When I saw the title of this thread, my first thought was: the College of Idaho. So glad its already been brought up (first time I’ve heard it mentioned on CC) and I think it deserves more praise. Back in my HS days in Montana, I remember it being very popular for kids who wanted a LAC (that and Carroll College - another great school).
C of I has a good education, friendly kids, a real community feel, and a great reputation in the mountain west. Alumni include 7 Rhodes scholars and 3 governors. Location is perfect for lovers of the outdoors - hiking, skiing, fishing. Less than a half an hour drive to downtown Boise, as well. Seems like Williams, Middlebury, or Hamilton for a huge discount just because it’s in Idaho. Average COA after scholarships is $20k. Put it in New England and I’m sure its acceptance rate would drop to sub-30% easily.
C of I’s PEAK curriculum is perfect for anyone who fancies themselves a renaissance man and wants to dabble in lots of different academic disciplines, while still being employable. All students have a major and three minors in the humanities or fine arts, social sciences or history, natural sciences or math, and a pre-professional discipline. Professional majors include accounting, business, communication sciences and disorders, education, engineering, law, marketing, medical lab science, medicine, nursing, physical therapy, and public health. Professional minors include communications, criminal justice, data science, dentistry, journalism, language and literacy education, leadership, occupation therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physician assistant, and vet science. Other unique majors include exercise physiology, health sciences, international political economy, and minors in British studies and human performance, as well as all the usual liberal arts departments. Not bad for a LAC with 1100 students!
Another hidden gem that I don’t think has ever been mentioned on CC before: Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana. Very friendly students. Good faculty interaction. Big sky lifestyle while still being in a city. And cheap! My niece had barely a 3.0 GPA GPA and a 24 ACT and merit aid brought the cost down to 25k a year. Not bad for a school whose noted alumni include a famous mime and the guy who played Hannah Montana’s brother, especially considering the cost of some northeast LACs.
Agree with BYU-Idaho. I think part of the lack of name recognition is due to the fact that it was called Ricks College until 2001. It’s a great school - my DS returns home from his mission in several weeks and is excited to be headed back to Rexburg. But it’s one of those schools where the kids who would want to know about it do know about it. I absolutely adored my time at BYU and have the Cougars apparel to prove it but I would never recommend it to anyone on CC unless I knew that they were LDS. Same goes for BYU-I, BYU-Hawaii, and LDS Business College.