I have heard Case Western is a hidden gem and after touring with my senior I have to agree.
Beyond great academics, he was immediately taken with the location.
CWRU is in a corner of Cleveland so direct access to the city but also has a defined campus.
The Cleveland Orchestra and Botanical Gardens and quite a few more museums and venues are right there on the campus. Little Italy is walking distance and Lake Erie is a few miles so good for water sports.
Cleveland has very cold winters so kids may not consider it, but overall Case has a ton to offer. My son loved it.

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Anonymous wrote:Lewis & Clark, Macalester, Grinnell, Reed - all great SLACs. They have different vibes for sure. But overall, these are terrific schools that - generally speaking - attract fewer DMV applicants than some similar schools in the Northeast.

We were very impressed by Grinnell.

DC concerned about rural location, though the little village next to it seems pretty good - I've seen a lot more rural. What did you like?

Nice campus, open curriculum but with emphasis on advising, career services, intellectual, wants all students to be comfortable, small and interesting classes, emphasis on community.

The town is adjacent to campus so very accessible to students. There are a few restaurants, a market, etc.

My DS is starting in the fall and we will be paying 25k less/year than if he had gone to the NESCAC that I attended.

First PP here - all of the above plus the significant international population of the school and the massive endowment (which means good professors and lots of enrichment opportunities.) It's on par with top SLACs but far less demand from the DMV so the odds are better than the more predictable New England schools.

It's also the highest ranked SLAC that gives significant merit aid.

Grinnell is a lot better than Kenyon, that’s for sure.

My neighbor has kids at both. Says both are great schools.

Tufts

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lewis & Clark, Macalester, Grinnell, Reed - all great SLACs. They have different vibes for sure. But overall, these are terrific schools that - generally speaking - attract fewer DMV applicants than some similar schools in the Northeast.

We were very impressed by Grinnell.

DC concerned about rural location, though the little village next to it seems pretty good - I've seen a lot more rural. What did you like?

Nice campus, open curriculum but with emphasis on advising, career services, intellectual, wants all students to be comfortable, small and interesting classes, emphasis on community.

The town is adjacent to campus so very accessible to students. There are a few restaurants, a market, etc.

My DS is starting in the fall and we will be paying 25k less/year than if he had gone to the NESCAC that I attended.

First PP here - all of the above plus the significant international population of the school and the massive endowment (which means good professors and lots of enrichment opportunities.) It's on par with top SLACs but far less demand from the DMV so the odds are better than the more predictable New England schools.

It's also the highest ranked SLAC that gives significant merit aid.

Grinnell is a lot better than Kenyon, that’s for sure.

Both are unknowns. In fact, Grinnell has about zero name value/prestige.

Lol thanks for playing

Lol have you seriously convinced yourself that Grinnell is some super-prestigious school that is somehow vastly superior ("a lot better") than Kenyon? That's just sad.

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Anonymous wrote:Bowdoin

How do you not know a top SLAC? It’s one of he oldest colleges in the US

LACs in general are not well known, period, across the country.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lewis & Clark, Macalester, Grinnell, Reed - all great SLACs. They have different vibes for sure. But overall, these are terrific schools that - generally speaking - attract fewer DMV applicants than some similar schools in the Northeast.

We were very impressed by Grinnell.

DC concerned about rural location, though the little village next to it seems pretty good - I've seen a lot more rural. What did you like?

Nice campus, open curriculum but with emphasis on advising, career services, intellectual, wants all students to be comfortable, small and interesting classes, emphasis on community.

The town is adjacent to campus so very accessible to students. There are a few restaurants, a market, etc.

My DS is starting in the fall and we will be paying 25k less/year than if he had gone to the NESCAC that I attended.

First PP here - all of the above plus the significant international population of the school and the massive endowment (which means good professors and lots of enrichment opportunities.) It's on par with top SLACs but far less demand from the DMV so the odds are better than the more predictable New England schools.

It's also the highest ranked SLAC that gives significant merit aid.

Grinnell is a lot better than Kenyon, that’s for sure.

Both are unknowns. In fact, Grinnell has about zero name value/prestige.

Lol thanks for playing

The point of the thread is hidden gems not which schools have the most prestige. There are countless threads about prestige.

Anonymous wrote:Bowdoin

How do you not know a top SLAC? It’s one of he oldest colleges in the US

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lewis & Clark, Macalester, Grinnell, Reed - all great SLACs. They have different vibes for sure. But overall, these are terrific schools that - generally speaking - attract fewer DMV applicants than some similar schools in the Northeast.

We were very impressed by Grinnell.

