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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP again. I think what DC included Colgate not because of the social scene (Greek life, of which there is little interest) but size of school, what the campus looks like, class size, professors, etc.

I think the final list will morph as time goes on. We are not Va residents but W&M will be on the list or mid-sized schools. Maybe Tufts? [/quote]

Very familiar with both Tufts and Vassar. Both are great schools but offer experiences that are quite different. Tufts is a small university. Intro classes at Tufts can be large (100-300 students), whereas at Vassar they are all under 20 or 30.  First-year students at Tufts are more likely to interact with a TA than with a professor. At Vassar students interact with the professor from the get-go and are more likely to get to know professors well over their four years there. Tufts only guarantees housing for two years, after that you are on your own. At Vassar, the vast majority of students live on campus.  Not surprisingly, Vassar is a much closer-knit community.

Tufts has a wider range of course offerings (including engineering) and a larger pool of students among which to find friends. Tufts is an urban campus--Somerville (Davis Square) is buzzing; soon there will be a T stop on campus. Tufts over-enrolled last year and that has caused some problems (doubles becoming triples, some freshmen housed in a hotel, etc.), hopefully, they will do better at preventing this in the future.

Tufts has become a "hot" school. The acceptance rate last year was 11% IIRC. Much easier to get in ED than RD (as is often true). [/quote]
"Mid-sized" is tricky. There are a ton of great mid-sized schools at the tippity top. And there are a range of Catholic options. But if you're looking for "mid-sized, secular, and accessible but strong," good luck. Add artsy and non-fratty, and it's a really small pool. Definitely keep W&M on that list!  :wink:

I know your DD isn't looking for the Tailgate U experience, but an honors college/program at a UMN, UWashington, UOregon, etc. might actually be a better fit than the mythical mid-sized university. She'd find her people, no doubt.[/quote]

Funny you should say it that way (“mythical mid-sized”) because after searching around, she declared it a unicorn other than W&M and Tufts, or schools that are too much of a reach. She is really only looking as an exercise because the counselor said to. She is pretty set on a smaller place. I’ll mention the honors programs at the state schools and ask her to mention to her counselor. I was tinkering around online and some of them do look great. I think she might be overwhelmed by the sheer campus sizes and throngs of people. I want her to keep her options open and to keep exploring. Her counselor is doing some of this, but we don’t have direct contact with him so I don’t really know how much.[/quote]

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