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Best way to find school for undecided student
homerdog
6449 replies111 threads Senior Member
Our D21 is going into her college search as an undecided (but definitely not STEM) candidate. Our S19 was undecided as well when he was looking but was interested in math or physics so he was a different animal all together. D21 knows she doesn't want an undergrad business degree and no STEM.
She's drawn to mid-sized universities and LACs and I've posted here in the past to get ideas for her. Her list so far includes Wake Forest, Davidson, Richmond, Colgate, and Denison. She will be adding more but it's early. We did visit UW-Madison yesterday since she still wants a social campus and I was curious how she would feel about going bigger. It's a no. Dorms too big, campus too big, etc., She's sticking with original game plan. (But, let me say that Madison's campus is gorgeous - highly recommend for anyone interested in a bigger school.)
This is the dilemma - what kind of school is best for someone who will probably end up with a non-STEM liberal arts degree (psychology, history, poli sci, etc.). She sees no grad school in her future right now (of course that could change). I'm convinced that we need to be leaning towards schools where the alumni network is strong and where she will have strong advising in the career center since she envisions herself working after undergrad. She will need guidance on how to marry her interests in the classroom with the job market. I'd like to be proven wrong, but I think going to a highly ranked school will be important in this case.
Anyone have a student like this? What did their path end up being after undergrad? Any good news stories from certain schools or any regrets?
216 replies She's drawn to mid-sized universities and LACs and I've posted here in the past to get ideas for her. Her list so far includes Wake Forest, Davidson, Richmond, Colgate, and Denison. She will be adding more but it's early. We did visit UW-Madison yesterday since she still wants a social campus and I was curious how she would feel about going bigger. It's a no. Dorms too big, campus too big, etc., She's sticking with original game plan. (But, let me say that Madison's campus is gorgeous - highly recommend for anyone interested in a bigger school.)
This is the dilemma - what kind of school is best for someone who will probably end up with a non-STEM liberal arts degree (psychology, history, poli sci, etc.). She sees no grad school in her future right now (of course that could change). I'm convinced that we need to be leaning towards schools where the alumni network is strong and where she will have strong advising in the career center since she envisions herself working after undergrad. She will need guidance on how to marry her interests in the classroom with the job market. I'd like to be proven wrong, but I think going to a highly ranked school will be important in this case.
Anyone have a student like this? What did their path end up being after undergrad? Any good news stories from certain schools or any regrets?
Replies to: Best way to find school for undecided student
If she's a rising junior, she has time to learn a bit of what's out there. An LAC sounds perfect.
Have you looked at Lawrence? It had a little of the Madison feel. My DS though that College Ave was trying to be State Street.
You looked at U WI Madison. Are you in WI or MN? If so you can hardly spit out there without hitting a decent LAC or smaller university where she can thrive. She doesn't need to focus solely on places that have name recognition here at CC to have a solid future.
I didn’t want to repeat myself on this thread but, for those who have not seen my others, D21 wants smaller school with big school spirit. Warmer weather a plus. I’ve already posted asking for school suggestions. You can see her starting list above. Just wanted to know how to evaluate schools since she’s undecided, not STEM, and wants to work after school and not go to grad school (at least for now). Good info in some of the posts above so thanks. Keep the suggestions coming!
H/SS majors typically do not have as long or voluminous prerequisite sequences (psychology is sometimes an exception), so that first year schedule planning can more easily be done to sample various majors without getting behind on any.
This is a fascinating puzzle--because it IS like a puzzle, waiting to be solved.
I agree with @gardenstategal above that she probably would want a school with distribution requirements--an open curriculum school could be overwhelming. I know that I had no idea what I wanted to major in when I went to school, and had a hard time choosing classes and an open curriculum would have been totally the wrong environment for me.
If she likes school spirit, then it seems like she is looking for a smaller Division I school where the sports teams are actually good--I am interpreting school spirit as being reflected in the support for the teams. That would put Wake and Davidson right at the top, I think. Maybe add Rice and Bucknell?
Unfortunately, that's about all I can contribute. Best of luck to her and you!
I don't recall what most did for distribution requirements.
Your daughter may want to ask the schools about various career paths of liberal arts majors immediately following graduation. I would also investigate internships and research opportunities...research doesn’t have to be lab based. My daughter’s friend was a liberal arts major at an LAC and did research that was not in a lab, and was also involved in language research while abroad. My D was involved in both lab based and non lab based research. The opportunities your D takes advantage of while in school will help her once she graduates...not only in terms of the actual resume, but also the professors she develops relationships with.
Has she looked into Emory and Tulane? Emory is not big on spirit but they go to Georgia Tech for games and seem to be fine with it.
Those are good ideas. You’re right. I think she should investigate different majors at each of the schools she’s interested in and see where those lead. She can even choose a few majors and talk to professors when we visit even if she eventually changes her mind. Tulane and Emory I believe would feel too urban to her. She basically wants Davidson attached to the town of Madison. Lol. She wants lots of space on her campus. Lots of green. But then wants a town pretty close by to have some fun.
I went to Northwestern and that fits her bill. Except it’s way too stressful there and she’d like more advising. Believe me I’ve looked at NU every which way and it’s not a match but the actual campus and it’s location right up against the town of Evanston is perfect. BC also comes up but she decided that the Jesuit nature won’t work for her. Again, we’ve investigated fully.
Elon
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