Help understanding the vibe of SC and NC colleges!

[Anonymous]

OP, you should visit Tulane. It sounds like it checks your boxes. Lots of kids from California. Hard to tell without knowing her stats though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you should visit Tulane. It sounds like it checks your boxes. Lots of kids from California. Hard to tell without knowing her stats though.

Based on information from Hillel, I think that Tulane's student body is about 50% Jewish. Might be an issue for those with strong views on the current situation in the Middle East.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also live in Los Angeles and have a junior who would never consider any of those schools because of all the racist connections with the South. They exist.

Well, clearly you and your junior are superior to everyone else on this thread.

No, not superior just not racist. I think it's actually the racists who normally claim "superiority".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NC State and the Raleigh area is such an amazing choice for so many reasons. I highly recommend you visit. I'm a Californian myself, and I didn’t find it to be stereotypically "Southern". I'm not even sure Raleigh is the "South"? In any event, it's very international because of RTP. lus the weather isP great and you can swim outdoors all year round. The only thing is NC State only accepts around 15% out of staters (all schools in the UNC system have this limitation). Also, to give you the lay of the land, many consider NC State to be NC's flagship STEM school, and UNC Chapel Hill to be NC's flagship school (which also has STEM, but not as strong). The biggest selling point of NC State IMO is that I had so many opportunities for STEM jobs after graduating because of the school's reputation, connections and location. Also, the alumni really look out for one another, locally and beyond (especially in California).

Swim outdoors all year round ?????

Yeah, not true at all PP. Right now I'm in Chapel Hill, 30 miles from NC state, wearing a sweater with a blanket on my lap because it's 39 degrees out.

That cracked me up too! While NC winters are certainly a few degrees milder than where I now live in DC, there is definitely no year round swimming. NC even gets the occasional snow! When I was down there, 20+ years ago, we had an ice storm that froze everything over and knocked out power for several days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NC State and the Raleigh area is such an amazing choice for so many reasons. I highly recommend you visit. I'm a Californian myself, and I didn’t find it to be stereotypically "Southern". I'm not even sure Raleigh is the "South"? In any event, it's very international because of RTP. lus the weather isP great and you can swim outdoors all year round. The only thing is NC State only accepts around 15% out of staters (all schools in the UNC system have this limitation). Also, to give you the lay of the land, many consider NC State to be NC's flagship STEM school, and UNC Chapel Hill to be NC's flagship school (which also has STEM, but not as strong). The biggest selling point of NC State IMO is that I had so many opportunities for STEM jobs after graduating because of the school's reputation, connections and location. Also, the alumni really look out for one another, locally and beyond (especially in California).

Swim outdoors all year round ?????

Yeah, not true at all PP. Right now I'm in Chapel Hill, 30 miles from NC state, wearing a sweater with a blanket on my lap because it's 39 degrees out.

Well, I do at the Triangle Aquatics Center. Just like it rarely rains in southern California, it's rarely this cold in Raleigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you should visit Tulane. It sounds like it checks your boxes. Lots of kids from California. Hard to tell without knowing her stats though.

Based on information from Hillel, I think that Tulane's student body is about 50% Jewish. Might be an issue for those with strong views on the current situation in the Middle East.

This isn’t at all an issue for us. Half her family is Jewish. We won’t consider schools with large SJP chapters and rampant antisemitism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school may be too small for her, but check out Rollins College. It's the prettiest campus we have ever visited, and Winter Park is such a cute little town. There are lots of people from all over, so it does not have a Southern vibe. I know some people rule out Florida because of politics, but it is a private university. I have two more kids headed to college and I hope one of them picks Rollins. There most famous alum is Mr. Rogers.

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rollinscollege

Website: https://www.rollins.edu/

Unlikely that OP's daughter would fit in at country-club like Rollins College. Based on OP's description of her daughter, OP wants to look for the opposite of Rollins College.

I’m about as far as you can get from being in a country club and I did not get that vibe from the students. It’s a gorgeous campus so I guess it could be compared to a country club in that way. I went to high school in San Diego and it reminded me somewhat of parts of San Diego like Balboa. My kids are in a high school that is over 60% FARMs so I would not encourage them to attend a school that feels overwhelmingly wealthy.

OP, it might not end up being a good fit but I think it’s worth looking into.

[Anonymous]

NC native here and I would steer clear of ECU, UNCW and UNCC. They are heavy in state schools without much to offer unless you're specifically interested in a niche major (like marine bio for UNCW). These schools just don't offer enough to go to from california. NC State maybe, but if possible I'd look at Davidson, Wake, UNC-CH or Duke. Harder to get into, I know.

I can't really speak to the SC schools, but people I know who went to CoC and Clemson did really like them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone,
I’m a Los Angeles mom of a HS junior looking for your help. My DD is considering several schools in SC and NC due to the weather. She doesn’t want to stay super close to home but wants mild winters. I know nothing of schools in the area and while it’s easy to research academics and stats I’m hoping for some more insight regarding the social aspect and types of kids that attend some of these schools. My concern is that DD is a very laid back west coast type girl and I’m worried she won’t fit in there socially. We are an affluent family but DD is not into material things. For example, she doesn’t own a single designer handbag, by choice. Her usual wardrobe is baggy jeans and crop tops or hoodies. She doesn’t usually wear dresses. She started HS at a private school and really hated it and is now much happier in public school.

