<p>Ever since I found out about the strength of Emory's Women & Gender Studies department (<a href="http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?primary=10&bycat=Go&secondary=78)%5B/url%5D">http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?primary=10&bycat=Go&secondary=78)</a>, the interdisciplinary studies program that would allow me to focus on an obscure concentration combining the said major with sociology and anthropology, the transfer-friendly admissions rate, and the school's proximity to some of my relatives who just relocated to Atlanta, I'm sold on the school. On top of that, I fell in love with the campus as a rising HS sophomore when the program I attended happened to be held there. Not to mention the beautiful weather. I think I'm applying for spring.</p>
<p>I agree with Curmudgeon's list. D did lots of looking & ended up liking several southern schools best ... including Furman (which she chose), Centre, Rhodes, DePauw (not actually southern, but on cur's list), Vandy, Davidson, & Hendrix. In the end, the favorites were Furman, Centre, DePauw, and Vandy. Centre was just a bit too small & the town was too far from shopping for her ... DePauw was too midwestern (she wanted "different") ... and Vandy was too big (very hard to turn it down ... excellent school with great financial aid ... but she just needs a smaller environment). Furman has 2800 students, which is the perfect size for D. </p>
<p>Your D needs to try to figure out what she wants in a school & look for some that fit the bill. Apply to a variety of schools, because it often takes all of senior year to really decide what "fits" best. There are some great suggestions on this thread. Have your D look at the websites for info on clubs & activities, and have her read the student publications. Some even have freshman journals, which are a fun read.</p>
<p>Just when you think this thread is dead, resurrected again! (smiles)</p>
<p>Fortunately D2 will be a Jr. so plenty of time to explore campuses this year and really concentrate next summer on those top choices. I suppose her choice could be narrowed greatly once she's taken her SAT's and she knows her score range.</p>
<p>Globalist....I would be quite pleased to have both daughters at W&M!</p>
<p>Tisthe truth, my oldest son just graduated from Emory and loved his four years there. He just loved the whole feel of the campus, the marble buildings with the tile roofs are unique and with the beautiful lawns are reminiscent of Italy.</p>
<p>Both my girls loved Emory, too, blysx3. However, D1 was relegated to the waitlist. Turned off D2. It's a shame. My sister just moved to Atlanta, recently.</p>
<p>recrimblue, your Davidson statement is pretty bold. What exactly do you base this on. There are other top southern LACs ranked in the top 50 nationally. What makes Davidon stand out so much in your opinion?</p>
<p>Davidson is an excellent school and I compare it to Williams in the north. However, it is ONE type of school and that type is not for everyone. It is a fairly small LAC. You can't eliminate the other excellent southern schools just because Davidson shines in one category of school.</p>
<p>W&L and Davidson do lead the pack of LACs in the South.Statistically they resemble each other but are actually very different.I'd say anyone considering them should seriously visit each campus.Both schools are superb.Their location in the South is what kills them in the peer assessment part of the rankings.
Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia is the only all men's school remaining in the South.It offers a pure liberal arts education in the tradition and manners of the Old South.Very conservative.Very old school.</p>
<p>Wow....whenever I think this thread is dead, it survives again!!! HS is a fine school with old traditions. My sister dated a guy that graduated from her school first in his class, first in his HS class, and then first in his UVA med school class. He loved every minute of his time at HS.</p>
<p>any school that is tinged with conservatism, such as W&L, Wake or other schools with such a philosphical bent, usually doesn't score points with the academic peer assessments. Vandy's administration should not be viewed as conservative despite what their image has been (witness recent hires such as former Duke prof Houston Baker).</p>
<p>W&L is one of the few schools that still count interviews in the admit process. Granted W&L isn't for everyone so a visit is mandatory. Those who like it will love it.</p>
<p>Davidson, while a good school, is so totally different in feeling. Child #2 hated it--so it will vary depending on the kid. </p>
<p>Also W&L just received two large gifts (among all the others) this past year totalling $130 million--not too shabby from its alumni.</p>
<p>From TheDad many posts ago: "While Duke likes to pretend it's Harvard of the South."</p>
<p>This is not true at all in my opinion. Duke doesn't "pretend" to be anything but Duke. It doesn't have to. Even though Duke has its share of liberals, it is certainly not (nor does it pretend to be) Cambridge! S attended a very strong Harvard feeder school and had the opportunity to participate in a sport there, because he was the NE prep school champion in that particular sport. He had no interest in Harvard because it was just a bit too liberal, and too much like the prep school he attended! So at least for him, Duke was a better choice. ;)</p>
<p>Have to agree with sokkermom above. Duke has never pretended to be anything of the sort. It certainly doesn't have to, never has had to, and why in the world should it want to be?</p>
<p>Additionally, I always find the comments here that insist on comparing a Southern school to some Northern counterpart (in order for the reader to "get" the school, or to show how "good" the school actually is)-- both tiresome and amusing. Mostly, those types of comments simply reveal the provincialism of the poster.</p>
<p>1soccermom:</p>
