Thank you so much @BooBooBear . I appreciate all the time you gave me. Your explanation of the Classics program was wonderful. We will review each of the colleges programs with the guidelines and suggestions you gave us. Also, my D and I really appreciate the advice and suggested plan on the languages. It is great to know ahead of time so we can get an early start on them.
I also just wanted to thank everyone who took the time to give us research information, information links, school suggestions and descriptions, and things to reconsider as we make our choice. You are all truly a wonderful and informative group of people on this site.
Personally, I might rule out Rhodes, because I heard that Memphis has a high crime rate. Someone correct me if Iâm wrong. I have been to Bucknell and Colgate, and think both campuses and their downtowns are very nice. Which school is easy to get to in terms of travel?
@citymama9
Our closest school is 8 hours away by car and the farthest away is 12 hours. Even though itâs the farthest away, the easiest and most direct school to get to is Rhodes by plane. The campus and area surrounding Rhodes seemed very safe along with a lot of the downtown area (near the Fedx arena) seemed fine if she is with a group of friends, from our past visits. Itâs definitely not as safe as the other two, but if anyone has any experiences that differ from mine I would really appreciate hearing it.
We have a good friend whose kid attended Rhodes, and loved it, going into town regularly for music, food, volunteering/internships etc. Like any major city, you want to be smart, and Rhodes emphasized smart strategies for enjoying city life. I would not see Memphis as a reason not to embrace Rhodes.
I suppose Iâd just add that kids often major in something other than what they think they will major in before they begin collegeâŠso I wouldnât base the decision solely on the rep of that one department.
The city of Memphis is mostly a pro for Rhodes, in my opinion: it offers great music and food.
As for majors: they will all offer some variety if she moves away from Classics. It sounds to me like the OP and daughter should be checking out language offerings (at least Latin, Greek, German, French), the Classics offerings obviously, distribution requirements, and the faculty mix.
It might be more convenient to take care of the language load entirely at the chosen school, but there are probably worse places to spend a summer than Middlebury.
I know nothing about Rhodes and avoid the South in general.
Of the other two, from visiting and knowing graduates of both, I would say Colgate over Bucknell and it is not close. Bucknell has both schools of management and engineering taking up bandwidth.
One Bucknell friend, a very successful student who was nominated for a Rhodes scholarship, felt like his department (History) was always low priority. He was happy to leave, never really felt the college had the intellectual vibe. He ended up leveraging that education into a job filling out paperwork for an electrical distributor.
Colgate, OTOH, despite its greek life and sporty students, has graduated some of the most thoughtful and accomplished people I have ever met. I strongly encouraged S2 to apply despite it not having his desired major.
Another thing, just my opinion - I think location, surrounding town, weather, are all over-valued. Unless the choice is between Deep Springs and NYU, put it low on the list. Students spend 98% of their time within the confines of the university, mainly indoors, and will find location appropriate activities. The right peer group is the important thing. Campuses with the happiest students are from all over the map.
@Magnetron I donât think students who go to Tulane would agree with you about the location not being relevant. I also was reading how students at SMU really use Dallas for their nightlife and internships.
I agree, itâs not irrelevant, but it is overvalued. A Tulane student who finds ways to have fun in New Orleans would also find ways to have fun in Duluth or Walla Walla. College fit is mostly about the students and faculty, then curriculum, then resources. If Tulane suddenly switched locations with Bob Jones University, Tulane students would be happier studying at Tulane in Greenville SC than at BJU in New Orleans.
Do they have Mardi Gras in Greenville SC? 
@Magnetron
While I agree with you in that Colgate is a little more âintellectualâ than Bucknell (Bucknell has a bit of a pre-professional feel) and you do make a good point about Colgateâs greater focus on humanities, I disagree that the two schools are not even âcloseâ. They do attract the same types of kids and you do find some kids choosing B over C for a variety of reasons. I would say they are close to being peers, but Colgate gets the edge
For overall rep, it probably goes Colgate>Bucknell>Rhodes, with not much space between them.
Two things that lessen the importance of rep for the OPâs daughter:
- These are all very good LACs; the kid is not going to exhaust the academic resources of any of these schools, nor stick out like a sore thumb as "the smart one" (since they all have strong students). All three are more than capable of providing her a very good education and she'll be learning alongside other smart kids.
- This student is interested in Classics, and potentially a PhD to follow -- not Economics or History or Biology. This thread has given witness to just how demanding a Classics BA and Classics PhD prep is. Therefore, the most important thing is academic fit. (I think it usually is important anyway, but in this case it sounds like she needs a fairly specific course path/sequence to prepare herself.)
