I don’t know if he would consider a state college in northern NJ. Small town, right at the foothills of the Ramapo Mountains, expansive well-blazed hiking trail system, including sections of the A.T., mountain-biking, kayaking, etc.
In fact the NY/NJ Trail Conference HQ is literally across the street - with opportunities to take trail-building and other hands-on workshops, volunteer - either directly or through Americorps, etc.
Yet, also a suburb of NYC with a train connection and bus service to Manhattan - and a way to catch the Amtrak to Maryland, if driving is not an option.
The general area is full of sites and/or ruins from early colonial times, such as homesteads, estates, but also mines, furnaces. And during Revolutionary War times, it seems like George Washington must have slept in every other house )
Small college, not big on greek or parties - but, of course, partying will occur.
In case that’s a turn-off: there’s a sizable fraction of budget-minded commuter students.
As far as cost. It’s considered a good-value school, but certainly not a private school with huge endowments - so definitely run the cost calculator to see if you unexpectedly might qualify for financial aid.
It can be cheaper to fly to Oregon or California than Iowa and try to get to some of the little towns. I would look at Willamette (really terrific LAC, nice kids, lovely admissions experience, and talk about outdoorsy) in Salem, OR. Great campus too. Easy train or shuttle bus ride from Portland airport (45 minutes) and mild weather. Same for parts of California too, DC or Baltimore to California or Oregon are not bad on Alaska or other airlines.
I don’t really know much about it, but what about St. Mary’s College of Maryland? It’s Maryland’s public liberal arts college and 74% of its students receive merit aid. Transportation costs should be minimal and it’s an in-state school with an application deadline in January.
)