Southern LAC Appreciation Thread

College Search & Selection
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<p>Some of us at the Agnes Scott thread were talking about how Southern LACs often get overshadowed by LACs in the north or midwest. </p>

<p>So I thought this thread would be good for people who might be interested in talking about different Southern LACs, saying their experiences with them, recommending certain ones to people if they're looking for a particular fit, etc. </p>

<p>There are a lot of prospective college students on here, obviously, and I bet a lot of them wouldn't really consider Southern LACs unless they read about them specifically, so...let's get them some exposure, shall we?</p>

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<p>I LOVE Rhodes College in Memphis! :smiley: I really hope I get accepted there with a big scholarship, because it’s so amazing. My dream job is pediatric oncology at St. Jude, so Rhodes is perfect.</p>

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<p>Furman is my number two (next to Northwestern, where I applied ED already), and I considered both Rhodes and Davidson at some point.</p>

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<p>Not sure if this counts or not, but I go to Oxford College of Emory University, a two year liberal arts college in Oxford, GA about 40 miles from the main Emory campus. What’s great about Oxford is its partnership with Emory. Essentially students get two campus experiences, a small liberal arts college and a major research university all within 4 years without the hassle of transferring and losing their core friend group.</p>

<p>Additionally, because Oxford sources from the main Emory campus’ applicant pool the student body is quite intelligent and fairly hard working. We’re extremely racially diverse and bring in students from all over the US and Asia. Plus since Emory is a need blind/full need school, Oxford’s financial aid is great, which is a particular boon for students that might not have had the scores to get into the main Druid Hills campus, but managed to get admitted to Oxford (the applications, done by checking off a box and writing an essay about why Emory CAS and/or Oxford, are reviewed separately).</p>

<p>Oxford is perfect for the student that would like a liberal arts college because of the small class sizes, close knit student body, and overall feeling of one campus community, but fears that after a couple of years of this, he would get tired of the more limited course selection, and size of the student body.</p>

<p>Anyways, if you have any questions about Oxford, feel free to PM me. </p>

<p>I’ve also read good things about Eckerd College, New College of Fl, Oglethorpe, Centre College, Berea College (free for low income students), Hendrix, Guilford, Sewanee, and Wofford.</p>

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<p>Davidson College</p>

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<p>Great idea for a thread! I recommended it for a featured thread.</p>

<p>Davidson - One of my three favorite LACs, along with Bowdoin and Haverford. Davidson has a beautiful campus, highly intelligent students, nice people, and good D1 athletics (esp. basketball). It places a lot of emphasis on the arts and community service/outreach. Davidson has by far the best town-gown relations of any college I’ve seen; people in the town bake students cookies during finals! Huge emphasis on the honor code (matched only by Haverford, in my opinion) that allows for a lot more student freedom and trust on campus than usual. In addition to frats, Davidson has “eating houses” like Princeton. Davidson has extremely nice facilities, especially the sciences, and the student center is great. The nearby lake campus lets students participate in sports like water skiing. Definitely the most underrated college on CC.</p>

<p>Rhodes - Another of my favorites. I’m partial to Gothic architecture, so Rhodes’ architecture is stunningly beautiful to me, though its relatively small scale makes it look a bit odd. Its location is great - park, zoo, and art museum literally across the street - though a car is helpful. The underclassmen dorms are a bit meh, but the upperclassmen apartments are very nice. The fairly new library is extremely plush and cozy. Dining in the main dining hall is okay; dining in the student center is pretty good. Memphis is a great city for college kids. </p>

<p>UNCA - My sister goes here. It’s a bit larger than most LACs, which is nice for those looking for larger schools. UNCA is pretty liberal, though it has a decent-sized conservative contingent, and Asheville is a very cool, hippie-ish town (parts of it are becoming very gentrified/expensive, though). UNCA is especially known for English/writing and the natural sciences, but it’s pretty good at most things it offers. Many students got into Chapel Hill but wanted a smaller college. The campus is hilly and nicely landscaped, and the buildings are a bit old but maintained well. (The student center is brand new and very nice, though, and the gym/athletic facilities is also new.) UNCA has the strictest curriculum requirements of any college I’ve seen (yes, even Chicago), which can make it difficult for people to get out in four years if they’re picking up a minor or second major. </p>

