<p>Sounds like a Smithie to me.</p>
<p>Several comments:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How does she feel about drinking/partying? Many LACs are in a bubble and a student who does not want to be around kids who party on weekends may feel more isolated at many LACs.</p></li>
<li><p>Would she be more confident at a school where she is in the top 25%? Give this careful consideration both for “fit” and for merit options. Many of the top schools do not offer merit, but dip down into the top 75 on the USNews list and you will find many options for merit.</p></li>
<li><p>Agree with others - Some of the Honors programs at large schools may fit the bill. Investigate these carefully - some have housing groups while others are housed with the general populace. A kid like your daughter sounds like she’d be more comfortable in the housing group option.</p></li>
<li><p>Where are you located? Many wonderful LACs throughout the country. I’m in PA and we have a huge amount. I’d start your list within your radius and then narrow based upon outdoor activities that play to her hiking interest.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>My introverted D was mostly looking at one of the State U’s which had “the” program she wanted. I think she would have ended up there, making her own little circle of friends in that large environment, had the program actually panned out as advertised (turns out it was a kinda unloved stepchild so “no thanks”). D is ending up at a quirky kinda place (Hampshire) where she is likely to get her own room and be able to join as many or as few activities as she wishes. Her take on the school is that while unabashedly liberal in many ways, it is also very much “live and let live” which attracted my “meat eating, leather wearing, involved in hunting for sport” D. Of course, YMMV.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your thoughts! Lots to address, so bear with me through this novel.</p>
<p>Money isn’t an object. We’re trying to rig visits for her, but we’re having family issues and now isn’t the best time for road trips or flying out.</p>
<p>OK, more details on her - she talks to me regularly about how she hates that she limits herself, she wants to be involved but finds it hard to speak up in large settings, etc. This kid is really her own worst enemy; she has so many grand aspirations and clear goals, and she hates that she shoots herself in the foot every time. She has way too many regrets for a 16-year-old that are centered on lack of self-confidence, and at this point, I’m wondering if I should intervene and give her the shove she’s told me time and time again she needs. Since she’s so comfortable with small groups, I thought an LAC might be best, especially since she’s shown zero interest in our flagship. She loves to be involved as long as she knows and likes the people. With some confidence, anything’s possible. I just don’t know now.</p>
<p>Her ECs are kind of misleading; she’s worked hard at them, but she lucked out on getting the ins. The prof has known her since she was a baby and the school’s theater is extremely small and tight, not to mention practically ran by her outgoing, gregarious, extroverted cousin who dragged her to it fighting tooth and nail last year. Her job is at a hole-in-the-wall, quirky little place that attracts a certain type of person… It’s not a high-stress environment.</p>
<p>We live in North Carolina. We’re close to many great schools - UNC, NCSU, Duke, Guilford, Elon, Wake Forest, Davidson - and very familiar with them all. Guilford is the epitome of cushy comfy safe zone for her; most of her friends attend, she knows a few profs, she knows the campus inside and out. It’s a great school. But I’m afraid she would regret “taking the easy way out” down the road.</p>
<p>Honestly, partying is entirely dependent on finding her niche. She doesn’t mind drinking and other things and I know she’s done it before. Very open-minded and not a judgmental bone in her body, so it’s not out of the question. I think she’s more likely to want to just hang out in a small group, though.</p>
<p>For majors, she’s very interested in neuroscience, psychology, classics, and anthropology.</p>
<p>We’ll be sure to go through all the schools mentioned. Thanks again for the huge support - you’ve all been a great help!</p>
<p>I would also recommend Emory, about 5,000 undergrads, but the professors go out of their way to be involved with the students. She will be able to find students “like her” and there are many, many activities to participate in.</p>
<p>I also thought my daughter should go to an LAC and pushed her towards several (because she is introverted and shy), but she knew what she wanted and it was the right choice.</p>
<p>If she regrets, she can always transfer. Clearly she hopes to push herself, and in an atmosphere safety, she’ll be able to do that more easily. You do have great schools close by-- and its such a leap just to go away from home and live in a dorm, etc., etc. Clearly she’s bright and capable and will probably do well anywhere. But if she’d rather stay near home I am sure she can find challenges aplenty. There’s a whole lifetime ahead to conquer new worlds.</p>
<p>I’ll chime in with Bates in Maine. D is EXTREMELY shy and sounds a lot like your D. Once she gets to know people she has a great sense of humor and is fun to be around. She always did ECs but that was mostly because she loved sports. When I mean EXTREMELY shy she played little league for the same coach for 4 years. In her final year with the SAME COACH he came over all smiles one day and said that she had TALKED to him. He was over the moon. She hadn’t said boo to him in 4 years. Just nodded her head and did what he said. Unbelievable! She is in her second year at Bates and loves it. She didn’t have the grades or SAT score that your D has but managed to get in. She has many friends there and we have met some of them. They just like her for who she is which is wonderful. We also looked at Bowdoin (she didn’t like that one at all) and Colby. All similar schools in Maine. She really liked Bates for some reason and it was the right choice for her. Definitely look at some of these smaller schools. Smaller class sizes also help with those who are shy :)</p>
