<p>i saw elon on the list, and i've heard of it a couple of times, but know very little about it. what kind of school is it? also, lehigh?</p>
<p>I would have to say 'Northwestern' is probably the MOST UNDERRATED college. You say 'Northwestern' to them and their like -_-?? Yet it's only one rank lower than Columbia... it's basically vastly under-famous</p>
<p>There's so many colleges on the list here, I'm not sure how valuable the thread is. Elon is an up and coming mid sized college in NC. It offered a decent ed and a great campus for a very reasonable price and started to attract kids from East Coast suburbs. The price has gone up as have the entrance standards but it has remained popular. Lehigh is a more traditional mid sized Pa university, best known for its engineering program. A step below the Ivies, but expensive and like Elon - a heavy frat scene. </p>
<p>With the increase in kids going to college, the common app and all that, it's hard to find a college that hasn't recieved a lot of attention somewhere. A few that come to mind are Southwestern in Texas, Muhlenberg in Pa, Hiram in Ohio and Bethany in WV</p>
<p>calmac - I'm a junior right now, so I obviously haven't applied yet, but I definitely will be applying. Willamette seems like the type of school willing to forgive a few slips in the GPA if you show a real passion and commitment to learning...my grades are nowhere near perfect! As for EC's, I do a lot of theater...I find it best to stick with one commitment and just put all of my dedication into it. My test scores are pretty much perfect, but that's probably not typical of Willamette applicants. </p>
<p>I forgot to mention Wittenberg. Ohio has so many good schools! I love Ohio!</p>
<p>There are lots of great comments and nominations here, but I have to say, I think Rice University epitomizes the intent of the OP. If you look at its selectivity (24%), Freshman retention (96%), graduation rate (92%), median class size (11), it is right up there with the creme-de-la-creme of the the Northeast. It's also $10K/year cheaper than most of the eastern elites. I predict that its status will change in the near future, as I am hearing "Rice" like a drumbeat here in the Philly suburbs this year. People are starting to get wise to it.</p>
<p>Grove City College is another unknown that I love, although it's a much less eclectic place--you really need to be religious and conservative, IMO, to be happy there. But I know some fantastically successful and brilliant GCC grads, and they love their alma mater as much as they love the Ivy grad schools they went to. It is also an insane bargain--$15K/year for tuition AND r&b. That is not a typo.</p>
<p>Oh. And anyone who is ever rude to Carolyn about anything deserves a big cyber-smack upside the head.</p>
<p>I would like to add both St. Marys college and Towson Univerisity here in Maryland. Both are part of the Maryland state university system. Both are very reasonable for non residents too.</p>
<p>St Marys is a strong LAC for those that like that type of school. Towson's selling point is that they have small classes, all of which are taught by english speaking professors. They have strong programs in business, music, drama, communications, and sport's management, just to name a few.</p>
<p>Also Syracuse University and University of Miami are both on the rise. Syracuse has a very strong program in communications, art, design and in their Maxwell School of Public Policy, which is well-known. They also have a plethora of majors to choose from. Miami has a huge amount of majors, many interdisciplary programs and FABULOUS weather. Also, with Miami's rising endowment, their programs and faculty are getting better each year.</p>
<p>If you are into visual arts, you should add FIT, SUNY Purchase (for both visual and performing arts), Mass College of Art, RISD, Pratt Institute.Also consider Skidmore college, which is a great LAC that has strong programs in the arts as does Alfred University, which may even be better than Skidmore in the arts.</p>
<p>University of Cincinnati is a really hidden gem for design, architecture and urban planning and has a strong pharmacy school. It has also very reasonable tuition compared to their private school counterparts and has one of the strongest coop programs in the country. In fact, in my opinion, their coop program rivals that of Northeastern, which seems to get more publicity for their coops.</p>
<p>I also agree with those that cited Reed, Wash U St. Louis,Grinnell, University of Rochester et al.</p>
<p>Furthermore, if you have kids with learning disabilities, you won't find a better place for this than Fairleigh Dickenson. They have a number of tutorial programs, a strong learning center, strong programs in English and business etc. In addition, it has a beautiful campus and great upper class dorms. Even the food is good.</p>
<p>Finally, I really like the Claremont schools in California. However, I guess these are becoming better known now.</p>
<p>Lehigh, Colgate, TCNJ, Grinnell</p>
<p>Miami University in Oxford, Ohio is not a private school. It's a selective public university and is considered to be state assisted. At least in Ohio, it's thought to be one the best non private schools in the state. Also, the University of Cincinnati is pretty well known for its Conservatory of Music and Aerospace Engineering program , as well as those mentioned in post 84.</p>
<p>Whitman College, Colorado College, Occidental College, Claremont McKenna, Most Women's colleges (Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Sweet Briar, Mills, Scripps)</p>
<p>TCNJ is a public school</p>
<p>Heh, I mentioned Tufts and no one mentioned it again, proves my point, :p</p>
<p>Is there any thread to this thead, or does everyone just put in a plug for her favorite school?</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Wheaton College in Illinois and the University of Notre Dame are excellent schools.</p>
<p>New School University</p>
<p>Washington University in St. Louis, Tufts University, and American University just to name a few.</p>
<p>u of chicago and ucsd deffiantly dont get the respect outside of the academic world they deserve...likely do to lack of nationally recognized sports teams</p>
<p>I agree with flopsy on Harvey Mudd. I might also add that UC Riverside does not get any respect at all. Not only does it not receive good attention, but if it receives any recognition at all, people usually have bad things to say about it. UCR is actually a very good school, and some of its departments (such as Plant Biology) are really good and at the forefront of research.</p>
<p>william and mary and mary washington are both VA publics</p>
<p>SOUS--
I haven't checked back on this thread in a while. Thanks for the note. My D (also a junior) and I will be visiting Willamette at the end of this month. Like my D, the school will be on spring break but I'm anxious for her to get a look at it (and Lewis&Clark while we're in the area). My hope is that her interest in Japanese (she's gone to Japan twice during summers to study) and ECs (like theater and basketball, writes for the newspaper, etc) will make a bit of a difference and help her overcome that 3.0 (but improving) gpa.</p>