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

[Anonymous]

Rhodes

[Anonymous]

As a graduate of Mary Washington I have to tell you it sucks. Went there out of stupidity. If only I had given it more thought then I could have been somewhere that offered more. More of everything!

[Anonymous]

Skidmore

[Anonymous]

Pepperdine

[Anonymous]

Look at Redlands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a graduate of Mary Washington I have to tell you it sucks. Went there out of stupidity. If only I had given it more thought then I could have been somewhere that offered more. More of everything!

I'm also a graduate of Mary Washington, but our experiences couldn't be more different. I loved my four years there, and have wonderful memories. I didn't go there out of stupidity (sorry you did?!); I specifically chose this school because of its small size, no Greek system, and gorgeous campus. The size enabled me to become friends with a ton of people right away and we had a great time together. Most of my professors were incredibly interesting and engaging and I was able to go on to a top grad school in my field. Great experiences, all around, and would highly recommend this school to anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No football games at Mary Washington. Big hole in fall weekends. What do alumni come back for in fall? Homecoming without football? Just seems sad.

We never missed football games - there's a lot more to college life. We had basketball, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, rugby, etc. Plenty of sports and other activities going on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are going to visit St Marys College next week - Maryland's attempt to create a William & Mary equivalent. But we are having a lot of trouble with this concept. Our junior wants liberal arts, 2-3000 students. She can't get into top tier (e.g., Williams). The options seem to drop off rather quickly.

If you've got $$$, what about Rollins in Florida? It's a great small school but very posh.

Rollins is a wonderful school with a small community and landscape. Able to meet the needs of many students who require a few " accommodations" and is, just, gorgeous. Highly recommend. Oh, yeah, and my husband went there!

[Anonymous]

If the OP is still following along, I'd say Grinnell would be worth the visit. Terrific theater and classics offerings and crunchy options within the student body. Creative, smart - good reputation.

I'd also say Macalester has one major benefit too. Since most classics departments are relatively small, at Macalester you have access to reciprocal classes at any of the twin cities liberal arts schools (Augsburg, Hamline, St. Thomas, St. Catherine's) - so many options! https://www.macalester.edu/registrar/schedules/actc/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are going to visit St Marys College next week - Maryland's attempt to create a William & Mary equivalent. But we are having a lot of trouble with this concept. Our junior wants liberal arts, 2-3000 students. She can't get into top tier (e.g., Williams). The options seem to drop off rather quickly.

If you've got $$$, what about Rollins in Florida? It's a great small school but very posh.

Rollins is a wonderful school with a small community and landscape. Able to meet the needs of many students who require a few " accommodations" and is, just, gorgeous. Highly recommend. Oh, yeah, and my husband went there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous[b wrote:]If the OP is still following along[/b], I'd say Grinnell would be worth the visit. Terrific theater and classics offerings and crunchy options within the student body. Creative, smart - good reputation.

I'd also say Macalester has one major benefit too. Since most classics departments are relatively small, at Macalester you have access to reciprocal classes at any of the twin cities liberal arts schools (Augsburg, Hamline, St. Thomas, St. Catherine's) - so many options! https://www.macalester.edu/registrar/schedules/actc/

Since the OP first posted about 6 years ago, I'm guessing her kid has decided on a college

Great suggestions, though, for those following this thread whose (current) high schoolers may be looking for a lot of the same things in a school that OP's kid was!

[Anonymous]

For those of us who haven't had a chance to read the whole thread, did OP ever come back & tell us where her DC ended up? Just curious!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]If the OP is still following along[/b], I'd say Grinnell would be worth the visit. Terrific theater and classics offerings and crunchy options within the student body. Creative, smart - good reputation.

I'd also say Macalester has one major benefit too. Since most classics departments are relatively small, at Macalester you have access to reciprocal classes at any of the twin cities liberal arts schools (Augsburg, Hamline, St. Thomas, St. Catherine's) - so many options! https://www.macalester.edu/registrar/schedules/actc/

Since the OP first posted about 6 years ago, I'm guessing her kid has decided on a college

Great suggestions, though, for those following this thread whose (current) high schoolers may be looking for a lot of the same things in a school that OP's kid was!

Seven years ago, actually! Here it is October & I'm still mentally stuck in 2015

[Anonymous]

grove city

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give the midwestern schools a good look. Someone has already mentioned Carlton and Macalaster. Also look at University of Chicago, Ripon, Washington University (St. Louis), Grinnell, Cornell College, Lawrenceville.... A different part of the country adds something intangible to the experience. And I am guessing that some geographic diversity might help your DC.

And don't rule it out for $$ reasons until you find out what aid--merit and need-based--becomes available.

U Michigan(Ann Arbor) has a "college within the college" for liberal arts that is very highly respected. Or was 20 years ago.

Gustavus Aldophus, Macalester, Carelton, Beloit, St. Olaf's, Augustana (IL), Knox College, Cornell, Monmouth College, Colorado College...

any of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, really