Searching for a School for my Daughter

debtaylor · 10-21-2009, 03:08 PM

My daughter is a freshman and will be coming home next semester to got to a local college. She doesn't want to make another wrong choice for herself so we need help. We live in Westchester County NY and are looking for a school within a 3 hour drive that:

has alot to do on campus, is for serious B range students, is not a commuter school, is not a huge school, is not a christian-affiliated school, major is undecided, pretty campus, nice town

Our last mistake was a school whose main sport was drinking and all the action was off campus so nothing to do on campus if you are not into major partying. Also alot of students live close by and go home.

Any suggestions?

John2698 · 10-21-2009, 03:19 PM

She's only been on campus for about two months? Seems a little early to bail on it. Would you mind telling us what it is, or at least giving us a clue?

Is she seeking a public or private school? Will she need financial aid?

Ursinus is one school that comes to mind.

2boysima · 10-21-2009, 03:33 PM

Agree with Ursinus.

Union in Schenectady (not exactly a nice town...but...the campus is nice and the town is better than it used to be!)

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams . I know nothing about this school, but looked at it's website after reading the Public LAC thread. North Adams is in the Berkshires, and they have offered instate tuition to NY State students. Intriguing to me....maybe someone on this site will know something about it.

emeraldkity4 · 10-21-2009, 04:11 PM

if you are looking for a school that is not a commuter school- why the insistence on a three hour drive from home?

What were her other choices in her previous college search and which factors made her choose her current school?

Every school has issues with freshmen, some are more apparent- but it is natural that students go a bit off their head when they realize their parents are not around.
However, that does not generally represent the bulk or even half of the school.
( and it isn't all the freshmen go crazy- all the time)

My daughter found that when she switched to a high school that was more than twice as big as her middle school, sports was a way to have fun and meet students with similar interests, she is finding the same thing at her university.
Not everyone is an athlete however, what sort of ECs does your daughter participate in or would like to? Were those available at her current college?

northeastmom · 10-21-2009, 04:11 PM

I think that nearly all schools have a lot of partying, and it is a main sport for many, but not all students.

I don't know how much drinking takes place on one campus vs. another, but how about:

Wagner, Goucher (perhaps slightly further than you wanted), Drew (might not be as pretty as you'd like, although some parts of the campus are beautiful, easy train ride into NYC), or Ramapo (NJ state school, but like an LAC. I do not know how that work for you. This school is not terribly far from NYC and although every NJ school has lots of commuters your D could go home weekends as much as any NJ student could from this location, IMO), Fairleigh Dickinson's honor's program (Florham campus), never visited but Pace's Westchester campus perhaps.

pageturner · 10-21-2009, 04:13 PM

I assume you already considered New Paltz?

Think about Skidmore in Saratoga. Great campus, great city.

kathiep · 10-21-2009, 05:05 PM

How about Hartwick in Oneonta, NY? I recently bought the book, Finding The College that is Right For You! Hartwick was mentioned in there and it sounds like a great B student college. Here in my neck of the woods, Moravian is a nice school with a lot of out of state kids. Easy trip back to NYC.

milkandsugar · 10-21-2009, 11:48 PM

I second Skidmore College. How about Marist College?

MommaJ · 10-22-2009, 04:46 AM

Not sure Skidmore is really a B-range school--I think B+ at least. How about Muhlenburg, which is a little easier to get into than Skidmore? Allentown's not Nirvana, but the school is in a nice part of town, and the mix of creative, business and pre-meds types is interesting. The school has a reputation for friendliness and attention to the individual.

cnp55 · 10-22-2009, 06:59 AM

Salve Regina in Newport? Stonehill?

I realize they are both traditionally Catholic schools, but there still might be a fit ...

thumper1 · 10-22-2009, 07:44 AM

Many schools with a "religious" affiliation are not all that religious.

What about Siena, Wheaton (MA), Stonehill, Fairfield U, Hofstra.

rodney · 10-22-2009, 07:56 AM

^^Hofstra has a religious affiliation?

northeastmom · 10-22-2009, 08:26 AM

No, I don't think it does, but I thought it was a larger school than what the OP was looking for.

debtaylor · 10-22-2009, 11:07 AM

thanks for all the great ideas - I guess the school she is at is not the right one for her - she has always made friends easily and she has made a couple of friends but not enough to keep her there. She is doing well academically (mostly what she does is study - because nothing happening on campus- drinking parties off campus is where the action is) I want her to feel that all the studying has paid off(she is doing well) and that the next school she will do well at academically. She just needs to find a smaller school where she will feel she has something in common with the kids. She is a serious student who does like to have fun but knows why she is in school. A smaller school may make her feel more comfortable and it might be easier to meet people.
New Paltz was a consideration but apparently they don't have dorms for transfer students and she would have to move off campus- not a way to meet people.

MaryAnn C · 10-22-2009, 11:13 AM

Elmira in NY, Roger Williams in RI, Endicott in MA