college - tell me about "the best kept secret" schools - anyone have one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP (again) --

15:43 -- I have heard good things about St Mary's

15:49 - DD is really backing off southern schools. We looked at 2 in Virginia, and she sees them as too into the Greek scene (she is not). She seems to think this will be the case with most southern the schools.

Right now her faves are Kenyon and Oberlin.

She might like William Smith in NY

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard great things about Kenyon. But mostly from when I was that age. I'm 30 now.

It is lovely, but entry is very competitive. And it is very pricey. We need for her to come up with a few options that are less competitive and hopefully a public university "just in case" $$wise.

She is pretty liberal, very artsy (slightly granola/crunchy) and plans on doing a double major in classical studies and theater.

Smith College? or is that too weird? Admission rate is over 40%.

NOT weird at all!! I had no idea that admission was so relaxed. Plus, as I understand Smith is part of the 5 college consortium in Amherst. DD is already talking to Hampshire and U of Mass. THANK YOU!! I will pass this on to her.

I went to Smith. So did my mom. Once upon a time, it was a good school. Unfortunately, it has declined so much that I don't think I would allow my daughter to go there. I was there for my 20th reunion and pretty appalled. There was an envelope in the bathroom where you could grap a dental dam and go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a really great list. Second the poster who mentioned Smith College - Northampton is a lovely college town. If you are looking at the 5 college area add Mount Holyoke to your list too. Students can take classes at any of the other colleges (Amherst, Smith, Hampshire, MHC and UMass)

.

The women's colleges seem to be an interesting option right now. The admissions rates are much higher than the equivalent co-ed schools, perhaps because fewer girls are choosing women's colleges. I assume they are still providing a great education. Unfortunately my DD goes to a girls school now and refuses to look at women's colleges (she loves her school, just wants a different experience for college).

Since I am an alum of one - I sincerely believe that women's colleges do continue to provide an excellent education. I think the demand is still there or else they would have turned co-ed. But I agree your child has to be the one to decide and like anything else it may not be for everyone. As much as I would love it if my DD when to my school I have to be realistic.

Another school to add to this list is Swarthmore.

Actually, all of the seven sisters are actively recruiting students from other countries who have perfect SAT scores to bring their average up. Diversity is a good thing -- but I'm not sure that this is its proper purpose.

[Anonymous]

I can't believe I got this far and no one mentioned Williams. Or Tufts. As for the Claremont schools -- the only one that's actually good is Pomona -- and the social life is very bad there. No one mentioned the honors program at Michigan. Or Swarthmore.

[Anonymous]

how about longwood in va and york college in pa?

[Anonymous]

Both Williams and Swarthmore can be even MORE difficult to get into than the Ivies, so I am not sure they fit the bill for what OP is asking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both Williams and Swarthmore can be even MORE difficult to get into than the Ivies, so I am not sure they fit the bill for what OP is asking.

Agree. And they are hardly secrets. And I think at least Swarthmore has been mentioned more than once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard great things about Kenyon. But mostly from when I was that age. I'm 30 now.

It is lovely, but entry is very competitive. And it is very pricey. We need for her to come up with a few options that are less competitive and hopefully a public university "just in case" $$wise.

She is pretty liberal, very artsy (slightly granola/crunchy) and plans on doing a double major in classical studies and theater.

Smith College? or is that too weird? Admission rate is over 40%.

NOT weird at all!! I had no idea that admission was so relaxed. Plus, as I understand Smith is part of the 5 college consortium in Amherst. DD is already talking to Hampshire and U of Mass. THANK YOU!! I will pass this on to her.

I went to Smith. So did my mom. Once upon a time, it was a good school. Unfortunately, it has declined so much that I don't think I would allow my daughter to go there. I was there for my 20th reunion and pretty appalled. There was an envelope in the bathroom where you could grap a dental dam and go.

OP here, at the risk of appearing stupid, I do not know what this means, can anyone explain?

PP you would not ALLOW your daughter to "go there"? Shouldn't you daughter have the final say in choosing her where she receives her education?

[Anonymous]

There was an envelope in the bathroom where you could grap a dental dam and go.


OP here, at the risk of appearing stupid, I do not know what this means, can anyone explain?

It means that PP thinks that means the student body is promiscuous and that there are a lot of lesbians there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

There was an envelope in the bathroom where you could grap a dental dam and go.


OP here, at the risk of appearing stupid, I do not know what this means, can anyone explain?

It means that PP thinks that means the student body is promiscuous and that there are a lot of lesbians there.

OP again -- Oh puhleeeeeze! Homophobic much? This place certainly does not have a shortage of morons, does it? Let's just carry on and pretend we didn't read her post.

[Anonymous]

A dental dam was originally used in dentist's office to keep teeth dry during dental surgery. It is a square sheet of thin latex that can be used for lesbian safer sex. Hold the dental dam over your partner's vulva and clitoris for oral sex to prevent the transmission of bodily fluids. Dental dams come in a variety of flavors and colors and can be purchased at any sex store.


not sure i get it. isnt the whole point of going down on a girl that you get them wet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard great things about Kenyon. But mostly from when I was that age. I'm 30 now.

