches the caliber of the soccer program, but the top-tier small universities where she wouldn't play soccer would be a high reach (e.g. Brown, Dartmouth). (And she's fine with not playing varsity soccer at any of these schools, as long as she could find a club team to play on. She's much more interested in academics and fit.) I couldn't agree with you more on the need for safeties. That's why I started this thread - to get input on some less reachy small uni's, and feedback on the real experience at the very selective LAC's. Thanks for all the help!</p>
<p>I'd add Rhodes if she liked Davidson (sports not as competitive, but she definitely would play), and Furman (D1 - a little bigger). I agree with the Patriot League schools (Colgate, Lehigh, Lafayette, Bucknell) - add Franklin & Marshall</p>