<p>I am pondering a trip with my daughter to check out schools in North Carolina. She is a junior.</p>
<p>She has stated her preferences for a warm clime, urban location (or at least not a small town) and a student body that is not too small.</p>
<p>She attends a good public high school in the Boston suburbs.</p>
<p>In putting together a list of schools for her, I had considered some of the following but then rejected them as noted:</p>
<p>Guilford -- too hippy-granola-crunchy (now I'm thinking at least it has more students than most LACs, and she is looking for not too small)</p>
<p>Wake Forest -- too much of a Greek scene (I don't see her joining a sorority, as she is a Yankee independent type)</p>
<p>Elon -- too small a town, also we attended an info session and thought it had a bit too touchy-feely a vibe (but it is a reasonably large-ish school)</p>
<p>Am I being unfair in rejecting these schools, having gained such impressions?</p>
<p>We have plans to visit Eckerd in April, as this would be her "safety" school and we are taking the "love thy safety" rule to heart. (And I am still debating as to whether we should have spent the money for this trip.)</p>
<p>frazzled1 -- I am debating whether we should visit Rollins while we are "in the neighborhood" (or at least in the same state), but again from what I have read I don't see this school as a good fit for my daughter, because of the Greek scene and its location of Orlando.</p>
<p>We have set foot on the campus of University of Miami, as well as attended the info session for same. I like this school for my daughter, due to location, size and educational opportunities.</p>
<p>Otherwise, the current plan is for my daughter to only visit schools once she has been accepted, as they are mostly out of state and will be expensive to visit. (The thought with the Florida visit, too, is if she really doesn't like Eckerd, we may need to revisit this plan.)</p>
<p>theaterbrat, my daughter is undecided about her major. She has a liberal arts bent; she has been enjoying her high school course in law and I wouldn't be surprised if she liked psychology. She is a dancer, so it would be nice to have dance classes available. (She had considered physical therapy, but was put off by all the required science classes.)</p>
<p>She is more practically oriented than the type to pursue studies for intellect's sake.</p>
<p>There aren't too many schools in NC that are in large cities. Without knowing too much else about your daughter, I would definitely visit UNC-CH and Duke. Chapel Hill (the town) was built around the University, so the campus is right in town (basically across from Franklin Street-- the main street), and it's fairly lively-- as is the rather sprawling (and beautiful) campus. While it may be larger than she wants (~17,000 undergraduates), it actually has the feel of a much smaller school. Duke, with ~6500 undergraduates, is a bit more isolated from the town of Durham, but Durham is definitely urban. ;) Both are difficult admits-- UNC, especially, from out of state.</p>
<p>I don't know what her interests are, but have you checked out UNC-Asheville? I know a few people who actually transferred from Elon to go there, simply because they liked the location. Asheville is an interesting city, with lots to do- fairly arty. I don't know much about the campus, but I doubt it's very selective (much easier to get into than the flagship, for sure).</p>
<p>Guilford has a really pretty campus, also not very selective. I don't think you're being unfair in that characterization. I have also heard (though don't know how true this is) that there is a drug scene there. I did hear that from someone who teaches there, but I don't know if that's pervasive or fairly limited.</p>
<p>Elon is a good school and becoming very popular. It is, however, located in a village (not even a town), but it's a gorgeous campus.</p>
<p>fendrock - I'd highly recommend putting Elon (back) on the visit list, as long as the school is fairly strong in the area she wants to study. I'd also suggest James Madison. Neither school is close to a city, but both are very appealing from a northeasterner's perspective. Elon is roughly 75 minutes from the Raleigh airport, JMU about two hours from Dulles.</p>
<p>As for your visit to Eckerd, I can highly recommend exploring north along route 699 toward Clearwater Beach (where the younger crowd plays). The beaches are lovely the whole way, and if you have time you might want to explore the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary or try parasailing at John's Pass (Madeira Beach). Enjoy! </p>
<p>By the way, Eckerd is a considerable distance from Tampa International Airport, not the few minutes it looks like on the map!</p>
<p>My daughter was in the same quandary. She wanted to go to a university in the South because she hates cold weather. But she realized that a lot of those sounthern universities were a bit too "southern" for her (too conservative etc.). She loved UNC Chapel Hill but was waitlisted there from out of state. She was accepted at University of Georgia, which she really liked (another possibility for your D) but in the end she decided to attend Va Tech for half the price and in the Honors Program. She absolutely loves it there even though she is a liberal arts person.
