What are the Hidden Gems?

College Search & Selection
1

I recommended VCU in Richmond to someone on CC. I think it’s real a hidden gem. It’s not highly ranked; it’s an urban campus that does not overly impress at first blush. But literally every VCU student we’ve known has found their college years to be a transformative experience. I’ve been really impressed by student experiences at Rhodes College (TN) and Dickinson College (PA), Holy Cross (MA) too. They have excellent reputations but are not national powerhouses (or insanely competitive) LACs, like a Williams, Amherst, or Wesleyan.

What are some other Hidden Gems?

2

The CTCL colleges…

3

I would start my top 3 with Clark University in Worcester. My son applied EA, got in and withdrew because he got in ED at his top choice. Clark was #2…and I’m not going to lie, I had a harder time with him saying “goodbye” to it than he did - haha. It’s one of those schools that you shouldn’t really judge just by a drive through. I had to force him to go in the Spring and aside from where he will be attending, it’s the only school that really spoke to him. Amazing info. session, engaged students. He really fell in love with so much there: Open curriculum, a 5 for 4 program for certain majors/masters, great student vibe, Clarkies are just congenial. If you get beyond the surrounding area, I think it really is a gem of a school.

I also really like Washington College in MD. They have a great Semester at Chesapeake which is really just a truly unique interdisciplinary program - like a study abroad on the Chesapeake Bay. I’ve never seen anything like it at any other schools and the kids I know who have gone love it there.

Beloit in WI is another school that I’ve always liked - always found it to be kind of cool LAC…not really sure why, but everything I’ve read on it, I just like.

4

Look at the list of schools included in Colleges That Change Lives.

Also note that even “hidden gems” are rarely hidden from the folks who live near them. Looking at schools in a different region may turn up some great schools you haven’t heard of.

Depending on where you live, Bard, Union, Denison, Franklin & Marshall, Wooster, Earlham, Lawrence, Wofford, and Davidson might be pretty well hidden.

5

I’ll second the post that said “The CTCL schools,” though there are plenty of schools that could easily be included in the CTCL book but are not, places like Luther (IA), Lake Forest (IL), Lewis & Clark (OR), Coe College (IA), Muhlenberg (PA), William and Hobart Smith (NY), Washington C. (MD), and so on. Then there are the much more regional LACs that have solid reputations: Albion (MI), Augustana U. (SD), Augustana C. (IL), Lycoming (PA), Illinois Wesleyan (IL), Nebraska Wesleyan (NE).

Truth is, there are too many hidden gems to list, and the list will always be highly subjective. Remember, too, that even the most elite of LACs are virtually unknown to most people. If you wish to humble-brag that you attend (or your child attends) Oberlin, most people’s response will be, “What is Oberlin?” Thus, all LACs are in a way “hidden,” though the gem-like ones will be those that offer top-notch educations but are A) 10-15K cheaper than “elite” LACs in the NE, and, B) are not as cutthroat to get into.

If I were to include public universities, I would list Ohio U, which some people confuse with Ohio State. Ohio U is the state’s oldest school, is more than half the size of Ohio State, has one of the most gorgeous campuses you will see, and absolutely competes with Ohio State for the state’s top students (a majority might end up at Ohio State, but some simply prefer Ohio U for the reasons I listed above). I would also give a shout-out to public LACs: SUNY Geneseo, UNC-Asheville, St. Mary’s of Maryland, U. of MN-Morris, the New College of FL, and Truman State (MO).

6

I second Hapworth’s suggestions of Luther (IA), Lake Forest (IL), Augustana (IL), and Illinois Wesleyan (IL). I haven’t visited the others. Other suggestions include Juniata (PA), Lawrence (WI), Beloit (WI), Knox (IL), Earlham (IN), Cornell (IA), Sewanee, University of the South (TN). For families with good students who don’t qualify for much need-based aid yet who can’t afford close-to-full cost, these colleges are lifesavers. All of these (except, perhaps Sewanee to a certain extent) give excellent merit aid. Merit aid was the only way we could afford to send our son to an LAC instead of a state school (which I’m sure would have worked out fine but we are an LAC family!). We are two teachers who have saved a lot for college, but we couldn’t pay what the EFC said we could. I’m sure there are other families in the same situation–and there are many “hidden gems” that do not cost nearly as much as some of the better known LACs.

I don’t know where you live geographically, but if you don’t live in the Midwest, give it a try! Lots of hidden gems out here–friendly and down-to-earth. More bicycles; fewer BMWs.

