Schools to visit around DC and New England

Parent Cafe
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<p>Hi, my next son is on the college search and I am looking for some different schools to visit. Other than American, GWU or Georgetown what is there around the DC area. Also, how about NE area not as far northeast as Bowdoin. I am looking for highly competitive schools that are not too "jocky" and have good F/A.</p>

<p>Son is math/humanities kid with a few APs in 10th grade, many coming up in 11th. Good test scores, etc. NOT sports or arts kid. More philosophy/chess/abstract math type of guy.</p>

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<p>Johns Hopkins in Baltimore would be an easy add on to DC.</p>

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<p>Tufts (seems like a good option)
Boston College
Boston University
Northeastern University
Brown University-- (seems like it would be a great fit based upon your description of your son)
Harvard College
Skidmore College
Williams College (may be jockey)
Amherst College
New York University
Carnegie Mellon</p>

<p>** not equally competitive, but the less competitive schools may give handsome financial aid and offer an honors program.</p>

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<p>He’s only a rising junior so i would pick a few larger urban ones and a few smaller private ones. you could add Goucher to review.</p>

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<p>Other than the obvious–the Ivies–you might want to take a look at Wesleyan in CT; Williams, Amherst, and Tufts in MA; Carnegie Mellon, Swarthmore, and Haverford in PA, and Hopkins in MD. I would suggest Bowdoin and Bates in ME, and Middlebury in VT, but I gather that you don’t want to go that far north.</p>

<p>Part of this depends on what you mean by “good” FA–need? merit?–and on what you perceive as “jocky.” None of the elite LACs are “jocky” in the sense that your stereotypical big football school is.</p>

<p>Really, Swarthmore sounds like a perfect school for him. As does the University of Chicago, although obviously not on this trip.</p>

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<p>Should the University of Virginia be on his radar screen? It’s a couple of hours from DC.</p>

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<p>MIT, as well.</p>

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<p>How about Case Western Reserve in Cleveland?</p>

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<p>You don’t give specific GPA or test scores… although if he is just entering 11th grade, you probably don’t have any except maybe a 10th grade PSAT if he took it.</p>

<p>Dickinson is not far from DC (a couple of hours). It could be a good safety, and they give good merit aid if that is what you mean by F/A.</p>

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<p>S is Williams '11 and he never met a sport he liked. It was definitely not jocky. Williams has very, very strong music and art among other things.</p>

<p>It is not as far north as Bowdoin, but many of the East Coast schools are probably as cold.
Bowdoin is coastal.</p>

<p>Williams has arguably the strongest math department of any of LAC’s. I would say that it means your son’s criteria.</p>

<p>I would add Middlebury, Wesleyan, Columbia, and Vassar among many, many others.</p>

<p>DC I would include UMD.</p>

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<p>There are over 180 accredited colleges and universities in New England alone. You need to do some research–strangers on the internet can only make random suggestions.</p>

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<p>Thank you everyone.<br>
@Sop14’sMom–Actually I have been doing research and came up with a similar list to those posted here, with a few excellent suggestions from these posts. I looked at a lot of these for my older son but had truly limited my research to small LACs, outside of urban areas for him–he ended up in a medium sized school but that is a whole other story. When I was looking for him colleges I was completely unfamiliar with (such as Bard and Wash U) suddenly came into the picture. I was hoping the same might happen again. Although independent research is absolutely the bottom line, the wonderful information that can be gleaned from other helpful parents cannot be underestimated!</p>

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<p>Interested in this thread as well for grad schools. Son wants to settle in the DC area, and will be coming from a large southern sports/Greek school with an almost 30K student population. It’s not been a good social fit, but proximity to home and FA figured in his UG decision. But for grad school, he wants a smaller, more cultural school, in the NE/DC area. He’ll be doing grad work in engineering. Niece is rising HS senior, very artsy, and interested in this thread for her as well. She’s leaning toward Swarthmore, Barnard, and UChicago.</p>

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<p>Williams</p>

<p>10ch</p>

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<p>Pennsylvania is not New England. Did you perhaps just mean any state between DC and Maine? How about Lafayette?</p>

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<p>Montegut, your niece might consider Vassar (easy train ride to NYC); the arts are very strong.</p>

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<p>Enonimouse- Just sent you a private message with an off location suggestion for a different trip, but may be a good fit for your son.</p>

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<p>University of Maryland Baltimore County is a smaller school that is well thought of for science and technology. Its president has made some great changes. Its chess team is a perennial national champion. It has a good scholarship program called Meyerhof, but guidance counselors have to nominate the kids for Meyerhof. Lots of very good students choose UMBC. It is just off I-95. It does have that 70s brick look, so if your son is looking for that traditional college look, this is not it.</p>

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<p>Montegut: D had a wonderful experience at Barnard. PM me if you want more info. for your niece.</p>

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<p>I don’t think I see MIT on the list yet, or did I miss it? That definitely fits the chess/not jockey requirement. It fact, defines it. And they DO have humanities. Don’t know what their financial aid is like, though.</p>