College fit help!! Small LAC (Middleburry & Davidson) to Bigger Universities (Duke, Tulane, Wake)

College Search & Lists
1

I have been researching, visiting, and looking into colleges heavily the past few months, yet finding an ideal place for me to spend four years seems to be a lot harder than I feel like it should be. If you could, please try to tell me what you think id be most successful in, or at least enjoy in a college experience.

I am a male senior in high school who is very sociable, outgoing, and good at making new friends. I play varsity basketball, participate in a ton of clubs (president of two), manage the girls soccer team, love community service (I swear I am not just saying that), have good stats (32 ACT 4.0 GPA (5.0 W)).

I’m leaning a little bit to the idea I would prefer a smaller school because of small class sizes, personal professor relationships, more a student based college feel, and from my tours it feels like they have more of a community within the school. However, I also would like a mid size school (Wake, Duke, Tulane) since there are often more events, school pride, more people, potentially more resources and opportunities for research and internships, things to do, etc. I also don’t want to look back and feel like I missed the “true college experience”. My current list is:

Bowdoin, Davidson, Duke, Emory, Middleburry, UNC, Northwestern, Trinity University, Tulane, Wake Forest, Williams

I know this a range from small LAC to research universities, but they all have aspects I really like and I am still trying to cut off one or two of those schools.

I know touring is a huge part of college decisions, and I have been able to tour Duke, Tulane, Davidson, Wake, and Emory. Since I live in NC, my parents have agreed to take me to tour the more northern schools once we find out which schools (if any) I get accepted to.

As far as my tours, I loved Davidson’s small college town vibe, as well as the buildings athletics, and campus. I also loved Wakes campus a ton, and their athletics is also a nice addition. Duke is lovely, yet right in my backyard since I lived in Durham most of my life. Tulane’s atmosphere and campus was great, and it seemed that most students there seemed genuinely glad to be there. I wasn’t a huge fan of Emory (don’t know exactly why… maybe the whole city vibe, maybe it was just a bad day) but as someone who is planning to go medical, I am open to it as a option.

Although I am social and into sports, none of that is going to be a make or break factor. I want to go somewhere where I can go to many social outings and meet new people, but I don’t need a college that is dependent on party’s 24/7. I just want a quality education where I will be happy and able to achieve some great accomplishments. At the moment the plan is to go to medical school, although I know this could very well change.

I have a good feeling I will be fine as as student at any of these colleges, just I really want to go somewhere I will enjoy and be truly happy.

I know none of you know me personally, but I hope this info can lead you to help me at least a little bit. Any feedback is much appreciated!

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Based on what you have written, I’d think you’d prefer one of the smaller colleges you have listed. As for the “‘true college experience,’” I’d say the smaller schools would offer you this at least as much as, or perhaps more than, the larger ones. (NESCAC schools, in particular, carry forth distinctly collegiate traditions.) Along these lines, your undergraduate years would be the only time you could choose to experience a purely undergraduate-focused environment as a student.

The above said, continue to weight the experience of your own visits heavily.

3

I think there’s often this idea on CC and other places that each student would only be happy at one “type” of school, and that you should only apply to that one type - e.g., there’s an “LAC type” kid who should only apply to LACs; a “big public university” type kid who should only apply to those schools, etc.

But that’s not true. There’s a lot of diversity within types of colleges and universities, and many students like yourself like many aspects that are diverse across places. The same student who might be really happy at Middlebury or Davidson might also be really happy at Duke or Tulane. It just depends on your preferences and values.

The other thing is that although LACs are known for their small class sizes and personal relationships with professors, there are many mid-sized universities that offer that as well - because they have low student to teacher ratios, for example. For example, Davidson has just under 2,000 undergrads and 170 full-time faculty members, for a student-faculty ratio of 10:1. Wake Forest has about 2.5 times as many students (almost 5,000 undergrads) but 4 times as many full-time faculty members (690). It’s ranked very highly for undergraduate teaching. Duke has nearly 3,500 faculty members, although a sizable chunk of those are medical and other professors who teach at Duke’s graduate-only schools or only do research. I have met students who came from universities and colleges of all sizes who had meaningful close relationships with one or more professors who helped shepherd them into graduate school or careers or what have you.

The opposite is true, too - I went to a small LAC with a very thriving social life (and party scene). It was not far from downtown Atlanta, so we took advantage of all that the city had to offer and formed tight-knit bonds with each other, too. I hung out a lot with my sisters but also people from other colleges as well. There were tons of events every week, even during the weekdays! I loved the social experience of my small LAC. Not every small LAC is like that, but I wouldn’t assume that because a college is small they have less pride or fewer events - nor would I assume that because a school is large they have more. There are some places that have a more academic focus to them (Emory?)

Anyway I see no reason why you can’t apply to a range of colleges on your list and then decide in April which one you’d rather attend, based on where you are admitted. If you aren’t a huge fan of Emory, slash it from your list. Every school on your list is a good place to go pre-med.

One suggestion: You’ve got four elite liberal arts colleges with very low acceptance rates (Bowdoin, Davidson, Middlebury, and Williams). Might you want to replace one or two of them with more match liberal arts colleges (University of Richmond, Bates, Skidmore, Occidental, Rhodes, Sewanee, Trinity College, Bard, Furman?) You’ve got a decent mix with your mid-sized universities already, although adding a safe school or two can’t hurt (Elon?)

Since you’re from NC UNC might be a good match school for you, or maybe a safety, but why not add one or two more NC public universities on there? UNCW or UNC-Asheville might be a good match for someone who wants a liberal arts college vibe; NCSU is another great big school.

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With respect to your medical career ambitions, your schools generally do well on an online list, “The Experts’ Choice: Colleges with Great Pre-med Programs.” Emory falls under the “top choice” category; Bowdoin, Davidson, Duke, Northwestern, Wake Forest and Williams receive “honorable mentions.”

5

I was going to say that Lafayette might be a nice addition to the list as a somewhat easier admit to the other super selective NE LACs already on your list. Or Bucknell.