We have friends whose daughter attends Eckerd and loves it. What's not to like: warm climate, right on the water, idlyllic location. It's also in that book "Colleges that change lives".</p>
<p>I just saw your recent post. Elon is well known for its performing arts/theatre emphasis, so I imagine dance is strong there. Duke also has a really strong dance dept (and has a major in dance, I believe); I don't know about the other schools. UNC-CH has a strong drama dept, but not sure about any related dance with that. Psychology is one of their top ten majors, though.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback.</p>
<p>Duke, UNC-CH are too selective for consideration.</p>
<p>guillaume, thanks for the positive words about Eckerd. It's difficult to find people with first hand experience of it.</p>
<p>I should have mentioned that, for some crazy teen-aged reason, my daughter has decided she doesn't want a public school.</p>
<p>I personally thought UNC-Asheville looked like a strong possiblility, although there doesn't appear to be much dance to be had there. The town seems very appealing.</p>
<p>Sounds like we should give Elon a second look, but I'm not sure we have critical mass for a trip.</p>
<p>UNC-Greensboro is not on top academically but of the state universities has the best music, art and dance. It also exceeds the private colleges in these areas. They have a good honors program which can, to some degree, offset the less-than-stellar academic scene. The dance program has a good national reputation. My understanding is that the musicians and dancers form their own subculture of sorts and are the happiest students on the campus.</p>
<p>I agree with hornet. I'd forgotten about UNC-G. They definitely have a very strong dance dept. there, and the location is an interesting one. As hornet said, not on top acadmically, but some of their depts are top-notch (certainly including dance, english, and creative writing).</p>
<p>Oh, I see now that she doesn't want a public school; that's too bad as I think the UNC system has some very strong schools that fit her interests. Also, if she were <em>only</em> interested in dance/performing arts (not academics), I'd suggest the NC School of the Arts, in Winston Salem, but that's also a UNC system school.</p>
<p>Florida Southern is a small private in Lakeland, lots of Frank L WRight architecture. Stetson is in Deland (small town), but within a short drive of Orlando or the beaches. FSU would be really out of your way (Tallahassee) but it has a very good fine arts program.</p>
<p>Davidson and Elon are both popular among people I know here in the North. And last summer I saw some astoundingly good work from people (faculty, students, recent grads) associated with North Carolina School for the Arts. (Wake Forest is popular, too, but as a "fun" school with big-time athletics.)</p>
<p>I second UNC-Greensboro. If Duke is a stretch for this student, Davidson will be as well. Re: Elon...the campus is very very pretty and there are a lot of northerners there...but it is in the middle of nowhere. The town is smaller than small and to get to anywhere, you really need a car.</p>
<p>There are a ton of great schools in Maryland and Virginia...University of Mary Washington (VA) is one. How about U of Richmond. Goucher has a nice dance program. </p>
<p>NC School of the Arts has a fine dance program but it is a conservatory type of school, and my impression was that the OP wanted a university.</p>
<p>U of South Carolina has a dance group of some kind...and it's a really nice hidden gem for southern schools.</p>
<p>Yes, NCSA is a conservatory-- why I mentioned if she was <em>only</em> interested in dance and not academics-- and also fairly selective (you have to be well-trained in your field of interest to gain acceptance). It's also a part of the UNC-system, and so public-- consequently, doesn't fit the daughter's criteria. She only wants private. Agree about Davidson being a stretch, if Duke is. That would be true for Wake Forest as well.</p>
<p>During the summer between junior and senior years, our twins, H and I planned visits to UNC - Chapel Hill, Duke and U VA. Realizing that we were only about an hour from Wake Forest, I forced and I mean forced the boys to visit the school.</p>
<p>What a hidden gem. The boys absolutely loved it and had they not gotten in to their first choice, would be at Wake Forest today. My impression is that the Greek scene is huge in most southern schools. So this is something your daughter may have to deal with at many of these schools.</p>
<p>But if you are in the area do your daughter and favor and visit Wake.</p>
<p>I would reconsider Elon. My D is a current freshman Music Theatre major who is also a dancer. We are from upstate NY. She LOVES everything about the school, the professors, the other kids, etc. Yes, Elon (the town) itself is very small. We were concerned about that too, but not enough to keep Elon from being her first choice school due to the fabulous MT and dance programs. As it has turned out, we didnt need to worry. There are new malls, with every store and restaurant we have here at home, within minutes of campus, airports in Raleigh (45 minutes) and Greensboro (30 minutes). Freshmen are allowed to have cars and many do. Our D does not have a car, yet has never had trouble getting a ride to the store, the airport, or anywhere else. So many friends have cars. Also there is a shuttle to the malls, a shuttle to area restaurants, etc. and a shuttle to the airports at break time. She has only used those once as friends and even profs. have offered to drive her to/from the airport. There is a lot to do on campus, from attending or participating in sports, to clubs, to plenty of arts opportunities with visiting dance troupes, fantastic plays and musicals and dance performances by students, as well as plenty to do in Raleigh and Greensboro. My D just spent Saturday night in Greensboro seeing Movin Out (musical) on tour, with a big group of friends, for example. They also travel together to some huge mall in Raleigh/Durham area, and have taken day trips to Asheville, Raleigh, etc. The school itself IS sort of touchy-feely but in a good way. I am originally from a Boston suburb, so I know where you are coming from. Our daughter is a liberal, independent Northerner. Yet she has found many friends and feels very comfortable at Elon. She also is not into a huge Greek scene, yet Elon seems to be different than my impressions of Greek schools, in that while many kids are involved, it doesnt seem to take over the campus. The professors have uniformly been helpful and interested in their students, both as students and as people. The MT training is awesome. And for your dancer, I can honestly say that my D took ballet, modern, jazz, and dance for the musical stage fall semester and found ALL of her classes to be challenging, yet fun. And for me, you cant beat the weather (but I live where its the WORST!!!).</p>
<p>I live in NC very close to both Elon and UNCG and both have great liberal arts and dance for sure. I don't know about Guilford for any kind of dance and for as nice as their campus is, both Elon and UNCG are so much nicer. UNCG is also not as sorority centered as schools such as Chapel Hill or Wake. I know you said your daughter is looking for a private school, but if you are down in the area, check out UNCG and I definitely agree with nydancemom about Elon too!</p>
<p>Not that this matters to the OP, as UNC-CH is too selective and public, so not on their list. But every time I see a comment about UNC-CH being heavily Greek or "sorority-centered," I respond. This is misleading. UNC-CH has ~17,000 undergraduates, of which ~14% total are Greek. That leaves a rather large number of students who don't go Greek at all (unlike a place like Wake Forest, a much smaller school, where the percentage of students who are involved in the Greek scene is closer to 40%+. All the sororities are also off-campus, so also not as pervasive in that sense. </p>
<p>I'm done, but I did want to correct that misperception. I agree that UNC-G, located in a relatively large city and in an interesting part of that city, has a great dance program. I would ask, however-- if the OP can persuade her daughter to consider public schools-- how much of a commuter school UNC-G is. I have heard this, but don't know how prevalent that is.</p>