Hi! I am a current high school sophmore, and I’m currently trying to pick out colleges to visit next summer - never to early to start right! College of Charleston is deffinely on my list, but I do have a few concerns. Although diversity is not a total deal breaker for me, I want to avoid “country club” colleges. So basically I don’t want to go somewhere where the general student population is a bunch of rich, white, preppy kids. I also don’t plan on joining a sorority. I’m interested in the communications/journalism major, and I currently have a 3.7 GPA - I am also heavily envolved in the school community with clubs and sports. I am looking for a small-med sized school - preferably nothing over 10,000. I live in Massachusetts, but I am willing to travel. Elon is another school I am considering, by I am worried it is too preppy. Given all this, is there any other schools I should consider or avoid? Thank you!
College of Charleston will have a lot of middle class kids along with rich kids. It is a public college. I think in general you should go to a public to avoid rich / preppy kids.
I think COC is over 10,000 students now.
Elon is probably more pretty and rich kid.
CofC is academically equal to Elon while being a lot less preppy/stuck-up. If you like CofC, check out UNC Wilmington, which is very similar. All three schools are very strong academically.
I was looking into UNC Wilmington as well, so good to know… thank you!
@carolinamom2boys might be able to help you
CofC is an urban school that flows into the city of Charleston with approx 11,000 students , about 60% female, 40% male. It is building it’s diversity programs. It has students from all over the world and country , including the northeast. It is not overwhelmingly preppy. My son attends the Honors College there and is very happy with the academics at the school.
http://today.cofc.edu/2016/08/22/cofc-class-of-2020-profile/
http://cofc.edu/academics/documents/communication.pdf
If you are from the NE, IMO schools like college of Charleston or Elon are more likely to be diverse and more comfortable than a North Carolina state school like Wilmington. I don’t consider them all equal. Others may disagree but that’s my opinion on several levels.
College of Charleston is a public, not a private.
That’s correct. It’s early in the morning where I am at the moment. That said college of Charleston, in South Carolina, seems to pull from many more states then does a school like UNC Wilmington. Trying to go back to sleep now LOL
My son is looking at the College of Charleston too. He lives in a neighboring state. He didnt get a country club vibe when he toured this month.
@jym626 Elon may be more geographically diverse than Wilmington, that’s true. But where UNCW has the edge is economic and racial diversity. That, to me, honestly means more than only having geographical diversity. Besides, UNCW also attracts a lot of northerners despite the bizarre 18% restriction. Which is a restriction that I don’t think Charleston seems to have. Lol
And I honestly find Elon a bit overrated IMO, it’s not better than either UNCW or CofC at all.
Elon has done a lot to increase its programs and services. It would be more attractive to most students (other than you) who are not from NC.
For journalism you can also take a look at Mizzou and Ohio University.
Communication is Elon’s forte; it’s worth adding to your list if you can afford it. I grew up in NC and have many friends who attended Elon and loved it. I’ve never felt that it has a stuck-up vibe at all, but you should visit for yourself to see if it’s a good fit.
Since you live in MA, check out Emerson in Boston. American in DC, Villanova in Philly, and liberal arts colleges like Susquehanna and Muhlenberg are also worth a look.
As for UNCW, it has been developing a particular reputation for film. Wilmington’s booming film scene was hit hard a couple of years ago under McCrory’s leadership, and several shows moved to Georgia for cheaper filming. The tax credits are being reimplemented, though, which should revive interest in Wilmington as a filming location.
Elon has a very good communications program. We toured Elon over a year ago and I remember thinking that if my children were interested in communications or journalism, Elon would be a great option.It’s a very nice campus but it’s located in a small town, not much to do, which didn’t appeal to my sons. None of us liked UNCW, seemed to have a commuter college feel. CofC was gorgeous but we didn’t care for their curriculum.