Franklin and Marshall. Hamilton could be a good reach option.
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You might want to have St. Louis University on your radar. The main campus (~8500 undergrads, only about 20% Greek) is west of the Mississippi, but only by 3 miles. But the particular draw is that they also have a campus in Madrid, where undergrads can do not only traditional semesters abroad, but also a 2+2 plan (2 years in Madrid, 2 in St. Louis) or for some majors, the entire degree in Madrid. Students in Madrid still earn a US degree and are instructed primarily in English. There seem to be soccer opportunities at multiple levels, and and several majors in his areas of interest Degrees and Programs : SLU A bit outside your stated parameters but maybe worth running up the proverbial flagpole.
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@momnc Does your son like larger cities or smaller towns? Raleigh has a ton of soccer opportunities including adult and indoor leagues, many high quality pickups and games. Take a look at William Peace University. They have a pretty cool international studies program. The campus is in a super fun area near downtown. Most kids I know are A/B chill students.
If he wants to play collegiate soccer than take a look at St. Andrews. He might have a shot as a walk on if he is good, like showcase classic level good. But the college is very isolated.
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Here’s the Parents of B students 2024 group if you haven’t already found it.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/t/parents-of-hs-class-of-2024-3-0-3-4-gpa
There are usually a lot of B+/A- students in those groups too.
BTW, you might want to change your username to something more anonymous.
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Wow, lots of good places to explore! – thanks everyone!
He prefers places that aren’t too isolated and would like a place that leans to the left politically.
Obviously, visits to many of the potential options will be on the agenda over the next year, but it won’t be possible to visit every place. So narrowing options will be important. In addition to looking at college websites, researching forums like this, and talking to counselors, what are some ways that people have found particularly helpful in narrowing down options and choosing where to actually visit?
Dickinson is among the schools that appear in both of these sites:
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A male student from the South would be very attractive to a Wesleyan (CT) adcom. It’s sporty without being fratty; leans left; a green and leafy campus that is a stone’s throw from New Haven, Springfield (MA), Hartford (CT). Worth running its Net Price Calculator:
https://wesleyan.studentaidcalculator.com/survey.aspx
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Furman has a good Spanish department with popular major
“Interested in languages, international relations and culture.”
In addition to checking the other boxes, Wooster is the most internationally diverse college in Ohio and one of the most in the U.S.
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Tough one to get into.
Macalaster is a good suggestion and appears to be (very) slightly east (actually north due to the orientation of the river at that point!). I thought of St. Olaf, which might be a hair west (or south) and might be slightly larger than the others. Dickinson sounds like a good choice as well.
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By this consideration, this site places Denison ahead of Wooster: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges/most-international.
Since we’re talking Ohio colleges, I thought I’d mention Kenyon. It does have some Greek life, but it doesn’t dominate campus life at all and is more like clubs. I was pleasantly surprised by the strength of their foreign languages program. My daughter, who is a very happy junior there, was planning to continue with languages in college but didn’t think she would major. But she liked her language classes so much that she added a second major in Modern Languages. There’s also an opportunity to work as a language TA, if your son is interested. Lots of study abroad options, including Spain. A very collaborative and yet academically rigorous environment. It is a bit isolated, but there’s a bigger town 10 minutes away and Columbus is an hour drive. Sports are quite prominent, although there’s a lot of emphasis on the arts, too. A nice mix.
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Dickinson College is an excellent match for the community and his interests.
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Agreed he could be a desirable admit to Wesleyan or Vassar which seem to be great fits.
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A-B student - I assume when someone notes this that they’re likely not at the elite school level.
Are there similar schools a notch down that might be more realstic? I know lots of been listed - but if these are strong matches, what is their little cousin?
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Dickinson, Juniata, Richmond, Wooster, Kenyon-- these are all “little cousins” and fantastic places for a kid looking for that kind of vibe.
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Connecticut college? Holy Cross? Skidmore?
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Okay, here goes my Wofford pitch.
Intramurals are extremely competitive as the campus highly recruits smart high school athletes that are not playing in college. For example, my son’s group consists of a tennis player, xc runner, and very competitive soccer players from around Charleston.
On language and international relations, I think Wofford is top notch and is very immersed in travel and making it a part of the 4-year study.
You are going to find that Wofford is very Greek, but I am going to tell you that it really isn’t in the end. Everyone finds there group and those that did not think they’d be Greek probably are and you can participate in that scene to the extent you want to. I would say that the campus culture keeps a good check on Greek Life not going out of control and contributing meaningfully to the college and community as a whole.
Financially, Wofford is likely going to hit the sweet spot of between 30-40K depending on your EFC and your GPA and optional test scores. No CSS Profile and other shenanigans…
You really should visit it at least and make a decision based on that!
Good luck and I am happy to answer any specific questions.
One other idea is Arcadia. They have a huge study abroad program, very near Philadelphia but in a nice suburb. THey have a Spanish major plus a Spanish Culture major: https://www.arcadia.edu/majors-and-programs/spanish-cultural-studies-major/