We have a bunch of schools on the list, but I’ve been wondering if there are schools that offer Greek life, a clean cut, preppy vibe yet is super friendly and down to earth? Oh, and strong academics are important.
Interested in hearing about largish LACs and smallish universities. Thank you!!
Lafayette (they are incrementally increasing class size to get closer to 3000 students and also increasing faculty); Denison (although not particularly large). What about Wake Forest or Richmond? You probably have these on the list already.
The first one that came to my mind was Bucknell. Considered a LAC, but unusually large at 3600. Isolated small-town location, friendly, good sense of community. Seems preppy and athletic. Greek scene.
Dickinson.
We have seen all the schools mentioned except for Denison so far, and I am hoping we can get to Ohio this summer to see it. Only concerned about the size of Dension. We all liked Dickinson, but D felt like it was a little too quiet for her. Bucknell and Richmond are her top two right now. Wake is on the fence. She liked Lafayette, but the tour guide focused on STEM and that turned her off even though I told her that the other liberal arts are strong too. Thanks everyone. Keep on giving suggestions.
FYI- She absolutely loves Bucknell, Richmond and Elon. She really likes Lehigh, Villanova and Gettysburg. She didn’t care for the vibe at Wake Forest when she toured, but lately she has been saying that she might want to apply thinking it was just a bad day. My husband and I thought Davidson would be a good place for her, but she thought it was too small and quiet, same with Dickinson. None of us cared for Franklin and Marshall, even though it was a perfectly nice school. I think D felt it was too quiet as well. On the other hand, we drove by UNC Chapel Hill and Penn State and she thought both were too big, overwhelming and chaotic.So there you have it.
How about Colgate?
The first school that came to mind was a Bucknell. I see others beat me to it.
Additional ideas:
If she “loves” Bucknell and “really likes” Lehigh, then she might also like two other Patriot League schools, Lafayette and Colgate. Both are larger-than-average LACs (though not as large as Bucknell). Both have previously been suggested in this thread.
Holy Cross is another Patriot League option, but they are Catholic and lack Greek life.
If you’re visiting Ohio look into Miami Universty. It’s a public, very Greek focused, strong academics, not Big Ten sports crazy but strong in sports, and comparatively down to to earth. It’s a medium sized public at around 15,000 undergrads.
I was also going to say Miami of Ohio too. Is Union (ny) too small? Wofford might be worth a look but it’s also smaller.
BC, but they don’t have Greek life
Concur on the Patriot League schools - esp Colgate, Bucknell, Holy Cross. While Holy Cross doesn’t have a greek system, the social life is active. The whole school is sort of like one big fraternity/sorority. Social but welcoming.
If she is willing to look a little further South, I would recommend Furman. Gorgeous campus, larger LAC (about 3000, I think), strong academics, and Greenville is awesome. You could easily tour Wofford on same trip, although it may be too small.
Middlebury is large-ish LAC (2500) and it felt clean cut and yet down to earth when we visited.
my daughter visited all these schools! She is at Lehigh but had she not have been admitted ED would have applied to Bucknell and Richmond. She applied early to Miami U. and Elon as safeties. For what its worth, she did not love Lafayette, Wake, Emory, Dickinson or Denison. Just toured Colgate with my son (daughter did not consider, we ran out of time) and I loved it, and I think she would have too. To me, Middlebury seemed more outdoorsy than preppy.
Having followed OP’s journey a bit, I don’t think Midd is what she’s looking for (much as I personally like that school.
I also agree that the vibe at BC and Holy Cross might be right, Greek life requirement notwithstanding.
What does “too quiet” mean, exactly? Is this a euphemism for “I want a very healthy party scene”? Or something else? Did you visit these schools while they were in session, on a weekday? Is she sitting in on a class and eating in a cafeteria?
@intparent When schools felt too quiet to her during visits it was because they didn’t have lots of kids walking around or if they did the energy seemed lower to her. D doesn’t smoke or drink, but she likes going to parties and wants to have lots of things to do on the weekends. She hasn’t sat in on classes. She will do that in the early fall.
Thanks everyone. In response to all the comments: Hamiliton has always been my dream school for her. I think she would love it, but it may be too small and it may be too difficult to get in with her demographics. I also think she would love Middlebury, as she is pretty outdoorsy for a city girl, but I think it would be tough to get in. I agree that BC and Holy Cross look like good fits, but she’s adamant about Greek life. I wish she wasn’t. Colgate seems like it would be a good fit, but according to Naviance they don’t take too many kids from her school. Hopefully we can see Miami OH if we pass through OH. I always thought it has what she’s looking for. Also, maybe she needs to see Lafayette again.
My husband wants her to see SMU, because he thinks it’s exactly what she’s looking for and it has many majors that interest her. I want her to see Virginia Tech, because from what I read it seems like such a “happy” school with a lot going for it. Thanks again for all the suggestions
One last thing, I wouldn’t even say that she’s preppy. She just really likes preppy schools.
St Lawrence in upstate NY. Hobart Washington and Lee. Gettysburg. Perhaps.