<p>What are major colleges in the South where a kid from the North (Pennsylvania) would fit in just fine?</p>
<p>It might help if you describe what the student is looking for in a college, ranging from the basics like academic programs and majors and cost limitations to social fit factors like small vs. large, how big a presence fraternities and sororities are, etc…</p>
<p>Well-known college such as University of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Clemson Univeristy, etc…</p>
<p>I am from PA (but I am half-southern) and I am looking mostly in the South (as I am really much more Southern than Northern in how I act). I believe that you can go anywhere in the South. But, if you are looking for somewhere with more non-Southerners, private schools are your best bet. Duke and Vandy are both very national, as are Richmond and Miami.</p>
<p>finally, an OP who leaves ucbalumnus without anything to say! geez, ucb, I didn’t think there was anything you couldn’t answer ;+)</p>
<p>how about you tell us what is important to you, OP? I’m from Pennsy. Give me a city I’ll recognize and whatever else you can tell me about yourself. Do you like D1 sports? do you like beer on a regular basis? can you see yourself rooting for a rebel sports team? can you name any southern foods? if the waitress offers you iced tea, is it sweet or unsweetened you’re getting? is the South going to rise again? Lucinda Williams or Skynyrd?</p>
<p>I would like a college with good Division 1 sports and a party school, doesn’t have to a huge party school though. I have a lot if family that live in NC so I visit there often. however a private college is probably not an option due to the expenses</p>
<p>What are your stats- i.e. could you be competitive at a UNC, UVA, or Texas. If not (or if you are a NMF and/or could get into the honors colleges), Oklahoma, Alabama, and South Carolina would be good choices. Florida, Georgia, Clemson, NC State, College of Charleston, Auburn, Texas A&M, and FSU are probably also worth taking a look at. Run the EFC on Duke, Vandy, Wake Forest, Davidson, Richmond, Miami, Tulane, and Rice before ruling them out due to costs.</p>
<p>Duke is a well-known Southern school with so many Northerners it has been nicknamed, “The State University of New Jersey at Durham”. Davidson, Vanderbilt, Richmond, and the University of Miami also draw relatively many Northerners. Like Duke, they are selective private schools.</p>
<p>The University of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Clemson are state universities that draw fewer Northerners (on a percentage basis). However, if they are examples of what you are looking for in a college, then you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a college in the South where you’d fit in just fine. </p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/Interactive-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=134130]Where”>http://chronicle.com/article/Interactive-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=134130]Where</a> Does Your Freshman Class Come From? - Students - The Chronicle of Higher Education<a href=“Florida”>/url</a>
[url=<a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/Interactive-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=198419]Where”>http://chronicle.com/article/Interactive-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=198419]Where</a> Does Your Freshman Class Come From? - Students - The Chronicle of Higher Education<a href=“Duke”>/url</a></p>
<p>Perhaps Tulane or UMiami would fit the bill. If you put in your GPA/SAT you might get advice better targeted to your situation.</p>
<p>It really depends what you want. You can go to a big state school like Chapel Hill or a small LAC.</p>
<p>Never thought I’d see Lucinda Williams mentioned on CC.</p>
<p>rice university</p>
<p>“half southern”</p>
<p>lol…I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone refer to themselves as “half southern” (because I assume you mean that one parent is from the south). lol</p>
<p>What are your stats? How much will your parents pay each year?</p>
<p>Alabama has kids coming from all over. The last few freshmen classes have been over 50% OOS. Kids are from all 50 states. You’d probably fit in fine.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to a thread where many of this year’s applicants to Bama have posted where they are from
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1538248-class-of-18-roll-call-who-s-applied-and-who-s-been-accepted.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1538248-class-of-18-roll-call-who-s-applied-and-who-s-been-accepted.html#latest</a></p>
