<p>Hello all knowing sources,
Our firstborn has decided she would love to visit and attend a LAC college in the eastern portion of the US. This is all new to us, as we live in CA (land shaped like a psychiatrist's couch - for very good reasons). </p>
<p>These are the colleges she is currently considering:
Allegheny College
Clark University
Emory and Henry
Goucher College
Hofstra University</p>
<p>She predicts high SAT scores based on her PSAT. Her extra curriculars are limited to water polo and activities through our presbytarian church. Her GPA is 3.0 with some honors courses. She has ADHD which she works hard to manage, and is somewhat of an introvert. She is not sure what she wants to major in, but enjoys creative writing, psychology, and is interested in reading and words. </p>
<p>We are planning a college tour trip next month, but would love info on
1 - Political/religious leanings of the above colleges
2 - Any additional schools you would recommend that might be good fits for her
3 - Feedback regarding subtle differences between them. </p>
<p>We have been reviewing posts here as well as Loren Pope's book. As of today, she has indicated that she would prefer a school over 1000, which lets out St. John's and Marlboro, two of my favorites. She would prefer a school near some type of urban center - we are conservative Christians but she does not necessarily need to attend a Christian College. Just one where strong ethics are encouraged! </p>
<p>I am familiar with Goucher College- so hopefully I can provide you with some positive feedback. </p>
<p>There’s a large college concentration in the Baltimore area. Those include Towson U, Morgan State, Goucher, UBaltimore, JHU and a few others. I know Goucher, Morgan State and Towson U are all in approximately the same area and there’s a shuttle that can take you to each campus and to other locations- including malls. If memory recalls, it really is a nice area overall to be in. </p>
<p>Naturally, the city of Baltimore is very liberal; but I think there is a decent concentration of churches and other activities of the religious nature if you’re interested.</p>
<p>Does Hofstra count as a liberal arts college? I mean there is ‘university’ in the name and, as i live near it, i know it to be quite large. I don’t think its counts as a LAC.</p>
<p>You are right - Hofstra probably doesn’t really count. That one was her pick based on wanting to be near a large city. I was somewhat surprise that it was of interest to her - it seemed less academic and more of a “party school” from what I read. However, I also read that it has a new president who is investing in improving academics. She is still struggling with the big vs. medium vs small school - </p>
<p>I am embarassed to say that I know next to nothing about conservative vs liberal areas of the country except as it relates to blue and red states. I do know that colleges in general have the reputation for being liberal in general. Our D is wise and discerning, and we are am not afraid of her being exposed to a wide variety of opinions.</p>
<p>Most colleges qualify as liberal or very liberal. There are some center colleges and very few colleges that are generally right of center. Most conservative colleges are either religious (in varying degrees) or are in the deep south, with exceptions I’m sure (Washington and Lee comes to mind). LACs are generally the most liberal, perhaps because they do not have the characteristically conservative engineering and business departments.</p>
<p>I’m fairly certain that a large percentage of college-bound young people are liberal. I think the conservative numbers for young people are very, very low. So, no matter where your daughter goes, she is going to be in contact with liberal views. Schools with a strong interest in politics are probably going to have a vocal conservative group, although they may be a minority.</p>
<p>look at Samford University in Alabama. It’s a christian school but it’s a very good liberal arts school (probably a safety school) and the students there have very high morals (I looked on facebook and there were no “underage drinkers” there and those that did said they would try to stop when they got to college haha)</p>
<p>louise, if Maryland has some appeal, you might also be interested in Washington College (Chestertown, MD). Or possibly St. Mary’s College of Maryland as a reach (which is excellent, but might be a bit tough for an out-of-state applicant with only a 3.0 GPA). Washington College is in a small town (but within 75 mi. or so of DC and Baltimore; closer than that to Annapolis). SMCM is more rural and isolated but the setting is beautiful.</p>
<p>I’m not familiar with the political climate at Washington College. SMCM probably leans a bit left of center, but strikes me as relatively balanced. </p>
<p>McDaniel is another one of the CTCL schools. It is about an hour’s drive from Goucher. </p>
<p>These are not necessarily the very best matches in the entire country, but if you are visiting Goucher already, they are 3 in the same general vicinity. Of these, I’m especially keen on SMCM (Maryland’s public “honors” college).</p>
<p>Allegheny College - Overall liberal, but probably more balanced than other east coast schools. The college has greek life unlike Goucher, and the town offers very little. My family visited for my brother, and they said greek life wasn’t overly dominant, though. Beautiful and historic campus.
