<p>@shoboemom: “she wants a place where she could also wear sweats to class when she wants to.” I think that in the past year or so there may be been a slight relaxation in dress; but my observation of Sewanee students is that generally they dress “nicely” in part because they are proud of their school. If you are a member of the Order of the Gownsmen you wear a black robe to classes; also a badge of pride, and when I visited there it didn’t seem out of order in the least. My teenager thought that it was pretty cool.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about Berry College in GA? I’ve heard it described as overly Christian, “Bible-thumping” kind of place? Is it worth a stop to/from Sewanee? Thanks!</p>
<p>@4kids4college We had some cutoff criteria for colleges outside of FL including % freshman returning, % out of state students and % graduating. Berry didn’t make our cut. Same thing with Oglethorpe and several other southern LACs. Sorry, I’m not much help to answer your question about Berry. Hopefully, others will chime in.</p>
<p>@4kids4colleges: In regards to Berry College, I wouldn’t describe it at “overly Christian” or “Bible-thumping”. I have some friends who are sending their son there, and neither they nor their son are the type who would gravitate towards a school of that description. </p>
<p>Of more concern to me would be the fact that the ratio of women to men at Berry College is 2:1. While this might be less of a problem in a larger city or where there are other colleges around, Berry is located in an unincorporated town where socializing will likely be limited to the campus.</p>
<p>@4kids4colleges: One other thought I had. If you are going to be in Atlanta to visit Emory (Oxford), you might want to check out Oglethorpe University which is in Atlanta. They do give merit aid, but I don’t know how much total, or how competitive the awards are.</p>
<p>Thanks @gandalf78 and @dadof1! </p>
<p>What about Mercer U? Not LAC but not huge. Anyone have thoughts about this one? We will not get another chance to visit this area any time soon, so trying to see as much as we can. </p>
<p>More OOS students would be better. Need to check those numbers. Thanks!</p>
<p>^ I would have a similar concern with Mercer as with Berry, in that the female to male ratio is close to 2:1, although Macon is a bit larger than Mount Berry with about 90,000 people. It probably is on the conservative side, </p>
<p>Some more thoughts about schools in the South: Transylvania University in Lexington, KY, and College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. Both have large percentages of female students (about 62% for COC, about 58% for Transy), but are in fairly large urban environments so that might be mitigated. Transy is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a moderate offshoot of the Presbyterian Church, has about 1100 students, and probably has a big Greek scene. COC is a public school with the Aiken Honors College, has about 10,000 students and probably has an active Greek scene; also, their new president is a Civil War re-enactor. But I know kids at both schools, and they all seem happy with their choices. These schools might fall a little outside your daughter’s comfort zone, but could be worth a look.</p>
<p>One question: you seem to be focussing on CTCL schools; have you looked into Emory & Henry? It might be a little small (about 950 students), but is a CTCL school affiliated with the Methodist Church; I have a friend who went to a large public high school before going to E&H, and he really got a lot out of it.</p>
<p>Boston College? It’s a Jesuit school with a nice, compact campus outside of Boston. I think they give merit aid. It’s very preppy and rah-rah sporty though. My son hated it, but for the right kid, it’s a great school. (I would have applied there if I’d visited it when I was my son’s age.)</p>
<p>Also, your daughter may be eligible for the 21st Century Scholars merit scholarship at MoHo (my alma mater) and another one like it at Bryn Mawr. They are equivalent to almost half the cost. I think they offer them to the top 30 applicants (based on GPA and scores) each year. </p>
<p>Thanks @Massmomm. We are trying to avoid the NE schools for various reasons, with the exception of MoHo and Bryn Mawr (my alma mater!) I went to law school in Boston, its a fun place, but not for my D. And thanks @gandalf78, great info.</p>
