<p>We'd like to hear from people who might know of a college or two that might fit what our junior daughter considers her match. We've visited many colleges thus far and she has liked a few (enough to apply to next year), but most of these colleges are in the "most selective" category. We'd like to find a few that are not in that category, to flesh out what might be less of a reach or safety schools..
Regarding our daughter, she's an excellent student, but we know that doesn't guarantee acceptance into the most selective schools
what she's looking for is a college with some or most of the following attributes...
1. a student body between 1400 - 8000 undergrads.
2. a more traditional campus setting (quads and greens, etc).
3. not urban, but not rural.
4. campus in or near town center or downtown area that is within walking distance for some off-campus treks (such as shopping, movies, pharmacy, restaurants. ie. don't need a car to get around).
5. being within a couple hours of a major city would be a plus.
6. if in a city, the campus needs to have a feel of being insulated or separate from that city.
7. strong academics.
8. not apathetic to sports.</p>
<p>We've visited, and liked to varying degrees, the following colleges (in no particular order)...
Wesleyan Univesity - CT (daughter's favorite, thus far)
Tuft's University - MA
College of The Holy Cross - MA
Amherst College - MA
Bowdoin College - ME
Wellesley College - MA
Bryn Mawr College - PA
Haverford College - PA
Swarthmore College - PA
Lehigh Univesity - PA
Lafayette College - PA</p>
<p>Colleges that she is less certain of....
U Penn - PA (too large, maybe too urban, though Locust Walk felt like a true campus)
U Mass - MA (too large, didn't like the feel of the campus as much)
Boston College - MA (too large)
Boston U - MA (too large, campus didn't feel separate from the city)
College of New Jersey - NJ (nothing to walk to from campus.. mostly suburban without a town feel)</p>
<p>Colleges we may visit before start of senior year...
Gettysburg College - PA
Loyola Maryland - MD
Johns Hopkins - MD</p>
<p>Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.</p>
<p>What do you mean by excellent? Sorry, just looking for some statistics to help firm up what we’re looking for here. Are all the colleges on her list solidly in the reach category–they are of varying selectivity…</p>
<p>No, they’re not all in the reach category. Based on present admit rates and stats we’ve seen, Amherst, Wesleyan, Tufts and Swarthmore appear to be toughest, but we’re not concerned about that right now. What we’re looking for are colleges that might not get the same recognition or that may not be known to us, in the Philadelphia area. As for possible college majors, our daughter is undecided at this time. She has varied academic interests and is not prepared to eliminate a college based on that criteria, just yet.</p>
<p>Sounds like you are focused on the East Coast, but two very good midwestern colleges that have these qualities (at the lower end of the size range you gave) are Kalamazoo in Michigan and Lawrence in Wisconsin, both with very pretty campuses in smaller cities (but non-rural) with easy to walk to local amenities. Both are also slightly less selective than most of the colleges you named, yet still are academically excellent. Each town (Kalamazoo and Appleton) has a regional airport, making travel from the coast relatively convenient, and each is within a few hours of a major city. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks MilwDad. Daughter has received some mail from Kalamazoo. We’ll look into them. We may be taking a trip to Chicago this summer, so we might be able to check out the IL, MI, WI, MN area at that time and see both colleges you mentioned.</p>
<p>RICE UNIVERSITY (more of a reach… on par with Williams, Amherst, and Swarthmore)
a student body between 1400 - 8000 undergrads. YES (about 3000)
a more traditional campus setting (quads and greens, etc). YES
not urban, but not rural. urban, but not like NYU or Columbia or UPenn
campus in or near town center or downtown area that is within walking distance for some off-campus treks (such as shopping, movies, pharmacy, restaurants. ie. don’t need a car to get around). YES
being within a couple hours of a major city would be a plus. YES (Houston, despite Texas stereotypes, is a great place to live)
if in a city, the campus needs to have a feel of being insulated or separate from that city. YES
strong academics. YES
not apathetic to sports. TEXAS BOWL AND COLLEGE WORLD SERIES</p>
<p>COLORADO COLLEGE
a student body between 1400 - 8000 undergrads.YES
a more traditional campus setting (quads and greens, etc). YES
not urban, but not rural. YES
