Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 20:36     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks so much.
She's politically liberal but she's not artsy or "alternative" (as we would say back in my day.)

She's a very mainstream and I would say preppy kid by interests and vibe but really wants a diverse college. Just a regular mix of kids from different races, cultures, orientations, walks of life, interests which seems to be a little hard to find outside of state schools.

Privates colleges will be inherently more geographically diverse, however, and this geographical diversity may be associated with other forms of diversity.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 17:26     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think W&M is a great suggestion! Maybe also somewhere like Skidmore since she’s interested in smaller liberal arts colleges.


Skidmore seems super artsy/LGBTQ to me.


Skidmore is artsy and LGBTQ-friendly. But not in an overwhelming or exclusionary way; more "normcore" kids don't seem out of place, from what I've seen. The bio and psych programs are strong and there are a decent chunk of premed students there.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 17:17     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
Anonymous wrote:Davidson has grade deflation, which may be a bad combination with pre-med.


+1
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 15:36     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
Davidson has grade deflation, which may be a bad combination with pre-med.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 15:20     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
OP here. Thanks so much.
She's politically liberal but she's not artsy or "alternative" (as we would say back in my day.)

She's a very mainstream and I would say preppy kid by interests and vibe but really wants a diverse college. Just a regular mix of kids from different races, cultures, orientations, walks of life, interests which seems to be a little hard to find outside of state schools.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 15:13     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
Anonymous wrote:Is Brown actually heavily LGBTQ.?.. i mean does it feel like this when you visit or attend? I know I've read online on here that it is but I wonder where that stat comes from and whether it's reality.

Based on a 2023 survey, the "number of [Brown] students that do not identify as straight stands at five times national rate."

LGBTQ+ student self-identification has doubled at Brown since 2010, according to Herald polling data - The Brown Daily Herald https://share.google/AqZg6NUo6eTiaUDGD
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 15:07     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
Northwestern, WashU, Boston College, U Rochester stand out to me among the various suggestions above.

I would suggest aiming for mid-size privates, not LACs. LACs are less likely to be predominantly moderate.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 15:01     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
Is Brown actually heavily LGBTQ.?.. i mean does it feel like this when you visit or attend? I know I've read online on here that it is but I wonder where that stat comes from and whether it's reality.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 14:46     Subject: Re:Help finding a school to fit this girl
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yale, UChicago, Northwestern, Brown, Rice, WashU, Emory, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Tufts, Lehigh, Rochester, William & Mary


My kid is pre-med at one of those schools. Most of these schools are not small where the kid is going to have discussion style classes for pre-med with relationships with professors.


Brown is not what was described. Doesn’t want artsy, LQBTQ majority
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 14:44     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
Anonymous wrote:From my junior daughter as we make lists to visit this spring:

-assume competitive for all schools, realizing that list will need to be balanced (we've been through this twice before with older kids)
-Pre med, likely majoring in data science, math, neuroscience, biology, etc depending on the school but likes the idea of a liberal arts core.
-Friendly, happy kids who want community.
-Great relationships with professors, small lectures, lots of discussion.
-Size small to medium (2-10K or so)
-Kid is very mainstream in style/interests but doesn't want overwhelmingly preppy but neither do they want super artsy/LGBTQ etc. A total mix would be great.
-racial mix would be great.
-not a drinker/partier but does like dressing up for an occasional party and loves doing things and going out at night.
-prefers campus where greek life is either small or super inclusive. Does not want greek life rush stress.
-relatively gender balanced.

Ok, any thoughts?


Boston College, Wash U
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 14:11     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
With respect to academics, Hamilton, Macalester and Denison are among the LACs that offer a major in data science/analytics. Davidson is an example of a LAC offering a minor in this interdisciplinary field.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 13:55     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
Tufts, Grinnell, Rochester, and Macalester for targets.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 13:46     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
Anonymous wrote:From my junior daughter as we make lists to visit this spring:

-assume competitive for all schools, realizing that list will need to be balanced (we've been through this twice before with older kids)
-Pre med, likely majoring in data science, math, neuroscience, biology, etc depending on the school but likes the idea of a liberal arts core.
-Friendly, happy kids who want community.
-Great relationships with professors, small lectures, lots of discussion.
-Size small to medium (2-10K or so)
-Kid is very mainstream in style/interests but doesn't want overwhelmingly preppy but neither do they want super artsy/LGBTQ etc. A total mix would be great.
-racial mix would be great.
-not a drinker/partier but does like dressing up for an occasional party and loves doing things and going out at night.
-prefers campus where greek life is either small or super inclusive. Does not want greek life rush stress.
-relatively gender balanced.

Ok, any thoughts?


NP - our DD has a similar profile, and wanted much of what you describe. She's headed to Carleton next year. Other schools that ended up high on her list after visiting included Amherst, Middlebury, and Tufts, but she ended up choosing to ED to Carleton. We were just visiting with a family friend who is a recent grad and was a bio major (now in her second year at her top-choice med school) and she mentioned that despite the high rigor of the pre-med track there, the climate always felt collaborative and supportive to her rather than competitive. This was nice to hear.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 13:37     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
University of Rochester
Davidson
Lehigh
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 13:30     Subject: Help finding a school to fit this girl
Look at Macalester. A little less selective than Carleton, strong in the sciences, large (for a SLAC) international population which provides interesting diversity, in a city so more to do and more diversity in the general surroundings, and a really nice student body and community.