<p>Right now trying to figure out if we can stretch our visit to the South coming up in 2 weeks to include either Centre or Hendrix and Rhodes. Which would you visit if you could only do one? </p>
<p>All 3 are excellent choices, but if I had to pick one it would be Rhodes. </p>
<p>Agree that College of Charleston is worth a look. Much larger than the other schools you’re looking at, but it has it’s charms. The Citadel nearby helps balance the M-F ratio. Large artsy contingent. Charleston is hard to beat! </p>
<p>@4kids4colleges I just read your first post again to answer your question about Centre, Hendrix, or Rhodes. Here are my ranks.</p>
<p>Attractive campus: Rhodes, then Centre. Haven’t been to Hendrix but I don’t think it would top Rhodes for attractiveness.</p>
<p>Quirky and more liberal: Hendrix, then a tie between Centre and Rhodes</p>
<p>No big greek life: Hendrix has no greek life. It’s a significant presence at Rhodes and Centre</p>
<p>If you’re in Sewanee and travel by car to Hendrix, you’d pass right through Memphis and could make a quick stop at Rhodes.</p>
<p>Hendrix’s campus is very pretty–the architecture is of a cohesive style (kind of red-brick gothic? not sure what to call it). The campus is green and shady with lots of pecan trees and places to gather outside. When we visited in late March the azaleas and rhododendrons were in full bloom and they were lovely. The town the college is in isn’t that exciting but Little Rock is great and it’s only a half hour away. If you start driving north, you’ll soon hit the first of numerous natural areas for hiking, fishing, climbing, etc.–and of course the Ozarks are only a few hours away.</p>
<p>As much as I am a big fan of Hendrix, if I were a prospective parent I’d be more inclined to visit Rhodes. People not familiar with Memphis might have concerns about the city and I think it would be really important to feel confident about the area around the college (which I hear is fine). If your child applied to Hendrix, you could always visit after she was accepted. There are several accepted student weekends over the winter and spring, including the Hays scholarship competition (which I believe offers four full-ride scholarships).</p>
<p>Thank you all. So helpful. </p>
<p>H is so adamant about D not being in Memphis. He sort of has a point in the sense that she has lived her entire life in a small CO town (15k population), tiny school (75 in her class), far from a “real” city, and is TOTALLY not street smart. I would not even want her to be in a college town like Boston. Honestly, we are looking for a very nurturing, small, close-knit environment for her. She is also a “late bloomer” (first boyfriend Sr. year, for example) and she has some growing up to do if you know what I mean. Not sophisticated, in other words. I know, sounds like we are trying to shelter her. But what I really want is a college environment like I had at Bryn Mawr - a home away from home, where she can mature on her own time in a safe and supportive environment. Yes, its not the real world. That’s the point. </p>
<p>All of that. Preferably at an affordable price! </p>
<p>We are looking at Atlanta because Agnes Scott is not really in Atlanta - same with Oxford College of Emory. She did not feel totally comfortable in Portland, or Seattle when we visited schools in the PNW, for example. She much preferred the residential area where Puget Sound is located. </p>
<p>I’m wondering if I could handle the following road trip: Fly from Denver to Greensboro, NC. We have family right nearby that area. Visit Guilford. Then drive to Emory & Henry. Next to Centre for their Open House. Then Sewanee. Finally Agnes Scott and Oxford College of Emory. Its ambitious! But will just be me and D (not all 4 kids TG !!!) A 5 day trip. </p>
<p>I still think Hendrix sounds great for her. Little Rock is easiest to get to from CO, so easiest to visit later on if she gets in. Same for the schools in TX - Southwestern, Austin, Trinity. Really cheap flights from here, easy to visit any time.</p>
<p>College of Charleston…Hmmm. I LOVE Charleston, did some traveling there for business. Kind of more expensive/harder to get to from here though. And that Confederate flag waving, Civil War reenactor President, seems weird. Still on our radar though. I would love to visit her there! </p>
