<p>So, our first son, a junior, is starting to look at schools. He is a very good student (GPA 4.0 unweighted, ACT 35), and great athlete (looking D1 lacrosse schools, turned down 2 D1 offers due to academic fit). He is leaning toward sciences, math, or business, possibly premed. Looking at all options.</p>
<p>We are familiar with many schools. Oldest daughter is senior at Penn and has not 'loved' her experience, due mostly to hyper-competitive students, and her own lack of specific direction academically. Second daughter is in Delaware Honors College (also 4.0 student, 35 ACT, turned down Penn), but feels under-challenged and, at times, just a 'number'.</p>
<p>So, from simply a school standpoint, pitch me some ideas. Where can an academically inclined, athletic, 'normal' white male look where he will not necessarily be overwhelmed with competitive students, but will still feel challenged, and might even get to play some lacrosse (NCAA, club, etc)? We are looking across the country, including all Ivies, MIT, Stanford, Cal, NESCAC, etc. </p>
<p>I know there are a lot of 'good schools'...but want to see what people have to say about some particular schools....</p>
<p>Penn is more typical than not among the top 20. Not all Penn students would view it as overly competitive or overly focused on career. I doubt that students at MIT, Stanford, and most of the Ivies are any less career focused than Penn. My observation is that many students adjust after freshman year, some more quickly than others, depending on the rigor of their high school and their ability to find their place at the very selective and rigorous colleges.</p>
<p>Of the Ivies Brown is probably the most layed back. It has fewer restrictions on “required” courses and gives students the freedom to create a program that works best for them.</p>
<p>actually, UMD-CP sprung immediately to mind. If he were to major in STEM or business, enroll in the Honors Program, and play D1 lacrosse or intramurals in any sport, your boy would find plenty to challenges him at College Park without being overwhelmed by the academics. Great business and STEM rigor. Plus, UMD would treat him financially and athletically like a prince.</p>
<p>Second to mind was JHU, but it’s extremely competitive.</p>
<p>Next was UVA, which can be as competitive as he might want without being overwhelming. Frankly, the male lacrosse players here are princes.</p>
<p>Then there are the PA LACs and small unis: Muhlenberg, Lehigh, Bucknell, Haverford (definitely not in your face cutthroat; econ but not business), Lafayette, etc.</p>
<p>I think your son would be a good fit at several of the NESCAC schools: Amherst, Bowdoin, Hamilton, Wesleyan, Williams are all athlete friendly and offer good to excellent sciences. (Economics instead of business though.) Also in the region: Haverford. Bentley if he really wants a business degree.</p>
<p>The atmosphere at these LACs is generally supportive, not prohibitively competitive. About Lacrosse opportunities at these schools, I know nothing at all, except that it is popular.</p>
<p>Is financial aid also a factor for your family? If you need or want merit aid I’d look to some of the small LACs in other parts of the country: Kenyon, Rhodes. </p>
<p>Haha a D1 lacrosse player in the NESCAC would be a sight to behold. These schools (Amherst, Bowdoin, Williams etc) definitely have that combination of athletic (not quite D1 athletic) student bodies, extremely good academics/job prospects, and collaborative/noncompetitive students, though. Duke, Rice and Stanford definitely fit that description as well. For Ivies I believe Brown and Yale are the most laid-back (the anti-Penns).</p>
<p>Have you looked at lax power dot com? You can sort recruits by college, by HS, by position, etc. My boys do not play lacrosse but it is a significant presence in our HS, with a handful of sophomores already committed. </p>
<p>The link I provided below is for this year’s Jr class but you can also view this year’s senior class.</p>
<p>Thanks to all. Some ideas I had not considered, including Davidson and the NCAC schools. We are in PA so the PA suggestions are handy too.</p>
<p>Yes, we are well acquainted with laxpower…he is really in the thick of recruiting as a junior, and many sophomores and even freshmen have committed…a different subject altogether. At this point, he turned down the 2 D1 offers, and is waiting for 2 Ivies to get back to him, but if not, then he is going to end up just applying next summer/fall, and letting chips fall where they may on the lacrosse aspect, whether that is D1 walk-on etc. or D3 or club. Academics are really the issue with ‘fit’.</p>
<p>I’m going to keep coming back to this thread for ideas…so keep posting!</p>
<p>I know it sounds like a cop out, but I’d start to visit some different types of schools (Ivy, LACs etc.) with your son and let him lead the way. He should also really think about if he wants to play varsity lacrosse in college (which certainly sounds like it is do-able at most LACs as well as some larger schools).</p>
<p>1) No specific cost constraints, but some merit aid would be great
2) I like Bucknell. He was not sold. Might be leaning toward a slightly bigger school (which is a bit against an LAC or NESCAC)
3) He has seen a ton of schools…but not a lot of LACs. Might be a trip coming up…</p>
<ul>
<li>Any engineering major.</li>
<li>Computer science.</li>
<li>Math, if student will complete college math beyond calculus BC while in high school.</li>
<li>Physics.</li>
</ul>
<p>These may require more careful selection of smaller schools, with attention to the course offerings (check catalogs and schedules, or ABET accreditation for engineering).</p>