Looking for welcoming atmosphere

College Search & Selection
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Bates. In a small city, 40 minutes to Portland and two hours to Boston. Rigorous, collaborative, friendly, egalitarian.

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Open to schools in the south? Take a look at Davidson if so.

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I second some schools that have already been recommended, including Bates and Macalester. Have you looked into the Claremont five-college consortium? Pitzer and Scripps (if you’re a woman) come to mind. So does Occidental, a bit down the road. Oberlin is only about 45 minutes outside of Cleveland and would fit well with your interests. The housing systems at Vassar and Smith (again, if applicable) create a strong sense of community. Sarah Lawrence is very much a “fit” school, but it would check a lot of boxes for you.

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Many great ideas! My kids were seeking same and liked Rice alot - though neither ended up applying. Both also loved Macalaster. My oldest is currently at Vanderbilt and loves it! There is a bit of everything there, but the overall feel is collaborative and supportive overall. My younger is headed to Pomona which definitely checked every box. So, I would also suggest checking out any of the 5 C’s.

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This was also something that I really focused on in my search. Look at WashU and Rice. Maybe also Vandy.

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I think most small/medium schools are compassionate and not cutthroat.

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We found most schools talked about being collaborative, but there were some schools that definitely felt intense, and that there was a value placed on being super busy or overworked that left my kids feeling like students felt very stressed. Other schools felt more balanced - they preferred this feeling. The intense schools were not “cutthroat” - but just intense, more focused on grades or other acheivements, less on exploration and learning.

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? I don’t this tracks at all.

Cooper Union- tiny. I wouldn’t describe it as cutthroat- but it is certainly not a kind/gentle place. The kids are lovely but the work is intense and the “feel” is intense.

Lots of others. I think a kid looking for this environment needs to examine Huge, big, medium and small to get a feel for what kind of vibe works.

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How high on the scale (as far as “rigorous schools”) will your grades, class rank and standardized testing make you look?

How low, as far as annual cost, do you need to be?

Other than “small-medium sized school in or near a city”, there isn’t much to narrow the choices from the pool of 3,000.

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“Most” doesn’t mean “all”. Certainly the vibe varies at different schools. I believe MIT and Swarthmore are both intense but not cutthroat places. I don’t think many schools are cutthroat – the word OP used – my post was intended to get them to think more specifically about the vibe.

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31

I don’t think “welcoming atmosphere” is about size. For example, Reed felt a lot colder and less welcoming to my son, compared to UC Davis
 just to compare two schools my son visited.

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OP- we’ve all visited a LOT of schools. If you can boil it down for us- what you want, environment, academics, type of social scene, etc. we can be more helpful. Since as you can see- one person interprets “welcoming” in one way, and others see it another.

There are lots and lots of colleges with a “welcoming environment”. Help us help you!

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