It is lovely, but entry is very competitive. And it is very pricey. We need for her to come up with a few options that are less competitive and hopefully a public university "just in case" $$wise.

She is pretty liberal, very artsy (slightly granola/crunchy) and plans on doing a double major in classical studies and theater.

Smith College? or is that too weird? Admission rate is over 40%.

NOT weird at all!! I had no idea that admission was so relaxed. Plus, as I understand Smith is part of the 5 college consortium in Amherst. DD is already talking to Hampshire and U of Mass. THANK YOU!! I will pass this on to her.

I went to Smith. So did my mom. Once upon a time, it was a good school. Unfortunately, it has declined so much that I don't think I would allow my daughter to go there. I was there for my 20th reunion and pretty appalled. There was an envelope in the bathroom where you could grap a dental dam and go.

OP here, at the risk of appearing stupid, I do not know what this means, can anyone explain?

PP you would not ALLOW your daughter to "go there"? Shouldn't you daughter have the final say in choosing her where she receives her education?

That's alright. I didn't know what analingus was before I hit DCUM. A dental dam is like a piece of plastice that you place on between a woman's vagina and yourself when performing cunnilingus.

And no, she does not have the ultimate right to decide where to go to college. Not as long as I'm paying for it at least. Don't get me wrong -- there was a time when I took pride in having gone to Smith. But the academic standards have fallen too much. It used to be an accepting place for gays and lesbians. Now it's all about dental dams and transgenders wanting to be admitted and the school is going along with it. Either be a women's college or don't be. If you think you are a man in a woman's body, then you are not a woman and have no place at Smith. If you think you are a woman in a man's body, then you are not a woman and have no place at Smith. You certainly have no business being my daughter's freshmnan year roommate.

No, she's not going to Smith.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There was an envelope in the bathroom where you could grap a dental dam and go.


OP here, at the risk of appearing stupid, I do not know what this means, can anyone explain?

It means that PP thinks that means the student body is promiscuous and that there are a lot of lesbians there.

OP again -- Oh puhleeeeeze! Homophobic much? This place certainly does not have a shortage of morons, does it? Let's just carry on and pretend we didn't read her post.

I'm not homophobic. 20 years ago lesbians were quite vocal at Smith, but the academic standards were rigourous, the admission rate was nowhere near 40%, and the curriculum was really good. I was fine with that. Now Smith -- actually all of the seven sisters left -- actively recruit from countries where the kids have perfect SAT scores to bring up their average. Imagine how low it would be without that kind of effort. Smith was once a really, really great place. Now it's just a place for stupid lesbians and brilliant foreigners. I hate to say it, but it's true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A dental dam was originally used in dentist's office to keep teeth dry during dental surgery. It is a square sheet of thin latex that can be used for lesbian safer sex. Hold the dental dam over your partner's vulva and clitoris for oral sex to prevent the transmission of bodily fluids. Dental dams come in a variety of flavors and colors and can be purchased at any sex store.


not sure i get it. isnt the whole point of going down on a girl that you get them wet?

The idea is that if the woman has an infection, you can pleasure the woman without exposing yourself to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I'm not homophobic. 20 years ago lesbians were quite vocal at Smith, but the academic standards were rigourous, the admission rate was nowhere near 40%, and the curriculum was really good. I was fine with that. Now Smith -- actually all of the seven sisters left -- actively recruit from countries where the kids have perfect SAT scores to bring up their average. Imagine how low it would be without that kind of effort. Smith was once a really, really great place. Now it's just a place for stupid lesbians and brilliant foreigners. I hate to say it, but it's true.

So all the smart lesbians are at Harvard? Seriously, I'm not sure how many foreign kids who don't speak English can obtain perfect SATs. The Pakistani and Indian women perhaps. But I'm not sure about the ability of, say, a Saudi, Malaysian or Chinese woman to ace the English and essay parts of the SATs.

I think we'd agree that safe sex is a good thing, whatever the orientation. But I don't think the presence of dental dams (and I didn't know what this was until now either) necessarily means that everyone is having lesbian sex. Just like having free condoms in your coed Ivy dorm doesn't mean that everybody is doing it there. Sure, probably lots are. But the majority, or even a significant minority? I don't know if we can say, and the mere presence of these dental dams doesn't prove anything about prevalence. As a Smith grad myself, this sounds like a statement by some vocal campus group.

That said, when I went to Smith 25 years ago, I ended up in the "lesbian" dorm for freshman year because I was late turning in the housing form and nobody straight had asked for that house in the lottery, so there were lots of spaces for stragglers like me. There was a definite vibe in that house that the "cool" kids were all lesbians. I'm guessing it's a lot more prevalent now. Pressure of any kind is bad, whatever the orientation.