Looking for kiddo number 3. Both big kids went to large state schools in VA and New England. Number 3 is still unsure about playing sports in college, but could likely play womens’s lacrosse for D2/D3. She wants warmer weather than home in MA. Any ideas for smaller schools in the Southeast with great school spirit and a decent town? Sports can come second as we are still in the air there. Thoughts?
There are so many great places in the Carolinas.
Davidson, Wofford and Furman all come to mind as all having close knit campus communities and nice walkable options just off campus.
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I believe all three of those schools are D1.
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You may get better suggestions if you provide some information about your daughter’s academics. Emory,Washington and Lee, Sewanee and Rhodes College are all D3.
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Wow, I am shocked because of the size of those schools, but you are correct! I don’t understand college divisions at all! In the Northeast, those would all be d2/d3. Maybe that’s why I am struggling to find potential matches. Thanks!
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There are some smaller D1 schools up north as well. My S22 attends a medium sized D1 school in Virginia that just announced that their football program along with the University of Richmond will be moving to the Patriot League next year. The other teams in that conference include Lehigh, Lafayette, Colgate, and Holy Cross.
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Wow, ok, I am familiar with Holy Cross, but don’t know much about the others. Even Holy Cross shocks me as a D1. But, shows I have a lot to learn on this sports college search that we didn’t have to think about before.
What about D3 out West? Occidental, Claremont Colleges, Cal Lutheran, APU, or Point Loma? There are schools in the NW that’s warmer than the Northeast such as Lewis and Clark, Willamette, Reed.
Here’s a list of D3 schools:
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It is D1, but Mercer in Macon GA may be of interest.
Also see its competition in the Big South conference, Longwood, Wofford, Radnor.
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You need to give us guidance on the selectivity range for your daughter. Some of the schools suggested have sub-20% admit rates.
Also, define “decent town” :-).
Finally, what year is your daughter? Athletic recruiting starts early. I would figure out that piece, so you know if it will be a factor, or not, in the college process. It is harder to get recruited than many people think.
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She’s a sophomore defender, I’ve heard that there is a bit more flexibility with D3 in particular. Trying to cast a wide net as we think about lacrosse. So, less worried about selectivity right now and more concerned with feel of the school and town.
Decent town, meaning access to shops, restaurants, transportation 
That all makes sense, but what cinnamon1212 was saying is that if your D doesn’t have a rigorous curriculum and test score (hopefully she’s taking an ACT/SAT this summer) it may not make sense for posters to be suggesting highly rejective D3 schools like Emory, W&L, or the Claremont colleges as schools for her to apply, especially without her sport. There can be less academic flexibility for potential recruits in some D3 NESCAC and UAA schools than the Ivies.
Lastly, just to amplify some of the above, there is crossover between talent levels in all three NCAA divisions, so your D might consider some of the smaller D1 schools mentioned above if looking for a place to play her sport (I agree she should be casting a wide net.)
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Yup, totally get it. This is my third time at the college admissions rodeo, but first time potentially adding sports. Would have loved for my older kiddos to go to smaller universities, but they wanted larger schools, so it’s the small school world that’s new to me. Took her to a highly selective Nescac last week, just to get a feel for the environment. So, then once she finds a feel that she likes, we will whittle down to schools that match her stats. She’s also a two sport varsity athlete, so we can only really travel to look at schools in the summer and fall, so we need to cram things in.
Athletic recruiting is a different beast vs regular college admissions! It is harder. But the payoff is bigger.
I am 99% sure that recruiting for women’s lacrosse is well under way in 10th grade, and really ramps up this coming summer and next year – for D3. D1 is even further along.
So, it makes sense to check out colleges while doing their ID camps this summer. This will give you valuable feedback as to the athletic piece. And if coaches are interested, they can give valuable feedback as to the academic piece.
Your daughter’s club coach may be able to tell you what lacrosse level your daughter will be projected to play at. This is important, since it makes no sense to focus on schools where there’s little chance of being recruited.
I do see that sports is up in the air; I focused on it because if your daughter gets an offer, her odds of being admitted go from, say, 18% to 99%.
If sports is taken out of the equation then the college search becomes like any other. Check out the Oxford campus of Emory, Rhodes, Furman, W&L, U. Of Richmond, Mary Washington, Roanoke, Christopher Newport, Sewanee, Agnes Scott, Sweetbriar, etc etc etc.
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Thats because you live in the Northeast which is the worst college athletics geography in the country (I live in MA too, its just not the same as the rest of the country).
I understand you are experienced with college admissions, but my experience is that it’s better to really only consider schools that are within the realm of possibility, and not look at reach schools at the beginning. I vividly remember my oldest looking at DC area schools. After seeing Georgetown – which he had no hope of getting into – American, where he was competitive, just couldn’t compare, and he wouldn’t consider applying.
Reach schools are EASY to find! And can be added later in the process. It is often hard to find “safety” schools that the student is happy to attend.
Forgive me if you already know all this!
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A number of these are members of Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL) association which is a group of smaller colleges that were originally recognized by a NY Times editor for the quality of their instruction and college experience while having moderate admissions rates, and that later formed an association to market themselves. (CTCL includes Clark, Hampshire, and Bard among some northeastern schools near you). For those that are, I included a link to the CTCL profile which is marketing information, but that I think still gives a pretty good sense of each school.
I have no idea about the strength of the lacrosse programs, but College Navigator (feds’ website) indicates that these have varsity women’s lacrosse.
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Centre (KY): About 1400 undergrads at this D3 school. It’s a small town, but the shops and restaurants and such are easily accessible to students. Centre College – Colleges That Change Lives
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Christopher Newport (VA): About 4400 undergrads at this D3 school.
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Flagler (FL): About 2400 undergrads at this D2 school in the heart of historic Saint Augustine.
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Florida Southern: About 2600 undergrads at this D2 school.
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Guilford (NC): About 1200 undergrads at this D3 school. Guilford College – Colleges That Change Lives
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Hendrix (AR): About 1100 undergrads at this D3 school that I just wrote up about the other day here. Hendrix College – Colleges That Change Lives
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Oglethorpe (GA): About 1500 undergrads at this D3 school that’s part of the ARCHE consortium that allows students to cross-register at most Atlanta-area schools including Emory Agnes Scott, Georgia Tech, and Spelman.
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Randolph-Macon (VA): About 1500 undergrads at this D3 school.
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Rhodes (TN): About 1900 undergrads at this D3 school. Rhodes College – Colleges That Change Lives
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Roanoke (VA): About 1800 undergrads at this D3 school.
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Rollins (FL): About 2600 undergrads at this D2 school.
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U. of Lynchburg (VA): About 1800 undergrads at this D3 school. University of Lynchburg – Colleges That Change Lives
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U. of Mary Washington (VA): About 3600 undergrads at this D3 school.
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U. of Tampa (FL): About 10k undergrads at this D2 school if she realizes she wants a bigger school.
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I would look into Lindenwood, Lynn, Maryville U.
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Thank you all! This info is really helpful 
U Tampa is on the list!
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