My daughter is considering several LAC that appear to be good fits for her. There are of course many more to consider, but her final list for application is Haverford, Davidson, Lafayette, Lehigh, Denison, and Franklin & Marshall. Home state favorite is William & Mary. Wildcard pick is Tufts. She’s seeking an environment where a quirky, theatre kid who’s a serious student – and a little socially awkward – can easily find her tribe. We figure the influence of a Greek system and athletic program may make a “negative” difference to the social scene for her, but they certainly have their plus sides, too. A larger enrollment might work to her advantage. Any thoughts on comparatively good or bad fits?
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I guess Lehigh seems off base to me - maybe it’s just me. It’s not my thing but from I’ve read - maybe Oberlin, Bard/Sarah Lawrence, St. Olaf, or Lawrence?
Note some of these schools don’t offer merit aid - so ensure you check the net price calculator or that you are ok paying over $80K a year where, depending on stats, you might have access to much lower cost options.
Good luck.
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Thanks! I’ll need the good luck!
She arrived at this list through academic interests and geography – and a little attention to performing arts programs and outlets for non-majors. The social scene didn’t figure in beyond initial interactions with students. (If I were generating a list for her I’d check out several you’ve mentioned.) She’s satisfied with her list, so she’s now weighing their relative fit. Perhaps that’s best explored after acceptances when the list is shorter and we have answers about merit and need-based aid. They all currently calculate as feasible. Ability to pay could unfortunately affect her acceptances, though. She does have some in-state “likely admit” schools that she finds appealing, including University of Mary Washington.
Davidson is an amazing school, very friendly students, beautiful campus, top notch academics- but we got the sense that it has an unusually strong emphasis on sports compared to other LACs. All of the tour guides we met were athletes, several of them D1 varsity athletes. We were shocked to learn that Davidson actually REQUIRES all students to take one semester of team sports (as well as 2 additional units of PE). For the geeky kid who was always the last one picked in school, that team sports requirement brought back too many traumatic memories! Physical Education Requirement | Davidson
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Given your willingness to head north to Tufts and your mention of a quirky personality and interest in theater, you might consider Wesleyan and Vassar.
Vassar has a less heavy sports scene than Wes, but honestly both schools are full of kids who couldn’t care less about sports. I guarantee you that your kiddo would find her tribe at either school. I know less about the other schools on your list - other than Tufts - but I’d imagine she’d find her people at those schools too.
What’s left of Wes’ Greek system, if there is anything left, is a complete non-factor.
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We saw the PE requirement, too. That was not a selling point! The PE requirement there and at Haverford. Our student tour guide at Davidson was a sorta nerdy political science major who does theatre. He won all of us over. My daughter would be a good applicant, but that admit rate is quite tough.
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Both good schools. Thank you!
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I think I get what you’re saying about Lehigh. At the same time our tour guide was a low-key psychology major with a friend in the Mustard and Cheese Drama Society – second oldest in the nation, we were told! We’re finding it hard to know how much weight to give these tidbits we learn. Maybe we have to accept that often she’ll just have to go with her gut and general impressions. There’s only so much you can learn about all these campuses.
Haverford and Tufts sound like the best fits socially.
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My son is a senior at Denison, and I would venture to say that your daughter would be fine at Denison. Denison sometimes gets tagged as a school with a lot of focus on athletics and a substantial Greek presence, but one of the things we like best about the school is the way these and other “tribes” like the theater tribe overlap and interact. There is a sense of overarching community. My son is a varsity athlete, not involved in Greek life. He was very active in theater in middle school and high school but has not pursued it in college apart from taking one acting class. Even with that limited involvement, the theater department was very welcoming and if he had been interested in performing, the opportunity was there. The theater program and school productions are highly regarded within the school, as well as by its graduates. Michael Eisner provided the grant that made the gorgeous new arts building possible, and graduates like Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner are still a presence on campus. Greek life seems to be an important part of the experience for those who participate, but the fraternities and sororities do not live in separate housing and are mixed into the general population. My son’s roommates for the past few years are both in a fraternity, and the fact that he is not has been a nonissue. We have also been very pleased with the quality of the academics at Denison. There is a lot of interaction with, and support from, the professors, and our son is going to graduate with a new level of confidence and a new sense of purpose and direction. The village of Granville is also great, just a perfect little college town. Of the other schools you mention, our son considered only Davison, but he somehow wasn’t taken by the school when we visited.
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We attended Admitted Students events at Denison and were very impressed. Their small class sizes mean close relationships with faculty (who I think all have PhDs and no TAs) and classmates. My D loved the sample class she took with current students. They seem very interested in supporting students and student success.
I know a few current students and incoming students and they are really nice kids (athletes). One is interested in theater and the Eisner Center is impressive. There was a student carnival when we were there that looked fun. The Greek life is not residential and I think not overwhelming. They offered my D generous merit aid and we parents hoped she would pick it, but she chose another LAC. Agree with the last poster about Granville being a lovely college town. Try Whit’s Custard.
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If you’re looking at Ohio, why not Kenyon and Oberlin? Both have strong theater departments and lots of artistic, creative students. Just curious (I have a daughter at Kenyon, she’s active in theater and loves it there, although it’s quite competitive to get into plays; there are lots of options, though, in addition to main theater departments productions).
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Thank you. I think Tufts in particular could be a good fit. With the size of Haverford’s student body I’m a little concerned that opportunities might be too dependent on the few students who just happen to be enrolled when you are. That said, she really liked the school and the tri-college consortium.
This is very helpful. Thank you. Reinforces some of her impressions. Denison is a neat place. Has Granville ever seemed a little sleepy? Does the university make it easy for students without cars to get to Columbus?
Another Denison parent adding that an introverted theater kid would have lots of peers at Denison, and amazing opportunities. Similar to @tkoparent’s kid, mine was an athlete not in greek life, and his closest friends were not in greek life. He went to all kinds of performances – vocal, music, theater and dance, to support his friends and to enjoy outside performers – and he did studio art himself. The community really is defined by its overlapping and intersecting “groups.”
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At this point it’s just really coming down to her capacity and interest in expanding her search. I think Oberlin in particular could be a good fit. Kenyon is great, too. Had she been interested in starting a search earlier her junior year, I think she’d be considering a larger universe, including these schools. Oberlin has many programs she’s especially interested in, including cognitive science, linguistics, neuroscience, psychology. Not all on her current list do. Not that they necessarily have to offer full degree programs in those fields – Denison and many on her list don’t.
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My impression is that the students generally like Granville a lot. The town seems to be doing well despite Covid, and a lot of new places have opened since we first visited. The past two years, my son lived on South Quad, which is close to the Eisner Center and right on the border between the campus and the village, so he spent a lot of time in Granville and enjoyed being partly in-town. That being said, the kids do enjoy getting out of town some times, probably more so as they become more senior. Within 15 minutes, they can be in Newark/Heath, where there are larger supermarkets, a Target, Walmart, etc. Within 30 minutes they can be at the Easton shopping area, which has lots of restaurants in addition to the stores, a big movie theater, etc. - the school runs shuttles to both Newark/Heath and Easton. Columbus is also about 30 minutes away. The school has a new center in Columbus called Denison Edge, so there may be some shuttles to Columbus as well. My son doesn’t have a car at school, but a lot of the kids do, so he’s always been able to get around. As you probably know, Denison does have an interesting neuroscience concentration. My son is a psychology double major and likes the department, although this upcoming semester will be all psych all the time so we’ll have to see how he feels in December!
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When I think of a school for a quirky, introverted, creative type (my kids fit this description also) William & Mary seems like a great fit. Not so sure about any of the others, honestly. They all seem pretty mainstream. I would encourage her to add Oberlin to the mix for more quirkiness. You could look at Elon, too, maybe? I think W&M or Oberlin might be more her speed, but Elon is ranked very high for theater (which is surprising to me, because it has a very mainstream, although OOS rep, in NC).
If I lived in VA and my quirky, introverted, creative kid had that list I would be pulling hard for W&M. I think it seems the best fit, but do add Oberlin, please. I know a kid who goes there and she is all up in the quirky and creative.
We live in NC and my D22 ended up picking Warren Wilson College in the mountains near Asheville. It’s not very selective so your D23 might not be as attracted to it, but it is super duper quirky and creative. We briefly glanced at W&M, but couldn’t justify the OOS tuition. None of the others on your D23’s list made our list. They were all way too greek and mainstream. My D22 is very anti-greek and she seems to have found a great fit in WWC.
How about Hamilton in NY if it fits the budget? Might be a good one to add to the reach list.
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Skidmore comes to mind.
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You sound like a friend who’s a W&M mom and keeps whispering Oberlin, Oberlin, Oberlin. I’ll try, folks, but this kid is stubborn. I’ve long thought William and Mary could be a good fit. The campus seems a little landlocked to me and they are looking to overhaul something like 80 percent of dining & housing in the next 10 years, which gives me pause. We’re fortunate to have some great public school options. She was super psyched for Tufts and a tad disappointed by the visit, so maaaybe she’d entertain swapping it out for Oberlin for the quirk factor (with an acceptance rate that’s not a true wildcard). She’s a quirky, creative kid who also has a practical side, like a casual interested in Speech-Language Pathology.