<p>D is east coast girl, very strong student but far from academically obsessed, a jock, fairly social, and very much middle class. Sort of a "Lake Woebegone" kid. She's interested in East Coast LACs, such as Vassar, Bowdoin, Williams. Will probably have the credentials to get in, but I don't think they'll be a good fit for her. I think she's more of a Gettysburg, Dickinson, Bucknell type. Though we hope she'll stay fairly close to our Washington, DC home, I wonder if we should loosen the geographic noose a bit and encourage her to consider some LACs, in the Midwest, e.g., Oberlin, Macalaster. Am I correct in guessing that they might have more laid-back atmospheres than some of the schools in the northeast, or am I just operating on stereotypes?</p>
<p>With LACs, it is very important to consider political leaning, as many of them have strong ones, one way or the other. I would think that that would account for the biggest difference in vibe.</p>
<p>Definitely liberal, though not to the Reed/Bard/Hampshire extent. Would probably feel uncomfortable too far from a city, hence Macalaster or Oberlin sound more likely than Grinnell or Coe, for example.</p>
<p>I disagree that political orientation will shape LACs the most. From the schools I’ve seen it has much more to do with the environment a school is in, what sorts of activities the student body is into, and a variety of other factors. Political affiliation is only one of them, and a minor one at best. .</p>
<p>FWIW, Coe is in a larger city than Oberlin although it is much weaker academically. </p>
<p>I’ve heard of many Midwest LACs like Oberlin and Grinnell being laid-back, but you should definitely visit these schools with your D soon to confirm this. If you can, also seek out current students and alumni to talk to and see what they think. Your D can decide for herself after you thoroughly investigate each option.</p>
<p>I certainly got a very casual vibe from Earlham when I visited, and have now chosen it as my future alma mater. If you truly believe laid-back is better for your D, I would suggest this school as well.</p>
<p>On another note, I understand that a parent like you might be worried about sending your child far away for college. But I believe that the college experience is richer for students who travel far from home to attend their colleges, no matter where they live. By going to a different part of the country, your D would immerse herself in a different environment, and learn how to take care of herself faster. In other words, it would be a good warm-up to studying abroad (assuming she wants to do that sort of thing). </p>
<p>Dickinson offers some nice merit aid packages to good students, so maybe it will work out for her. 
What about Carleton? It isn’t any more rural than Oberlin. </p>
<p>Are you sure she won’t be a fit at Bowdoin or Vassar? I don’t think of those as full of students who are ‘academically obsessed’. Has she looked at women’s colleges at all? See if you can get her to visit Mount Holyoke – I think it has a ‘nice’ student vibe while still having strong academics. Both my daughters weren’t too keen on the women’s college idea until they visited MH, and both ended up applying and getting in. Neither attended for various reasons, but it is a fine school. </p>
<p>This is a very fun web site.</p>
<p><a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/Where-Does-Your-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=110635”>http://chronicle.com/article/Where-Does-Your-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=110635</a></p>
<p>Some midwest LACs draw more from the midwest than others. Oberlin, for example draws most of it’s kids from the Northeast and California. It actually looks pretty similar to Vassar.</p>
<p>Funny, we found Oberlin to look a lot like Williams except without the purple mountains. Oberlin started ramping up its athletics several years ago. It is currently building all athletic facilities and its teams are performing better than they have in years, thus school spirit is definitely on the upswing.</p>
<p>We’re from NY and somehow both my kids wound up in Illinois! My oldest went to Northwestern and I have to say, even though it is more cosmopolitan than where my younger daughter is, it is still the midwest. My younger daughter is at Knox which is 3 hours to the west of Chicago. They are both more laid back than many NE schools (Knox even more so than NU) and there is a bit of a different personality overall. Midwestern kids are polite in a different way and speak slowly, that is probably the most prominent differences my daughters have found. My NU daughter was confused Freshman year because there were two girls on her floor who kept accusing her of interrupting because she thought they were done with their statement!</p>
<p>My younger daughter has some difficulty with the midwest polite/happy attitude. For her that seems to mean that these kids don’t say what the problem is in a situation but dance around it and then become passive aggressive about the whole thing. When my very honest daughter tries to present a problem in hopes of getting it resolved, they all become very upset with her (how can you say that, why are you so mean kind of responses). It doesn’t bother her most of the term, but come the last two or three weeks of term when most of the kids are on edge anyway and they bring out their most “polite” and “happy” attitudes she can’t wait to come home.</p>
<p>Still, both girls were very happy with their Illinois schools and friends. It gave them a different perspective on life and the country as a whole, which is great in a college atmosphere. As others have said, it depends on where the school draws it’s students from. Knox is mostly midwest, Colorado, and California where NU is more national in scope. Oberlin and Kenyon, would be closer to NU, Macalester or Carleton has more midwest students.</p>
<p>Look in the big books like Princeton Review and see where the school gets their students from, that might help.</p>
<p>IMO the schools may have different atmospheres but it may not be totally attributable to their location.
