<p>No. Not because I don’t like my school (I do) or because I haven’t had a really good experience (I have), but because I honestly believe 99% of the posters here would laugh at the idea of attending my school. And I say this as someone who was a very “CC” HS student back in the day and have gotten tremendous opportunities out of my school.</p>
<p>I love to recommend my son’s alma mater, Williams, to students (or parents thereof) who share certain salient characteristics and especially to those who may not have thought of Williams in the context that I came to know it. </p>
<p>The characteristics: (aside from academically accomplished) sporty, outdoorsy, musical, artistic, social. Williams has a public side – athletic, preprofessional and WASP-y – which although stereotyped is also valid to some extent, but it also has a less known side that is seemingly contradictory: artistic, altruistic, nurturing. </p>
<p>I think what surprised me the most about my son’s experience at Williams is how common it was to find multifaceted kids – athletes who are also accomplished artists, musicians, actors, dancers. Artists etc who are also backpackers, snowboarders. </p>
<p>My son made wonderful friends at Williams and now, two years out, they’re still doing wonderful things – in the arts, in government, in business, in community service, in graduate and professional school. There’s such a strong sense of get out there and do it! Everything that was said about the support system – the professors, the administration, the alumni/ae network, the career and graduate school counseling – is true and then some. This is a gift that keeps giving.</p>
<p>The caveat that I would include every time is VISIT. Williamstown is a mountain village. It is insular and it is isolated. Those that like it, love it, but it’s not for everyone.</p>
<p>Interesting and wholesome responses, thank you all.</p>
<p>I agree that ‘fit’ is important, but it is always good to hear how things are going at that particular choice of college, otherwise we would not have transfers or drop-out or unhappy kids. There are no guarantees in life.</p>
<p>UVA is not a great social fit for S1, but good in-state value and he has made the best of it. Likes the J-term option and loves the study abroad opportunity given to engineering students, which is a rare opportunity for engineering and ideal for his interests. Off campus housing was expensive.</p>
<p>WVU is a good social and academic fit for S2 and costs less than half of UVA with the academic common market and various scholarship discounts. While the academic reputation of the school is poor, S2 has been very challenged (also in engineering). In fact, S2 appears to be working harder than S1 in fall of freshman year. There do appear to be established social cliques based on high school of origin. S2 considered that a plus and his roommate is similarly situated with a pre-existing social group from his high school. That could be a negative for many.</p>
<p>Having a son who is in the search process, I asked my neighbor.</p>
<p>My neighbor put 3 through school: Princeton, Georgetown and Holy Cross.</p>
<p>She does rec Princeton–felt its location and diverse student pop were great for her son.
She does NOT rec Georgetown, she felt there are too many rich legacey kids that skew things. Her daughter was assaulted once while in DC as well. I don’t recall her thoughts on HC as our son did not like it.</p>
<p>My school (University of Montana):</p>
<p>Academics: Strong, though I would recommend it more undergrad liberal arts (humanities, social sciences) than undergrad hard sciences. Class sizes are mostly small, with lots of personal attention available. Lots of wonderful, meaning undergrad research opportunities. Particularly strong in psych and creative writing. Also, I’ve heard good things about the journalism and business programs from friends.</p>
<p>Campus and town: Beautiful campus, very close-knit feeling, beautiful in the winter as well (Con: 8-9 months of cold and snow a year). Upperclassmen dorms are really nice, but I can’t speak for the freshman dorms as I never lived in them, but I’ve heard mixed things. The city is very nice, very cosmopolitan and cultured (at least for Montana). Feels like a mix between a quaint small town and nice semi-urban neighborhood. Town-gown relations seem pretty good.</p>
<p>Social life: This was my biggest concern, as I didn’t (and pretty much still don’t) drink. It hasn’t been much of an issue. Alcohol is there, definitely, but I’ve never felt pressured or excluded about it. Lots of campus organizations, a pretty substantial service culture (pretty liberal student body). I’ve had an excellent experience with sorority system as well.</p>
<p>Student body: Overall, nice, friendly, and liberal, though there are conservative pockets. Fairly athletic and outdoorsy and possessing LOTS of Griz football pride (though I’ve never been to a game). There is a hunting culture here, though. There’s a fair amount of Native American students and international students, but this is a Montana state school, so the ethnic diversity is’t very high, outside of those two groups.</p>
<p>Pros: Tons of opportunities for research, teaching, and other service as an undergrad. Great psych and English programs. Possible to have a social life without drinking (at least in my experience). Lots to do on campus. Friendly student body. Beautiful campus. Nice town. Accessible faculty.</p>
<p>Cons: Strife between the football team and other people. Advising can be spotty in some departments, so you have to be on the ball at times. Cold and snowy a LOT (could be a pro or con! 
