School with a similar look/feel to College of Charleston?

[Anonymous]

4.0 GPA, 1550 SAT needs Ivy League, Duke, Northwestern, Stanford, MIT, U Chicago, Rice,WashUStl type of intellectual horsepower environment in order to maximize her potential in my opinion.

Kids like this (especially girls) are constantly told they have no chance at these schools unless they’ve cured cancer or something.

So where do they actually wind up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

4.0 GPA, 1550 SAT needs Ivy League, Duke, Northwestern, Stanford, MIT, U Chicago, Rice,WashUStl type of intellectual horsepower environment in order to maximize her potential in my opinion.

Kids like this (especially girls) are constantly told they have no chance at these schools unless they’ve cured cancer or something.

So where do they actually wind up?

Her stats are definitely in the range for these top schools but having a balanced list with targets and likelies that check off some of her boxes is important

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Yeah, once we saw College of Charleston (just on a whim b/c we happened to be in Charleston) I thought "uh oh - this was a mistake checking the campus out - the charm/vibe is going to be VERY hard to match"! Hoping to keep school size relatively small (under 10-15K) that that rules out some of the state flagships (even if they happened to be walkable/charming). Definitely going to check William & Mary out; hadn't thought of Vanderbilt before. Also going to visit Pomona. Stanford is on the list though of course an absolute crap shoot (I told her high stats etc get you the lottery ticket but that is about it; she does have a non-STEM unusual talent that could distinguish her a bit from all the other high stats kids but even so).

[Anonymous]

I second the PP’s suggestions about William and Mary. My kid (and I!) liked it a lot.

[Anonymous]

Tulane or Georgetown. Not beachy though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the suggestions! Yeah, once we saw College of Charleston (just on a whim b/c we happened to be in Charleston) I thought "uh oh - this was a mistake checking the campus out - the charm/vibe is going to be VERY hard to match"! Hoping to keep school size relatively small (under 10-15K) that that rules out some of the state flagships (even if they happened to be walkable/charming). Definitely going to check William & Mary out; hadn't thought of Vanderbilt before. Also going to visit Pomona. Stanford is on the list though of course an absolute crap shoot (I told her high stats etc get you the lottery ticket but that is about it; she does have a non-STEM unusual talent that could distinguish her a bit from all the other high stats kids but even so).

OP, I agree the campus at CofC is lovely, but I can disabuse her quickly of the charm of going to school there.

For one thing, it's 67% female. And the 32% of males - well, let's just say she or they might not be interested. Of course there is the Citadel nearby, which is where many CofC girls end up finding their dating pool.

And, a lot of students there will not be in the same league intellectually as your daughter. They are there for the weather, the party scene and the lighter academic expectations.

[Anonymous]

Davidson and Clemson both have lakes nearby so maybe one of those could work? Also, not near water but Washington and Lee is pretty charming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I second the PP’s suggestions about William and Mary. My kid (and I!) liked it a lot.

Not even close. Where's the ocean near William and Mary? Not even a lake.

[Anonymous]

If she could deal with the climate, Dartmouth is incredibly charming.

[Anonymous]

Harvard has a lot of cute shops nearby, and your daughter would be in the running.

[Anonymous]

Pepperdine. I think University of Wisconsin is amazing but it's not warm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter visited Charleston/the College of Charleston and was absolutely smitten with the quad/campus charm as well as adjacent Charleston proper and the nearby beaches. I can see why - wow - so adorable! I fear though that the school is probably not a good fit/choice (kid is high stats; 4.0 unweighted in highest rigor classes/APs; 1550 SAT and wants to do STEM). Would the honors college there raise the level? Any suggestions for schools with similar charm/adjacent cute shops and restaurants? Preferably not too cold a climate?

Smitten you raised an idiot,

No college is not about charm it’s about education and sending a girl to SC in this political climate is insane and horrible parenting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter visited Charleston/the College of Charleston and was absolutely smitten with the quad/campus charm as well as adjacent Charleston proper and the nearby beaches. I can see why - wow - so adorable! I fear though that the school is probably not a good fit/choice (kid is high stats; 4.0 unweighted in highest rigor classes/APs; 1550 SAT and wants to do STEM). Would the honors college there raise the level? Any suggestions for schools with similar charm/adjacent cute shops and restaurants? Preferably not too cold a climate?

Smitten you raised an idiot,

No college is not about charm it’s about education and sending a girl to SC in this political climate is insane and horrible parenting.

Wow. I'm hoping you, PP, are not raising kids to be this narrow minded and hateful.

[Anonymous]

Women’s colleges, especially Smith, Mount Holyoke and Wellesley. Good for women interested in STEM and Northampton is charming and walkable. I don’t know OP’s daughter but I can’t imagine places like College of Charleston or Flagler being the best fit for her

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:William and Mary, Univ Miami, Tulane, Pepperdine, UCSD, UCSB, UNC-Wilmington

UCSD is like a corporate office park and the area near campus is sterile