Unlike most people I actually want to go to a preppy school where people wear Ralph Lauren and J crew and there are horse stables and tennis courts and a place for rowing. I just love the whole vibe of it. I’m so so disappointed that Sweet Briar is closing since that was my number one school choice. Can anyone tell me the name of any college similar to Sweet Briar? I already know about Hollin and please don’t just list the schools from The Official Preppy Handbook since I already know those too and also that book was published a while ago so I’m not really sure if its completely accurate. Thank you!
You or your daughter…?
@aisha123 ???
@slights32
Why not both?
I’m kinda confused but I presume Mom and Daughter are posting from the same account. Nevertheless, OP, check my post in the thread @doschicos posted. I’ll list my suggestions again here though:
Bryn Mawr
Wellesley
Smith
Scripps
Mount Holyoke
It obviously depends on how competitive you are as a student. Wellesley is really preppy, and plus it is in the wealthiest town in Massachusetts. But it also is really difficult to get in.
Ya my mom and I share the same account. And I’m really competitive, I’m in the top 5% of my school right now
Can you provide some specific stats and give us a better idea?
I got a 2300 on my SAT and I have a 4.4 GPA. I’ve taken 11 AP classes in the past three years and passed all of them. Anything else I should add?
Just wanted to know to see if the schools we are suggesting are possible. Check both threads; they have great suggestions.
Those are really high stats. The schools you mentioned are safeties for you (this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be interested in attending.) But in case you are interested in prestige, rigorousness and selectivity (like most people on this website), schools like Princeton and Williams are also considered “preppy” and you are a competitive applicant for both.
I recommend that you also consider other factors more important than students’ choice of clothing. You’ve made it clear you prefer small LACs and that is definitely a good criterion; Washington and Lee, for example, is really good academically and in Virginia, which you also stated you prefer.
You are going to find “preppy” people in most colleges though, as well as poor people who don’t wear Ralph Lauren or J. Crew. Does it really matter? In what ways will attending school with people who wear semi-expensive clothing benefit you? I bet that if you are open to people, you are going to find people of all social classes who you like to spend time with. You are going to find poor people you don’t like, and you are going to find rich people you don’t like. And most people are not going to care what you wear anyway even if they wear the same clothes as you, so it doesn’t mean you’ll “fit in”.
I think she could get into Davidson quite easily, and I thought it was about the most oppressively preppy school I visited with my sons. Amherst and Williams have always fit this image, and have outstanding academic reputations, as well. When I was in high school, more than forty years ago, Williams was known as one of the few schools that required a photo. It was simply assumed that they cared about assembling a good-looking student body. I do think there’s something sad and disturbing about a young woman who is obviously so bright being so shallow and superficial in her outlook. I hope that she matures and evolves to the point where she will value the intellectual attributes of her fellow students more than their wardrobes.
Okay, let me clear something up. I don’t necessarily care about how expensive ones clothes are and what their economic status is. I’ve just found that those types of school have more of the ‘work hard play hard’ mentality and i also love the ‘nautical’ vibe that comes with preppy people. It’s just one of the things that i want in college, like how some people want a college advanced in a certain sport or others want a college with a great travel abroad program (which I would actually love as well). It’s just a personal preference. 
aisha123j - I tend to get pretty snarky simply because I find that many people get their notions of “preppiness” from TV, not from acquaintance with actual “preppies” (ie. alumni/ae of private secondary schools). Plenty of preppies are more in the “hippie” category, because they have trust funds which enable them to select Creative Writing or Sanskrit as majors. They have the resources to go backtracking in Nepal, or to become organic maple sugar producers in Vermont. Others are more scholarly. I think you will find the sort of environment you want at any selective liberal arts college, if you prefer that to a larger research university. I would recommend the usual list: Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Bates, Colgate, Wesleyan, Haverford, Bucknell, William & Mary, and Middlebury. Oberlin, Reed, Colorado College and Swarthmore attract less conventional students, but with similar academic profiles. Dartmouth and Princeton are also possible colleges, albeit reaches for everyone, and UVA is an option if you’re willing to consider a larger school. By the way, I graduated from a traditional, all-girls boarding school. People who have only the “TV” concept of “preppiness” are regularly surprised, because I don’t fit their stereotype. Actual preppies are seldom surprised, because I manifest my background in other ways.
I posted this on the other thread started by the OP’s screen name by her mother.
"Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore don’t read as preppy to me. Neither does Smith.
I also think there is a difference between Southern Prep, which I’d say Sweet Briar is, and New England Prep which Williams and Wellesley lean more toward.
I do think William and Mary is a good suggestion. UVA is pretty darn preppy."
@aisha123j - What do you define as preppy?
I would look at southern schools like Washington & Lee, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, UVA, Duke, William & Mary, Davidson, Sewanee.
Up north for a little bit different kind of prep, Colgate, Hamilton, Middlebury, Bucknell, Dartmouth, Wellesley, and Williams to varying degrees.
I would not put Wesleyan, Haverford, Oberlin, Reed, Swarthmore, Colorado College in the preppy category.
I want a smaller school thats selective and idk ‘elite’ I guess in the sense that the people that go there are the top of their class. I do prefer small liberal arts colleges. As I’ve said before I like the ‘work hard play hard’ mentality. I do crew so I would like a school with that as a major program. I also love good weather so while I wouldn’t mind the colder Northeastern schools, I prefer schools in southern VA and North Carolina. I would rather not go out west just because I dont want to be too far away from my family. I also love boats and sailing so maybe something with that as a program? I enjoy horse riding as well. And I love big campuses with a lot of nature. I dont mind small towns either
You should check out U Miami in Ohio it seems like perfect fit for what you’re looking for.
U Miami is actually one of my options right now!
Sewanee is a small LAC in Tennessee with an absolutely beautiful 13,000 acre campus. It has that “work hard, play hard” mentality you seek, as well as excellent equestrian facilities.
I would also suggest you check out Washington & Lee, William & Mary, and Univ. of Richmond, all in VA, and Davidson in NC.
Miami University in Ohio! That’s where I go. It’s nickname is “J Crew U”. The equestrian team is very good and there is rowing! And I’m pretty sure every college has tennis courts haha. But seriously it’s really preppy here and the campus is absolutely gorgeous and the perfect size! Plus, Oxford is the coolest college town ever. It’s a town 100% made of Miami students. I mean there are a few townies but the town is there for Miami. Look it up! It’s gorgeous.