Caltech

St Olaf

Scripps, Bryn Mawr

What colleges are her primary choices? I suspect there is partying at all of them- eg, even CaTech has a party scene. She will find like minded students everywhere just like partiers can find their people at any college, too.

But Rutgers comes to mind.

Sort of related but it seems like to apply to school where they will give you some aid because they want you, you have to apply to a school you wouldn’t really like. You could go there and be pleasantly surprised, I guess.

UMBC

While large state schools clearly have a party scene, I promise they also have tons of really studious students that do not care about drinking. They are not that hard to find. Join academic clubs and other organizations at school with like minded students. There are dorms known for non-partying type kids. There are plenty of ways to find your tribe.

Hard to say without knowing her grades/interests but maybe somewhere like Beloit? Smart, intellectually engaged kids, no Greek life but not super hard to get into. But it is very small.

Anonymous wrote:SMCM

+1

Have you looked into William and Mary?

None. Best hope for an Honors program at whatever school.

Honors colleges could be an option. They are often less focused on GPA-scores than you might think.

Anything with school of mines in The title

SMCM

My DD is trying to pick safety schools and really only wants to go places where the students are focused and serious about their classes. She doesn’t want to go to a party/ very Greek school or a school where there is no enthusiasm or school spirit because it was the safety school for most people there. How do you find such a place?

I know I’m oversimplifying things and you can find dedicated students and partiers at ALL schools. She is nerdy and knows that at a huge state school there are focused, studious kids but thinks they’d be hard to find.

Any suggestions? (She has good grades/scores but can’t count on getting into her top schools.)