Good Colleges You Never Heard Of

<p>I think Drew00 brought up a very important point when he said: "the school is pretty good, but I'm not really digging it. (social reasons, not academic)"</p>

<p>Social fit, in my opinion, is as important, perhaps even more important, than academic fit. You can get a great education at most of the 2400 or so 4-year schools in the U.S., but the best academics in the world won't make you happy if the school you ultimately choose is not a social fit. Listen to your gut instinct about that, because no ranking or other person can really tell you if any school is a social fit. Sometimes it does take a while to find your niche at a school, but if it doesn't happen after you've truly tried, there is no shame in transferring. Four years is too long to waste being unhappy.</p>

<p>Emerson College--excellent arts and communications school in Boston.</p>

<p>Dickinson College--strong academics at a small liberal arts college in PA.</p>

<p>Bard College--perhaps too well-known for a list like this, but an excellent LAC with a highly intellectual student body/faculty.</p>

<p>University of San Francisco--a liberal Jesuit school located right next to the famous Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in San Francisco--one of the most interesting locations in the U.S.</p>

<p>New College of Florida--excellent public LAC located on a Gulf of Mexico beach.</p>

<p>St. Lawrence University--in upstate New York, a stone's throw from Canada. Georgeous campus and highly respected academics, particularly in the sciences.</p>

<p>Providence College--in RI, a small university that offers a good all-around college experience, (academic and social.)</p>

<p>For Business/Professional:
Bentley College
Babson College
Suffolk University
(all in the Boston area; Suffolk with a particularly excellent location.)</p>

<p>Also, Carolyn's list is excellent.</p>

<p>-Lawrence U. is very well-respected by grad schools.
-Sewanee features a renowned writer's conference.
-Pitt features one of the best honors programs in the country.</p>

<p>Anyone ever heard of Centre College in Kentucky?</p>

<p>I was just gonna say Centre. Centre and Hendrix are both widely unknown but very good schools. </p>

<p>I'll go with Temple, Millersville, Muhlenberg in PA. We have some very good education schools here and a few good busines schools.</p>

<p>Capital University in Columbus, OH</p>

<p>I second Sewanee - it's up there with Davidson as one of the best colleges in the South.</p>

<p>USF buildings r really crummy the only good part is there church<33 its gorgeous i was recently in Sanfran and walked around USF And MIlls i loved mills didnt dig usf...but my parents dontw want me across the country due to medical reasons...i hate it but i decided im applying to colleges in boston...i love it there</p>

<p>someone mentioned st mary's. i did a summer program there, and the campus is very pretty. in case you're considering it =P</p>

<p>The last one standing! All men's school in southern Virginia.Excellent liberal arts education,great sports,honor code,tradition(founded 1776),frats,beautiful campus,generous financial aid-especially for the honors program-probably the most conservative school in the land,very safe and friendly town,epitome of the Old South</p>

<p>as in cotton plantations old south?</p>

<p>As in manners,no political correctness,no affirmative action,loyalty,the strongest honor code in the nation,100%class,100%preppy,100% conservative all the time</p>

<p>it's the kind of place where you can leave your backpack and grab lunch and not worry about it getting stolen. Most students do not lock thier dorm rooms or cars. In the past, it as been refered to as the "little Princteon"</p>

<p>When i visited, HSC did, in fact remind me of a cotton plantations of the south. However, this school is not for every guy. Its the school where "men are men, and women are guests" It hasn't departed form its orginal charter (unlike other Coloninal Colleges) in over 200 years.</p>

<p>Wabash College is another good one.</p>

<p>While this may not be the school for everyone it does have something for everyone including great school spirit and pride. Diversity remains an issue but if you are looking for a pristine campus in a semi rural setting this is the school for you. It is a very young school that will just celebrate it's 100th Anniversary in 2008.
Students admitted to JMU are among the best and many choose it over its two instate big names - University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. There is an atmosphere of liberalism, acceptance and tolerance in the middle of what is traditionally a very conservative area. The Harrisonburg area is booming and growing at a tremenous rate. There is always the proximity to DC to consider if you are looking for a more metropolitan setting. JMU is really, in many instances, a city unto itself!
The school boasts an outstanding music program, and one of the best marching bands in the country! The business school is up and coming with an excellent reputation. Communication, political science, and many of the arts programs are without a doubt among the best. They have even brought the first national football title to Virginia - much to the chagrin of our two "powerhouse schools!"
A little known fact is that if you are an adult returning for that degree you have never finished you will find it is ranked either #1 or #2 in the nation.
Take a good look at this school - you will not be disappointed!</p>

