<p>True, but the OP wrote “Could you please suggest some schools that would suit my needs?” Not “my daughter’s needs”, or even “our needs”. </p>
<p>If the daughter wants a more straight-arrow environment, that’s one thing. There are lots of good suggestions already in this thread that the D and mom can look at. If the mom wants a school which will keep her daughter on the straight and narrow, then there’s lots of good advice on this thread about how it doesn’t always work out that way. </p>
<p>I believe that the daughter is in 10th grade, in which case there’s plenty of time for the mom and daughter to work out what’s most important.</p>
<p>OP - I gather this is your first child heading off to college? – From my experience - there isn’t as much “drinking in the dorms” as there is drinking in the off-campus housing and fraternity/sorority rows & row parties. Most Universities are very discouraging of underage drinking in dorms. There are generally RAs (Resident Advisors) on every floor of a dorm to be something of a “mother/father bird” . There will be “parties” at virtually all colleges. It’s a matter of frank talks with your daughter about what she is going to choose to do. </p>
<p>I’m not sure drinking has anything to do with liberal/conservative, religious/public, etc. (Perhaps all-women colleges in remote locations might be an exception )</p>
<p>Finding separate male/female dorms is a matter of checking the with schools that have the particular science that your daughter is intersted in. You might first narrow down the schools that have the “major” area that interests your girl. I guess you could call me a conservative mom…my d is in a coed dorm with guys on one side, girls on the other. Her dorm has separate girls/guys bathrooms. It’s all very nice and respectful. Some universities have coed bathrooms (my d wouldn’t have been comfortable with that.) Often, dorm assignments are almost a lottery basis with some consideration given to preference. I’d advise submitting your housing application AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE to better your chances of getting a particular dorm set up…</p>
<p>We had a mom of a high school student asking about conservative colleges.</p>
<p>She didn’t say she was making the final decision about college for her kid.
She didn’t say her D would have no input. She didn’t say that she advocates or practices overly restrictive parenting techniques. She asked for information. And she got a bunch of stories that put down conservatives.</p>
<p>Parents who are paying for college have a right to guide (and even veto) their kid’s college choices.
Just as any “18yo adult” is free to go to any college he/she can get into–IF he or she is paying for it. </p>
<p>It is unlikely that a kid raised in a conservative family would want to go to a liberal school. Does anyone ask liberal/atheist families why they don’t have any conservative/Christian schools on their lists?</p>
<p>Students/parents want to find a college where they/their kids can fit in and feel comfortable. It is all about fit, right? </p>
<p>I think it is appropriate to answer the mom’s question without making assumptions, judgments and jokes about her lifestyle/parenting–about which she has told us next to nothing.</p>
<p>I’ll second that as long as the OP conservative position is not hurting anyone, the position should not be joked about. The family might genuinely looking for a minimum substance abuse or dorm drinking.
If OP was asking about a pro-life campus then …</p>
<p>Please go through the thread and identify the posts which mock the OP. Many of the posts are helpful and respectful. Some of them ask for more information. That is not mocking – that is to clarify the request so that good answers can be provided. </p>
<p>I’m not sure what the OP is really after. Is anyone? She doesn’t want drinking/partying, and doesn’t want co-ed dorms. She does want enough science for pre-med. Does she want/mind a religious atmosphere? That’s an important question, because if she doesn’t, or wants only one flavor, that will change the responses she gets. Does she want a socially/politically conservative atmosphere? That’s an important question, because if she doesn’t, that will also change the responses she gets. </p>
<p>And asking an OP – any OP – to consider the impact of what his/her approach seems to be, or questioning it, is right natural sport around here! It’s not because this poster asked for conservative colleges; it’s because the poster posted, and if you don’t believe me, I’ll refer you to a couple of threads I started, in which my approaches to/for whatever (cookie flavors, mapping out what needs to be done in high school — HAHAHAHAHA on me for that one!, and so on) were questioned.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this is not the first instance of a parent or student asking for advice on “conservative” colleges and getted bashed. I initially came to cc years ago for sound advice on subjects I was learning. I’d hope we could still help the OP with those issues.</p>
<p>RE: post #66-“…as long as the conservative position is not hurting anyone.” ?? I’d say the “liberal” position may very well have hurt the OP and made them disappear.</p>
<p>Generally speaking liberal position is considered liberal iff it doesn’t hurt anyone. e.g. Pro-life can hurt as it force the women to give birth while Pro-choice doesn’t hurt as it just give freedom of choice to the same women.</p>
<p>So a liberal position just don’t hurt but conservative position can.</p>
