Middlebury?

Anonymous wrote:OP, I don’t have suggestions but wanted to say that I get it - Yale has such a gorgeous campus! When I visited with my kid, we both loved the vibe. Seems like a very inspiring place to spend 4 years!

…if you can get in.

OP, I don’t have suggestions but wanted to say that I get it - Yale has such a gorgeous campus! When I visited with my kid, we both loved the vibe. Seems like a very inspiring place to spend 4 years!

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t feel very safe with neighborhood surrounding Yale campus

New Haven always seemed like the South Side of Chicago with no North Side, Loop, Lincoln Park, etc. to compensate for it.

Didn’t feel very safe with neighborhood surrounding Yale campus

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U Chicago has a quad and residential houses.

The Chicago campus is literally modeled on Yale. The same gothic stonework etc.

I was just going to chime in and say the same.

For variety, I think Princeton, Kalamazoo, Duke and Vassar are among many that have the pre-freshman start outdoor or other small group camping or other programs.

Duke had a freshman camping thing back in 1996.

Bowdoin is nothing like Yale, but they do have a beloved freshman camping trip/week. They really form connections with their camping group

Duke now has residential colleges like Rice and Yale and an amazing balance of rigorous academics and great school spirit! Freshmen orientation week with lots of outdoor trip options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you talking about Yale’s Freshman Outdoor Orientation Trips? Caveat they may have a different name now. It was an amazing way to start college. But it doesn’t mean the entire experience is like summer camp. It’s college, not camp.

I think OP is pretty interested in the trips.

I remember some MBA schools pushing trips before the programs began.

I do think there are schools that have stronger orientations & trip-based bonding exercises (not always at the beginning of freshman year).

Because quad-based campuses and well-laid-out "collegetowns" are pretty common, maybe it's more useful to focus on recommending schools that have strong orientation programs.

Yes! We loved the idea of kids bonding over things other than alcohol.

Ok, Yale grad here and I did love starting my college experience with a FOOT trip (that is short for Freshman Outdoor Orientation Trips in my day, now rebranded to firstyear) https://foot.yalecollege.yale.edu/

FOOT is optional, but Yale has now expanded its orientation to include FOOT or other types of experiences for all first-years. I made some close friends in those first few days who I remained friends with throughout college, and my entire group got together for reunions periodically. Plus the trip was just a whole lot of fun.

I have no idea which other schools have something similar, but I can see why this would be attractive.

Dartmouth does this.
For gothic campus, Duke

Hi OP,
It seems like you bring up 3 different qualities
1) college architecture/location
2) college within a college environment
3) robust freshman orientation w/possible camping

Yale is Yale for a reason and you its not going to be helpful to compare every school to Yale. Not to mention, many of the schools that people have brought up are also highly rejective!
Maybe try to figure out which of the above is more important. I will say that many schools have freshman orientations that offer camping, though this may be a paid add on program. Try to find the freshman page on sites. Here is Lehigh for example: https://studentaffairs.lehigh.edu/content/first-year-experience
Also remember that freshman are coming in eager to meet others and especially at a smaller school that will be easier.

I’ve visited pretty much every elite gothic architecture school between my own education and my kids’, and my two favorite all-time are Princeton and Duke. Highly recommend checking those out, they give serious academic yet regal backdrops.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you talking about Yale’s Freshman Outdoor Orientation Trips? Caveat they may have a different name now. It was an amazing way to start college. But it doesn’t mean the entire experience is like summer camp. It’s college, not camp.

I think OP is pretty interested in the trips.

I remember some MBA schools pushing trips before the programs began.

I do think there are schools that have stronger orientations & trip-based bonding exercises (not always at the beginning of freshman year).

Because quad-based campuses and well-laid-out "collegetowns" are pretty common, maybe it's more useful to focus on recommending schools that have strong orientation programs.

Yes! We loved the idea of kids bonding over things other than alcohol.

Ok, Yale grad here and I did love starting my college experience with a FOOT trip (that is short for Freshman Outdoor Orientation Trips in my day, now rebranded to firstyear) https://foot.yalecollege.yale.edu/

FOOT is optional, but Yale has now expanded its orientation to include FOOT or other types of experiences for all first-years. I made some close friends in those first few days who I remained friends with throughout college, and my entire group got together for reunions periodically. Plus the trip was just a whole lot of fun.

I have no idea which other schools have something similar, but I can see why this would be attractive.

Yale was modeled on Oxford and Cambridge.