<p>My daughter is a HS sophmore who gets mostly As in a challenging Pre IB curriculum. She wants to go to college somewhere in the area of what would be considered the west, say Colorado, Idaho, Arizona, Cal, etc. We are trying to find a good school that has a good education and history department, which are her interests right now. It doesn't have to be Stanford but how does one find a good school in those areas. We just don't want to pick a school based on proximity to a ski area or national park, etc but want strong acedemics as well.</p>
<p>I should add that I worked my way through night school many years ago, have little knowledge of the college choosing process but am trying to start early and learn as I go with my kids. This seemed like a good question and place to start.</p>
<p>I would recommend the claremont colleges. I know in general they offer a good education, and have excellent reputations.
Check out Pomona College, Claremont McKenna College.</p>
<p>I checked both out. Great location. They might be a little small but I can see there is also good in that. Also expensive but I realize you have to pay for quality. I requsted info from both for my daughter and will see what she thinks. The websites make both seem quite inviting.</p>
<p>Is there any particular reason you say these 2 schools excell in Education & History? I forgot to mention she loves to read and loves English.</p>
<p>What about schools in the Pacific NW? Whitman, Willamette, University of Puget Sound, and Lewis & Clark. If the Claremont schools seemed small, though, these would too- they are all around 2,000 undergraduates. Willamette has a graduate school for education and I think they might offer some program for prospective teachers.</p>
<p>Colorado College is the best liberal arts school in the west outside of California.</p>
<p>@stringa1234
CC is better than Reed or Whitman? How so?</p>
<p>There's no such thing as better or best. There is such a thing as better, and maybe even best, for a given student. Just to clarify! :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions. Pacific NW is good. Colorado College has a big time hockey program so I am somewhat familiar with it. The others I have not heard of but will look into. I do think she is looking for something with more students but there is alot to be said for a good small school so will look into these.</p>
<p>Don't forget Linfield another great Oregon LAC. OP, something my girls have do is check out ratemyprofessor.com It is absolutely unscientific and you really have to read the negative reviews with a grain of salt but the positive reviews are more telling. If the history teachers at say Whitman all have smiley faces, that's an indication that the program is decent. Cross check with the school website to make sure the prof is still on faculty but if nothing else it is a little window into the academics at a school.</p>
<p>Whitman has a program called Semester in the west (like study abroad but you stay in the US) Semester</a> in the West - 2006
it is environmentally based - history in the making</p>
<p>Check the rankings, Colorado College is significanlty better than both.</p>
<p>Stringa1234...I assume you mean that in the US News ranking Colorado College ranks higher than Whitman & Reed. First off, Colorado College is a great school which my D was admitted to. I wouldn't say anything negative about it, but a lot of people are turned-off by the 'one course at a time' academic program. </p>
<p>However, Whitman also scores highly in US News and Reed would smoke both Colorado College and Whitman if the college did not "fail to cooperate" with the US News survey. take a close look at the stats for admitted students...Reed is a terrific school in a great location. I suggest that the OP take a look at all three schools</p>
<p>
[quote]
It doesn't have to be Stanford but how does one find a good school in those areas. We just don't want to pick a school based on proximity to a ski area or national park, etc but want strong acedemics as well.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Same way you find a good school anywhere else: rankings, research, word of mouth, College Confidential, post-PSAT literature, etc. I'm a little bit confused by the idea that students in the west might ignore academics in favor of ski resorts, more so than students elsewhere, though I doubt you really meant to imply that :p</p>
<p>First off, do you know what your daughter means when she says "west"? Is she looking, in addition to a good school, for a certain climate, geography, culture, etc., or simply a new part of the country? </p>
<p>Second, just a note to an above post, I don't believe that any of the Claremont colleges offer education degrees. I'm not absolutely positive about that. Of course, students can and do go on to become teachers, and Claremont Graduate University has a Teacher Education Program that can help Claremont undergrads meet credential requirements: Claremont</a> Graduate University Courses for Undergraduates. Just wanted to make the note in case your daughter has a very specific interest in an education degree.</p>
<p>Good luck to you and your daughter in the search :)</p>