Not sure about budget (depends on financial/merit aid), but if Catholic schools are OK many Jesuit universities are mid-sized and have contained campuses in/near urban areas. In the Northeast you have Fordham (NYC), St. Joes (Phila), Loyola - MD (Baltimore) to name a few. If interested you can check out the full list: Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities--Jesuit Colleges and Universities
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This site may offer your daughter ideas for her greater college search:
I would be cautious using the aforementioned âclassroom experienceâ list given her liberal arts interests.
3 of the top 5 schools listed are West Point, Georgia Tech and Franklin Olin Engineering, none of which I would consider as traditional liberal arts experiences. Additionally it should be noted the Thomas Aquinas has a student body of about 400 kids and is Roman Catholic, so not for everyone.
Good luck.
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Iâll throw UNC-Asheville as a safety/likely for her. Itâs not in the Northeast. Itâs in the beautiful funky mountain city of Asheville, North Carolina, sometimes called the Portland of the South if that gives you a sense of the city vibe. UNC-Asheville is about 3000 students and has a Liberal Arts focus.
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Seconding Drew, College of Wooster, Goucher, Loyola MD, New Paltz, UNC Asheville (safeties) and St Olaf, Kalamazoo, Binghamton, TCNJ, American, Fordham (matches).
She should apply to the Honors college whenever possible.
Look into Juniata, SUNY Geneseo, Dickinson, Lafayette, Franklin&Marshall (in small town and within easy driving distance to major city).
Macalester would be a reach but would really match her wishes&interests.
Thatâs not Hofstra, LIU Post, Pace, Montclair, Ramapo, etc. - which are mostly for preprofessional B students (or B-/C+ in some cases).
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I do not think of Purchase as being very rigorous academically. I very much think of it as a commuter school. I live close to Purchase. Itâs probably got a lot of students who transferred from the nearby community college. I myself attended a CC, transferred, and commuted for my whole college career and itâs a great choice for many kids, but Iâd far rather see a student at Hunter (CUNY) if they want stronger liberal arts and are coming from OOS to be near NYC.
Purchase is a good place if your child is vey interested in performing arts, but I personally donât rate it academically. @MYOS1634 has good suggestions above.
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Hunter is a fantastic choice academically- but is the opposite of a peaceful, refuge like campus!!!
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Agree-- While Hunter has much to offer at a great price point, I donât think it is the right choice for the OPâs OOS student. Here are a few reasons:
âPer the Hunter website: âOnly a limited number of Hunterâs 23,000 students have the opportunity to live in our residences. The application process is highly competitive, and housing is not guaranteedâ; WELCOME TO LIVING@HUNTER â Hunter College
âLarge school with over 16,000 undergrads with the majority from NYC and over 90% from NYS;
âCampus more urban than the OP would like;
âLikely a number of large lectures (budget reasons if nothing else).
I do think many of the suggestions would work better ex. SUNY New Paltz, Marist, Drew, Goucher, Loyola MD, TCNJ, American, Fordham as a few.
I believe Juanita, Genesco, Dickinson, Lafayette, Franklin and Marshall are further from a major city than the OP was hoping for. My D went to Lafayette and while she had an absolutely fantastic experience (I would recommend the college without hesitation for a student who wanted that environment), she did not come into NYC or Phila more than a few times a year.
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Yes, that is true 
In all honesty, it is very difficult, with a few notable exceptions (Macalester, Wash U, Lewis and Clark) to find a college with a bucolic campus right in the midst of a city. Even then, they are typically on the edges of a city. Typically, those colleges are difficult to get into.
The Philadelphia consortium is worth considering. Fordham could be a good choice.
If a kid wants the traditional âcollege experienceâ on a peaceful campus, they probably have to sacrifice something. Being right in the middle of a city can also provide a great experience during college, but itâs not likely to involve a scene straight out of the movie Liberal Arts.
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Iâm going to throw out another suggestion - Wheaton College (MA). @3SailAway just visited and has a wonderful trip report up - it is about 30 mins to Providence and 45 mins to Boston.
Also I think @nichols51 has a student there who really likes it.
Hits a lot of what your daughter seems to be looking for if Boston and Providence work as the cities of proximity.