<p>Hood College, MD.--Strong in the sciences. Very small school in a rural Maryland location.</p>

<p>Worcester Polytechnic Institute, MA.--unique school terms; neither semesters nor quarters. Grads compete well with MIT alumni for jobs. Surpirsingly high quality and lively liberal arts offerings. Not an easy academic program but said to be more fun than Georgia Tech, for example. About 40 minutes from Boston. Virtually unknown out side of New England and New York.</p>

<p>Belmont Abbey College, NC -- Solid liberal arts and cross-registration with the public UNC system.</p>

<p>Michigan State University. Typically overlooked by even the best resident applicants, in favor of UM. Lyman Briggs School of Natural Science arguably superior to any offerings at UM.</p>

<p>Other excellent but overlooked public universities.
U of New Hampshire
Kansas University
Washington State University
Colorado State University
U of Nebraska</p>

<p>Here are some I don't believe I saw mentioned:</p>

<p>Colorado College: Talented student body and block plan.</p>

<p>University of Mary Washington: Beautiful campus, small classes, and feels like a LAC while being a public.</p>

<p>Evergreen State: They really believe in learning there, and most classes are experiential in nature.</p>

<p>Shimer: Leave high school in the 10th grade and finish up in college.</p>

<p>Randolph Macon Women's College: Talented student body and strong liberal arts education.</p>

<p>Colorado School of Mines: If you want to be a mining engineer, it's tough to find a better place.</p>

<p>Gettysburg College: A lot like Dickinson on a campus that's also a museum.</p>

<p>I believe this statement from above is essentially correct:</p>

<p>"As in manners,no political correctness,no affirmative action,loyalty,the strongest honor code in the nation,100%class,100%preppy,100% conservative all the time"</p>

<p>Hampden-Sydney is located in Prince Edward County, Virginia, which is the county that closed public schools for four years rather than integrate as part of Harry Byrd, Jr.'s "massive resistance." As a result, PE County has a substantial underclass of poorly educated African-Americans who never finished school. For that matter, there are a number of AAs who never got beyond the lower grades since they weren't allowed to attend the all-white segregationist Prince Edward Academy.</p>

<p>One should be warned that HSC is not for everyone. It is almost completely white (92%) and only 4% African American in a part of Virginia where the AA population represents more than 1/3 of the total population and where some nearby counties have black populations at or above 50%.</p>

<p>Whether HSC has the strongest honor code in the country is subject to debate, but it does appear to be strong. Kids who are not wealthy or are not from Virginia or the South (and perhaps, specifically, Southside, Virginia) can have problems fitting in there. Kids who are not from reasonably wealthy families can also have trouble assimilating. Anyone who is even a political moderate can be ostracized. It's a small school, and toeing the political line with the rest of the student body is the best way to get along.</p>

<p>My brief experience teaching there was relatively pleasant. Most of the students are very decent, but one should be warned that there is a substantial minority of bigots. In fact, the last thing an HSC student ever said to me, as I was packing my car to move on to the next job, was "If you ain't white, you ain't right!"</p>

<p>I think it's a good school, but be careful before going there. It really is not for everyone.</p>

<p>onabeach,</p>

<p>i don't know anyone who chose jmu over uva ;-).</p>

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<p>Why did you leave? Yes, it is true that HSC is not for everyone. But that is the beauty of America--which is why other schools exist: Morehouse, Arizona State, Sweet Briar, Yale, the the list goes on...there is a college out there for anyone and everyone, you just need to look. One more question: Are you African American? What did you teach while at HSC? I think "toeing the political line " would be the best way to get along anywhere. For me, personally, I glad that there are still all make colleges out there in the US for me to choose from. Because after all, it is MY education and no one else's.</p>