I have been helping my daughter with college options. She is pretty familiar with local colleges and large universities. But the names of some unfamiliar schools are sufficiently off-putting to her that she is uninterested in them. Not the best approach to be sure, but she is 17 after all. I assume others have found the same thing. What schools were in your no fly zone? Schools I know she would overlook due to the name:
College of Wooster
Muhlenberg
Juniata
College of the Ozarks
In NY, many kids rule out all the SUNYs. I have always thought they would be better marketed as:
Binghamton Uni, a part of the SUNY system.
Purchase College, a part of the SUNY system
Etc., etc…
Any school with starting with Saint or St. has the potential to elicit a negative response. “Honey why don’t we go up to Vermont to see St. Michael’s”, " Are you kidding, you guys want me in a Catholic prison ", " Well honey how about Providence College ", " Sure, are we going this weekend ". Truth is the former is much more relaxed.
Austin Peay- pronounced Pea. My daughter went to Governor’s school there and came back with a t-shirt that said “Let’s go, Peay”. Just not well thought out.
Based on just how the name sounds
Ursinus
Dickinson
I am from Indiana so I should have added:
Ball State
Purdue
@wisteria100 You beat me to it on Ursinus!! :))
I always thought that Skidmore College had an unfortunate name. Sounds like skid row.
Also, schools that are not religiously affiliated but have a religious name may be confusing for potential students looking for a secular school. Trinity College comes to mind. Also Wesleyan University to a lesser degree.
Oral Roberts
Kutztown, D’Youville, Bob Jones, Morehead State
Colgate, the toothpaste school
Longwood University (ironically majority female)
St. Mary’s College of Maryland (actually a public liberal arts college)
Tougaloo College (just hard to say)
College of the Siskiyous (ditto)
California University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania has some really crappy names)
Northwestern University (I understand it was in the Northwest when it was founded, but now it is clearly not)
Oxford College of Emory University (often confused with Oxford University)
I really hate schools called [Insert Name] State University when the first name is not the actual name of the state. Idaho State University is fine. San Francisco State University is not. It’s just not a state. Call it San Francisco City University or something like that.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
California University of Pennsylvania
University of Rio Grande…in Ohio!
This is fun! OK, trying not to get off track here, but the Evergreen State College mascot is the Geoduck. Pronounced (gooey duck). It is a giant edible saltwater clam. Evergreen is a very interesting place, anyway.
@Ruby789 Nothing can beat Rhode Island School of Design’s mascot. GO NADS!
Tufts always makes me think of the medicated pads, and what they are known to be treatment for…
@LostTexan , that had me laughing out loud! And I agree with you and the CA State names, @whenhen. On another thread, it was mentioned my DD might want to consider Occidental College. Apparently, it is hard for her to get past the name, so she probably won’t…
St. Lawrence University…always has been secular, named for the river
St. Mary’s University of Maryland…public, named for the town.
Miami University and University of Miami
Washington University and University of Washington…the former officially added “in St. Louis” to its name to lessen confusion although someone here on CC asked to be chanced to the University of Washington in St. Louis.