<p>Warren Wilson - Not as close/convenient to Asheville as it claims, but it still manages to be a rural college with access to a nice town. It’s a work college, and most students are employed working either for the college or doing farmwork. (Yes, it has a fully functional farm.) The campus is VERY nice, both in terms of landscaping and facilities. Warren Wilson is one of the few colleges truly committed to being green, and its places an emphasis on environmentalism. It’s particularly good for environmental science, writing, and archaeology; its other programs are a bit weaker. Students are definitely committed to public service both during and after college.</p>

<p>Hollins - Two close friends went here. It’s a single-sex college, but it has ties with co-ed schools in the area, especially VMI. Though it feels rural, students have easy access to Roanoke, a pretty decent town. The arts are very strong at Hollins, particularly creative writing. Hollins is extremely quirky (look up Tinker Day) and lacks the “southern belle” reputation of many southern women’s colleges; the college has lots of traditions and is fond of its haunted buildings/reputation. The alumnae network is small but extremely tight-knit and connected. </p>

<p>Washington & Lee - I know of this college by reputation only. It’s more rural than Davidson but is about as selective, and it is a huge feeder in DC and NYC for government and finance, respectively. It also has a law school and is popular for pre-law students. W&L is the top LAC most generous with merit aid and hands out several dozen full ride scholarships each year. W&L has the largest Greek scene in the country, with about 80% of students pledging, which is either attractive or a turn-off to most people. Though it can’t quite shake a conservative reputation, W&L has become much more moderate in recent years. </p>

<p>I visited Furman many years ago and liked it, but unfortunately I don’t remember much except the very beautiful campus.</p>

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<p>Love Emory at Oxford :)</p>

<p>Lots of kids in our HS head to Davidson and Elon, both in NC.</p>

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<p>Wofford College</p>

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<p>Guilford</p>

<p>Niece1 graduated from there last spring. She loved it!</p>

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<p>I guess it’s about time I comment on my own thread with my favorite Southern LAC: Sweet Briar! One of the top schools I’m thinking of transferring to. :)</p>

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<p>birmingham southern,rhodes, wofford</p>

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<p>If this thread is sticking to LAC’s and not universities (several Uni’s are mentioned here) agree with Rhodes, Davidson, Centre and Agnes Scott. Woulds consider adding Rollins, College of Charleston and Berry.</p>

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<p>Agree with Davidson, Rhodes, and Furman. Don’t know much about the others. But, I’d add Hendrix and Sewanee to this too.</p>

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<p>Sewanee and Furman are universities, not LACs.</p>

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<p>hendrix is an A++++
rollins too!</p>

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<p>Just because a school has one or two grad programs doesn’t mean it’s a university in the way most people think of universities (>5,500 people with robust grad school offerings). I applied to, and was accepted at both Sewanee and Furman, and in their admissions information, they both touted they were LACs. </p>

<p>Technically Washington & Lee is a university since it contains a law school, but ask any of its 1800 undergrads if they go to a liberal arts college and they would almost unanimously agree they do.</p>

<p>Here’s the definition going forward:
If a school touts itself as a liberal arts college, not a university with an intimate College of Arts and Sciences, but a true liberal arts college, then it’s a LAC. University of Tennessee isn’t a LAC. University of the South: Sewanee is. Both of those have university in their names, but one is far smaller and has far smaller intro classes with virtually no grad students, than the other one.</p>

<p>Anyways, let’s get back to the topic at hand, Southern LAC appreciation thread.</p>

<p>Seconding the recommendation about Eckerd College. A classmate’s brother goes there for oceanography and has the opportunity to study with actual government agencies since NOAA (or something like it) is so close to the school. It’s a great school for B students and gives out decent merit aid.</p>

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<p>What’s the operational definition of “southern” for this thread?</p>

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<p>^I’d say all of the following states are Southern personally, but what do you guys think?</p>

<p>Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas</p>

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<p>Del/Maryland are pushing it to me as I think of them as mid-Atlantic, but I consider “southern” the states that seceded in the civil war plus the ones that didn’t exist then but are in the south, Texas, maybe OK, and east of there.</p>

<p>But people ought to suggest whatever LACs or small Unis they like.</p>

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<p>If including small uni’s, Rice tops my list.</p>