Southern LACs

<p>S and I are visiting Davidson, Furman and Elon this week. If there is interest, I will post on Sunday with our impressions of those 3 LAC’s…I can’t keep James Taylor’s “Goin’ to Carolina” out of my head now.</p>

<p>Yes @ColdinMinny! Please post your thoughts and observations! </p>

<p>We drove by Belmont. Such stately impressive buildings, I thought for sure it was Vanderbilt! Don’t know anything else about the school, but nice area to be in, right next to Vandy.</p>

<p>As for Vanderbilt, not a realistic choice for my D, admissions or $-wise. Still drove by. Very pretty, great place to go to school no doubt, esp fabulous for grad school. </p>

<p>

If you’re going to visit those three, why not Wake Forest as well? It has smaller classes than some LACs but the resources and school spirit of a larger school. You could easily hit Wake on the way from Davidson to Elon (or vice versa). </p>

<p>It’s rather interesting how this thread has taken off. Several of us have been promoting southern LACs here for years, but only Rhodes has gathered a fair amount of interest. (For example, [this</a> short-lived thread](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1408734-southern-lac-appreciation-thread-p1.html]this”>Southern LAC Appreciation Thread - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums).) Davidson is unquestionably the most underrated college on CC. </p>

<p>I like reading about your tour! It is interesting to read your impressions of some of the same schools my D considered, and to learn about a few others. I love the South and there are some great schools down here. Many on CC focus on Northeastern and CA schools. There’s not as much info posted on Southern and Midwestern schools, especially the LACs, and there are some real gems in these regions! Keep posting! </p>

<p>@ColdinMinny Would love to hear your impressions of any of the Southern LACs!</p>

<p>@Overtheedge, my hope was that the South would offer under-appreciated, excellent LACs at a reasonable cost – schools that NE and the other East and West Coast folks might not consider. I have not been disappointed, not in the least. I would compare Sewanee to Haverford, Swarthmore, etc. Right up there with the best small LACs in the NE. The whole time I was thinking, this is an unbelievable, well-kept secret. If only those people knew! But glad they don’t! Same for Agnes Scott. Just as excellent as the Seven Sisters. Great find. </p>

<p>I mean…Great findS! So funny, when I first read the CTCL book, I immediately crossed off (literally, in the book) every Southern school. Because, that is what we East Coast educated people do. But then, DH and I discussed it, D weighed in saying she hates the cold, and we thought, why not? Let’s give it a shot. </p>

<p>Really glad we did. </p>

<p>@4kids4college Yep! Great colleges with a COA much, much less than comparable northern LACs. </p>

<p>@dadof1, I think my D will have almost the exact same applications! (Except later than yours…ahem…late as usual). Can you elaborate a little more about what your D liked about Birmingham Southern? We did not get a chance to visit. The merit is incredible. Is it way too Southern? I guess not, your D is applying. If you can remember anything else, please let me know.</p>

<p>Also, did you visit Hendrix? My D will apply to Hendrix, Southwestern, Austin College, and Trinity U in Texas, but probably not visit until acceptances are in. Husband is tearing his hair out with us gone and he responsible for 3 other kids. His 3 words: No More Tours! </p>

<p>@ColdinMinny‌ - I second the suggestion of Warblersrule to visit Wake. It’s an impressive school! I also agree that Davidson doesn’t get the attention on CC that it deserves. Nor does W&L for that matter.</p>

<p>If I were applying to colleges in the SE (and money/merit wasn’t a factor) my list would include Sewanee, Rhodes, Davidson, Wake, Richmond, W&L and William & Mary. </p>

<p>@4kids4college About BSC. We toured the day before classes began. We received a very comforting, family-oriented welcome from the people in the admissions. Freshly baked cookies. The president went out of his way to discuss the college with us. D felt a bit of a religious vibe for some reason. Right around the campus is nothing but a neighborhood… you’d have to drive anywhere off campus. Upscale outdoor mall with restaurants about 5 mile drive from campus. The science building was new. Upperclassmen housing was impressive… freshman housing just OK. Big greek scene like most Southern LACs, but they have live in housing at BSC. Campus landscape was rolling hills, lots of brick buildings, well maintained. Definitely a southern, conservative vibe. Estimated COA is several thousand less than any other Southern LAC on D’s list. I’d give this one a look.</p>