campus in or near town center or downtown area that is within walking distance for some off-campus treks (such as shopping, movies, pharmacy, restaurants. ie. don’t need a car to get around). YES
being within a couple hours of a major city would be a plus. YES
if in a city, the campus needs to have a feel of being insulated or separate from that city. YES
strong academics. YES
not apathetic to sports. D1 HOCKEY</p>
<p>TULANE UNIVERSITY
a student body between 1400 - 8000 undergrads. YES
a more traditional campus setting (quads and greens, etc). YES
not urban, but not rural. somewhat urban, but no skyscrapers in sight
campus in or near town center or downtown area that is within walking distance for some off-campus treks (such as shopping, movies, pharmacy, restaurants. ie. don’t need a car to get around). YES
being within a couple hours of a major city would be a plus. YES
if in a city, the campus needs to have a feel of being insulated or separate from that city. YES
<p>If it matters I would have definitely said Rice as well. That seems to fit all of your daughter’s preferences. I know Rice is very selective, but all students should have a few reaches. </p>
<p>The Claremont colleges may also be a good fit, but again they are reaches for many students. </p>
<p>On another note, is your daughter willing to go to somewhere besides the northeast or midwest?</p>
<p>Wheaton and Clark, both in Massachusetts, are worth a look - from what I know they both fit your criteria and would probably be safeties. Clark might be too urban (in Worcester), but check it out.</p>
<p>I agree, both Tulane and Rice are perfect fits for those conditions. Rice is going to be more selective than Tulane although Tulane is still very selective. Neither school is cheap but I know Tulane, for one, gives out a lot of money for competitive applicants. I’m not sure how much Rice gives out. Both are Division 1 Conference USA schools.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. Claire1016, we’ve not yet visited Villanova, though we did drive past it one day while visiting another college. Perhaps we should check it out also. Hermes, Rice has been on our radar, but not on our daughter’s. Daughter is not so sure about the distance from home issue. We have family in Texas, and do travel down every year or two. At times, she’s been okay with the idea, but has recently been more interested in staying within an 8 hour drive or less, from our south jersey home. We’ll keep it in our heads and see if she reconsiders the distance requirement over the summer and into her senior year. Colorado College is definitely too far for her. Tulane was an interesting suggestion and we’ll look more closely at that. TPL09, Lafayette and Lehigh are definitely on our list, but daughter thinks Bucknell is too remote for her tastes, along with Hamilton. Again, we’ll see if her ideas on that change. We’ll look more closely at Carleton, out in MN. Senior 0991, yes, Rice is one of those reach schools, but we’re prepared to put a few reach schools in the mix, when all is said and done. Thanks. The Claremont schools are definitely too far for our daughter. Right now, she doesn’t think she’d be willing to go as far as the midwest or Texas. However, we’re trying to keep her eyes open to possible good matches that might make her willing to look beyond that 8 hour drive. Not that we want her to be further away from home, but we know there are so many good schools throughout the country and it’s good to be thorough. We’ll make sure to look over all the suggestions and see if any peak her interest.</p>
<p>If you’re open to schools outside of the Northeast, look into Macalester College. It’s located in one of Saint Paul’s historic residential neighborhoods and has a small, but very well defined campus, with a lot of shops within walking distance and easy access to the Twin Cities. I visited recently and really liked the location, people, academics and - because we know this is the most important - food. Mac would probably be a reach, though. </p>
<p>What about Lewis & Clark College in suburban Portland as a match or safety? It’s less selective, but still a solid school.</p>
<p>If Tufts and Amherst are possibilities, Colgate might be a good choice. Hamilton has a nice walkable downtown. but it is surrounded by farming country so it might be too rural. My son just chose American - less selective, gave him money, in the city (DC) but has a more suburban feel that your daughter might like.</p>
<p>Look at Kenyon. It might be too remote and in the middle of nowhere. But if you are going to visit colleges in the midwest you should really consider it. And another vote for Kalamazoo. And also to Skidmore.</p>