Help shorten this list... small/medium schools for well-rounded student

College Search & Selection
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Trying to narrow the field for a well-rounded kid with a strong “average excellent” academic record. Geographic odds would be stacked against the northeast, but of course parental preference is in favor.

Requirements: Small to medium school with diverse engaged student body and strong sense of community, strong academics across disciplines (undecided major), collaborative campus culture, some school spirit, opportunities for outdoor activities and casual sports as well as creative expression (art for non majors, etc.) and strong study abroad.

Schools currently bubbling to the top (alpha order) are below. The list is too long, and too reach-heavy, so we’re looking for outliers to cull and maybe some further matches/safeties to swap in. (There’s a longer list with some other options, but I’m interested in what people suggest in response.)

Extra mom points for schools that are handling COVID well.

Bates
Bowdoin
Carleton
Colby
Colorado
Dartmouth
Hamilton
Haverford
Kenyon
Macalester
Middlebury
Occidental
Pitzer
Tufts
Vassar
Whitman
Williams

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For matches how about Union, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Kenyon.

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Re Covid, Tufts is testing all students three times on arrival and twice per week thereafter. It has built temporary quarantine facilities and is implementing contact tracing. Test results are made public via an on-line dashboard. We will see how it goes.

https://patch.com/massachusetts/medford/tufts-plans-conduct-18k-coronavirus-tests-week

https://coronavirus.tufts.edu/testing-metrics

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If you can, without visiting, hone in a bit on a couple of things, it may make it easier to whittle down the list.

For example, do you prefer a more isolated campus? The upside is often a tighter community and a dedicated effort to have lots of on-campus activities. The downside is that if you aren’t loving either of those things, your options are limited. It look like you do, (you have lots on your list) so think about the dominant culture. On that front, I could see a kid who liked Bowdoin also liking Williams, Dartmouth and Colby. Maybe not liking Vassar, Macalester, or Tufts quite so much.

Does the academic calendar matter? Colorado’s plan is pretty radical. Perfect for some students and majors, awful for others. Carleton has trimesters, quite a few have a short term in Jan, while Bates has a short term in May, and some have semesters. Personally, I like the short terms, especially for students interested in study abroad-- many manage to squeeze in an extra experience abroad this way. It’s also a great way for an artsy kid to do something intensive (especially performance related.)

All the schools on your list have excellent academics. It’s almost impossible not to develop relationships with professors at Bates or Colby or Haverford, whereas you would probably have to make a little more effort at Tufts or Dartmouth. There are fewer “big lecture” classes at the smaller schools, but some of those profs do awesome big lectures! That is a personal choice about how you learn best.

I might look at distribution requirements-- they are often an excellent way for an undecided student to explore and many departments make a point of having their best profs teach intro level classes in an effort to excite kids about their discipline. Hamilton has an open curriculum, which is really appealing to a lot of students, because it doesn’t “force” the same degree of exploration!

Based on your “list”, I can definitely say that Colby checks all the boxes you have above because I know that one well. Haverford is less outdoorsy than all of your NESCAC schools except Tufts. Whitman is probably the outdoorsy-est of your West Coast schools.

Some others along those lines to consider that have great programs but are less reachy are Denison, Dickinson, and Union.

1 Like
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Kenyon’s list of overlap schools (“The Company We Keep”) may be worth viewing, in that it reflects a level of refinement that could be helpful in establishing a similarly oriented list: https://www.kenyon.edu/admissions-aid/admissions-statistics/.

For brief impressions of several of the liberal arts colleges on your tentative list, see reply #12: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/2123956-differences-between-top-east-coast-lacs-williams-amherst-swarthmore-bowdoin-middlebury-etc-p1.html.

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I second @gardenstategal 's suggestion of Denison. I was hesitating whether I should reply, as I don’t want to be a cheerleader, but my son’s there, and it’s basically the school you’ve described. The school’s handling of the pandemic has also been excellent.

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Super helpful feedback.

@gardenstategal, you ask great questions, thank you. We did manage to visit several of these in person before everything shut down, and have “visited” all the rest virtually. Isolation doesn’t seem to be a problem so long as the campus itself is offering a lot in terms of community, activities and natural beauty. Proximity to/engagement with a city is also attractive, but being deeply embedded in a city (BU, NYU) is a turn-off. Distinct, coherent campus matters.

I get what you’re saying about a Bowdoin/Williams vs. Macalester/Tufts, but both types of schools were attractive in person. Fit is somewhere along the spectrum of sporty/outdoorsy to artsy/creative/progressive, so a school where both/all thrive would be ideal. (By contrast, Colgate felt too conservative, Reed/Oberlin too out there.) Very good point about the effort required to reach connect with professors; I think that will be significant. We’re aware of the various calendars, and I think that’s more of an issue at the moment of decision in the spring. Most are acceptable, the ones with short terms have extra appeal. (CC’s would be the big question mark.)

@merc81 thanks for the links – will check them out.

