Lesser known LACs

Parents Forum
1

<p>I'm having a hard time finding out about less well known schools. We just spent a day touring Knox in Galesburg, IL. It was a great school (the town less so), but it doesn't appear to be discussed much on CC. </p>

<p>My daughter is interested in finding a similar school in a more attractive setting. Any thoughts? </p>

<p>Sent from my EVO using CC</p>

2

<p>A lot of people would suggest other CTCL schools: [CTCL</a> Members | Colleges That Change Lives](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/colleges/list]CTCL”>http://www.ctcl.org/colleges/list) .</p>

3

<p>You could also look at the 3.0 - 3.3 2013 parents forem. You would have to read through, but many schools discussed on there would be lesser known LAC’s. Also there is a Where Did your 3.3 - 3.6 student get Accepted thread.</p>

4

<p>I would look through this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1299462-looking-beyond-rankings.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1299462-looking-beyond-rankings.html&lt;/a&gt; All the schools accept >50% of their applicants and Sadilly points out interesting nuggets about each.</p>

5

<p>Roanoke College in Virginia.</p>

6

<p>I have heard very good things about Eckerd in St. Petersburg, Florida, but haven’t visited.</p>

7

<p>I only have experience with Midwest:
Lake Forest, IL - nice suburb of Chicago
Denison, OH - very close to Columbus
Kalamazoo, MI, Lawrence, WI - towns is much better then Galesburg
Beloit, WI - town is probably the same as Galesburg, but closer to Chicago
Wooster, OH - town is probably the same as Galesburg, maybe nicer but still isolated
Butler, IN - in residential part of Indianapolis
IL Wesleyan - Bloomington, IL - nicer then Galesburg</p>

8

<p>I know very intelligent, thoughtful people who have graduated from Earlham, College of Wooster, and St Olaf, all of which might appeal to someone who likes Knox.</p>

9

<p>Lawrence??</p>

10

<p>OP - My D’s friend went to Knox. It sounds like a neat school, especially if you qualify for scholarships there like she did.</p>

11

<p>Is there a particular geographical area your D would like to be in? I’m in Mass, where we have many known and lesser known LACs.</p>

12

<p>I found a lot of great options on this thread:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/370873-brag-about-your-lesser-known-school.html?highlight=hidden+gems[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/370873-brag-about-your-lesser-known-school.html?highlight=hidden+gems&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

13

<p>There are many fine LACs known in their region. Most people in the Midwest, btw, will be unaware of most LACs you hear about on CC. Just because the heavily populated east coast makes some LACs well known doesn’t mean they are better than those of other regions. You might want to research the US News and World Reports online listings for different regions.</p>

14

<p>@colorado_mom … it was the great school. She attended quite a few classes and enjoyed everything about every single bit of the school itself. The students were really friendly and helpful, which was amazing considering how cold it was on Monday.</p>

15

<p>Shaba, my D also visited Knox this Monday for open house and overnight for admitted students!</p>

16

<p>My wife and I went to Knox decades ago when Galesburg had a little more life to it. D1 is at Austin College, and D2 is looking at Hendrix and Rhodes. All of these schools, and many of the other fine colleges mentioned in this thread, are widely ignored on CC but offer great opportunities for kids who find their fit there. Although CC can be very helpful, it also tends to gives you the funhouse mirror version of what looking for a college should be.</p>

17

<p>If you’re interested in that same general area, I’d look at Lake Forest and Beloit. Lake Forest has a nice campus in a safe, very pretty suburb that’s right on the commuter train line to Chicago.</p>

18

<p>we just visited Rhodes in Memphis on Friday - another one of the CTCL schools. A very good regional LAC in a city… with good merit aid too… if she’s interested in heading south…</p>

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<p>For many Midwest LACs, their settings are rust-belt small towns that are experiencing economic decline. It’s worth researching the towns too, to determine whether the community is an acceptable setting too. Worth reading crime stats for Beloit and Knox’s Galesburg, for instance. Both campuses’ students do need to wary of neighboring high-crime areas despite the deceptive “small town” environments. Earlham, Wabash, and DePauw are also located in relatively depressing towns with little economic activity.</p>

<p>There’s another “college students review their college” site, not “P-lettered site”, that features “student comments” which can be quite honest if negative. Worth finding, and reading, to get another perspective on schools aside from the largely favorable reviews found in the big fat college guide books.</p>

<p>For us, Galesburg, Richmond, and Beloit were all towns that were a major turn-off for otherwise interesting LACs that would have been “good fits”. However, we heard and read enough comments concerning those depressed rural town/small-city environments to ultimately scratch them from the list.</p>

<p>Northfield, home of Carleton and St Olaf, is a charming small town. Lake Forest, home of Lake Forest College, is a hoity-toity upper-income suburb. Mount Vernon, home of Cornell College, was a “Mayberry-esque” cute farm town. Touring the towns as well as the campuses is important.</p>