DC concerned about rural location, though the little village next to it seems pretty good - I've seen a lot more rural. What did you like?

Nice campus, open curriculum but with emphasis on advising, career services, intellectual, wants all students to be comfortable, small and interesting classes, emphasis on community.

The town is adjacent to campus so very accessible to students. There are a few restaurants, a market, etc.

My DS is starting in the fall and we will be paying 25k less/year than if he had gone to the NESCAC that I attended.

First PP here - all of the above plus the significant international population of the school and the massive endowment (which means good professors and lots of enrichment opportunities.) It's on par with top SLACs but far less demand from the DMV so the odds are better than the more predictable New England schools.

It's also the highest ranked SLAC that gives significant merit aid.

Grinnell is a lot better than Kenyon, that’s for sure.

Both are unknowns. In fact, Grinnell has about zero name value/prestige.

Lol thanks for playing

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lewis & Clark, Macalester, Grinnell, Reed - all great SLACs. They have different vibes for sure. But overall, these are terrific schools that - generally speaking - attract fewer DMV applicants than some similar schools in the Northeast.

We were very impressed by Grinnell.

DC concerned about rural location, though the little village next to it seems pretty good - I've seen a lot more rural. What did you like?

Nice campus, open curriculum but with emphasis on advising, career services, intellectual, wants all students to be comfortable, small and interesting classes, emphasis on community.

The town is adjacent to campus so very accessible to students. There are a few restaurants, a market, etc.

My DS is starting in the fall and we will be paying 25k less/year than if he had gone to the NESCAC that I attended.

First PP here - all of the above plus the significant international population of the school and the massive endowment (which means good professors and lots of enrichment opportunities.) It's on par with top SLACs but far less demand from the DMV so the odds are better than the more predictable New England schools.

It's also the highest ranked SLAC that gives significant merit aid.

Grinnell is a lot better than Kenyon, that’s for sure.

Both are unknowns. In fact, Grinnell has about zero name value/prestige.

Anonymous wrote:Union College in Schenectady, NY and WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute) in MA

Yep to both

Anonymous wrote:We also toured Muhlenberg this summer on the special Student’s day that included lunch. Food was quite horrible, tour guide was not impressive. Also didn’t like Allentown . It came off the list.

We walked around the campus, and DD said no. No tour, just looking, but she thought the campus was too small, the area unappealing, so she crossed it off her list. A friend's daughter goes there and loves it, so there's likely more to it. To each his/her own.

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Anonymous wrote:St. Mary's College of Maryland

+1 We have never met an alum (just out and about in the world) who did not describe their experience there with great fondness.

Yes, my neighbor met her husband there. They are huge SMCM boosters. Another friend's husband went there, and he's still friends with his college buddies 20 years later. It's a true hidden gem. It has a beautiful campus, somewhat isolated, but wonderful atmosphere. A friend's son went there and loved it, and he's a shy introvert. The mayor of Baltimore went there, so that's something.

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Anonymous wrote:Lewis & Clark, Macalester, Grinnell, Reed - all great SLACs. They have different vibes for sure. But overall, these are terrific schools that - generally speaking - attract fewer DMV applicants than some similar schools in the Northeast.

We were very impressed by Grinnell.

DC concerned about rural location, though the little village next to it seems pretty good - I've seen a lot more rural. What did you like?

Nice campus, open curriculum but with emphasis on advising, career services, intellectual, wants all students to be comfortable, small and interesting classes, emphasis on community.

The town is adjacent to campus so very accessible to students. There are a few restaurants, a market, etc.

My DS is starting in the fall and we will be paying 25k less/year than if he had gone to the NESCAC that I attended.

First PP here - all of the above plus the significant international population of the school and the massive endowment (which means good professors and lots of enrichment opportunities.) It's on par with top SLACs but far less demand from the DMV so the odds are better than the more predictable New England schools.

It's also the highest ranked SLAC that gives significant merit aid.

Grinnell is a lot better than Kenyon, that’s for sure.

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Anonymous wrote:Loyola Chicago

My DC was accepted there but we don't know a lot about it and have never been to Chicago. What do you like about it?

If you're able to afford it, it's a fun city college experience (where you still have your own campus), and has decent name recognition in the Chicago region/upper Midwest if you're OK with staying in that area. Good for certain things like nursing and PR/advertising. Granted, it doesn't have quite the academic chops of some of its neighbors and other schools. For reference, it is ranked #103 in US News.

Anonymous wrote:Stevens Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology

Harvey Mudd and Rose-Hulman, as well. Although they rank high in U.S. News undergrad engineering rankings. Does that mean they're not "hidden"? Most east coasters don't know them.