Building a list for a current junior. Could use suggestions. GPA 3.8 UW. ACT 27 (not likely to increase). Decent mix of APs and extracurriculars, but not a “high stats” kid. His extracurriculars are MANY and varied, however he has jumped around from activity to activity and does not show depth in any areas. Constantly trying new things. No leadership.
No idea what he wants to study. Completely undecided.
For schools, here’s his criteria:
Location - East, West, Midwest, but not South. Ideally in or near a city with easy access, or at least in a good college town (not isolated or rural).
Size - small to mid-sized. Probably not a huge state school.
Greek Life - dislikes the idea of frats and parties. Does not want a party school. If there is Greek life, needs to NOT be what drives campus social life.
Student Body - he really values diversity if at all possible. Part of his education was 6 years at an international school in Asia with kids from all over the world. He is finding his current midwest public high school a little stifling.
Majors - No clue but I suspect he may default to business, so a place where it’s easy to switch majors to business. I know at some schools, the internal transfer rate to a “school of business” is very low. Looking to find a place where he can stay flexible as long as possible, and change majors easily. Ideally I’d like to see him at a liberal arts school so he can explore more.
Cost - not a current factor.
Edited to add - ideally not a commuter school. Wants an active weekend campus.
Bonus points for a school with good advising and profs that get to know you. Otherwise he will fly under the radar and not be proactive about getting help.
I’d disagree with Elon on two fronts (although I think it’s a wonderful school).
Lacks diversity:
5K of 6,300 kids are white. Hispanic is 2nd at 405. Asian is 148.
And it’s not this - Ideally in or near a city with easy access, or at least in a good college town (not isolated or rural).
Others say well Burlington is close and Greensboro and Raleigh are less than an hour - but when I hear what OP wrote, that means - the action is there (walkable). It is relatively isolated vs. what OP is describing as a desire.
Just my opinion - OP let us know cost (or no budget) and current state - you said MW and there’s a tuition exchange.
Wooster (pro: lots of pros, including diversity and building a great student … con: rural)
Manhattan College
American U (con: not necessarily super high stats, but not an easy admit because of accpt%)
Allegheny College
Whitman
Dickinson College
Butler (pro: checks a lot of boxes … con: not as diverse as others on this list)
Bradley
Marquette
Drexel
St Louis U (not Wash U of St Louis)
Chapman
U of San Diego (the private one, not the UC or the CalState)
U of SF (the private one, not one of the publics)
Xavier (Cincinnati)
If your son is inclined to think a little outside the box, St John’s College is a unique and fantastic choice. There are two separate campuses - one in Annapolis Md and the other in Santa Fe, NM. Very small enrollments at both, but very involved professors. It’s not for every student, but it’s great for the right students.
Catholic U of America - If being a more Catholic Catholic school is okay, I recommend a visit if you and your student are in the area. My son and I really loved the campus and surrounding area. Neither my son or I are Catholic or even religious, and he says he would have felt comfortable there. It’s in DC but feels like it’s in a quiet part of DC without being as separate as American U feels. There is a place for students to shop and hang out right beside campus. It won’t be a difficult admit and your student should receive some merit aid. Decent minority representation, but <3% Asian.
If Catholic school is OK consider Fordham - Rose Hill. Other Jesuit schools could be good options as well – they are often mid-sized, urban, and have little to no Greek Life. Look through the schools on this list: Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities--Jesuit Colleges and Universities He may even find the core curriculum at the Jesuit colleges appealing.
Also he may want to consider applying to the business school at college as it is typically easier to transfer out of the business program into the liberal arts school than doing the reverse.
Washington college (Maryland) fits all of the requirements except that it is rural. Application is free though, and you never know until you visit a place!
A lot of small LAC’s don’t have business majors, or if they do have a business major it can be very generalized without robust options to specialize in a particular aspect of business. But there are exceptions. U of Puget Sound has already been mentioned - this is a great school for getting the LAC experience while keeping the business option open. Another one to look at is McDaniel in Maryland, which has a surprisingly-wide array of business-related majors. (Diversity-wise, it also has a larger African-American population than most LAC’s - more than 15%.) It’s suburban - outside of Baltimore - maybe not quite as urban as he wants but not remote either.
As others have said, the urban Jesuit schools could fit well - U of San Francisco, LMU, Seattle U, the Loyolas (Chicago, Maryland, and maybe New Orleans although I know he said not the south). And non-Jesuit Catholic colleges like Providence College and U of San Diego. I’m sure there are others that I’m forgetting.
U of Denver might be a fit as well. The business programs are very strong. It’s a little bigger than the LAC’s but still under 6000 undergrads. Only 20% Greek. Great public transit access to the city. Good fit for his stats. A bit lacking in diversity, and I’m not sure of the ease of switching into business (it may be fine, I just don’t know).
If he liked studying in Asia and wants that kind of diversity/environment specifically, you could look at Temple University’s Tokyo campus. Temple is a large public U, of course, but the Tokyo campus is basically a small LAC (1800 undergrads, 36% of whom are American, 40% Japanese, 24% other), which also has an international business major. Exchange semesters can be done at the other Temple campuses (Philly and Rome). Temple Japan is also surprisingly affordable, yet you get small class sizes - average class size is 22.