Gonzaga.
D20 had several of your schools on her list. We did not find Lafayette to have a large Greek presence. I think the minimal frat/sorority housing had a lot to do with that. Contrasted with Bucknell, the Greek vibe just permeated our whole experience. D is not at all interested in Greek life and is not an athlete.
She ended up at Colgate. It’s only been about 10 days but she loves it! From a mom’s vantage point, you can’t beat their in person Covid plan and have tremendous leadership. It has been written up in the New York Times and featured on CBS news last weekend. It is easily found if you search the web.
Given the parameters identified, Pitzer, Oxy and perhaps Mac might come off. Mac is great school, and the rare LAC which is in an urban area, but at least among the current students and recent grads we know, leans more towards Oberlin side of the spectrum. Schools with middle-of-the road feel, all around nice kids, strong academics, warm community, would include the Maine LACs and the other NESCACs already identified plus Denison, Dickinson, Conn Coll, Skidmore. More of a safety might be St Lawrence, Centre College, Kalamazoo (though smaller than many on the list, and a trimester school).
It likely tilts a bit conservative for the OP’s kid (the OP’s kid though Colgate to be too conservative).
I teach at a Jesuit and I dont feel its conservative at all. I dont associate with any religion and the Jesuit teachings are all about service and helping others. The college I teach at is very accepting of POC and the LGBTQ community. From what I am told, Gonzaga is way more sustainability and social justice that encourages students to explore their varied interests. Add that to a beautiful outdoor setting and a bit of spirit with basketball (but not overly sports heavy overall) is why I suggested it.
I totally understand though how the webpages can throw people off with all the God comments. I have never been even asked about my religion or felt it overly religious and Im faculty there. Just the fact that its a “Catholic” college can turn people off and thats okay. Jesuit truly is about cura personalis- continued learning and dignity of humanity and seeing the whole person. (Im not even baptized myself and have only attended church with others, never pursued it alone.)
Much respect for Jesuit teaching, but I think Gonzaga’s probably off the list. Kid’s not inclined towards a school with a distinct religious identity, and I think stats are a bit out of line, even as a safety.
@Turtle21,My son considered several of the schools on your list. His criteria were similar to your daughter’s with emphasis on art studio and art history. He ended up at Williams where he was able to build a solid foundation through internships and job referrals and graduate school admissions for an arts-driven profession.
His short list included Hamilton, Kenyon, Wesleyan and also Conn College and Skidmore. Specifically for art (and The Arts) Wesleyan would be a good addition to the list.
What type of “creative expression (art for non majors, etc.)” is your daughter looking for? Williams has extensive studio art facilities, a faculty of working artists and an emphasis on teaching process as well as theory.
Williams’ art history department is legendary, supported by three world class museums on or near campus, that offer internship and volunteer opportunities. The museums provide hands-on exposure to a wide range of work, which, I think, enhances the studio art experience.
I don’t see that it would be difficult to take studio art or art history courses as a non-major, or to add art as a double major which is quite common at Williams.
Other arts, especially music and theater, and to a lesser extent, dance, are well represented at Williams with plenty of performance opportunities for non-majors.
Williams has implemented a comprehensive Covid-19 protocol, but for all schools that are open to on-campus learning, it’s still too early in the process to gauge effectiveness.
@momrath At this moment, specifically studio art. Looking for that sweet spot for someone who is just exploring this part of their abilities to explore further. Williams sounds great, though of course it’s devilishly hard to get into, so while it will likely stay on the list, we also need more accessible variations on that theme. (Wesleyan presents the same issue.) Conn and Skidmore didn’t resonate, though I’d be interested to know qualities what drew your son to them in case they need a second look.
@Midwestmomofboys I’d be interested in more insights about Pitzer and Oxy. Those are the least familiar, but kid found the info sessions appealing. (Mac got an in-person visit, and kid really liked the vibe, though we have not gone deep into specifics around outdoorsy/school spirit angles.)
If it’s helpful, we visited both Pitzer and Oxy. My son did not like Pitzer at all, it just wasn’t a good fit for him. He did not like the idea of the Claremont consortium in general, although the people we spoke with all spoke very enthusiastically about the opportunities, including the chance to dine at all of the schools each day. He didn’t like Pomona for the same reason, but with respect to Pitzer he was also put off by the very activist environment and by the look and feel of the campus, although that’s obviously a matter of personal taste. For all of us, I think the Claremont schools felt kind of in the middle of nowhere. They are actually quite far from Los Angeles, in the area known as the Inland Empire. Oxy my son did like. While it is not in the middle of Los Angeles, it is accessible to downtown and has a very LA feel. The campus is very pretty, compact and self-contained. The people we met were all very friendly, and my son liked our laid-back tour guide, who was very enthusiastic about the school. My son didn’t feel the same concern about an overly SJA culture at Oxy, although from what I read, Oxy actually is fairly activist.
Residents of Claremont appear likely to claim a distinct identity, however:
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-nov-27-me-inlandempire27-story.html
With respect to studio art and your tentative list, Williams, Hamilton, Kenyon and Dartmouth offer some of the more strongly developed programs in the country, while still offering accessibility to non-majors.
Vassar, while similarly noteworthy for visual art, seems to have fairly encountered some internal criticism: https://boilerplatemagazine.com/?p=1620.