<p>My husband and I are both originally from Pennsylvania. I went to Syracuse (undergrad) and UPenn (grad) and my husband went to Pitt. We have lived in Northern Virginia for the past 16 years. My kids seem to think that we live in the south, despite the fact that very few people living in the DC suburbs, even those on the Virginia side, are actually from here, let alone from the south. That said, my daughter is now a senior, and like most of the kids in her high school class of 500, wants to go south if they do not go to a Virginia state school such as Virginia Tech, JMU, UVA (which has the most southern culture of them all), Radford etc. I saw a list of the top 20 schools where kids from her high school matriculate, and almost all are south of us. The list included the University of South Carolina, Georgia and Clemson too. I was surprised, though, to hear how many kids ended up leaving USC, Georgia and Clemson after one semester, or after freshman year. Our high school is very competitive and nationally ranked, so it isn’t that they were not academically prepared. In speaking with the parents of some of these kids, I heard a lot of “they just didn’t feel like they fit in.” I know that when I was looking at colleges almost 30 years ago, and coming from Pennsylvania, I didn’t look any further south than Washington DC. There is a definite culture shift. For instance, at a lot of the southern schools, the kids get all dressed up for football games, and at some schools, for classes. I remember rolling out of bed and wearing pajamas to my 8 am classes! Many of the southern schools we looked at look are very preppy, and look like Vineyard Vines or Lilly Pulitzers advertisements. Some also still struggle with racial and religious prejudices, especially in their Greek systems. Some have the “old money” status issues. I don’t intend to lump ALL southern schools into such a broad generalization. I am only drawing from what we saw when we visited potential schools for my daughter, or from when the parents/kids of students at some of these schools said. Plenty of kids from here go south and love it. But depending on where you go, it’s still a different world, much like it might be for a scholarship student from a very underprivileged city who goes to Harvard. I think many schools in Florida manage to avoid these “southern school” stereotypes. Almost everyone I know who goes to UMiami is from the North. Ditto Rollins College. Just depends on the school I suppose.</p>
<p>And as I hit post, the Today Show just told me it is 4 degrees in Syracuse, New York, with a wind chill of -22. What was I thinking? My daughter has the right idea!</p>
<p>The 25 Best Southern Colleges - Forbes 2013</p>
<p><a href=“Top 25 Best Southern Colleges 2013”>http://www.forbes.com/sites/specialfeatures/2013/08/07/top-25-best-southern-colleges-2013/</a></p>
<p>Here are a few:</p>
<ol>
<li>Duke University</li>
<li>Southern Methodist University</li>
<li>University of North Carolina</li>
<li>Tulane University</li>
<li>Southwestern University</li>
<li>Trinity University</li>
</ol>
<p>Dolly, that’s interesting. We’re from the DC burbs as well, and last spring, after my D toured Elon, Davidson, and Sewanee, she stated, “I don’t want to go south.” I didn’t asked why as I was just happy to narrow the field at that point. But I suspect some of the issues you mention played a part in her decision.</p>
<p>We definitely found some southern schools “too” southern, top of her list for that was UVA. I think she felt thatr Elon was more laid back, although we went in the summer when the kids were not there. We are going back in two weeks, so she may just change her mind about the whole south thing. I will say we noticed a definitely difference in the friendliness and approachability of the people we met at the southern schools we check out: Elon, Wake Forest, JMU, High Point. People there held doors open, said hello, were open and friendly etc. During a visit to Syracuse, people let the door close right behind them and ignored us. Even in follow up phone calls to the NC schools, everyone has been truly lovely. Where did your daughter decide to apply? Are you in the Maryland or Virginia suburbs? Hope it is all working out for you and your daughter. I can’t wait until it’s OVER…and then I get to do it three more times :)</p>
<p>It’s funny, my in-laws live right off the Blue Ridge Parkway in western NC, and our whole family loves to visit. It’s beautiful country, and I concur, the people are very nice. We live in the Maryland burbs. D has applied to 4 PA schools, 3 Ohio, 1 in NY, and then College Park and St. Mary’s in-state. Agree with you, can’t wait until it’s over. This is our first time going thru the process, but we only have to do this one more time! Best of luck to your D.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids</p>
<p>I made the “half southern” comment, not the OP. Yes, I do mean that one of my parents is from the South. About Alabama, I only looked there after I found out about the NMF package, but I then applied and was accepted. It is one of 12 Southern colleges I applied to (with the lone rejection thus far coming ED at Duke).</p>