Understandable if one’s exposure is primarily to DU “music kids none of whom ski” that the similarity between the business students at the two schools would be missed.
SMU is one of the most common overlap schools with applicants to the University of Denver according to the University of Denver administration & admissions.
P.S. I like the University of Denver, but it needs to be a fit for any particular student. One of the most interesting pages on the DU website is the page titled" Diversity, Equity & Inclusion". This page contains an admission by DU that its efforts in this area have failed.
DU is less diverse than SMU, but both schools share other similarities such as the primary major is business, high percentage of white students, and very low (1% to 2%) percentage of black students. Diversity matters to OP & to OP’s son as has been stated explicitly, but is not a deal breaker.
“Overcoming barriers in diversity,equity and inclusion is not easy work. It is also not easily achieved. Our progress at DU…has failed…The reasons for this are complex…”
DU has a lot of positive attributes, but I am trying to focus on OP’s son’s interests.
History is a rather broad subject area. If he may be interested in particular areas of history*, a check of course offerings and faculty rosters may be worth a look at each college under consideration.
*For example, history of a specific area or region, history of science or medicine, history of religion, history of race / ethnicity, economic history, etc. Some offerings may be in different departments (religious studies, ethnic studies, economics).
We looked at a lot of western campuses for my D22, who wanted an urban vibe. For her, Willamette did not have that feel. Neither did Lewis and Clark. We just visited University of Washington and while it is bigger than OP wants it is impressive and has an honors program.
For California privates, she loved Occidental. We were wowed by USD campus, but in the end it felt too preppy. LMU same — did not even want to tour. I loved the Claremont Consortium but it is in the Inland Valley and also did not have the urban feel my D was looking for. We didn’t look at Bay Area — too close to home.
Thanks! Yes my son is interested in applying to UW eventhough it is a large university. We lived in Seattle for two years when he was younger and I think he is excited about the prospect of living there again. I think he is not interested in Willamette because it doesn’t have an urban vibe. I hear Lewis and Clark is not urban either but my understanding is that there is a shuttle to downtown Portland so at least the city is accessible?
I second the recommendation for Jesuit schools, many of them are in the midsize range, and they have many other pluses as well.
I don’t understand another poster’s reasons for saying your son would not be a good fit at LMU. My daughter graduated from there. She loved it. I don’t know LMU’s diversity stats(edit, just did a quick search, 42% white) but anecdotally from many visits, plenty of nonwhite and LQBTQ+ students throughout and a very welcoming atmosphere and many socially active groups (which I think speaks to the general acceptance level of the student body.) If you are not familiar with Jesuit philosophy, it is very “liberal” (meaning, on the religious spectrum) and accepting. Jesuit tenets focus more on service and education than proselytizing particular religious beliefs or moral codes.
As for Chapman, we visited there. I didn’t pick up on a conservative vibe, and after all, “conservative” in CA/LA area might not really be that conservative. I did get a preppy/affluent vibe, but not in a negative way, the students seemed very happy, engaged, and my D knows many who went there and loved it.
Thanks for your feedback! I am very interested in learning more about many of the Jesuit schools that folks have mentioned – especially LMU, University of San Francisco, and University of San Diego. We will also take another look at Chapman. Do you know if the fraternities and sororities are big part of the social life there? My son wants to avoid schools with a big Greek life.
Chapman’s common data set, section F1, says that 11% of freshmen join fraternities and 50% of freshwomen join sororities. The percentages are 25% and 48% respectively for all undergraduates.
Yes a shuttle, but it is tucked away in a residential area and there didn’t appear to be anywhere to walk to.
Regarding Chapman, it is in Orange County, not Los Angeles. OC definitely is more conservative but the campus area is in a fun location. We did not consider.
You should look at U of Portland - I know nothing about it except my HS friend daughter picked it over many of the schools mentioned on this chat. It’s mid-size/small, apparently LGBTQ friendly and from what I just read, does not have Greek life.
According to the Director of Student Activities Jeromy Koffler, the university is not interested in pursuing Greek life as a part of the UP culture . … The views of the administration are supported at other universities as well.
My D20 was interested in mid-sized schools in CA and is now a sophomore at Santa Clara (and loves it). She also applied to Chapman, LMU and USF, USD and UW (we’re WA residents). She got a lot of money from several of the privates (Chapman, USF and LMU in particular). She didn’t apply to Gonzaga or Whitman, but they might be schools to consider. They aren’t near big cities, but Gonzaga has a lot of school spirit with the basketball team. They might be worth looking at. Santa Clara has a growing number of out of state and east coast students. It’s not in a big city, but is near SF and there has been plenty to do in the area.