I’ll elaborate a little on connecting with profs… At LACs, most classes are small, and while profs are doing research and publishing, their real value to the school is as teachers. They will expect students to participate in class. They will personally grade papers… iow, Profs will know them whether they make a concerted effort or not. And if my kid’s experience is at all typical, he’ll be invited over for dinner from time to time. During breaks, and even after graduation, there will be email exchanges about a book that might be of interest or something in the media that relates to an expressed interest. This can be really helpful in building confidence, having references, etc.
Kids who are looking at schools of this caliber are probably used to being noticed by teachers because they are strong students. But when the whole student body is both larger and strong, it can be harder to get noticed. If you aren’t quite as comfortable creating those connections, a bigger school could be a challenge.
A neighbor’s kid wanted the anonymity. He didn’t want his profs baking brownies for the class. He didn’t want to hear what his peers had to say in class; he was paying to learn from the expert. And that’s another option.
Imho, many kids don’t think hard enough about what they want and who they are in this respect. Your list has mostly smaller schools on it, and depending on how your kid feels, it might mean that the medium schools on the list might not be good bets.
@merc81 Thanks for the article link. From the (two) comments, I think maybe it needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but worth digging further. Can you give any clues about how to judge what is a strongly developed art program and how accessible it is to non-majors? I’m totally at sea there, having not one artistic bone in my body.
@gardenstategal I think small/intimate/connected is the way to go here, but thought it wise to keep a few larger options on the list in case tastes change. (As of this writing, Kid would be all in for home baked brownies.)
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@turtle21 When I first read your description, I thought Oberlin. Media hysteria to the contrary, I don’t find it any more “out there” than Vassar or Mac. One of my kids visited and/or applied to many schools on your list and ended up at Oberlin. And while it’s early days, COVID management there looks good so far, fingers crossed. Message me if you want more details.
If you are looking for some matches/lower reaches, maybe check out Lawrence, Wooster, St Olaf or Dickinson. IIRC, Dickinson has an impressive studio art space, completed not long ago. All of these offer merit scholarships. Beloit, while probably a bit smaller than what your son’s looking for, adopted a block plan for COVID mitigation and I’m curious to see how that plays out.
Circling back to respond and add some thoughts! We know a handful of Mac kids, current and recent grads, and they have all loved it. I’d say most of them are pretty activist-oriented and found that Mac supported that type of community engagement. In contrast, we know some kids at Carleton whom I’d describe as more quirky, more intense, more academic.
At the same time, I hesitate to draw broad conclusions based on the small sample we know, in part because I’ve seen others do that about schools my kids attended, and I know how wildly inaccurate those “snapshot” perceptions can be.
In terms of studio art offerings for the non-major, once the list gets a bit smaller, it will be more manageable to do “deep dives” into department websites. My LAC kid was interested in continuing both his studio art work (specifically, ceramics) and his instrument, so we spent a lot of time learning about class offerings, touring facilities, talking with faculty during his research. Intro studio art courses are usually hard to get into for 1st years because class sizes are capped quite small, and preference is given to majors. With ceramics, we were surprised to learn that several schools he otherwise liked, did not include it as part of the curriculum so it was only available as a “community co-op” or enrichment-type activity with limited resources and opportunities (Vassar, Oberlin, Kenyon). A student interested in specific medium, beyond the usual painting/sculpture/drawing/photography, should research resources and facilities, in case the unavailability of a particular medium would make it a “hard no.”
We were very impressed with Dickinson’s studio facilities which are in a restored shoe factory, lots of open space, great light, and with student apartments adjoining for a very cool, industrial live/work feel. Conn Coll is known for its strong studio art programs, and my kid liked the resources there, with the studio facilities in the same building as the museum – Oberlin too has its studio art facility in the building adjoining the Museum, makes for a neat synergy – but for the lack of ceramics. My LAC kid chose Denison, fabulous studio art (and now performing arts) centers, diverse student body – racially, ethically, politically and economically. Merit money was a significant factor in our decision, so the NESCACs came off as Trinity and Conn Coll had not started doing merit, and Franklin & Marshall came off our list for the same reason. The Ohio schools – Oberlin, Kenyon and Denison all give merit aid, for instance, about 1/4 of the class at Kenyon gets merit aid, average award is around $15,000.
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Well developed studio art programs will offer facilities for, and courses in, all or most of these areas:
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Drawing, painting and printmaking
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Ceramics, woodworking, metals and sculpture
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Photography and video
Then consider other, often subjective, aspects, such as the aesthetic appeal and location of facilities. A free-standing art museum represents a promising sign, for example.
Accessibility will vary depending on structural and curricular aspects. Some of Tufts’ strongest (and excellent) art electives appear to be offered at its Boston location, for instance, and Pitzer might rely on (as well as benefit from) consortium options, notably those of Scripps, for range and variety.
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Williams represents another example of a college with a generally top-notch art program that does not appear to offer ceramics in its curriculum.
Correction for reply #36, quotation used from @Midwestmomofboys.
Yes, @merc81, I don’t know the history behind why ceramics is not part of the studio arts curriculum at various schools. It was disappointing for my student to see the ceramics facilities at those schools where it was not part of the studio art department – often led by a volunteer from the community in a shed, with less equipment than his high school had. He did do ceramics in college, huge time commitment in the studio nights and weekends, with a challenging intellectual/academic focus.
Until we started researching specifically, it hadn’t really occurred to us that an art medium taught in high school might not be included in the college curriculum. My advice to families is to to dig deeper to see what is available, whether it is arts, science curriculum etc., for instance, bot every school has, for instance, environmental science or computer science. Investigate early on so can identify which are the non-negotiable aspects of the college experience.
ugh – “not” rather than “bot”