Chiming in with votes for visits to Carthage (Camps is beautiful! Alum, English major, I work in insurance - planning/forecasting) and North Central College (kid2 starts this fall in music ed; not nationally ranked but top 10 regional). As you’re starting the drive from the TC, UW-Eau Claire may well be do-able and is a great school in a nice area (I graduated high school in the region, and UWEC was #2-3 choice for both kids). UW-Whitewater is also nice - a few of my kids’ favorite teachers are alum, and I’ve enjoyed all visits there (band & 4N6 competitions, theater camp). Defer to the all the prior posts on the things to do/places to stay.
Coming from the Twin Cities, Eau Claire is just 5 or 10 miles off the highway and might be worth a look. More attractive campus than Whitewater, but I haven’t been to Whitewater in a while.
As with other posters, I would also recommend UW-Eau Claire - it is an undiscovered jewel. Reasonable tuition, LAC-like experience, and close to the Twin Cities. If you visit, be prepared to see construction as they are in the process of expanding, including a new dormitory. The only downside, if it is important to you, is that the school is not very diverse, with the exception of Hmong students - Eau Claire has a relatively large Hmong community…
Thanks again for everyone’s advice! We had a great trip. October is a nice time for an Upper Midwest college tour. We ended up visiting four schools: Lawrence, Ripon, Beloit and Lake Forest. We didn’t make it to any UW schools on this trip, but will be able to visit a few down the road.
Special thanks to @prezbucky for the Ripon recommendation. S20 really liked Ripon.
Just a quick note on Beloit. My daughter, a junior transfer, gave her study abroad dissertation with multiple student’s doing the same on Wednesday . 3 of my daughters professors came to hear it and ask questions then all 3 left. There were about 4 students to go after her. I was so impressed that all 3 professors took that much interest to come.
@Andrew2199
It would be great to hear about your visits!