I’m sure OP’s daughter has heard similar advice ad nauseam… like any prospective humanities major.
You can essentially major in anything at a top school and get a decent job after college. I intern (and got a full-time offer) in the business division of a top tech company and I’m a film major. I have philosophy major friends with offers from ad agencies and consulting firms. When it comes to finding a job after college, it comes down to hustle (if you were lucky enough to go to a top university/LAC). But then again, there are people working alongside me at my current job that went to state flagships and directionals, and they’re doing great too. It’s about what you do with the degree that matters.
I would second the Amherst and Princeton suggestions for your D, OP. I know people in the writing departments at both of those schools and they absolutely LOVE them. They also fit the “not too urban” criteria your daughter has.
Based on her indicated preferences so far, she might especially like several of these schools:
Hamilton
Wesleyan (lacks traditional quads, but an excellent school)
Sarah Lawrence (though connection to NYC means less on-campus life)
Williams (one of the nation’s toughest admits)
Smith (all female)
Vassar
Mt. Holyoke (all female, beautiful campus)
Perhaps bracket the women’s colleges for now, and don’t try to push them but, as your daughter’s tastes and preferences evolve, consider bringing them back to the table. Bryn Mawr certainly sounds like it meets many of her expressed preferences and with the academic and social cooperation with Haverford a mile away, it is not an isolated single sex educational experience though, between the two schools, women outnumber the men.
Re #22, I’d overlooked the information in #4.
@merc81 no worries for #24, I appreciate any suggestions and perhaps she will change her mind on the all girls schools down the road!
@Midwestmomofboys good idea!
@toystorywasokay years ago I was a recruiter and placed many well respected and qualified candidates into some really decent jobs. I recall a lot of them having degrees that were not “ideal” for the job, but they were hired off of experience, skill and overall personal qualities. I totally think gaining the right internships is going to be a make it or break it for her to get a decent job after graduation. She’s a hard working little lady, so as long as she gets experience with something in the “writing” arena, I’m betting she’ll do just fine
^I think Wesleyan and Hamilton are probably two of a small number of elite colleges and universities in the country who are not embarrassed by their mid-century modern buildings. They’ve worn well; they retain a lot of their original punch and zest. They weren’t built on the cheap and it shows.
I’d say in the examples of these colleges (#30), the “punch and zest” appears to have come from a realization that “traditional” contemporary constructions were often merely mimicking designs of the deeper past that were limited by the materials and technologies available as far back as antiquity. With this realization came innovation appropriate for a modern era (which may actually be different than “modernism” and, definitely, “postmodernism”).
OTOH, few colleges have poured more money than Williams into building one central quadrangle. Over $200 million and it will probably define the college for the next one hundred years:
Quads, as a design feature, appear to be a quintessentially collegiate concept: