Where do the "cool" kids go to college?

<p>Look at how many here are promoting at least seeing Smith, Holyoke, et al. Great opps there. If mine hadn’t already been in an all-girls hs, I would have pushed it. The sense of empowerment you can gain at a women’s college is strong- and this consortium allows easy classes at Amherst or UMass, which broadens the academic possibilities. </p>

<p>Mac is closer to city life, I believe, than Carleton. Northfield MN is 20,000 people, not very diverse. And you have to look at the realities of getting to/from the school, from wherever home is. Also what actually can be done in Northfield, how much folks are dependent on a car. If she likes it, St Olaf is another good school. </p>

<p>Oh Dear, I wasn’t clear about the laptops. I should have added surfing- Facebook, shopping, news channels. It has been a big problem at many college. A number of colleges ended up banning them, including professors at Georgetown Law School <a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030804915.html”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030804915.html&lt;/a&gt; With the advent of smartphones with internet, laptops have become less of an issue and the phones moreso. It was considered “not cool” to have a laptop in class in D’s peer group as the students were too engaged in argument to use them.</p>

<p>Cuz Georgetown is a super modern college (cough). Just saying… but this is off track from the OP’s question.</p>

<p>I suggest doing overnight visits at accepted colleges in order to improve the potential for a good fit. Students get a real feel for the campus. D was all set to go to Oberlin but did not feel as comfortable after the overnight she participated in for admitted students. She had a similar feeling at Vassar and declined their offer as well. Sitting in on classes, she also did not feel at home at either of these great schools. Some like vanilla, some like chocolate, some prefer strawberry… </p>

<p>If you are looking for schools without partying, I can’t think of better schools than BYU or Liberty U. </p>

<p>OP’s D is barely getting started, not ready for overnights. And my D’s would never have done more than one or two, after they had culled through their wants and needs and id’d final contenders. </p>

<p>Our kids change a lot between rising junior and fall of senior year in hs. A lot. Even from Sept of senior year to when they apply. I agree with the advice above to be there, but let this be their exploration. I don’t mean she takes on all the work- that’s almost impossible. It’s more about letting her form most of her own impressions, when visiting. Once they narrow their focus a bit, you can point out what you see. Eg, D1 knew her major, we helped her focus on schools that would allow the best breadth and depth in her field. We talked about distances, various study abroad opps, leadership, etc. But only after she had her own pace going. And we did the finaid legwork. I’ve said before that her ultimate first choice was the last place we visited- in early Nov of senior year.</p>

<p>I did not suggest overnights prior to acceptance at a college (which, as you know, would be in the spring of the senior year). We could not afford to do the summer thing before senior year and saved all visits for after acceptances and merit/financial aid packages were in. Schools that did not offer a price we could work with were immediately eliminated. It was busy visiting four schools (lot of flying) but some of the best fun I ever had with D. The OP has a lot of great suggestions here for now and down the road.</p>

<p>My kids didn’t do overnights until accepted student visits. But they were very eye-opening, and changed the final decision for one of them.</p>

<p>Yes, visits can be a great bonding experience. Especially if you have some downtime and fun, while doing them. Hornet, because we’re in New England, we could see a lot. D1 did a road trip with one friend’s family, but that was only down to PA. </p>

<p>I want to thank all of you again. Since I posted this thread, we have visited Wesleyan, Tufts, Brown, RISD, Salve Regina ( a safety, but, what an amazing setting!), Brandeis, and Boston College. She has been at Boston University for,the last week doing a college experience program. It is safe to say that she definitely has zero interest in attending a huge city university. She was impressed by some of the places she saw, certainly finding Brown to be ideal. Now the challenge will be finding safety schools. So my next question is “What ‘safety schools’ do the cool kids go to?” </p>

<p>I think you should stop using the word “cool” because it has nothing/little to do with what you are looking for. </p>

<p>Well, you have Salve Regina as a safety. Probably other similar smallish Catholic schools would work. There are a bunch of them…I would probably look at the ones who dont have popular basketball teams.</p>

<p>I am not sure why you are worried about my choice of words. I like the word, I will use it as I see fit. There is no need for you to use this forum as a means to decry my diction. It is far easier to use the single word, which implies many other adjectives as well.</p>