<p>have you been reading the analysis of the Group of 88's scholarship featured on the blog DIW (don't know if i can mention it without this being wiped out). Granted Duke isn't the only school with this "type of scholarship" but it seems awfully kooky to me.</p>
<p>To many out here in the boonies, Duke is akin to Harvard in terms of weirdness tolerated.</p>
<p>Many of the posters on CC, jack, do not have a vast experience of different colleges, nor other parts of the country, etc. Comparing this college to the "name brand" one is about the only comparison we may understand. Any reference that may give another a more informed opinion is quite OK by me.</p>
<p>Musictoad....could you PM me the info (site) of the Group of 88 scholarship?</p>
<p>musictoad,</p>
<p>I have not followed the blogs. I have no idea what this Group of 88 scholarship is.</p>
<p>momray: </p>
<p>
[quote]
Many of the posters on CC, jack, do not have a vast experience of different colleges, nor other parts of the country, etc. Comparing this college to the "name brand" one is about the only comparison we may understand.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>So, momray, you believe all of the readers here are familiar with all Northern schools (the "brand name" schools), then? Interesting comment, and one that certainly supports my earlier statement about provincialism. Posters "don't have vast experience of different colleges, nor other parts of the country," but we all know about the schools of the North (even if they're as small as Williams)?? My comment has to do with posters who feel the need to compare a Southern school to some "brand name" (in their minds only) Northern school in order to give it some credibility. Again, gets tiresome.</p>
<p>(Also, not really talking about the original Duke/Harvard comment here. That comment was just ignorant and shows that the person who wrote that knows absolutely nothing about Duke.)</p>
<p>1soccermom</p>
<p>durham in wonderland</p>
<p>you will either be amused, shocked, horrified,or decide you want to write for scholarly publications after reading what passes for educational materials.
(ha!)</p>
<p>musictoad,</p>
<p>I know my S has been able to successfully avoid classes with this group. He has one more year at Duke and hopefully he can schedule his remaining classes around them. ;)</p>
<p>As he has said, there are aging hippies who teach classes at all academic institutions. The one thing that probably bothered him the most at Duke is that this group of professors tend to label all white private school students at Duke as pathetic elitist jerks. </p>
<p>In reality, my S (a white private school kid) decided to express his sense of patriotism last year by taking action and joining ROTC. He will be commisioned as an Officer upon graduation from Duke, and will serve his country prior to advancing his career through further graduate education. Even though I didn't necessarily agree with him at the time, I now see that his decision took a lot more courage than espousing some pseudo intellectual dribble by a group of liberal professors! ;) </p>
<p>(Even though he never contemplated ROTC prior to college, this would be another difference between Duke and Harvard. Harvard has no ROTC program on campus. At least Duke allows such an evil organization on campus.)</p>
<p>1sokkermom--</p>
<p>I thank your S for his patriotism and recognize how difficult it can be for a parent when their adult child makes such a decision. I hope he does not have a final year similar to what I saw happen to ROTC candidates during the Viet Nam war.
You're right about the aging hippies. But it is worth your time and effort to read their bizarre outlooks/views.</p>
<p>Re: elitism. my children both went to such hs--ha. four years ago that kid could get into Northwestern, Vandy, Duke, etc. No more. The suburban kid is at a distinct disadvantage. Altho it is personal anecdote, I think you'll find that those kids are out of vogue at many of the "elite" colleges.</p>
<p>to quote a neighbor who was on the staff at an elite univeristy in this boonie town of mine: "the last thing we need is another white kid from suburbia". harsh but true.</p>
<p>jack: I agree. I'm at UVA for engineering and whenever I tell anyone in engineering, or from CA, or from the North, it's always "oh but there's so many better schools" and they rattle off the UCs, Stanford, CalPoly, CalTech, then the list of northern schools begin (MIT obviously, then UMich, U-Ill, Northwestern, Syracuse, etc etc etc). And UVA is the #2 public school! I'm originally from VA, and it burns me to watch people slam around UVA, W&M, VT, and then Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, UF, USC, etc. Just because we're in the south doesn't make us stoopid. Frankly, I like southern schools because there is an air of class to them (hello, ever heard of the southern elites' plantations?) and in addition to great academics, students are learning to live their lives at high expectation and thus will graduate with an ego, and with their self-esteem and confidence. I've always told my parents I could never go north for school (well, Princeton could be an only exception) and after attending a southern school, I'd never switch my mind. The west I could do, but the north seems cold and stone-like. The deep south and west is behind the northeast and I like being a part of traditions that are still growing. Makes for a unique individual :) Being a great school shouldn't stop at academics, but include student life/moral. And I think the southern charm that accompanies these schools is something you can't find anywhere else, and the schools send off not only smart, but self-confident, aware, and involved adults into the world. And that makes for a good school in my book, which is why UVA won me over. Students graduate with a great education, and open-mind, a thirst for intellect, yet also have a love for life, a passion for being a Wahoo, and an overall sense of class.</p>
<p>As for my southern ivies list (top 10):
1. Duke
2. UVA
3. W&M
4. Emory
5. Rice (if TX is considered the south, which I don't) or Vandy</p>