Hello! Daughter is a rising Junior and we were in the NE so did some preliminary college tours that were very helpful in figuring out her preferences. We learned that access to a city is very important to her, ideally she likes a student body of 3000-8000, she likes campus quads and old, interesting buildings, and really wants a quirky/artsy/kind vibe with an emphasis on collaboration. She likes open curriculum or flexible distribution requirements, but does not like core curriculums. One tour guide described students staying up in the wee hours discussing super niche passions and that excited her. For purposes of this thread, please presume cost is not a factor.
Schools she LOVED on our tours included Brown, Tufts, and Vassar. Schools she crossed off the list include Princeton, RISD, and Amherst. We know she needs to expand the list to some less reach-y schools.
Interests: wants to study anthropology (preferably mesoamerican culture and language), linguistics, classics, and/or art/art history. She is an artist but doesn’t want to go to an art school. Most of her ECs are art-focused: she is the design editor for her school newspaper, on the board of her school’s literary/art magazine, on the robotics team and typically spearheads the robot design aspect, is involved in theater, etc. she has some additional leadership roles and volunteer work but this isn’t a chances thread, just trying to give an idea of her interests for school vibe purposes.
Academically, she is strong so far, but we have a ways to go, of course. She attends a tiny girls’ boarding school that does not rank, but she is the only student in her class who has made Rector’s List for all As every term, so I think it’s safe to say her grades are top of the class. She is taking the most challenging classes available at her school and takes academic electives in addition to core 5 subjects. No official scores yet, but practice tests/PSATs have been 99th percentile.
All thoughts are welcome and very much appreciated!