<p>We haven’t visited Hendrix. It was a later addition to D’s list. Seems to have an impressive science department. Non-greek. Maybe quirky?</p>

<p>@Overtheedge‌ - I didn’t mean to offend. Sorry if I did. I had never heard of any stereotype attached to Furman so when you mentioned a stereotype, I didn’t know what you meant. I only met one person who attended. While he was from South Carolina, I was living at the time in Atlanta so that wasn’t exactly unexpected. He wasn’t particularly devout. He was wickedly intelligent and insightful. One underestimated him at their own peril. So my impression of Furman was that of a thoughtful and intellectual person. </p>

<p>No offense taken! Most people I know who attended Furman are also very intelligent! </p>

<p>Re: Wake Forest.</p>

<p>My understanding is that they do not offer much, if any, merit aid. Happy to be educated if that information is incorrect. We have a tight schedule, but would try and make it work.</p>

<p>Davidson may also be tough on merit aid, but they have a particular program that is of strong interest to our S, so we are checking it out. Furman and Elon do offer good merit. My wife has a good friend whose S attends Elon, just started as freshman, but really enjoying it so far.</p>

<p>The following week we are looking at Denison, Rhodes and Rose-Hulman, the latter to make sure we cover the bases for a tech school, other than GATech, which S visited last year–great school, but too big with giant lecture classes not to his liking. </p>

<p>Then we are finally done visiting colleges. Yippee!</p>

<p>@ColdinMinny‌ - Ah, I missed that you are looking for merit. I believe you are correct about Wake in that regard. What does your S want to study? </p>

<p>Have you considered Maryland’s public LAC, St. Mary’s College? Here’s a link:
<a href=“http://www.mhec.state.md.us/HigherEd/colleges_universities/ProfileSTM.asp”>http://www.mhec.state.md.us/HigherEd/colleges_universities/ProfileSTM.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I mention it because in the past couple of years there have been some issues with yield and so therefore there may be generous admissions policies and merit aid. I have been to a couple of academic conferences there and it’s a really interesting place. The students I met were focussed and smart, and the setting is beautiful, though rural. It had a summer camp sort of feel. It’s on the Chesapeake Bay, with lots of actual coastline that the college sits on. All the students enjoy sailing after class and it’s intellectual but laidback.
I actually liked it a lot more than William and Mary. I regard it as a bit of a hidden gem.</p>

<p>I don’t think Elon offers “really good” merit. They do have some merit (generally $4500, unless admitted to Fellows programs) but their COA is much lower than many of their peer institutions. </p>

<p>Momzie, ssshhh!! I hope D gets into St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and I’m hoping the admissions rate will go up because of previous yield problems. It’s instate for us and I would be ecstatic if she went. Everyone I know who attended (except for one person who transferred to Virginia Tech, so obviously he was looking for a different experience) loved their time at the school; parents seem to also think highly of the school.</p>

<p>I know what you mean, Slacker Mom. We visited Washington and Lee when my son was in kindergarten (happened to be in the area) and I fell in love with it, and then it suddenly got ‘discovered’ by the time he was in middle school and then it was all over … . </p>

<p>@Overtheedge - S wants to study Computer Science and natural sciences, but has a broad range of interests such as the Classics, too.</p>

<p>@julesegr - My S would appear to be a strong candidate to be an Honors Fellow at Elon–at least on paper. That would bring Merit package to $16,500, and combined with lower initial tuition pricing is potentially very attractive, in the $20’s. Have to see the school first!</p>

<p>Overall, the mild climate is attractive for these schools. In addition, the job prospects in the technology field look pretty rosy in the SE, with the tech corridor emerging from Atlanta up to Charlotte.</p>