<p>Meanwhile, next weekend we have tiny Westminster College in Salt Lake City, supposed to be a gem of a LAC. Also U of Utah Honors College. </p>
<p>Many thanks, again. More help than I ever hoped for! </p>
<p>I have noticed a couple times that you have mentioned Trinity in TX. I don’t post much here anymore, but my daughter is a 2011 grad, and she loved her time there. The campus is well kept, compact, very pretty. The airport is only 10 minutes away. The school itself is in a pleasant residential area. </p>
<p>We live in Indiana, and I loved going to SA to visit her. She is closer to home now doing a Ph.D. program, but misses SA a lot.</p>
<p>Could swing by Wofford on the way back to Greensboro! </p>
<p>Good idea @dadof1! Thanks for the feedback @gloworm. Heard great things about Trinity, actually all 3 small schools in TX. San Antonio and Austin nice places to visit for sure!</p>
<p>@4kids4college I have a sibling that has worked at Emory for 30 years. I asked her about Oxford for my D and thought here responses were relevant to your situation. Here was her first response…</p>
<p>"Oxford is truly an excellent choice. Small town. Brand new buildings all over the place. Good faculty student ratio and they’re a tight knit group of a small student body. But it’s only 2 years and then it feeds into emory itself. She may very well be ready for 6 million people and a big city campus by then?</p>
<p>The Oxford “continuees” as we call them are given some special orientation as they move into their junior year on the Emory campus, but it can still be a shock. On the other hand, many of them are the kids of Emory faculty and staff who are getting courtesy scholarships to go. So they often know both campuses well.</p>
<p>But the best thing about Emory academics really is the biology/pre-med track. She’d be on a great track to a highly ranked med school. But is also strong across the board and she’d have general ed requirements out of the gate that would expose her to other studies."</p>
<p>Then asked about issues when the two schools merge at the junior year. This was her response…</p>
<p>"That is the nail on the head. The Oxford Continuees tend to stick together as they join their junior class. But what really happens at Emory is that juniors and seniors don’t really live on campus, unless they’re in the very expensive Clairmont Campus apartments (<a href=“Residence Life and Housing Operations | Emory University | Atlanta GA”>Residence Life and Housing Operations | Emory University | Atlanta GA). So she’d likely be living off campus and driving in traffic to get to school. I’d strongly suggest Clairmont Campus, but you’ll pay.</p>
<p>By her junior year then, she’ll be in a city of 6.3 million on a campus with a ton of pre-med counterparts. She’d be doing great research work as an undergraduate and she’d obviously be ready for just about anything when she graduated. Emory is no soft place to land, but it’s great training for the real world.</p>
<p>It just depends on how quickly she wants to jump into the big pond!"</p>
<p>That is really helpful @dadof1. My D is thinking pre-med but not sure. She likes Neuroscience, Bioethics, Psychology. Not sure. Oxford of E sounds excellent in many ways. Time for D to grow up, then move on? Not thrilled about the living off campus Jr and Sr year thing. That is what everyone at CU Boulder does - after Freshman year. </p>
<p>I’m thinking merit at Oxford may not be good enough? Did you get input about that from your Sib? </p>
<p>!@4kids4college I didn’t ask and don’t believe she would know. However, the NPC for Oxford is about 10K more than many other southern LACs. </p>
<p>Second (or third) vote to consider Trinity U in SA.</p>
<p>You also might want to look at U of Dallas in Irvine. This came to mind in your description of your daughter, who sounds a lot like my son, actually. Very safe, supportive environment, with no shenanigans, if you know what a I mean. The most impressive thing about our visit at UD was the students. The most kind, well-mannered, mature, poised young people we have met on ANY of our visits. Helps if you are Catholic, but we are not and it is still on our radar. Very reasonable tuition, and excellent merit aid. Almost 100% of the kids take a half year to go to the school’s Rome campus to study for that semester, some Fall of sophomore year, others Spring.</p>
<p>Top ranked in Pre-Med, Tier I, by Rugg’s Guide.</p>
<p>Good luck in your search.</p>