Underrated gems. Colleges that are never mentioned on CC but are really fantastic

I would like to help create a list for parents and potential students of great schools that never get mentioned on CC but produce great results. Or your alma mater that doesn’t get much love but has served you really well in real life.

Bryant University. Smithfield, RI

Awesome business school known for producing top accountants and entrepreneurs in southern New England. Beautiful campus and grounds.
Division one sports (former duke lacrosse coach is HC now).

Smart kids. A top choice locally and was more of a commuter school 30 years ago. Now has 95 percent of the kids living on campus.
Huge acreage like big horse farm, really safe small town location.
10 minutes from providence. 35 minutes for Worcester. 50 miles to Boston.

Former summer home of the New England Patriots.

Home to many business forums around women in business.

Also has a permanent international business center and deep ties to business in China.

It’s a more of big LAC size school than a university but definitely a pre professional vibe for students who want that business focus. It is a full university in terms of traditional majors. I wouldn’t go their for some of the more esoteric liberal arts majors and super stem type majors.

But it’s a really beautiful school and sting financially.

They were able to pay their president 6mm dollars in 2017. He was a former Senator from the state of Rhode Island. If you are for the area it’s a big name school. Especially strong in producing high end CPAs. Offers a MST and MBA as well.

How about any New Jersey public university from the viewpoint of New Jersey residents?

I’m amazed that the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) doesn’t get any love on CC. I suppose it’s dismissed as “directional” by many because it does have a geographic qualifier in it’s name but the school does a spectacular job of educating it’s students, particularly in the STEM area and it’s location is ideal for first rate internships of all sorts. It punches WAY above it’s ranking and it’s been cited as " the 12th most under-performing university, citing a gap between academic reputation and performance in the academic indicators." by USNWR.

Much of the school’s success can be attributed to the excellent leadership of it’s president, Freeman Hrobowski.

In May 1992, Freeman A. Hrabowski III began his term as president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He was named by TIME Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World”,and for his work with UMBC was honored as America’s Top 10 College Presidents in 2009. Under his leadership, UMBC has been ranked the #1 Up and Coming University in the USA for six consecutive years (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014) by U.S. News and World Report magazine. His research and publications are more focused on science and math education, with particular emphasis on minority participation and performance.

Families seeking strong academics, a supportive, diverse community, combined with a very accessible location should absolutely check this school out. It received a lot of short term attention last year when they blew out a top seeded team in the NCAA basketball championship, but it deserves attention for so much more.

Bennington. Beautiful campus in Vermont, white clapboard dorms and hills. Interdisciplinary and independent work, field work term every winter.

How about any public LAC?

Kenosha College in Wisconsin is supposed to be a pretty good school. The son took Chemistry 112A at WashU with a professor who was the Chem department undergraduate advisor. And the professor was a grad of Kenosha.

Bennington definitely has been mentioned on CC. The schools that never get mentioned on CC are the heavily pre-professionally-focused ones even though many of their grads do well (like Bryant).

University of Baltimore, is another. It’s a public who’s grads outearn Swarthmore grads and far outearn Bennington grads (via data from the National College Scorecard). Of course, pointing that out will draw the crowd that says College Isn’t Just About Earnings. And those who sniff at “trade schools”. But facts are facts, and UBaltimore looks like a good value to MD residents.

I have strong reservations about Bennington. It has a paltry endowment and student outcomes are poor.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/bennington-college

I guess that I’ll once again mention UIC. Between people confusing it with UIUC and UChicago, many people don’t even know that Chicagoland actually has three R1 universities.

Assumption and Stonehill.

Love Georgetown Nd and Boston College. But want a smaller lac style experience.

These two small Catholic lacs are for you. One in Greater Worcester mass. Home to Clark wpi and holy cross.

Stonehill College is in Easton ma. Quiet little town 25 miles from Boston.

@ucbalumnus public lacs

Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts. And the Massachusetts College of the Liberal Arts are two really good ones.

The honors programs in many state flagships that are outside the top 50 in USNWR.

The benefits vary, but often include early registration, smaller classes taught by the best professors, and a small cohort of bright students you get to know well. And quite often merit money as well.

1 Like

@hebegebe Do you have some specifics at all? Trying to create this as a list of sorts for the members who may not be very involved here or ivy bound.

Keene State College and Plymouth State College.

Both in beautiful New Hampshire. Have excellent scholastics and are very affordable. Many majors and strong campus life and supportive communities.

Plymouth NH is a larger town in terms northern part of the state. Two exits from Waterville Valley Ski resort. Less than an hour to cannon mountain where bodi Miller was groomed. And the white mountains. Also next the the holderness school and covered outdoor skating rink. It’s a warm and inviting environment.

Same with Keene. On the border with Massachusetts and Vermont. Near mt Monadnock, a very climable little peak. Good size city/town with a real outdoorsy vibe.

1 Like

Do you mean Carthage College in Kenosha? I don’t think there’s a Kenosha College. UW-Parkside is also there.

I don’t know if this is truly unknown but it was completely unknown to me and so that qualifies it in my mind. And that is the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. Its undergraduate international business program has been ranked No. 1 by U.S. News & World Report for 20 consecutive years.

@SouthernHope exactly.

Do you know anything about Christopher Newport or Mary Washington?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Salve Regina in Newport mentioned here. It was our DDs sure thing application. It’s nit the right school for everyone, and is still mostly women. But we know more than a handful of grads. Good LAC feel. Great merit aid.

Brooklyn College. Excellent faculty.

@thumper1 great little school. Right on the ocean and cliff walk in Newport ri. One of the most exciting places in the world from April to October. And quiet and nice in the winter. Salve has excellent men and women’s d3 sports too. Facilities are awesome mixed in with the famous mansions of Bellevue Avenue. They offer programs up to the PhD level as well in certain disciplines.

Iona College, New Rochelle, NY.

Less than 20 miles from Grand Central station with half hour Metro North Train service to the same, A mile from said train station.

Division 1 sports, good alumni network school of business and Education. Good scholarships. Supportive professors

Many a local kid has done well there.

I have a branch of cousins who have done very well at Bryant. I toured Mary Washington. VA has some great schools. Gorgeous campuses. Radford too

St Marys and Washington College, both of MD. UBMC is the UTDallas of MD Imo.

SUNY Buffalo has excellent academics. Full service school in city with cheap college ghetto nearby. SUNY Purchase has a large clean lined campus with a lot on arts scene. Known for theater and music but good liberal arts offerings too

Albright College meets full FAFSA EFC need. ST Lawrence close to it. Excellent LAC options for those who have need and a NCP in picture who won’t cooperate