Similar to CHC?

Colleges and Universities A-Z College of the Holy Cross
1

<p>I am starting to compile a list of colleges in which I am interested, and Holy Cross always seems to be at or near the top of the list. Everything about HC seems to be almost a perfect fit for the criteria I have in my mind at this point: strong, undergrad-centered academics; a liberal arts focus; decent social life that isn't greek-dominated; and an athletic student body with a wide range of varsity sports (I am a lacrosse player and have received a fair amount of recruiting interest). Oh yeah, and my older brother is a student-athlete alumnus ('99)... though maybe that is a negative, ha ha.</p>

<p>Anyway, getting to the point here, I have been trying to find schools that have a similar atmosphere to Holy Cross and also offer men's lacrosse on some level, which has turned out to be a not-so-easy task. So I thought it would be wisest to ask those who have applied to or attend HC for advice. First off, here is a list of schools I have compiled that seem to be at least reasonably similar in size, academics and athletics. Let me know if I am totally off base on any, or if you have any experience through visits or what not.</p>

<p>Middlebury
SUNY Geneseo
Colorado College
Lafayette
Fairfield
Marist
Union (NY)
Denison
Wooster
St. Michael's</p>

<p>A few others that are "athletic reaches" perhaps (pretty high-level D1 lax), but worth keeping in mind if my recruiting profile improves over the next year-plus:
Colgate
Loyola (MD)
Villanova
Providence
(The latter two are joining the Big East for lax, so they will be pumping up their currently mediocre D1 programs)</p>

<p>Any other suggestions you can think of? Opinions as to (dis)similarities? I am also looking at a few smaller public flagships, notably Binghamton and Vermont (around 10,000 UG enrollment each), to see how they compare. </p>

<p>Thanks for any advice or constructive criticism!</p>

2

<p>I can't speak to the Lacrosse aspect, however, I assume the Patriot League schools all participate. Think about adding Bucknell, Lehigh & American (you already have CHC, Colgate and Lafayette).</p>

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<p>A little bit of a belated follow up, but I think I'll look into Lehigh more closely. The original reason for not considering it and Bucknell was how greek-oriented both are in terms of social life. But Lehigh is a bit larger (and less remote) and probably offers a bit more social variety, especially for student-athletes. </p>

<p>Plus, there is a big divide between the "haves" and "have-nots" in Patriot League lacrosse, with Army, Navy, Bucknell and Colgate fitting into the former category. Lehigh, Lafayette and HC field much weaker teams. And, just as a FYI, American does not have a men's lax team.</p>