For example, Oberlin applicants are likely to also apply to some of these other very non-midwestern colleges:
Bard, Reed, Lewis &Clark, Swarthmore, Haverford, Wesleyan, Vassar.
I had a social function with actual midwestern people who live near Oberlin, they thought Oberlin kids were like martians. All midwesterners are not the same, for example the political leanings of people in Minnesota vs. Ohio.
Nor are all East coasters the same.</p>
<p>As for “loosening the noose”, personally I think student bodies at the particular schools OP referenced are not really all that similar to the Bucknell type, overall.and OP should be able to get sufficient excellent choices within easier driving distance. But if D is really the Bucknell type, with the noose loosened she will likely not select those other schools anyway, so no harm in loosening it.</p>
<p>Rrobb, The three schools you mentioned as being more your daughters type are very big into Greek life, especially Bucknell and Gettysburg. It dominates the social scenes at both of these schools. If that is what you daughter is looking for, great. If it is not something she would like maybe some other eastern LAC’s with a lower Greek profile would be worth considering. Best of luck! </p>
<p>If she’s interested in Gettysburg she may also want to look into Denison, Centre, and an off the wall suggestion extremely far from you, Whitman. </p>
<p>I think the dynamic here includes different academic cultures, not just different personalities. If she “probably [will] have the credentials to get in” to colleges like “Vassar, Bowdoin, Williams” but prefers less challenging atmosphere, then she might find the academics equally demanding at schools like Oberlin, Macalester, Carleton, Grinnell, Kenyon despite their midwestern location. </p>
<p>I’m a midwesterner by birth and although I haven’t lived there for decades, I still think and act midwestern. I take this as a good thing.</p>
<p>My son who mostly grew up overseas and was pretty much “state-less”, attended a selective northeast LAC and a selective Ivy graduate school. I’ve met plenty of his classmates, both those from the east coast and those from other parts of the country, and, frankly, I don’t see a problem with their ability to interact in a positive and supportive way. </p>
<p>Despite the top-notch academics I wouldn’t view either school as an academic pressure cooker. Did the kids work hard? Yes, but they found plenty of time for other interests as well. Maybe some other east coast schools would fit this description, but in general no, the academic pressure is not intolerable and there are many support mechanisms.</p>
<p>So, rrobb, I think what your daughter needs to think about is the academic rigor of the schools that she applies to. There’s nothing wrong with dropping down a notch if that’s her comfort level, but moving to another part of the country doesn’t necessarily mean less emphasis on academic excellence.</p>
<p>Rrobb, I looked at your other thread about fit which had your D’s profile, and I think that your saying “she probably has the credentials to get in” to Williams, Vassar and Bowdoin is unrealistic. These would be real reaches for her. So, by all means apply to those schools, but temper your expectations and be sure to have many more matches in mind! </p>
<p>Speaking as the East Coast parent of a student in Iowa, I can say that there is a value in experiencing a different part of the country. Why not at least widen the search now, apply to some farther away and then make a decision based on the ultimate acceptances? </p>
<p>Your original post is confusing. I can’t quite figure out what type of environment your D is looking for. </p>
<p>Also, when you say “not academically obsessed” are you referring to her level of interest in intellectual stimulation (does she want to leave intellectual discussion behind in the classroom?) or that she does not want an environment where students feel competitive with each other in terms of academic achievement? </p>
<p>Also, I would not pick Oberlin on the basis of its proximity to a city. I don’t think students go into Cleveland very much (but you could confirm that on the Oberlin board). Macalester is right in the Twin Cities. Unless an LAC has the location of a Macalester, if the city is 45 minutes or so away (as i recall it is for Oberlin and Carleton) the life will be almost entirely campus-centric, with perhaps an occasional jaunt to the city, but not a regular part of social activity by any means! </p>
<p>It’s probably true that, on average, Oberlin students do not go into Cleveland very much.
D1 did it sometimes though,especially senior year when she had a car. To see a play or something special.
For the same reason that, though I live in the NYC suburbs, I don’t go into NYC all that much.
It’s further away, it’s expensive, and I don’t have to go that far to see a movie. I’m basically lazy. A lot of people are. But in addition, students have a lot of school work to do, and have limited funds.</p>