). I really think this is the only school left where you can’t request transcripts online, but that’s minor. Relatively unknown.</p>
<p>EMGAMAC~</p>
<p>Your post described all the reasons I feel Stanford would also be an excellent match for my daughter, as well. I just love the fact that 90+% of the students live ON campus all four years. It really makes for a close community feeling. My husband is a Stanford alum from '71-75 and his time there was very positive. </p>
<p>Another thing that is appealing to us is Stanford’s VERY generous no-loan need-based aid. And this covers the MIDDLE class folks who never get much in the way of grants nor can they pay the ‘sticker price’ of many schools. I just think if I were a student receiving that generous aid and I absolutely loved being at Stanford, I would be pinching myself EVERYDAY to see if I was dreaming. I would also make sure I “earned” the privilege and kept on track…but that also includes taking advantage of all the social opportunities that are offered.</p>
<p>And, you know…for me it isn’t so much that it’s “Stanford”, the label. It’s more just about the whole set-up they have going there. The campus, dorms, school spirit, sports…just that whole “bubble” you mentioned. Oh, and of course, the generous grants. </p>
<p>By the way, how is your daughter liking the work load? I know the quarter system can be intense. Best wishes to her! </p>
<hr>
<p>EMGAMAC wrote:</p>
<p>Our D is a freshman at Stanford and LOVES it!!! She loves her classes, her friends, the dorms and the campus. She says the food is fine, nothing special but healthy and plentiful. She actually has lost 5 pounds in her 5 weeks on campus. She says it’s all the biking. The biggest surprise for her is how accessible the professors are to the students. All of her classes are taught by professors and the discussion sections are taught by TFs. She is in a class taught by a professor that is the cutting edge for the subject and there are almost no freshmen. She loves the class. Prerequisites are not always enforced. She loves how easy it is to get the classes she wants, which is not the case for her friends in the UC and Cal State systems. </p>
<p>Her dorm houses about 100 freshman in doubles. It has an all boys floor, an all girls floor and a co-ed floor. There are two RAs on each floor- 3 of them are more specialized. One specializes in tutoring, one in health issues and the other in computer issues. Each dorm is set up this way. The Resident Fellows for her dorm are a married couple that are pediatricians at Stanford Medical. She couldn’t be more pleased with the way she was matched with her roommate. They are totally compatible- they are not friends but they get along very well as roommates. </p>
<p>The financial aid is awesome for our family. </p>
<p>The campus is a bit of a bubble. The surrounds area of Palo Alto is very yuppie, to use an old phrase. It is expensive. Most students don’t venture too far off campus for too long. Day trips to SF, boarding in Tahoe etc can be done with friends or with one of the 600 or so student clubs.</p>
<p>The University says that 96% of students live on campus- the other 4% is largely students studying abroad. Housing is guaranteed for all four years. </p>
<p>She was back home for four days with the regular flu (we are about 2 1/2 hours from Stanford) and couldn’t wait to go back to school. Her friends were texting her regularly to keep in touch and say they missed her. Her TFs emailed her all notes and assignments. We weren’t back in her dorm room 5 minutes before the RA came by to welcome her back and catch her up on the goings on. </p>
<p>I can’t imagine a more perfect place for our D.</p>
<p>My son went to 2 schools:</p>
<p>University of Miami - recommend for the right student. Academics are strong, student body tends to be competitive and self involved. Big on sports and school spirit. Large selection of majors. Great weather and pretty tropical campus. Lots to do in surrounding towns. Beautiful people types who like to party. Fraternity and Sorority involvement popular. Expensive unless on schoarship.</p>
<p>SUNY New Paltz - also recommend for the right student. Wide selection of majors - strong in education and the arts, communication and anthropology, also business and the sciences are becoming strong. Down to earth and friendly student body, quite liberal, quirkiness abounds. Fun and funky college town, lots of outdoor recreation available in surrounding mountains. Cold weather but not miserably so. Close community feeling. Priced very reasonably.</p>
<p>My son attends Reed. I would recommend it <em>to students like him</em> but not to everyone. Lots of people I see posting on CC would hate Reed, because of the workload, the lack of Greek system, the lack of athletics, the scroungers, the noise parades, the Renn Fayre, the atheism, the recreational drug use, the senior thesis… In short, it’s a GREAT school, and a perfect fit for my son, but for an Christian student athlete who wants to be the next Republican senator from his state? Maaaaayyyyybeee not. :-)</p>
<p>S: at Lafayette. He loves it. I would recommend it to kids who want a small school, to engineers who want a strong engineering program without being at a “tech” school, and to liberal arts majors who don’t want to spend all 4 years with other liberal arts majors.</p>
<p>pixeljig, good to see you again. How goes the college hunt? What schools are still in the running?</p>