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There are lots and lots of bucolic campuses that arenât in the middle of nowhere-- and have serious students. Brandeis, Wellesley, Connecticut College (New London isnât huge but it is a city), Wesleyan. Can the D get in, do they meet her other criteria, are they affordable? Donât know.
Another strategy is to look at places like U Vermont (which is actually IN the city of Burlington, not on the outskirts) but it sits on the shores of lake Champlain, beautiful bike paths and scenery all over-- and Burlington is a small city, not a big bustling metropolis.
Agree with Beebeeâs suggestion of Wheaton to look at.
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Actually there are lots of them, but many are only regionally known. For example, I think St. Kates and St.Thomas in the Twin Cities are even more lovely and bucolic than Macalester. And they provide solid education with caring profs and small classes, while having very accessible admit rates. They are both respected in the area, but arenât nationally known.
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Any like this in NYC or DC ? I think they were the target.
Manhattan ? I know @billmarsh was a fan. We heard Drew.
I think OP also liked the SUNY price tag if I remember. And doesnât want a suitcase campus.
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Iâm not sure. I can only really speak to the quality of the regional schools in my own region. Wish I could help more.
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I believe Manhattan has a good number of commuters as well. And many people I know at Manhattan study business and engineering. I like the school (my S applied although he attended elsewhere) but not sure its a fit for the OP.
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Is the 3.88 GPA weighted or unweighted?
You might look at Elon in NC also. It has good communications and journalism programs and many people love the campus. It has a lot of love here on CC from a lot of people. It is not terribly selective, but draws pretty strong students. Itâs not in a big city, but there are cities nearby.
According to the College Boardâs website, 57% of Manhattanâs first year students live on campus (source). On the general page it is described as âprimarily residentialâ but College Navigator does show that majors skew preprofessional (source).
But as I recall a decent number of students are fairly local and go home on (at least some) weekends.
Again Manhattan is a really nice school, but likely not an ideal fit for an OOS student interested in liberal arts.
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I wonder if, other than the ânameâ schools - and even those have a suitcase aspect - are there âresidentialâ schools that are city accessible and that have a low cost - specific to DC and NYC?
Drew seemed promising. Someone threw Hofstra out although I do think they have serious students there - they buy them in. They may have non-serious too but I wouldnât say only non-serious because I know of kids who looked at it (including mine). But enough say itâs a suitcase school I get it.
Seton Hall??
UMD is obviously close to DC but big and unlikely for the student and not inexpensive like the SUNY. Other than George Mason which is further out, I donât see schools near DC. Maybe a JMU could work as a regional school but itâs more expensive and not directly accessible to DC although not far per se. Maybe VCU - which is in a city (Richmond) and can find DC via bus or train?
Not sure if these two cities would be right for the student although perhaps the initial recommendation of New Paltz with Honors might be the best choice given the limitations?
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I actually think New Paltz is one of the better options for this student. The academics are strong, nice area, lots of hiking (if you like that), you can drive or take a train into the city (I know students who do this, my daughter has hiked there). My H and I have been there many times and find it to be a lovely, quiet little town. Itâs not very close to the city, but itâs close enough to go for the day if you wanted to (people do it).
On a side note, I know two students at New Paltz now who are happy, and my dentist did his undergrad there lol.
I am sure there are strong students at Hofstra, but overall it is not on the same level academically as New Paltz or Stony Brook. I also think many go home on the weekend.
There is also LIU-CW Post (Brookville), Adelphi, and SUNY Old Westbury. My guess is that these schools are also mainly commuters and/or clear out on the weekend. I donât think these are good choices for students coming from a distance and trying to make friends and have a social life. I mentioned these schools just in case the OP heard about them.
Hunter College is a great school with undergrad dorms, but the dorms may be hard to get and itâs in the middle of Manhattan. Itâs possible (donât know) that they give priority to students living far away- you can ask. Itâs also very possible that the dorms clear out on the weekends.
I also suggested Rutgers. Itâs huge- possibly too big for this student, but it is easy to get to the city (train is there) and it doesnât clear out on the weekend. The New Brunswick campus consists of multiple campuses and there is a bus system.
New Paltz is worth checking out and will be within budget. There are many SUNY schools in upstate NY if this student is willing to give up proximity to NYC.
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