Clark University - Small research university. All I know is it is well known for Psych. Probably at least moderately liberal.
Emory and Henry - ?
Goucher College - Quite liberal. Right outside Baltimore & no frats likely means more off-campus life.
Hofstra University - Located about half an hour from the city. I’ll be honest, I have not heard great things about the university, especially about it’s financial aid (not sure if this is an issue for you) and it’s reputation as a commuter school.</p>
<p>I think that Allegheny is a pain for the student that must fly in and out. Erie, I believe is the closest airport. They stopped running shuttles to and from Erie because flights tend to be more expensive from this aiport. Shuttles run to and from Pittsburgh, and Cleveland on holidays. I think that these airports are 1.5 and 2 hours from the school. This can be a problem when flights are delayed and one misses the shuttle back to school.</p>
<p>Hofstra seems to have improved academically. It is a solid school. If she wants to be near NY she might want to look into Drew University (train ride away), Wagner College (Staten Island), or even Manhattan College. You might like for her to consider Marist College. Marist is is a long way from NYC, but they have sponsored trips (group bus trips) at a reasonable price to do things like a Broadway Show.</p>
<p>In response to Greg, Hofstra gaps a lot on average for financial aid, but they can offer fabulous merit aid.</p>
<p>Isn’t SMCM in the middle of nowhere? I don’t know bc I have not visited. Perhaps someone here has seen the school. How practical is that for a student coming from California?</p>
<p>pierre, UNC-Asheville is a beautiful school, but I cannot understand their low graduation rate. 30% in four years.</p>
<p>smcm might not be a good fit for someone who already needs to travel so far to get to the east coast, or for someone who is interested in being near a city (not sure if it has to be NYC).</p>
<p>UNC-Asheville, is in a great location, even though it is not NYC, but I think that the graduation rate is important.</p>
<p>How about Manhattanville? St. Michael’s College in VT (Go to their web site and check out the “Getting In” page)? Any of the Quaker schools would probably have the atmosphere you want, but Haverford and Swarthmore would be very big reaches for a student with a 3.0. I’d check out Guilford instead.</p>
<p>I was going to recommend a couple of the less selective Quaker schools, too. However, Guilford might be a little too liberal (?) Earlham has a better reputation among people I know who are familiar with Quaker schools, but it’s in a very small town in Indiana. Academically it is supposed to be quite good.</p>
<p>Another interesting option (though again, midwest/rural) might be Goshen College. It’s a Mennonite college. Mennonites will tend to be more conservative than modern Quakers, but like Quakers, Mennonites are committed pacifists. Academically, Goshen looks like a good fit.</p>
<p>You mention your daughter’s involvement w/your church. There are numerous colleges of that faith across the country, all varying in their degree of religiosity. That might be a good place to start. My D attends one of them, but it is not religious at all, though it does (as will most of them) offer among its scholarships one for those of that faith. Often when a school shows an affiliation w/a faith it really doesn’t mean too much.</p>
<p>You might want to consider some of the smaller Jesuit colleges. These schools advocate concern for social justice and ethics as hallmarks of their education. Certainly students will have some philosophy and theology requirements to complete.
In Baltimore, you could look at Loyola -nice sized school on the edge of the city so it might be the right environment she is seeking. Also check St. Joseph’s U in Phila, U of Scranton in upstate PA, or Fairfield U in CT.</p>
<p>A 3.0 gpa is a little low, but her strong SATS and geographic diversity will be a plus</p>