Recommendations for a Midsized (6,000 - 8,000) School within Three Hours
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Anonymous
Amen. This is exactly what my DD is looking for. Are there other schools where wanting to go out to eat and then hangout in a group is not seen as weird? |
Anonymous
But somehow, of all national public universities, William and Mary is at or next to the top for alumni giving rate and four year graduation rate, and in Princeton Review, it is ranked #4 for Happiest Students, #14 for Their Students Love These Colleges, and #15 for Quality of Life. |
Anonymous
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Mary Washington is a great match for your criteria, but it does have a liberal arts vibe.
Christopher Newport would also fit, and feels a little more like a mini-UVA. Either of these would be good choices. |
Anonymous
| A lot of the midsized schools with that range of undergraduates tend to be the most selective in the country (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Duke, etc.) The publics tend to usually be larger, and the SLACs are smaller. |
Anonymous
We looked at Christopher Newport, St Joe’s, Drexel. And- like a poster said already- many of the tippy top tier schools fit this bill- Princeton!- but these were our more realistic options. 😀 |
Anonymous
Not sure what she meant by this- the sweet campus traditions and ivy covered buildings, the tiny freshman Honors seminars, the faculty who are really available. All the things that appealed to her parents, honestly, but swayed her not at all. Good luck. That elusive fit becomes obvious quickly- my sister’s kid went to Bryan Mawr years ago, walked into the admissions office and told her mom, we can leave now. These are not my people. 😃. Kids know what they like! |
Anonymous
Editing to add- another possible LAC feature that didn’t appeal was the schools’ touting a student’s ability to take all sorts of different classes and to wait to declare a major. And “design your own major” kind of thing. To me? How awesome and innovative. Love it. But DD was unmoved. |
Anonymous
I've never understood this reputation--I've had two smart but fairly laid back kids go there. They had a lot of fun, worked hard and weren't that stressed. I think there's a contingent of kids who can't let themselves get an A- that are stressed and work all the time but it's not really the norm. There were plenty of parties, greek life etc. and tons of outdoor activities/trips. I think it would fit. |
Anonymous
Well, they are in the sucky position that it's been under Covid since spring of their freshman year. My DC is in the same boat. Had a lot of fun pre covid (including regularly staying out all night with the GPA to match--sigh.) but since Covid the campus was super strict. Off-campus a bit livelier though still limited due to Covid and off-campus is less dominant at W&M. Hopefully will be back to it's normal level of activity this coming fall. This was true for my kid at UVA also (one year younger) but she had no pre-covid college life to compare it to! |
Anonymous
| This is the OP - thank you for all the great suggestions. We have added TCNJ, Longwood, Rowan, UMBC and Duquesne to look at. I appreciate everyone's responses. |
Anonymous
| Mary Washington for sure. |
Anonymous
I'd remove Bucknell, Richmond, and Villanova as they are not low stress, laid back schools. That leaves McDaniel and AU. |
Anonymous
+1 to both. I'm also a St. Joe's alum and my son loved Salisbury. |
Anonymous
Must be St. Joe's night on DCUM! My son attends SJU. The community is lovely, and the classes are small enough that you can build relationships with your professors. Looks like a good department and they offer a minor in journalism. Being in Philly, they have access to lots of internship opps. https://www.sju.edu/departments/communicationstudies - |
Anonymous
| If he could go 4-5 hours Look at Elon. Good journalism program. |