foolishpleasure

Quirky/hipster D is a hs senior; public hs, gpa 3.0 (barely, but with a definite upward trend), SAT 1000/1600 (1590/2400). She hopes to attend school w/ like-minded edgy/indie students. Any insights on the following schools:

VISITED:
Wheaton
Clark (liked most)
Hartwick (like a lot, except for very hilly campus)
Hobart William Smith (liked least)
Bennington (small, liked least)
Guilford (farthest from home)

HASN'T VISITED:
Hofstra
Sarah Lawrence
Drew
Univ of Hartford
Muhlenberg
Alfred
Goucher
Earlham

(D also visited and loved the following univs: UNC-A, UNC-G, UVM. She will also apply to state schools: New Paltz, Purchase, Oneonta. The state univs are pretty much definite, but I really need help getting a better handle on the LACs/private univs listed above.)

Obstinate

Sarah Lawrence is extremely expensive though. That is the only problem.

foolishpleasure

Yes, they are all private LACs; D will be applying for need-based aid and the size/composition of the award will be a factor in determining which school she ultimately attends.

LilyMoon

I am familiar with Hofstra, my younger daughter took Saturday classes for Young People there. It is a nice school but is not in the best location. There is not much to do around the school except for the Nassau Coliseum down the road. It also has a large communter population of kids who live on Long Island. The food is really good - take a meal at the cafeteria and try it out. We actually chose to eat there for lunch rather than go out to a restaurant. The campus is on either side of a busy road with a unispan that allows you to walk over the road. It's OK once in a while but not something I would want to do on a daily basis.

My friend's daughter went to UHartford for theater. She had a very good experience there.

Good luck looking....my son attends New Paltz and loves it. If you have any questions about that school I would be happy to answer them.

Debruns

My son loved Clark and the nice mix of students, but we didn't get enough money to go there. He likes Drew, it's small but not too far from the bigger ciites. A friend of mine didn't like Hofstra's neighborhood either, but that's a personal thing. They are all good schools, have you visited many of them?

foolishpleasure

Anyone w/ info on Hobart?

It is a good fit academically, but I'm wondering whether her lack-luster visit in July (the few students on campus were more reserved/formal/preppie than D and her friends) was just the result of only a few students being on campus or whether the lack of rapport means the school isn't a good social fit for her.

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Debruns -- what schools other than Clark and Drew did your son consider?

Debruns

To be honest, he wasn't as interested as my girls. He looked at Holy Cross, Clark, Wheaton MA, Marist, Fordham, Conn College, a state school and maybe a couple more, but he was happy after he visited Drew and Clark. At the time, he wanted to be within 4 hours of home, and no frats or that type of atmosphere.

1980collegegrad

Hampshire sounds like a good fit

foolishpleasure

It would be, but for the near-constant marijuana use. We happened to visit during a yield event for admitted students, and encountered mj "aroma" around every corner. Also, the tour groups were not allwoed to see dorms - -unheard of during an event for admitted students deciding whether to attend a school. Even D acknowledged that while at every school there are probably kids who start getting high at 9am, a school - - like Hampshire - - where such conduct was more the rule than the exception, would not be a good environment for her.

Interestingly, this was not our experience at either Bennington or Guilford, both of which are also on PR's "reefer madness" list. In fact, at those two schools, we sighted far fewer few emo/edgy/hipster students sighted than expected based on guide books reviews and College Confidential posts.

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Debruns - - whart was your impression of Wheaton?

Debruns

Foolishpleasure, in was 4 or 5 years ago and our impression was so-so. It was a hot, humid day and we were the only ones on campus getting a tour. There were 2 students waiting to interview. It seemed smaller we had invisioned and a bit "tired" in spots. The freshman dorms were not very good (and musty), but they improved as the years went on. They had some nice labs and music areas, and the guide spoke well of the smaller classes. They had one large class, usually Intro to Psych with over 100 but she said one professor went out of his way to learn all the names of the students, studying them on his treadmill. (he made a video of them saying their names) She said that was the norm for Intro classes but at Drew my son's Intro to Psych was capped at under 50. (they had more of them)
Our tour guide liked it but was very much looking forward to going abroad junior year to get away and her roommate was doing a year at Amherst if I remember correctly.
I think it is a great school for the right person, it just wasn't for my son. He would have felt claustophobic and at the time, he thought he might be interested in business which they didn't have.All and all, he just couldn't picture himself there. When he went to Clark, not a "pretty" campus by far, he felt completely different and said if he could have combined Drew and Clark, it would have been perfect.

yabeyabe2

Drew, Muhlenberg and Goucher are all worth visits. All very pretty campuses with nice, friendly vibes and caring teachers. None are likely to be distant reaches. The first two have (don't know about Goucher) have very strong theater departments, which adds a fun type of student (if not always edgie ones). Goucher has many very quirky kids--a quote in Princeton Review was something like "The type of kid who was unique in his or her HS is the average kid here". For a larger school, perhaps NYU?

radimom

I concur about the Goucher campus. One drives up as if one lives on a grand estate--though the "modern" campus buildings are then a reality check. I have also heard similar feedback about the student body. Baltimore evidently has 100,000 plus students at a variety of educational institutions, including one or more HBCUs (I don't remember) so it would seem to be an interesting place to go to school. Goucher is off on the edge of Baltimore, so one is nearer suburban shopping than urban clubs, just FYI as far as urban flavor.

foolishpleasure

We are definitely hoping to get to Drew and Goucher by the end of the month, and Muhlenberg later on, if time permits. The only issue with Goucher is the number of required courses, though students of D's caliber apparently make it through w/o a problem.