I have a B+ average and a 28 ACT score.I love Holy Cross,BC,and colleges like Yale but clearly don’t have the scores to get in.I am looking for colleges that are “preppy”.I live in New England and I guess I would consider myself to be “preppy” but not the atrocious southern “preppy” so I have zero interest in going there.The thought of going to a college with hard core sororities makes me sick.My grandparents had to live in North Carolina for a couple years and my grandmother told me how horrible it was for her.I like to play tennis and volunteer.My ideal career would be to run a non-profit charity.I have looked at UVM which seems nice but I don’t think I would fit in because it seems extremely liberal.I am also looking for a college with a good study abroad program because my mom studied abroad in Austria and she says it was amazing.Any suggestions for me?I also like American U,Williams,and Villanova.
In New England or region: St. Lawrence, Wheaton, Trinity. Outside NE: Miami (OH).
Are you a senior right now? Are you planning to apply early to Holy Cross and BC?
How much can you afford?
Look into Hobart and William Smith College as well as Seton Hall University. Someone who likes UVM may also be interested in the University of Rhode Island unless Burlington is one of the chief reasons for consideration.
Gettysburg, St. Lawrence, St. Michael’s College, St. Anselm, Hobart and Siena College.
St. Michael’s is in Burlington. Like St. Lawrence, highly underrated school with a lovely campus.
St. Anselm is incredibly interesting. Every President in the last 50 years has spoken or debated there and virtually every person who has run for President has been there. It is the home of the NH Institute of Politics and the CNN Presidential debates. It is known for very rigorous coursework and a tough grading policy.
Clark might be a possibility. Providence College, Quinnipiac . . . Stonehill, as a safety . . . Wheaton is probably within reach, since finances apparently aren’t an issue. Trinity might be a bit of a reach, but not completely out of range. If you’re willing to look a little further south, consider Drew, in Madison, NJ. It’s a solid match for you, has an attractive campus in a pleasant, walkable suburban setting, and easy access to NYC.
MY first thought would be Fairfield University (CT)) – a very nice (and preppy) Jesuit University in CT. Also St. Lawrence (NY), St. Michaels (VT), Siena (NY), Stonehill (MA). Loyola (MD) , St. Joes (PA), UScranton (PA), Marist (NY) woudl be worth looking into.
Connecticut College, Clark University, Wheaton College (MA)
Providence College is very preppy.
Thanks for all of the suggestions I have added them to a excel spreadsheet and are further researching them!I have thought about PC but my family is not fond because my mom went there for a semester and did not like it at all.The only reason I am not thinking about it is because my mom and I are so similar.She applied to lots of the same schools I want to!When she applied to colleges her first choice was Holy Cross but got denied and waitlisted at BC and then got winter semester enrollment.I talked to my mom about PC and she said I should go to a better school and that the area was not nice at all.
Trinity, Bennington, Hobart, Skidmore, St Lawrence, Fairfield, Marist
Also try Union
Farther away: Lake Forest.
I second Providence College, the campus is beautiful and the area around it is really not bad, definitely worth a visit. Roger Williams University, also in Rhode Island. George Mason University in Fairfax VA, near DC. Franklin and Marshall in Lancaster, PA, Ursinus College in PA,
I wil look into PC again and talk to my mom more.Roger Williams has a really horrible reputation here,I think my parents would pass out from laughter thinking it was a joke if I mentioned it.I will look into Franklin and Marshall and Ursinus but anything in the south is a definite no.I have heard so many horror stories and would not go there even if I was paid.My grandmother lived there for a couple years while my grandfather taught at a med school there.He taught at Brown before so obviously that was a huge change.My grandmother felt ostracized and completely out of place,all of the women there were un-educated and she was a highly educated physician wheras most of the women she encountered were materialistic housewives.She also told me about how they told her how they poisoned soliders during the Civil War and were extremely proud of it…my grandmother told me how living there were some of the worst years of her life.I don’t want to be surrounded by people who do not care about getting an education and who are un-cultured.My sister’s friend also went to college in the south,College of Charleston and completely hated it and transferred.Everyone there made fun of her clothes which were completely normal,not out of the norm at all and she felt very alone.I hope this offers some explanation for my extreme stance against not going there,I want to be with people who share the same values and lifestyle as me.
Franklin & Marshall and Ursinus are in Pennsylvania.
If you look in PA, look at Gettysburg and Dickinson, and you have a decent shot at Bucknell if you don’t apply for business, Lehigh and Lafayette.
Please look at Gettysburg. It’s preppy, fairly conservative, beautiful campus and excellent academics.
I second those suggestions for smallish PA schools from @MSullivan15 , DD1 liked and applied to all of them, but ended up attending the University of Richmond - I know, it is in the “south”, but certainly preppyish, with lots of students from across the country and 10%international. DD1 and DD2, who both attend UR, do not feel out of place there, neither is involved in greek life. Although a drive along Monument Avenue in Richmond with its gigantic statues of Robert E. Lee and company certainly left my family with the impression that there is indeed a northern/southern divide in some respects.
We have spent a lot of time in the Richmond area and have really come to love it. It is very metropolitan and diverse as a whole, and my “yankee” family has never been treated rudely(my husband and I are from NE but our family lives in Northern Delaware), in fact I would say that the opposite is true, and that people are quite friendly. I would also certainly not describe colleges in the Washington DC area as “southern” in the context you describe, with blatant discrimination against “northerners”, as most of them have high percentages of students from all over the country and world attending and are very diverse. American University, Georgetown, George Washington University are all excellent schools. George Mason University is in Fairfax, a DC suburb in VA. DD2 liked it well enough to apply.
We are now in the college search for DD3 and have visited many between the three of them. Every single school we visited had excellent study abroad programs, whether small LACs or large publics. DD1 spent the spring semester this year at St. Andrews University in Scotland, and it was a wonderful experience. Most schools offer semester or even year long programs as well as summer or winter break programs. The summer/.winter break programs are usually more expensive because they are offered outside of the regular school year, and must be paid for with funds outside of normal tuition, etc, but many schools will still offer partial or occasionally full scholarships for these programs to high caliber students. Be sure to ask lots of questions about study abroad when visiting schools or try to arrange a visit with the study abroad department.
Try to keep in mind that some of your grandparents’ negative experiences in the south may be generational. There is a lot more interstate migration these days due to the ever changing nature and evolution of today’s job markets. That is not to say that southern schools are a good fit for everyone, but involvement in greek life varies quite a bit from school to school, even in the northeast and other parts of the country.
Good luck to you!
Check out Washington College in Chesterstown, MD. Excellent LAC with a somewhat preppy vibe. Eastern shore, Chesapeak Bay
@mamag2855 thanks for the advice!I will try to be more open minded :)My dad went to Tulane Med but I’m not sure how he feels about it.He has suggested Wake Forest before but I think that may be too much of a reach for me.
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