Help understanding the vibe of SC and NC colleges!

[Anonymous]

I have a kid at Miami and we also looked at U of South Carolina and Elon and College of Charleston. I think Miami has a more cosmopolitan feel--- less "southern" than SC or Elon. There is a wide range at Miami, if she likes it, then she could ED if it's a reach.

Elon is a bit smaller but not too much and though private, is also filled with more diverse students not as greek, I think, as some of the others mentioned.

C of Charleston felt very southern to me - though it is the right size so maybe check it out.

[Anonymous]

From NC—just want to pitch in and say that a California kid is going to have trouble adjusting to the culture at most of the schools you mentioned in the Carolinas. They draw mostly from in state students & are Greek heavy. I would look at colleges with a higher percentage of out of state students in the South. My kids both went to Tulane, which sounds like a much better fit for your daughter. Loyola is also next door and more artsy/easier to get accepted to/less Greek (although you don’t need to rush to enjoy Tulane). U Miami is another good suggestion. I think schools in Florida/Texas/Louisiana with a high out of state student population & less than 50% Greek life are likely closer to what your daughter will like than those NC colleges you listed. Plus, we have much worse winters in NC than down on the Gulf coast.

[Anonymous]

What about College of Charleston?

[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.

So, you’re encouraging people to avoid schools with a larger Jewish population? Disgusting!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From NC—just want to pitch in and say that a California kid is going to have trouble adjusting to the culture at most of the schools you mentioned in the Carolinas. They draw mostly from in state students & are Greek heavy. I would look at colleges with a higher percentage of out of state students in the South. My kids both went to Tulane, which sounds like a much better fit for your daughter. Loyola is also next door and more artsy/easier to get accepted to/less Greek (although you don’t need to rush to enjoy Tulane). U Miami is another good suggestion. I think schools in Florida/Texas/Louisiana with a high out of state student population & less than 50% Greek life are likely closer to what your daughter will like than those NC colleges you listed. Plus, we have much worse winters in NC than down on the Gulf coast.

m

What about UGA?

[Anonymous]

Tulane is a great suggestion I terms of size/weather/culture, but sounds like a major reach and probably not realistic given the really low admission rate. I think Loyola New Orleans is a great alternative worth considering, even though it’s far smaller than the 10k size desired. But, as you’ve stated OP, she may have to give something up!

I’m guessing Davidson, Chapel Hill, Duke, etc not realistic based on stats and the suggestions provided by counselor.

[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.

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.

So, you’re encouraging people to avoid schools with a larger Jewish population? Disgusting!

Please read the whole post before making idiotic remarks.

If it helps, I think that one with strong pro-choice views should think twice about attending Notre Dame.

[Anonymous]

How about VA schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about VA schools?

I was thinking JMU or VCU may be worth considering. Winters will be colder than NC and SC. But size and vibe could be a match!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I grew up in Orlando and had/have many Rollins-affiliated family members. It's is definitely very "bougie" (as the kids would say). It's pretty Greek, very much a party school. Not overwhelmingly southern (kids from all over, and Orlando area isn't super southern to begin with), but op describes her daughter as a "very laid back west coast girl" who hated private school - the predominant culture at Rollins is definitely one of keeping up with the Joneses, labels, money, etc. And it's not particularly selective, so .... don't flame me...but it's got a combination of not very academic/smart BUT very wealthy students that I find unappealing.

Beautiful campus and setting, though.

[Anonymous]

Clemson
NC State
UNC Wilmington
UNC Charlotte
College of Charleston
USC
Coastal Carolina
East Carolina
These are more suitcase/commuter schools that would be so miserable to be a student at from across the country. Hell, my dd's BFF was at UNCC from just 2 hours up the road in Raleigh, and transferred after a year due to lack of student life/commuter and suitcase vibes. From across the country? No way.

NC State would be a little better, but it's still overwhelmingly North Carolinians and I think it would be odd to cross the country for "just because."

I'm from NC and less familiar with the South Carolina schools, but that's my $.02 on the NC schools.

[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.

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.

These ignorant posters deserve each other. According to my Jewish son, about 60% of the kids with him at protests demanding an end to Israel’s ethnic cleansing in Gaza are Jewish. When I lived in Jerusalem (in a dotti/Orthodox dorm at Hebrew U) I attended many pro-peace protests along with hundreds of thousands of Jewish Israelis. My roommate would come home from weekends of doing reserve Army duty and describe having spent the wekend beating up adolescent protesters.

Protesting war crimes isn’t anti-Semitism. Avoiding campuses with a high Jewish population IS anti-Semitism.

[Anonymous]

This is an unnecessary change of direction in this thread. Let’s please not get into a debate about Israel-Gaza.

[Anonymous]

My son is from PA and will be attending NC State this fall. He loved the campus and the vibe when he visited this past September. He is not into Greek life and is, instead, looking forward to club and intramural sports, fitness and hiking activities, exploring Raleigh and the surrounding area. The weather seems like a great mix of 4 seasons with mild (for him) winters. He is planning to major in Computer Science and hopes to be selected for the Honors Program. NCSU seems to offer pretty good diversity, though the vast majority of students will be from in state. (He goes to a very high performing high school that is about 95% white or East/South Asian. He is ready to meet different people.) From my perspective, every single interaction I've had with people on campus has been very positive. It just has such a nice, friendly, fun, welcoming atmosphere. I think it's a great fit for your DD, but it is a very tough admit for OOS students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

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.

So, you’re encouraging people to avoid schools with a larger Jewish population? Disgusting!

Please read the whole post before making idiotic remarks.

If it helps, I think that one with strong pro-choice views should think twice about attending Notre Dame.

All the Domers I know are pro choice.