7

I second (/third /fourth) the CTCL group.
Some people also like Jesuit colleges, which are located in many areas of the country.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Jesuit_Colleges_and_Universities

Many very good directional state schools are out there hiding in plain sight.
There are so many of them that it would be hard to come up with a short list that are objectively better than the rest. In Maryland, UMBC has a good reputation. St. Mary’s College of Maryland is a public honors college with the look and feel of a NESCAC school. New College of Florida began with elite private school pretensions, but I doubt the quality dropped as much as the tuition rates after it went public.

College of the Atlantic in beautiful Bar Harbor ME has an interesting curriculum focused on “human ecology.” It would be easy to miss even on the drive into town.

I don’t know a foolproof, systematic way to expose hidden gems. Maybe look for enrollments under a certain size (~5K) and financial aid that covers at least a certain percentage (~90%) of demonstrated need. That would identify many selective LACs but possibly miss some very good (and relatively affordable) universities.

8

Talk with your cousins who are in other states half-way across the country from where you live, and chances are you can find out about many gems that they wouldn’t consider hidden at all.

9

Truman State is a fairly cheap public LAC with a fairly high student body quality (compare it’s ACT scores with the LACs mentioned here). MUST is a tech school with a student body with stats comparable to schools listed here.

Both are relatively good values.

10

UT-Dallas and UA-Huntsville also have student bodies with ACT ranges comparable to Truman St. (and some of the LACs mentioned here).
They also offer some big scholarships.

I second NCF as an underrated gem.

11

Skidmore
Connecticut College
——
Clark

12

If you’re considering Division 2 athletics Truman is one of the top academic schools in that tier that doesn’t have Mining in its name.

13

Whitman doesn’t get the mentions I think it should. One that almost never gets mentioned is Pacific Lutheran down near Tacoma. It gets rave reviews from every student we have met.

14

I have to say as an Ohio local that @Hapworth opinion of OU is not what locals think. I’m on my second of two college applying kids in the past 2 years, and OU is has a nickname “Oh no.” It’s seen as a safety, whereas OSU is seen as a goal (it has become much harder to get into since my generation). OU has it’s advantages and I don’t mean to disparage it, but it is not seen as an academic rival to OSU, at all, to the current college-going population here locally.

15

U of Utah.

16

TS0104,

I did not mean to imply that OU is OSU’s equal rival (nor did I say that). I lived in Athens for three years when I attended OU for graduate school. The students I taught were uncommonly bright, a sign that OU is enrolling some of OH’s brightest students (again, perhaps not on par with OSU, but definitely a strong second choice for OH students who might prefer OU’s lovely campus and its much smaller size).

Yes, I’m aware of OU’s party-school image, and things might have changed since I was there from 1999-2002 (though institutions change more slowly than people believe). I was simply stating a fact. A state’s brightest students do not all head out of state to attend a private university or more “prestigious” public flagship; they stay in state. Many, as I indicated in my post, will end up at OSU, the flagship, but OU grabs its fair share as well, making it–wait for it!–a hidden gem IMO, which was the topic of this thread.

17

UT Dallas and U of Pittsburgh both really surprised us and ended up in my daughters top 5.

18

I am “fourthing” (i know that’s not a word!) the recommendation above for people to check out the schools in the book “Colleges That Change Lives”. I learned about them here on CC, and my daughter took a look and found several good fits. She and we had no intention of looking at colleges in the Mid-West (we are lifelong East Coasters), but many of the schools were so intriguing and potential good fits, that we did a Midwest college tour, and she ended up with several nice acceptances that offered significantly more merit aid than the East Coast LACs that accepted her. She also loved the more down to earth vibe she found at these colleges.

19

OH residents are spoiled when it comes to hidden gem programs/schools at in-state costs.

Cincy’s DAAP, musical theater, and co-op program. OU’s Honors Tutorial College. Akron’s polymer majors. MiamiU as a picturesque public Ivy (OU evidently has a pretty campus as well).

And speaking of hidden gem programs:
William Jewell’s Oxbridge Honors program, where you get to take classes tutorial-style like at Oxbridge (and also study a year at one of Oxbridge). Sarah Lawrence, NCF, and OU’s HTC also offer Oxbridge-style tutorial classes, and Sarah Lawrence sends a bunch of students on exchange to Oxford each year as well. Williams also offers Oxbridge-style tutorial classes and sends a bunch of students on exchange to Oxford each year, but they aren’t exactly a hidden gem.

20

@TS0104 – as a proud OU alum from the 80’s, I also take exception with your characterization. Like most other universities OU has a strong reputation in certain areas and has for decades (Comm/Journalism/HTC/Fine Arts/Sport Mgt, etc). Student success/failure iis predicated to a large degree on your effort/engagement/commitment and a university’s job is to cultivate those traits. The lifelong friends i made during my time in Athens are all incredibly successful and grounded. I would be thrilled if any of my children decided to attend OU and have no doubt that its profile continues to rise–definitely qualifying it as a “Hidden Gem.”