<p>We are assuming that LACs are the only “Smalls”. They are not! </p>
<p>Here a couple of examples, sure there are more: </p>
<p>Clark University (MA) a National University, has 2203 undergrads. </p>
<p>Alfred University (NY) a Regional University, has 2300 undergrads. </p>
<p>One of my children graduated from UCONN, from the School of Fine Arts (about 500 kids), so a large university, but a small school within that University. </p>
<p>Don’t overlook the Regional Universities, some of them are “Best Value” or “Great Schools Great Prices” categories. </p>
<p>Best of luck, let us know where your D enrolls!</p>
<p>Davidson, Wesleyan, and Swarthmore.</p>
<p>one other thought … can you visit schools close to home to check out the various options available (not necessarily any specific school) … LAC/Research U … urban/suburban/rural … large/medium/small … preppy/gonola … ? That might help cut done the possibility list quite a bit.</p>
<p>I would look into LACs that are strongly residential all four years and are known for their friendliness and sense of community. Students at Whitman in Washington rate it highly on the happiness scale.</p>
<p>My formerly very, very shy daughter just graduated from Vanderbilt … and is now a self-assured young woman who can hold her own. She has a radio show. She was on the board of two major EC groups. She has blossomed over the years, and I am so proud. She began at an LAC, which she liked (although even there it took her awhile to establish relationships due to her shyness). She transferred after a year, though, for the opportunities she wanted that existed at Vandy & not at her LAC. She was slow to warm up, but she didn’t regret the switch. During her study abroad fall of junior year, she just underwent an amazing transformation. She returned a different person. When she returned to school, she had a new outlook & a new passion for making things happen for herself. She never got into the whole social scene, but she made some good friends with whom she did things she enjoyed. She got internships & excelled on the job. She made friends in the Nashville community. </p>
<p>The point is, my D grew up over the four years of college. She chose her own path all along the way, and I was there to support her through the initiial tears & to be her cheerleader as she grew & blossomed. Let your D lead the search, make her choice, adjust her sails if necessary, and walk her own path. Some shy kids will stay shy, but that doesn’t mean they will not be happy.</p>
<p>William & Mary, Kenyon, Haverford, Vassar, Smith, Carleton, Brown.</p>
<p>How 'bout Rice? The residential college system might be the social safety net she needs.</p>
<p>If staying in your region is important then Davidson, Wake Forest, Furman, U of Richmond and Emory might be ones to consider. They each have a slightly different vibe but all are wonderful schools for the right student.</p>
<p>My S is also, if not shy, someone who is not a self-starter for social life (needs that outgoing, gregarious friend that your D had in her cousin). He spent his first term at Bates College in Maine, due to Katrina. He arrived one week after orientation and everyone already all settled in. Knew no one there. And had a single, to boot.</p>
<p>This school was so welcoming - faculty, staff, students. He had a vibrant social life while there, easy access to profs, great classes.</p>
<p>I am sure Bates is not the only school like this. But it is one I can recommend from first-hand experience.</p>
<p>I’ll be another voice for don’t discount medium size universities. My oldest is shy and somewhat anti-social, but really found his niche at Carnegie Mellon. It has about 5000 undergrads, but because they are divided into separate schools there is a lot that is organized around smaller groups. Not specifically recommending the school, but just to reiterate that larger schools are often structured in ways to make them seem less large, and because they are larger they may offer more flexibility than some LACs can.</p>
<p>Another vote for considering medium-size universities. My older DS, who is also somewhat shy, has been happy at Johns Hopkins, which, like Carnegie Mellon, has about 5000 undergrads. Hopkins seems to have a reputation for being cut-throat, but from what I have seen over the past few years, it is not at all that way. Kids are very supportive of each other, and the administration is very supportive of all the kids. </p>
<p>Hopkins also has majors in all the areas that you mentioned your daughter is interested in. I think their Neuroscience major is especially strong.</p>
<p>A lot of great suggestions in terms of schools. I don’t know what the circumstances are that your D cannot visit the schools. I do want you to be aware that unless there is a very good reason for this, your D may be at disadvantage in getting admitted. Demonstrated interest is becoming a stronger factor in deciding who is accepted for admissions to an increasing number of schools. With so many kids applying to so many schools, the colleges are using the visits as one measure of how interested, how serious the student is about attending. </p>
<p>Personally, I think this demonstrated interest thing has come to a point of being ridiculous, and has become one more thing that those without support and finances find themselves struggling to achieve. But that is the situation at hand.</p>
<p>I think for many schools, demonstrated interest is important, and one of the most direct ways to show interest is to visit and interview. Fyi, though, Hopkins does not consider this. The question comes up regularly on the JHU CC forum, and the answer is always that it is not a factor. See, e.g., [this</a> post](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/johns-hopkins-university/228474-jhu-admission-officers-corner-13.html#post8065542]this”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/johns-hopkins-university/228474-jhu-admission-officers-corner-13.html#post8065542) by the Hopkins College Rep on CC.</p>