<p>Boy, ParentOfIVyHope - that may be one of the silliest statements I’ve ever read. You sure threw down the gauntlet on this one. I hope this doesn’t get hijacked into liberal vs. conservative war of words.</p>
<p>Since the OP has not revisited, I’m not sure there is a point to this post, but I would suggest Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>No, it’s not politically conservative, and Haverford is right there, but as the mom of young woman who just graduated from a woman’s college, I think many of the concerns of social conservatives are addressed.</p>
<p>Most dorms are single sex. There is some drinking, but very little binge drinking. Students are academically serious. Bryn Mawr is now known for its science curriculum.</p>
<p>Barnard, Mt. Holyoke and Smith are all kind of in-your-face liberal in their own ways. (What I love about them.) But maybe not for the D of the OP.</p>
<p>So, I guess I would conclude with Bryn Mawr. Wellesley might be a possibility too, but it doesn’t jump out at me.</p>
<p>If a real Christian and red ideology is desired than Bryn Mawr is not the best suggestion.</p>
<p>OP,
Please consider Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA. It is a wonderful little public LAC with some great academic programs for strong students. (honors, presidential leadership). It is a secular school but Christian groups are very active there if that is what your daughter is looking for. It is located in a politically conservative area in VA and the Republican club is very active. The administration takes alcohol violations very, very seriously. Campus police and residential advisors are very strict about enforcing under-age drinking bans in the dorms. It’s not that kids don’t drink; some of them do try but it is very difficult to get away with wild parties in the dorms. </p>
<p>My neighbor’s kid goes there. She went with the intention of partying her 4 years away. After two citations and going in front of an honor code committee as well as the Newport News courts, she gave up drinking completely. Getting kicked out of CNU for drinking was not worth it. Instead of partying, she joined a pre-law club and started taking her studies seriously. Now she is one of the top students in her major and heading for law school.</p>
<p>I just love these stories about kids of conservative parents gone wild…and the reason for kids of liberal parents going wild is…?? Or does that never happen. :)</p>
<p>One piece of advice I would have for the OP if her child is truly looking for a school with a minimum of partying is to stay overnight one or more times on campus. I really think that is the only way to get a feel for of a school in terms of social activity and most especially the drinking culture. I did not push my son to do that, and I regret it.</p>
<p>It’s the use by the OP of the word “conservative”. Is it conservative to not drink alcohol? I would suggest it’s quite possible that there are flaming liberals that don’t drink alcohol. Is it conservative to be a Christian? Well, perhaps, but then we all know in my neck of the woods that the Christian can party with the best of them. What about Hillsdale - one could argue that it is a conservative school, doesn’t take federal monies, Paul Harvey loved Hillsdale but the kids aren’t in the least bit conservative in any classical political or “social” sense. Who knows what the OP was looking for. The OP probably won’t come back, but the lesson is be specific about what you are asking - if you are looking for a campus where drinking isn’t the main Friday night activity, so say. If you are looking for a campus where pot is well hidden and not in mainstream - say so. If you are looking for a campus that have a strong religious thread, say so. If you are looking for a campus that is strongly right wing political, say so…to just ask “what are conservative campuses?”… too many smart people in this forum to let that one go by.</p>
<p>Since the op mentioned partying, drinking and single sex dorms, it seems pretty clear she was looking for recommendations for a socially conservative school. Being socially conservative does not have to have anything to do with religion or politics.</p>
<p>^mummom, exactly. Many such schools, though, ARE religious and/or politically conservative. If the student isn’t religious, these schools might be a poor fit. Yeshiva University is another example of a school that has separate dorms, a non-party atmosphere, and strong sciences, but it’s highly unlikely to be what the OP is looking for.</p>
<p>I haven’t had a chance to read through all the posts, yet. </p>
<p>But I can take this question to be that she is seeking some suggestions for her child from a political standpoint. Some parents are tired of people like Ward Churchill in the classroom.</p>
<p>There is an excellent guide called “Choosing the Right College”. It offers some surprising insight. One of the gems that I found most interesting is that, although some people would consider UC Berkeley to be a school that doesn’t favor political dissent, that they have one of the most active Young Republican groups of any college campus. </p>
<p>But even beyond the politics of a campus, what I find interesting is how some of the “best” professors, and interesting college courses are listed. There is a focus on Western Civilization as being integral to the humanities at most of the schools listed.</p>
<p>It is but one college book that is a handy tool for students, whether liberal or conservative, politically. I like “Fiske Guide to Colleges”, quite a bit, too. I have found much of the wisdom in these couple of page blurbs to be quite on the money.</p>
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