If two or more are tied on academic fit, maybe then she can use social and environmental fit to break the tie, and if they are still tied, then (and only then) can reputation enter this equation.
Thanks @wisteria100 for keeping me grounded. I only meant that MY preference between the two if my kid were going to study Classics would be clear. I really like Bucknell, applied when I was going, and S2 had it on his list for a while. Others, obviously, weight collegesâ traits differently.
I try to be clear but brief, kind of lost control of both on that one. Re-reading my posts sometimes is like listening to a recording of my own voice.
@prezbucky
Iâm curious, from your posts you seem to be well informed regarding the various schools, about your above comment #31. Are you saying that Rhodes or Bucknell are not good in History or Biology? I want to make sure that no matter what school my DD attends the school is good in other subjects in case she would change majors or even just taking various classes. From Ruggâs 2017 recommendations it puts Colgate, Bucknell, Rhodes in the most selective category for Biology and History. Fiske guide stated Rhodes had strong programs in Biology and History and Bucknell in Biology. Are these ratings wrong? Is there some where else we should be looking? DD wants to be sure of her final choice when she makes it.
@5anddone
No, I only meant that History, Biology, and Econ are likely among the more robust majors at just about any LAC, so if she were majoring in one of those, you probably wouldnât need to scour the course catalogs and map out the sequencing quite as diligently as you probably should for the Classics â given all the extra language work thatâs apparently necessary and due to the potentially varying breadth of Classics courses at these schools. Thatâs all I meant â Hist/Econ/Bio wouldnât require as much course/scheduling scrutiny, probably.
@prezbucky
Thanks, I understand now. I was starting to worry that all my research was not accurate. Where we live most people are not familiar with the LACs outside our state so I have been relying on books and CC. May 1st canât come soon enough for me as a parent.
I did some checking on languages offered.
All three offer plenty of French and German.
Colgate and Bucknell list multiple Greek and Latin language courses, in sequence, on their web sites; but finding info on individual Greek and Latin language courses at Rhodes was inconclusive. You should double-check me, but to my eye it appears Colgate and Bucknell â at least according to their web sites â have a Greek & Latin advantage over Rhodes.
Edit: OK, I found this for Rhodes â scroll down a bit:
https://www.rhodes.edu/departments/spanish-german-russian-french-chinese/language-placement
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@prezbucky
Thank you so much for your help. I couldnât find that page earlier.
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Sure, no problem. I learned something by looking up those Greek and Latin courses and seeing some of the other Classics topics.
I actually picked up a few used books, years back, that might fit the major:
Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War
Herodotus: The Histories
Plutarch: Fall of the Roman Republic
âŠand Homerâs âOdysseyâ.
Of course, my copies are in English. One day your daughter might read them in Greek and Latin.
What a great problem to have! I think from an academic perspective you really canât go wrong. The other piece is about student culture and location. Bucknell and Colgate share a âcollege townâ feelâŠsmall, quaint, interesting community and beautiful campuses. Rhodes is different - more urban, stunning campus as well, but not bucolic - access to a really engaging and dynamic city is interesting and, depending on where you are from, the chance to live in a different part of the country is always educational. One thing I did think about, too, is that the Brookings Museum has a collection of Ancient Art âThe Brooksâ holdings of ancient Western art include works from cultures around the Mediterranean Sea. Dating between ca. 1400 B.C.E. to 100 C.E., the collection represents Greek artâfrom both the mainland and southern Italian colonies, and pieces by Roman and Egyptian artists. It includes ceramic vessels, textiles, and metalwork as well as stone carving and mosaic. Among the museumâs notable works is a pair of late Roman sarcophagus panels depicting The Good Shepherd and a Greco-Roman torso of Pan. Complementing the Brooksâ holdings is a collection of ancient objects from around the Mediterranean and the Middle East which are on long-term loan from the Clarence Day Foundation. These comprise ceramics, metalwork, glass, and stone carving, ranging in date from ca.2000 B.C.E. to 1100 C.E. Highlights of the Day collection include Roman portrait busts, a Greek funeral stele, and a Byzantine censor.â So if your student is interested in that angle, I bet Rhodes, noted for internships and using the city, would work hard to make that connection - in other words, there might be other advantages. The Greek and Latin studies offers a great deal and from what I can ascertain, the faculty invest a lot in their students at each place. You could certainly reach out and find out where they are pursuing graduate studies, etc. if you havenât already. Hope this helps!