"If she is an activist on environmental causes, then some understanding of science will be helpful to her. On social issues, she should be aware that statistics knowledge will be helpful in understanding social studies topics that relate to such issues.
It is also not necessarily a good thing to be stay in an ideological bubble"
I agree but she has spent her whole life among a largely conservative population and knows what that feels like for her. She is taking AP Environmental Science this year and is planning to take AP Stats next year
Thanks so much for all the great suggestions. I will do a first pass thru and then give her the ones that that seem worth researching further. I am a little worried about the weather in the NW. Although she is interested in Co - thats a place with more sunny days than most. Pacific NW not so much. I
am pretty new to CC - tried to respond directly to some comments but not sure I did it correctly. Apologies.
This may not sounds like an intuitive fit but – consider Denison outside Columbus Ohio. While the school has a reputation as kind of preppy/fratty, that is quite outdated. The student body is a real blend – social justice presence, arts, environmental, and jocks/lax bros. The fine arts programs are phenomenal, take a look at Bryant Arts Center online. The school has a several hundred acre nature preserve used for research, just off campus. There is the Homestead – a student run organic, sustainable farm/community. The town itself, Granville, would never be mistaken as “cosmopolitan” – it is a charming village, but the school actively engages with arts, internships etc in nearby Columbus. The college runs shuttles and organizes trips to galleries, shows, the symphony etc. Denison is test optional, and does give merit awards without requiring test scores (something that not a lot of test optional schools do). Denison, along with Williams and Grinnell, was recently highlighted in an article about schools which are doing a good job of creating and supporting economic diversity on campus.
Again, not your obvious “social justice” kind of school, but may be worth exploring.
Also, please note that your D is likely going to have to sacrifice something, given her test scores. I sympathize, because when we first started looking, my D was so sure she had to be in or near a mid-sized city, at the very least. Geography was the first thing to go when it becmae apparent that to her that the college environment was more important than having a city easily accessible. Even at colleges really close to cities, the truth is that most students spend most of their time on campus, where they live, eat, and have friends.
The most desirable schools may be out of your daughter’s reach. If she is looking for nearby nature, she should put the city aspect on the back burner and regard it as more of a “nice to have”, but not a necessity. Her test score may improve, but it may not. She needs to be realistic about where she can get in. Test-optional colleges are great too, but many tend to be not in cities.
My older daughter graduated from the University of Redlands, in Redlands, California. I wouldn’t say that the school overall has a strong social justice vibe, but she was enrolled in the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies, which does. She concentrated in art and writing. (Johnston students can do concentrations instead of majors.) She had to take a few math and science classes but nothing hard core. She definitely wanted to avoid math!
Something to consider. Does she want the major or the campus vibe? Majors involving social justice can be found at many places. Places where a significant number of students speak out et al- a liberal campus- is different. Does she want a place where the social science professors are liberal and outspoken?
She can find her niche in many regions of the country. Instead of focusing on the arena of social justice at this time she should first look at regions of the country she can see herself living in for four years. She will undergo culture shock as the South is different than the other regions. She will need to decide if the northern winters, Pacific NW wetness/gloomy weather and other factors make one area more/less desirable. She needs to come up with a manageable list.
Look at other factors first. Then see which colleges in those areas appeal to her.
“It is also not necessarily a good thing to be stay in an ideological bubble (this also goes for right-leaning students). If your only interaction with people with other political viewpoints is that of seeing the most extreme other viewpoints on social media (since the extremists are often the most vocal), then it is more likely that you will see all others as evil people who must be defeated at all costs, rather than as people with political differences whom you may be able to work with.”
The Jesuit privates are all about social justice - on the west coast - Seattle University, Santa Clara University, LMU, etc. University of Oregon is a very liberal bunch, my daughter describes it as west coast liberalism with traditional midwest kindness. Committed but with a more relaxed/chill approach.
OP’s daughter grew up in the south. She has paid her dues for living outside of the ideological bubble. (I grew up in the south too and spent my teenage years either biting my tongue or losing friends because of my beliefs.) Let the kid spread her wings for four years. The real world with be diverse enough and she has already learned how to negotiate a world of differing opinions.
I too am surprised by the bigotry exhibited by Otterma. I can assure you that my many years in upstate NY were far more homogeneous and less progressive than my present location in an international-filled suburb of Houston. 25% of the students at my child’s school hold foreign passports from 52 countries around the world.
Yes. I was definitely projecting my own experiences onto OP’s daughter. Metro areas of southern cities look very different today than they did when I was growing up.
Thank you for acknowledging the changes, Otterma. It seems sometimes that many CC posters remain stuck in the past and cling to outdated beliefs about large regions of the country. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by moving here, and proud of Houston’s extraordinary ethnic and sexual diversity
While you’re both condemning Otterma for generalizing even though s/he is basing it off her own experiences in the south and the following remark by OP about his/her own D:
I’m going to take OP at his/her word.
Judging by the above, it seems her D’s current and prior life experience was like that of many Oberlin classmates from southern/midwest areas where social/religious conservative views overwhelmingly dominated which motivated them to leave the south for undergrad.
It’s also no different than the experiences of a branch of my extended family who are located in a rural area of Mississippi overwhelmingly dominated by social/religious conservatism.
That’s one of the reasons why all the children went outside of the south to attend college and why has moved permanently to the Mid-Atlantic while the other returned, but opted for a position which involves travelling ~6 months out of the year.
I was addressing @ucbalumnus ’ remark about social justice activists needing some math and science in their future careers as well as the fact nearly all the colleges I know of require some math/science.
She’s unlikely to escape those requirements at most of the colleges listed/suggested no matter how much she may detest them.
Cobrat, many Southern cities consistently vote democratic now. While of course there are conservative areas as well, there are in all states, not just the South, and I would hope we could avoid generalizing people by ethnicity, place of origin, or current residence.
Voting Democratic alone doesn’t necessarily mean a given political candidate or region is liberal…much less one someone like OP’s daughter would find kindred spirits. Especially if we apply the international political overton window instead of the US overton window*.
Some examples especially prevalent in many areas of the south and parts of the midwest/coasts are “Blue Dog Democrats” like Zell Miller. I don’t think anyone with some passing familiarity with politics would remotely equate Blue Dog Democrats" like Miller with being a “liberal”…much less a “SJW” as described by OP.
Also, I knew plenty of political centrists and conservatives who voted for Democratic candidates even if they weren’t “Blue Dog Democrats” or fellow travelers as such.
In short, voting democratic by itself without any further scrutinizing of the details about the candidate, regional political culture, etc isn’t enough to say one way or another.
[takes off poli-sci minor hat]
The US overton window has much more right leaning than the international one due to the right-ward shift over the last few decades.
I’ll sign out now to avoid getting into a political debate disallowed by the terms of service. That said, you did make me smile, Cobrat-I haven’t heard the term “blue dog democrat” in many decades-not in the lifetime of many of the current officeholders, who I’m not sure would even recognize it, much less my kids, who certainly would not. a blast from the past!
My son went to Tufts quite liberal and came out more conservative than he started out - partly based on his experiences with the fringes of the social justice kids.