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Your vote for "Most Underappreciated" lesser known colleges?

JeanJeanieJeanJeanie 124 replies16 threads Junior Member
in College Confidential Cafe
I presume some folks here could reel off the names of all 4,000+ schools in the U.S. But for those of us who are just waking up to the wide array of colleges out there, I'd love to hear your vote for the most underappreciated or lesser known colleges (and what you think makes them unique or special)?

I'll start:

Soka University in Aliso Viejo, CA
Beautiful (in a well-groomed, sparse way), peaceful, sprawling campus. Average class size: 12 students. Popular major: Peace Studies. Definitely not the place for students looking for a big, bustling uni (only sports teams are swimming, diving, track, xc, soccer and golf). Backs up to a large nature park with many miles of hiking trails. Twenty minute drive to beautiful Laguna Beach. (I'd never choose this one myself, but thought I'd mention it for the solitude-seeking introverts out there!)
http://www.soka.edu/about_soka/default.aspx
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Replies to: Your vote for "Most Underappreciated" lesser known colleges?

  • ucbalumnusucbalumnus 80203 replies720 threads Senior Member
    JeanJeanie wrote:
    Soka University in Aliso Viejo, CA
    Popular major: Peace Studies.

    http://www.soka.edu/academics/academic-faqs.aspx says that "There is only one major at Soka University of America, a BA in Liberal Arts with concentrations in Environmental Studies, Humanities, International Studies or Social and Behavioral Sciences."
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  • JeanJeanieJeanJeanie 124 replies16 threads Junior Member
    @ucbalumnus we live nearby and recently spoke to two students there who said their major was "Peace Studies." Maybe it's a secret society. :)
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  • intparentintparent 36291 replies644 threads Senior Member
    I like St. Mary's College of Maryland. A public university with the look and feel of a LAC. It is on a large river and feels sort of like a summer camp. Remote -- so not for the student who needs a lot to do off campus -- but I thought it was charming. It is a little lower priced than a lot of LACs, too.
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  • CorbettCorbett 3434 replies4 threads Senior Member
    Soka University stats:

    Endowment: $ 1.01 billion
    Enrollment: 419
    Endowment per student: $2.4 million
    Net price (after financial aid): $12,686

    Princeton University stats, for comparison:

    Endowment: $ 22.2 billion
    Enrollment: 8,181
    Endowment per student: $2.7 million
    Net price (after financial aid): $17,732
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  • tk21769tk21769 10700 replies27 threads Senior Member
    edited November 2017
    If Soka is an example of what interests you, then also check out College of the Atlantic in beautiful Bar Harbor, ME. All ~350 students there major in Human Ecology.
    edited November 2017
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  • DustyfeathersDustyfeathers 3368 replies77 threads Senior Member
    edited November 2017
    Earlham -- 800 acre campus, egalitarian, great record for producing Ph.D. candidates and other grad school students
    Agnes Scott--small, gorgeous, cross reg with Emory, great mascot, astrophysics for women.
    Sweet Briar -- equestrian sports, gorgeous, ABET-accredited engineering for women, safety school for all
    Mills -- Just lowered tuition to $28K, cross reg with Berkeley
    Sewanee--13,000 acre campus, Harry Potter robes
    Marlboro -- tiny, has a big scholarship available one for each of the 50 states
    Centre -- amazing LAC with arts glass blowing
    Alfred University's Glass Engineering program -- maybe the only one in the country -- https://engineering.alfred.edu/undergrad/ges/
    SUNY's Nanotechnology undergrad program -- https://sunypoly.edu/research/albany-nanotech-complex.html
    Unity College, in Maine--LAC with an environmental thrust -- https://www.unity.edu/
    Green Mountain College -- has a first in sustainability full scholarship -- http://www.greenmtn.edu/sustainabilityscholarship/
    CUNY--a university system called The Harvard of the Proletariat for a reason. It's amazing how many Nobel Prize winners, fashion designers, Pullitzer winning authors and writers, etc. have come out of that university system--and so cheap!
    SUNY FIT--one of the top fashion schools in the world, at rock bottom prices, located in the heart of one of the world's fashion capitals.
    edited November 2017
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  • JeanJeanieJeanJeanie 124 replies16 threads Junior Member
    @Dustyfeathers wow, I did not know of nearly half of these, thanks!

    @Lindagaf our neighbor's son graduated from Whitman and loved it. p.s. he's a professional Ultimate Frisbee player now. :-)

    Re: Soka, I just figured I'd mention it because it seems to be off the radar for a lot of people. I'd say, of U.S. colleges, it's the closest to a Zen ! :)

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  • EmpireappleEmpireapple 1984 replies27 threads Senior Member
    New England College in Henniker, NH. In my travels I have met a handful of alumni and I couldn't help but notice every single one absolutely loved their college and college experience. It's a love like no other I've seen. The college has a beautiful covered bridge on campus and is located in "the only Henniker on earth." Students have told me that their professors know their name and many are true teachers who were outstanding in their field but chose to retire (or relocate) to the picturesque areas of New Hampshire.
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  • gardenstategalgardenstategal 6307 replies10 threads Senior Member
    I'll second Earlham!

    Also Union in NY. Not well known outside the it's region. Engineering school as well as liberal arts.
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  • TheGreyKingTheGreyKing 2226 replies104 threadsForum Champion Williams College Forum Champion
    Connecticut College
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  • wisteria100wisteria100 4341 replies48 threads Senior Member
    SUNY ESF
    Excellent programs in environmental studies.
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