Helping my sibling think about college

davidlw91
Sat, 01 Sep 2012 09:34:47 +0000

So my sister is a junior in high school and the time has come for us to start thinking about colleges. My sister and I are American/European but our family lives in the Middle East. My sister isn’t 100% sure of where she’d like to go or what she’d like to do, but I think she is culturally more American and would fit in well at a medium-sized school in the USA. Location isn’t too important and we are thinking private schools might end up being cheaper since we don’t get in-state tuition anywhere (though public schools are not out of the question). Basically, we are thinking a student body in the range of 2,000-10,000 would be nice, and a liberal arts curriculum would make sense for the type of person she is. She has said that being able to do outdoorsy things like hikes would be a plus, and I think a school that encourages its students to join clubs and societies would be good for her since she likes meeting new people, but needs a secure base of friends she can return to. Climate isn’t too important, and I think she would prefer an atmosphere where partying isn’t everyone’s favorite thing to do on the weekend.

I know these parameters are quite vague, but we’re just trying to get an idea of where to start looking. There are so many schools in the USA that even beginning the search can be quite a challenge! Any suggestions you have would be great.

Thanks!