<p>I would recommend NYU for the independent student who can be very assertive. If you possess those qualities, NYU has wonderful opportunities and my son loved his experience. Everything that NYU lacks, my D found at Syracuse - great sense of community, nurturing faculty, and lots of spirit. Great academics can be found at Syracuse - they are guaranteed at NYU.</p>
<p>TrinSF, I really enjoyed your post!</p>
<p>What did we say? Diff’rent strokes for diff’rent folks.</p>
<p>I like the idea of this thread. Although it is really true that fit is important (one kid’s perfect school could be a nightmare for another), it is nice for parents to find positive info on a school they are researching. Google "hits’ might get CC on their radar too.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info on Kalamazoo, CardinalFang. During the decision process a year ago Kalamazoo was very high on the list and it’s nice to know that it’s as great as it seemed to us.</p>
<p>DS is at Whitman. I recommend it highly with the usual “for the right kid” caveat. Academic-oriented kids, small classes, professors who are dedicated and involved, advisors who think outside of the box, lots of varied activities, beautiful campus, fun little downtown just a couple blocks from campus… what’s not to love?</p>
<p>My daughter will graduate from NYU in May. It’s an amazing university, but it’s definitely not for everyone. A student who wants the typical college experience – traditional campus environment, big sports, strong sense of community – will not find it at NYU. </p>
<p>What you will encounter, though, is a wide variety of students who are excited about finding their way not only through college, but also through New York City. These are special kids, with a strong sense of self sufficiency and adventure (and I’m not just saying that because my daughter is one of them!).</p>
<p>It was a great choice for my daughter, especially academically – her dept. has been excellent and has set her up well for graduate school. She is a very social young lady, but making friends was difficult, even for her. She actually made her closest friends, all fellow NYU students, through NYU’s study-abroad program (Paris). </p>
<p>If your child wants a unique experience and really wants to charge headlong into big-city life – while also getting an excellent education – then NYU might be the perfect choice.</p>
<p>I’ll offer this in order to help address some outdated stereotypes that I used to share before our daughters wound up at Harvard. Believe it or not, my daughters, my wife and I have all found it to be welcoming, undergrad-focused, diverse in every imaginable way, and whatever the adjectives are that would be the opposite of haughty and stuffy. The Ds have had many one-on-one sessions with profs - even some of the stars - including home cookouts. Their residential college experiences have been outstanding. The fact that all the students are amazing at something tends to add a certain dose of humility to nearly everyone. Our Ds have friends from very humble as well as wealthy backgrounds, from just about every region of the nation and the world.</p>
<p>The three campus life distinctives at Harvard, IMO, are the diversity, the level and intensity of extracurricular involvement, and the almost unbelievable degree to which the College will facilitate student-initiated projects. You’ll find that half the gospel choir is not African-American - there are white students, Hispanic students, students in turbans, yarmulkes, etc. The Harvard break-dance troupe is majority Asian. The South Asian student annual production includes students from all races and nationalities. Everyone is involved on campus and all seem to support one another’s activities and performances. Music and theatre are not only well-attended, but often reach a professional touring-production quality. And there is no limit in proposing a program of audacious reach. My older D went to China a year ago to teach in a program for outstanding Chinese HS students. Students from all across the country applied and those selected came to Shanghai for a two-week, live-in symposium, all taught by Harvard undergrads. When I asked D1 which department sponsored the program, she looked at me with disdain and said no department was in charge of it - the students were. The College had only evaluated the students’ proposal and provided the funding for everything but instructor airfare!</p>
<p>psych_ said:</p>
<p>*No. Not because I don’t like my school (I do) or because I haven’t had a really good experience (I have), but because I honestly believe 99% of the posters here would laugh at the idea of attending my school. And I say this as someone who was a very “CC” HS student back in the day and have gotten tremendous opportunities out of my school. *</p>
<p>Please share. There are plenty of folks here who are just trying to get some insight into the wide range of schools across the country. Its hard to gain insights into other schools that may be off the beaten path. My son is starting to look. I had not heard of James Madison so I’ve already learned something from this thread.</p>
<p>My daughter goes to Hope College in Holland MI. She chose to go there over higher ranked schools. She has had a great experience thus far and feels like she made the right choice.</p>
<p>I would recommend Stanford and Wash U to anyone who can handle the academics there (and anyone who is accepted should be able to)
I would recommend Swarthmore for those who’d “fit” there.</p>
<p>I would recommend both schools where DDs attend - Denison and Lewis and Clark. Both are challenging academically, both beautiful campuses, both have faculty that tries to nurture the students. Neither is very rah, rah for sports.</p>