<p>Madeline'sMom, Cornell is intense but manageable.</p>
<p>The larger, mainstream Catholic universities, Notre Dame, Boston College, Loyola, Dayton etc. are very welcoming to non-Catholics. They usually require one class in Christianity and one more theology elective and provide Campus Ministry options for non-Catholics.</p>
<p>Any thoughts about how Emory, Clemson, or Purdue might fit?</p>
<p>Thanks again everybody.</p>
<p>MM, My son is a recent graduate of Williams, majoring in art and art history. I wouldn't by any stretch of the imagination say that the atmosphere there is "stressed out." Kids are serious about academics and classes are very demanding; however, they are also serious about and make ample time for sports, arts and plenty of socializing. </p>
<p>My son isn't a team athlete but he's active and outdoorsy so colleges with strong sports ethics appealed to him. He also wanted a well supported art scene and good studio art facilities. Williams didn't disappoint. </p>
<p>Other schools on his short list were: Wesleyan (his #2), Hamilton, Kenyon, Skidmore, Conn College, Yale, Brown.</p>
<p>Purdue would probably be too big.
Emory is known for having somewhat of a stressful environment.</p>
<p>Clemson, on the other hand, I think would be a great fit.</p>
<p>"How religious are the religious schools like Boston College, Villanova, St Olaf? If student is not the same denomination, does that matter?"</p>
<p>For St. Olaf, no, denomination does not matter. It proclaims itself to be a Lutheran school with an ecumenical mission. Non-Lutherans will feel at home, although I can't say for sure non-Christians will. You would need to investigate further if that is an issue.</p>
<p>St. Olaf's brand of Lutheranism is ELCA, which tends towards moderate social views. You can, for example, find this on their Website:</p>
<p>SOLGEN</a> (St. Olaf Lesbian and Gay Employee Network)</p>
<p>Additional suggestions all with Division I sports in an ascending order of student body size: Davidson (only 1,700 undergrads but again has D-I sports), Lafayette, Furman, Holy Cross, Richmond, Bucknell, Providence, American, Fordham and on the larger size Delaware (though small for an Eastern seaboard state university). Also, DePauw, a D-III school in Indiana.</p>
<p>Syracuse may be good. How about Ohio Wesleyan, Denison, Tulane.</p>
<p>Holy Cross, Bucknell, Colgate.</p>
<p>Clark Univ., Allegheny, Kenyon, Ohio Wesleyan...</p>
<p>Purdue is the less artsy of Indiana's 2 largest state schools. Indiana University is more artsy, especially in the musical arts area, and also pretty sporty. Both are large state schools.</p>
<p>UVA - Charlottesville, VA... great town, great atmosphere, big school but small town feel. Skiing, hiking, etc. nearby. I live here and see the kids all the time at stores and at games. There's stress everywhere, so just have your daughter run her own race & find her own crowd & she'll be fine. There are plenty of preppy kids here, but a variety of others, too. I've never been a student so can't express that side of it, but I think it's worth a look based on the info you gave. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you so much, everyone!</p>
<p>Your suggestions are a big help. She had been considering some of these, so it is nice to see them suggested. Otherwise, it is interesting that a lot of these schools you are suggesting are very academic and ones that I thought were way too much of reaches for her to try, but maybe I was wrong. She doesn't wear her intelligence on her sleeve, if that makes sense. You mostly see it in that she can talk to anyone about just about anything, and she reads a ton, and and as hannie27 says she runs her own race. Thank you hannie. you got that right for sure. I don't know how she'll look on paper, applications that is, so I thought she should have a good range of schools.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the suggestions, and if anyone has any others or any thoughts regarding the above, please add them! We are going to try to visit some of your suggestions during school vacation, after she researches them and wittles the list down some.</p>
<p>This has probably been mentioned but I have to add Northwestern. . it's a great size, about 8,000 undergrads. All of it's schools and programs are highly regarded. . .and there is a ton a school spirit, being a big10 school. </p>
<p>Being a midwesterner myself, I must say that after visiting cities and schools on the east coast, the midwestern "nice" is not a myth and it really shows through the students. Also, the location is great, being in a cute affluent suburb, but only a 20 minute L-ride to chicago</p>