<p>Wesleyan is awesome, and could prove to be a potential option. My favorite visits were definitely Wesleyan and Vassar!</p>
<p>On a side note, it seems that Reed has been garnering some ‘layman’ recognition these days. I wore a Reed t-shirt the other day and there were more than a few who responded to it by saying, “hey, that’s where Steve Jobs went!”</p>
<p>Duke’s acceptance rate is around 13% and her ACT scores are at the lower end of their accepted student range so she should treat Duke as a major reach. I don’t think that anyone familiar with Duke would believe that it doesn’t have a major party scene and that people don’t get enthusiastically wasted there. Unless one goes to a very conservative, small, religiously oriented school (not Catholic) there is going to be a party scene. There are plenty of high-stats kids who are pretty hard-drinking on the weekends and subscribe to a work hard, party hard lifestyle in college. Your daughter won’t be required to participate but she will need to learn to tolerate it unless she wants a very isolated collegiate experience.</p>
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<p>You are a sucker of a parent if you are willing to pay for a college based on this. My kid could have gotten into some of the Ivies, but (like your D) she was looking for a truly intellectual environment. She could not be more gllad that she didn’t worry about prestige and picked the school that fit her best. Also – Duke isn’t really renowned as a place where it is cool to be smart (there are smart students there, but I would not say that it is a major selling point of the school culture).</p>
<p>DD2 was very into the cool to be smart (geeky) schools. Everything she looked at was a LAC. Carleton was high on her list and she ended up at Lewis and Clark. IMO the schools you don’t have to explain are the ones nationally known for sports which generally are NOT the ones where it’s cool to be smart. YMMV</p>
<p>Well… at a few it is. I think it is cool to be smart for a lot of students at Michigan. And UVA and Cal have had some pretty good sports teams, and they also have a pretty good contingent of “cool to be smart” students. But I agree, a lot of LACs are going to be a fit for this. Is this desire to get her into a larger environment HER desire or yours? “We think she needs to get out more” is what my parents would have said about me (or D2, who was the one looking for “cool to be smart” schools). And honestly, they could not have been more wrong about either of us.</p>
<p>Let her drive what environment she feels happiest in. Do some visiting and see what appeals to her. Don’t force her into a larger school that isn’t a good fit. My kid went to a small high school (60 students per graduating class), and her world has expanded hugely from her LAC experience even thought it isn’t a large school. Don’t equate large size with more intellectual growth or a better social experience.</p>
<p>I can’t remember the last time UVA was known for sports… 
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<p>I was a lot like your daughter and so have to throw Wellesley into the mix. I just loved it! Definitely an intellectual environment and gorgeous as well.</p>
<p>I’ve been looking at colleges with both my sons, and I think Rice (although maybe not the geography) would really fit the description. We really, really liked it when we saw it. Lafayette and University of Rochester also may be good fits. I know you weren’t thinking West, but Colorado College has a very unique curriculum (one three week class at a time) that I think is intriguing for a person who is truly intellectually curious. </p>
<p>My oldest is at Bucknell. He absolutely loves it, but I don’t think it is a good fit based on what your daughter is looking for . . .</p>
<p>For schools like Case Western, her peers and the general public may not know it but Grad Schools and Employers certainly will.</p>
<p>I agree with amarylandmom that Rice sounds like a great fit except for the geography. Also, though it might not be the most well-known school where you live, in Houston and generally in Texas almost everyone knows of Rice and respects it.</p>
<p>“I can’t remember the last time UVa was known for sports.”
UVa may not be a football powerhouse these days but they have had recent decent runs in baseball, basketball, lacrosse, tennis,etc. Lots of kids go to the football games , even though the teams don’t always do well. </p>
<p>William & Mary sounds like a good fit, in terms of Virginia schools.</p>
<p>It sounds like any University is potentially reachable for her, but if she could raise that ACT just a point or two, her chances for the very top schools would significantly improve, if that is of interest.</p>
<p>In general, she will meet many smart kids at the top 100 schools that have been mentioned here. She will not be an outlier any more. </p>
<p>@sevmom “William & Mary sounds like a good fit, in terms of Virginia schools.”
William & Mary is a great school on the national level, not just in Virginia.</p>
<p>“William & Mary is a great school on the national level, not just in Virginia.” I know that Much2learn. I live in Virginia! I know it is a national university, as are UVa and Virginia Tech. We are very lucky in Virginia. I just meant in terms of schools to potentially look at that happen to be in Virginia, William & Mary sounds like a fit for what the OP could be looking for. There are lots of schools that could be fits. As much as I love UVa and Virginia Tech since my kids went there, they don’t sound like good fits for this particular student. </p>
<p>Certainly cool to be smart–and down-to-earth and worldly–at TUFTS. </p>
<p>And with a student body around 5000, size-wise it might fit your bill. </p>