Thank you! That’s the type of thing you just can’t tell from the description.
Ah Smith - it’s been on again, off again on the list. It just seems SO INTENSE…and my daughter likes the idea of work-life balance. Mt Holyoke just seems ‘friendly’ 
It’s probably my own bias from researching.
It’s a 30-min walk to town, so doable but not super-easy. My S24 is starting there this fall and I’m sure will be making frequent runs (literal runs, since he does XC/TF) for fast food.
Amherst and Bowdoin are adjacent to cute towns. Wesleyan is pretty integrated with Middletown. Hamilton is an unpleasant trek to the town of Clinton.
Terminology is so difficult – I’ll try to describe and you can label!
So Macalester has this beautiful little green space…dorms are 2 minutes from the dining hall and about a easy 10 minute walk (at a relaxed pace) from the classrooms. But on every side is residential city area. The dorms are literally across the street (2 minutes?) from the a pizza place, bakery and used book store.
She loves that the campus has it’s own defined borders BUT town is just a hop, skip and jump away.
While the University of Kansas - it’s NOT a far walk from parts of town (after all some kids live off campus) --but the campus is really big (sprawling) and feels less connected to the town.
So I feel like its a combination fo campus size AND connection to town. KU probably loses out a lot because it is BIG in terms of people and campus size. So a double wammy.
A few others that quickly pop to mind.
On the reach side:
Wesleyan University, vey integrated into Middletown, the university bookstore is actually in the town.
On the target/safety side:
Gonzaga is easily walkable into downtown Spokane.
SUNY Geneseo has a nice small town and the campus is well integrated. It is a lovely school that is often overlooked outside of NYS.
Hobart and William Smith is tightly coupled with Geneva and sits adjacent to a beautiful lake
Ithaca College is a short walk from downtown Ithaca.
Not everyone at Smith is intense…and I don’t think I’d describe the academic vibe that way either. Has she visited? Wellesley is a little more intense academically- but it’s in a gorgeous (high end) suburb of Boston with a beautiful shopping area, easy access to Cambridge and Boston (the college runs its own van service in addition to public transportation). BC?
Ok, I understand what you are saying. It sounds like she just loves the look and feel of Macalester - which is totally understandable, it is beautiful.
I’m not sure there is much functional difference between “integrated” and “adjacent”, but sometimes we just love what we love. Hopefully she can see lots of cool colleges that fit her interests, aesthetic desires, vibe, and your budget.
Thanks it will go back on the list. Wellesley has become Ivy league hard to get into. I want her to apply to more places with rationale chances of getting in with just 1-2 ultra reaches (W&L, Brown)
“Hopefully she can see lots of cool colleges that fit her interests, aesthetic desires, vibe, and your budget.” --that’s the trick.
She is ALSO realistic. She like “Mom, I’ll go to an okay school if we get really good financial aid” --and I appreciate the thoughtfulness - I’m just hoping to get a good combination of ‘I love this place’ and ‘it’s affordable’.
Now that we’ve done some visits - her preferences are begin to show -and that is helping decrease the list. I just don’t want her wasting application time on a place she would never really want to go
ok - yeah, I can’t imagine a W&M making the cut.
Looks like more suggestions are coming. I’ll have to look at your chance me and budget, etc. Perhaps an automerit somewhere will work.
UT Chatt could fit - yes, it’s a regional, local type school - but tuition is (this year) 10,144 + 8,064 OOS and room and board is listed at $10,052 - so $28.3K ish - plus travel, personal, etc.
It looks like it’s not automatic but a 3.75 and 29 ACT can get you $5K.
It’s a great name locally - everyone loves it - probably because Chattannooga is a really cool city for foodies and outdoor enthusiasts.
UAH will be less - it’s a mid size in Huntsville (the city) - integrated is such a tough word.
If KU doesn’t work due to size, how about K State - it has such a great reputation on here. I know Manhattan is not Lawrence so I’m guessing not but the school itself isn’t as big.
I don’t know the answer but maybe you can research - yes, beneath your student academically but on a budget, would any of these (for safety purposes) work?
They run shuttle buses around town. Most kids don’t walk it.
Another school that runs shuttles, but Carleton is more integrated into the town.
It’s kind of tucked into a corner, but kids can walk into town.
Definitely a part of the town, but it’s more of a small city than a town.
Part of Worcester, but not “the best part” of Worcester.
Her brother is going to KState! He LOVED the community–they are so friendly and student-centered. For him, it’s a great match. But I’d call it sprawling, and it lacks the small class size that is her biggest priority.
She’s trying to get out of the “fly over state Midwest”. Nothing wrong with this area -but she wants to explore! She’s okay with the Great Lakes states (hence, how I was able to get her to visit Macalester which she ended up really liking.)
Ditto Smith College and Northampton. Surprised no one has mentioned Wesleyan University and Middletown - defined campus on a hill, but an easy roll into a small city business district. In fact, the campus bookstore doubles as a RJJulia outlet on Main Street.
Not an LAC, but depending on what she wants to study, Champlain College fits size and campus.
Depending on how you feel about a Catholic LAC, Stonehill College.
Take a look at Davidson. The NPC might work for you and it is easy to navigate the campus and walk to shops and restaurants. Might not be as bustling as your D wants.
Macalester is extremely hard to match, or even get very close to, for a compact campus in a fantastic urban (or call it semi-urban) location.
That said, I am a little surprised Barnard has not come up yet (as far as I can tell). Obviously kinda special case, but as I recall their campus is right up Broadway from a commercial area.
Tulane has a defined, relatively compact campus that adjoins to a neighborhood that has restaurants, coffeeshops, and bars. (I went to a “sprawling” midwestern flagship, so that’s my perspective.) Not an easy admit, but showing lots of demonstrated interest helps. Adjacent to Tulane is Loyola New Orleans also abuts a more residential part of the neighborhood. The more “happening” restaurants/shops are closer to Tulane, but it’s definitely not a far walk, and Loyola and Tulane students can take classes on the other’s campus.
And when I say that they’re adjacent to one another, I mean that literally. The grey limestone-looking buildings are Tulane and the brick buildings on the far right are the start of Loyola’s campus.
I’ll just mention that the attributes of school your kid wants may change – even while keeping Macalester on the list, she may find schools with other attributes that she likes that differ. For instance, my d wanted to be in or near a city (but with a defined campus) at first, but ended up choosing a school in a small town. So while I totally support building a list now based on the info you have, the criteria may change.
In that category, have you looked at some of the Jesuit colleges out west? I don’t recall all the details but I remember thinking like Seattle University and University of San Francisco had pretty good locations in obviously highly desirable cities.
Less far west, maybe St Louis University?
Whitman would be another good one. Walla Walla is great and it’s right in town.
Has anyone mentioned Pitt? It’s very integrated into the city. All types of food just a short walk from the dorms. The campus area itself is fairly compact. They do have shuttle buses that go up to Upper Campus but that’s because it’s a very steep hill. It’s walkable if you’re so inclined. But maybe it’s too city for the OP.