@tkoparent, I had actually taken Denison off this section of the list because I wasn’t positive it had checked those boxes and was sort of curious if it would pop up in the suggestions; it’s really helpful to hear it should go back on.

@Hippobirdy Kenyon is on the list already, but I’d love some additional insights about Dickinson, F&M and Union. We looked at the first and it is still on the list of alternates, but somehow didn’t sing to my kid. Hadn’t thought about F&M (which struck me as a bit fratty years ago) or Union. Also in PA, we looked (virtually) at Lafayette, but couldn’t get a strong bead on it. Seemed nice, didn’t register.

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Do you have a budget? If not ED might be an option to top choice school.

Dickinson and Richmond came to mind. Also, Lafayette, Lehigh, and Bucknell.

Dickinson is in Carlisle. The campus is nice with older architecture. The town is small but kind of neat. Lots of little shops. They have an ice festival in the winter with sculptures and vendors. Harrisburg, Philly, DC, and Pittsburgh aren’t that far away.

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@chmcnm My concern about Lafayette, Lehigh and Bucknell is that they appear to have a strong Greek culture, which is a turn-off. (I’d be happy to be set straight on that by someone with better intel.) Dickinson and Richmond are on the long list (I think Richmond also has pretty strong Greek life) but haven’t really stuck. Insights most welcome. Greek life isn’t a deal-breaker, but it matters that it merely be an option, not a dominant social force.

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These USN links will help you compare the level of Greek participation across colleges:

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-frats

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-sororities

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That’s helpful @merc81, thank you. Of course I’m thinking that what it means to be in a sorority at UGeorgia is a bit different from what it means at MIT… I wish there were a way to measure campus culture impact beyond mere percentages.

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In terms of fraternity culture from a subjective perspective, Dartmouth may represent an outlier in your tentative group. If you decide to read this Rolling Stone article, you would benefit from an intrepid attitude and a sense of discernment: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/confessions-of-an-ivy-league-frat-boy-a-gross-excerpt-from-dartmouth-tell-all-229771/.

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@turtle21 my D21 is leaning towards bigger schools anyway, but we both loved Bucknell and the town of Lewisburg. But she saw that 49% of females go Greek, and that turned her off. Same with Lehigh. Again, she was leaning bigger anyway, but both of these definitely seem to have a social scene that heavily involves Greek live.
Bucknell was have in person info sessions with self-guided tours over the summer, if you’re close enough to visit.

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These survey-based Princeton Review rankings will help you compare colleges by alcohol use:

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=lots-beer

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=lots-hard-liquor

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For an extended perspective on Colby’s social atmosphere, search “Colby Life Documentary.” Note that the aspects portrayed may have changed since 2014, however.

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Many of the schools on your list were on my D’s list, and the ones that both she and I were particularly impressed with (from visits and going through the admissions process) were Bowdoin, Hamilton, Haverford, and Vassar. She ended up choosing another school, but I feel like she would have been happy at any of these. I think these are great options based on your criteria.

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@Turtle21 Franklin and Marshall has evolved, imo. Has unique college house system. Has strong study abroad, with ties to Advanced Studies in England program in Bath… Athletics still strong but it was recommended by counselors for my S18 and D20 who were not athletes. I see admission rate has dropped from about 49% to 30%

Dickinson was also popular target for my kids’ peers. I feel that Dickinson and F&M have collaborative academic reputations, opportunities to know professors, and lots of activities. Also has global studies and study abroad. I agree with @merc81 ‘s suggestion to see Princeton Review-their surveys match up with what we have heard or have seen ourselves.

1 Like
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The Princeton Review also ranks schools at which the appeal and influence of Greek Life appear to be more prominent than average.

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=lots-greek-life

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I agree that Vassar should be on the list based on the interests you expressed. Excellent opportunities in the arts (for non majors) in addition to great academics. There are also may opportunities for outdoor activities in the Hudson River Valley but also can take the train into NYC for the day. When we were looking for my D17 we also really liked Lafayette, Richmond and Davidson (and she is definitely not the sorority type). As far as how Vassar is handling Covid, their president had a long career in public health before coming to Vassar, and they have brought all students back with good results so far. Here is a small bit of the recent e-mail from President Bradley:

"I am writing to let you know that the campus will be moving into Phase 2 of our return to campus, beginning Tuesday, September 8. From the beginning of the on-campus time (since August 8th), we have had a total of 22 student cases, 20 of whom have been asymptomatic and 2 who had mild symptoms. Nearly all of these appear to have been contracted before the student arrived on campus for the semester.

As of today, we have 12 active cases (that is, students who, after testing positive for COVID-19, are currently in isolation for 10 days if asymptomatic or until symptoms subside). On average, each case has had 1-2 contacts (who then are separated and who then self-quarantine for 14 days). Given about 2,070 students on campus, this is a very low prevalence at just more than half a percent. Please continue to watch the VassarTogether dashboard for daily updates."

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Then I will propose Middlebury. My D19 fits that description - likes the outdoors, is artsy/creative, progressive, a dancer (jazz/hiphop). She really has found her place at Midd. It also does not have a Greek system.