These are the schools she could consider. I’d really appreciate any insight.

Clemson
NC State
UNC Wilmington
UNC Charlotte
College of Charleston
USC
Coastal Carolina
East Carolina

I already figure out that she probably won’t like Elon and she tends to prefer larger schools.

Thank you!

OP - many of these don't strike me as a good match for a CA kid - they are mediocre regional schools except for Clemson, NC State, U of South Carolina. And I agree with others that the south may have more "brand conscious" behavior in general. Maybe UT Austin? SMU? Arizona?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you should visit Tulane. It sounds like it checks your boxes. Lots of kids from California. Hard to tell without knowing her stats though.

We’ve been to New Orleans before and she loves it there and would love to live there. We’re going back to visit Tulane because she thinks she’ll really like it. And yes lots of kids from CA. It’s definitely a reach for her, how much of a reach depending on this semester grades.

Someone else suggested UMiami. It’s also a reach for her. She says she would love to go to there but I wonder will she really fit in or does it also feel like a private HS vibe. She’ll need to really evaluate that aspect at Tulane also. Not sure if we’ll tour Miami. I did take her to tour Miami Ohio lol and the campus and program are so amazing but unfortunately we toured in June and there were no students. We still need to figure out if it’s super preppy still but I have a feeling the location will take it off her list.

As far as CA schools, UCSB is as reach and she has the stats to get into UCSC. I need to take her up there for a visit.

She needs more options in the 50-70% acceptance rate range.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you should visit Tulane. It sounds like it checks your boxes. Lots of kids from California. Hard to tell without knowing her stats though.

We’ve been to New Orleans before and she loves it there and would love to live there. We’re going back to visit Tulane because she thinks she’ll really like it. And yes lots of kids from CA. It’s definitely a reach for her, how much of a reach depending on this semester grades.

Someone else suggested UMiami. It’s also a reach for her. She says she would love to go to there but I wonder will she really fit in or does it also feel like a private HS vibe. She’ll need to really evaluate that aspect at Tulane also. Not sure if we’ll tour Miami. I did take her to tour Miami Ohio lol and the campus and program are so amazing but unfortunately we toured in June and there were no students. We still need to figure out if it’s super preppy still but I have a feeling the location will take it off her list.

As far as CA schools, UCSB is as reach and she has the stats to get into UCSC. I need to take her up there for a visit.

She needs more options in the 50-70% acceptance rate range.

Tulane is very Greek. If your DD is not interested in pledging a sorority, I'd think twice before applying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OP, it might not end up being a good fit but I think it’s worth looking into.

Thank you. I will check it out. It’s much smaller than what she wants but I have a feeling that she needs to come to terms with the fact that she needs to either cave on size or weather so she can have more options. She doesn’t want to consider U of San Diego because of size and religion and I’m like, girl you want good weather, it’s San Diego!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you should visit Tulane. It sounds like it checks your boxes. Lots of kids from California. Hard to tell without knowing her stats though.

We’ve been to New Orleans before and she loves it there and would love to live there. We’re going back to visit Tulane because she thinks she’ll really like it. And yes lots of kids from CA. It’s definitely a reach for her, how much of a reach depending on this semester grades.

Someone else suggested UMiami. It’s also a reach for her. She says she would love to go to there but I wonder will she really fit in or does it also feel like a private HS vibe. She’ll need to really evaluate that aspect at Tulane also. Not sure if we’ll tour Miami. I did take her to tour Miami Ohio lol and the campus and program are so amazing but unfortunately we toured in June and there were no students. We still need to figure out if it’s super preppy still but I have a feeling the location will take it off her list.

As far as CA schools, UCSB is as reach and she has the stats to get into UCSC. I need to take her up there for a visit.

She needs more options in the 50-70% acceptance rate range.

Tulane is very Greek. If your DD is not interested in pledging a sorority, I'd think twice before applying.

40% Greek. Is that considered “very” Greek? My DD attends Tulane and is not in a sorority. She is really happy. She sounds a lot like OP’s DD. I will say that she does attend a lot of frat parties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you guys made of money?

To me it's super bizarre to fly across the country to go to a school like ECU or Coastal Carolina when she could go to a state school in CA for less. And still have warm weather. And fit in better.

She doesn't want a school that revolves around sororities and frats? Why then would she go to any of these schools?

+1. These are not schools people seek out from across the country.

Agree. You didn’t mention her stats, but I’d look at ASU, Univ of AZ, Oregon, and San Diego State, lots of other good in state choices. Check out Univ of San Diego too. The culture in the south is so different from west coast culture. Don’t do it! - fellow CA mom

[Anonymous]

Tulane is very Greek. If your DD is not interested in pledging a sorority, I'd think twice before applying.

40% Greek. Is that considered “very” Greek? My DD attends Tulane and is not in a sorority. She is really happy. She sounds a lot like OP’s DD. I will say that she does attend a lot of frat parties.

Thank you for that perspective. My DD is not against Greek. She’d consider rushing if she finds a sorority where she fits in. She just wants to have options for fun parties and good social life if she doesn’t end up in a sorority. I’m glad your daughter is having a great time there!

Honestly, having gone through DD at a HS (that I pushed for) that she didn’t like at all for two years, I just want her to find a place where she’ll make ton of friends and be happy and everything else is secondary.