1 Like

<p>Lindagaf-
What I think mom2collegekids is trying to point out is that your choice of words may not result in the kinds of responses you’re interested in. While most of us here would probably agree that it’s cool for your daughter to be a serious student who has “little tolerance for partiers and wastrels”, that’s not the kind of kid I think of when I hear the word “cool.” Based on this one word I would have recommended schools with a large proportion of urban hipsters, certainly not a school like Salve Regina.</p>

<p>The word “cool” can also be used in a largely pejorative sense, as it was in the CC thread based on this article.</p>

<p><a href=“What Really Happened to the Cool Kids in Your High School”>http://mic.com/articles/91199/what-really-happened-to-the-cool-kids-in-your-high-school&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>In other words, m2ck was just trying to be helpful. Don’t shoot the messenger.</p>

<p>@Lindagaf‌ - I was somewhat taken aback by the schools you listed. Great schools. Looks like you and your daughter made wonderful progress in making the college list but when you wrote “cool” I thought of different schools - the Reed/Whitman/Oberlin type - even though your original post clearly states your daughter was NOT looking for them. So, then the word ‘cool’ becomes more confusing than enlightening.</p>

<p>The list you posted in #49 was very helpful and illustrative of what your daughter is seeking - more than just a word. I think that was what mom2collegekids meant.</p>

<p>I had many great suggestions for reach and match schools. Now I am looking for safety schools that might attract kids who are intellectually curious, not that interested in partying, hipsterish, etc… I am fully aware that there is not guarantee of her getting into the more selective schools that have already been mentioned. I am aware that every school will have studious kids as well as partiers. My thought is that safety schools might have more partiers, but there must also be safety schools where there will be kids as I have described previously. I will not use the “c” word again, for fear of being misconstrued. My initial post resulted in lots of great suggestions, and I am hopeful I will now get lots of great suggestions for safety schools. So if anyone had suggestions for safety schools, I would love to hear them. I guess by safety I mean less selective, perhaps big, (but not in a big city, ideally), that is also known to be good academically, with a good vibe.</p>

<p>It’s hard to identify a “safe” school for a rising junior, since there remain too many unknown variables. Junior grades are critical, and most colleges want to know what a student’s senior year schedule looks like. Although many test-optional colleges fit your profile, some are highly selective.“Safe” schools would typically be ones where her scores are comfortably above the 75th-percentile, and so she needs at least one round of tests to set up that list. One school that is probably “safe” in any scenario is Evergreen State, in Olympia, WA. Whittier, Guilford, and Eckerd will probably be pretty safe for her, also. If she’s a talented, enthusiastic writer, look into Bard’s new 4-essay option: students only have to submit four essays on directed topics for consideration (ie. no grades, test scores, recommendations, etc.). Bard would never be a safety, though. Drew, in Madison, NJ, might be. </p>

<p>Thanks Woogzmama, very useful info. You have mentioned some schools I haven’t heard of and I will check them out. Hearing about all these schools gives her an idea of what she needs to do in Junior year if she wants a chance at some of the more prestigious ones. She thinks she will do well, with two AP’s, two honors, and college level French. </p>

<p>Some northeast schools that have an “academic vibe” and tend to appeal to those who like Ivy or NESCAC schools are: </p>

<p>Clark University in Worcester, MA
Wheaton College in Norton, MA (not to be confused with the Wheaton College in the Midwest)
University of Vermont
University of Delaware</p>

<p>The first two have a “LAC-like” feel, while the last two have a “small university” feel. </p>

<p>The brand new honors college campus at UMass Amherst is also attracting top students. UMass students can cross enroll at Amherst College and the rest of the 5 college consortium. </p>

<p>Of the NESCAC schools, Connecticut College may be a good fit and tends to be less selective than the ones you visited.</p>

<p>Of the Catholic schools, Holy Cross in Worcester, MA may be a good fit and tends to be less selective than BC. </p>

<p>Thanks, Mastodon, great info! And can anyone help clarify what a student needs to assume a school is a safety? Someone earlier mentioned the student should be in the top 25%, and on another thread, they said the school should have a 40% or more acceptance rate. I think she only needs to find two safety colleges. Does this sound about right? </p>

<p>Safety has been defined as a school you can definitely afford and you know you will be admitted. I would aim for well over 50% acceptance rate.</p>