Smaller college with big college feel for B/B+ Student
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Anonymous
| So the college search begins for DD (DS is at big Div 1 school). I'd like to at least expose DD to some smaller colleges (she's currently saying the "the bigger, the better"). I feel strongly that DD would do better in a smaller environment but also want her to experience college life and have fun and get a degree in 4 years. She'll probably start college as an undecided major, likes warmer climates and being near a city environment would be a plus. Georgetown, Villanova and U Richmond would be good examples except that they're all too competitive. The final college choice will be hers, but I want to do my best to try to steer her in the direction where I think she'd thrive. Any suggestions? |
Anonymous
| Elon University in North Carolina. |
Anonymous
| What is a Div. 1 school? |
Anonymous
| NCAA Div 1 sports. Includes colleges with big football/basketball following and sports are a huge part of college life: Penn State, Virginia Tech, Clemson, etc., etc. |
Anonymous
| Vanderbilt, Auburn, Clemson, Tulane, Bucknell, and Emory might be good options. |
Anonymous
| Temple, Clemson or Tulane |
Anonymous
| Just been through this with DS: Vanderbilt and Emory are top tier in terms of admissions requirements (and Tulane is not far behind). I don't think there's anything smallish about Auburn or Temple (both 20,000+ undergrads). Even Clemson has 12,000 undergrads. So that leaves Bucknell. |
Anonymous
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I recommend looking at the Oxford Campus of Emory. It is a smaller campus that is easier to get into that the student would attend for two years and then they would transfer to the regular Emory campus and the degree is from Emory. I've known people who have attended it and really loved it. http://oxford.emory.edu/
While not necessarily having a big college feel, you could also check out St. Mary's College of Maryland - as a public small college it has a bit of a different feel than a lot of the privates. http://smcm.edu/ Or Mary Washington in Virginia. http://www.umw.edu/ Simmons College is an all-girls school in Boston that may be worth looking into. Given all of the colleges in Boston, it definitely allows for a "bigger" feel. http://www.simmons.edu/ Pitzer College is part of the Claremont Colleges in California. It is a small school but is directly adjacent to the other Clarement Colleges for a "bigger" feel perhaps. It definitely has a liberal vibe though. For example, they recently instituted a major in "secularism." Students there can take classes at the other colleges as well. http://www.pitzer.edu/ |
Anonymous
| College of Charleston, U of Delaware. |
Anonymous
| I was thinking Clemson too. The key to getting that "the bigger the better" D1 feel but without a school actually being massive it so find a school with competitive sports teams. If a school is in the NCAA tournament or has huge tailgate parties for every football game, etc., you're going to see that collegiate team spirit atmosphere that I think your DD is going for. I went to Vandy, and while it would be just what your DD is looking for, it's very hard to get into and very competitive. Delaware was also a good suggestion. |
Anonymous
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Oh, and Pitt would be good. But it's much more urban. When your DD says the bigger the better, is she also looking for that urban campus feel or a big state school feel? Because there is a huge difference between a big school in a midwest college town vs. a big school in a major metro city.
What about University of Miami? |
Anonymous
| Drexel? Villanova? |
Anonymous
Bucknell is very competitive. If Richmond is too competitive, Bucknell will not fly. What about James Madison? |
Anonymous
| It's not in the south but University of Dayton might fill the bill. |
Anonymous
Now you got me thinking!  How about Texas Christian University? Great academics but not as competitive as a lot of schools -- and great at sports!
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