I’m sure there are but that wasn’t my friend’s child. Hopefully someone else will chime in!
I think “sporty” but not jocks if that makes sense. It’s an “academics come first” kind of environment– and then comes music, theater, fine arts, sports, etc.
I am curious why you think that. I would describe him as very very sporty and not remotely nerdy or artsy so I am curious what, besides better aid at St O’s makes you think that it’s a better fit.
I’m so sorry! I think I’m getting your twins mixed up!
I think Mac sounds like a great fit for this kid. When we toured our guide was trans and clearly loved the school. Nice combo of welcoming environment plus kids playing pick-up games of various sports on the quad. If brother likes U of Minnesota then even better.
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Looks like both are into sports, but differently. Looks like one plays soccer possibly at a college varsity level, while the other is likely to want to do sports at a club level, as well as sports photography and video.
They do both love sports, but in different ways.
Twin 1 (Sports media kid being discussed here) IIves, eats and breathes sports. He does not have the potential to be recruited, but definitely wants a school that is “sporty”.
His brother (aka Twin 2) is a very good soccer player, and is getting attention from D1 coaches. But he also has lots of other interests. He would love a school filled with nerdy artists, although not St. Olaf since it doesn’t have engineering.
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Even though you had already described your child this way, you have received lots of recommendations for artsy colleges. And even though you mentioned CS, data analytics and finance as areas of interest, you have received recommendations for schools as if your child would like to major in communications or visual arts (although you did mention Newhouse, photography and film). Then there’s your child’s interest in pursuing outdoor activities, which seems to have been largely ignored.
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I missed the note about interest in outdoor activities. In that case, I double down on Lewis and Clark and University of Puget Sound.
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Note that both of these schools are suggested in this site:
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Yes, Minnesota is a really trans-friendly state. University of Minnesota was one of the pioneers of trans-affirming care starting in the 1960s. UMN itself is very trans friendly. So is Macalester (cute neighborhood in St. Paul near the Capitol.) Augsburg is also very trans friendly, has great professors, is within walking distance of UMN, and is a safety for admissions. However the downside might be that it has a more local draw. Would your son feel comfortable attending a school without a large population of out-of-state students? Carleton and St. Olaf (both 45 minutes away) would also be trans-friendly, but these are in a small town, and the pool of students can feel small after a while for some students. (St. Kate’s could also be trans-friendly, but it’s a women’s college, so wouldn’t work for a transman.)
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Warren Wilson is on the Outdoorsy Colleges list too. And super duper trans friendly. At least a few years ago more than half the student body identified as LGBTQ, with many of those as T, but I don’t know if WWC is strong in or has the major the @Twoin28’s son wants. Super outdoorsy, though. Might be worth checking out.
They are really good in mountain biking (often nationally ranked) and have a lot of opportunities for things like hiking and rock climbing, but don’t have a football team or anything like that. They do have soccer and basketball for traditional sports, but not sure if that would fit what this kid is looking for. Maybe, though. I think WWC could be worth a visit just because it’s such a beautiful part of the country and Asheville is such a cool city. Easy to have a nice vacation there and stop by WWC and check it out.
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I think he’d be fine with a lot of instate students, but maybe I am missing why that would be a concern? If he’s going to Minnesota in part because he feels like people from Minnesota might be safe and kind and welcoming, wouldn’t more people from Minnesota be better? Although I also think other people who choose Minnesota would be his people.
The schools he has liked when he toured with Dad (note, we are divorced and his dad and I don’t see eye to eye on the “start with your safeties” part) are mostly small and rural. What are the towns around Carleton and St. Olaf like? Would he feel welcome off campus?
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I’m not sure WWC is a fit, which is probably good because I don’t think I will be able to convince him to even look in NC or any other Southern State.
But even if WWC relocated to Vermont, my impression is that it is more hippie and less sporty than he is.
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Are there options we should look at in either Southern California, or Rhode Island. He is going to be in both this summer so I am wondering if there are schools to see there.
My non binary kid attended Chapman University (Orange, CA) which may be worth a look. And at least when mine was admitted, good academic merit money was offered.
They are best known for their film school, but also strong music programs. Plenty of sports teams and intramural options, especially for such a small student population.
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Thank you! I had heard about Chapman’s film, and dance programs, but I didn’t know they had a sports documentary major, or data science or some other things he’s interested in. We will check it out!
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The concern is that colleges without a national draw don’t have a national name or national prestige. Also the students they serve are very typical of the area. So for example, Gustavus is a mostly regional rural LAC. The education is great (a regular poster here on CC had their National Merit Scholar student thrive there), but the students are typical of non-urban Minnesotans – in other words an abundance of blond people of Scandinavian extraction. In a similar vein, Augsburg pulls a student population that is typical of the urban Minnesota neighborhood where it is located. I love them for this, but it’s an unusual student population: lots of Somali-Americans. Also lots of students with neuro-atypia (because they provide lots of supports for this) and LGBTQ+ students (because they committed to this in the 1980s way before anywhere else) and students with history of substance use disorders (because of their incredible Step-Up program to support such students.)
So basically both Gustavus and Augsburg have my heart. But both are “fit” schools and neither will buy you prestige points.
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Northfield is cute and accepting. 45 minutes away is Mpls/St. Paul which is also accepting. In between there are exburbs with nothing special to see. Doubt your son would ever have reason to go there, although it would be safe enough if he did, just boring.
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Is the combination of small lac, safety, and national prestige realistic?
He will have schools that are prestigious on his reach list, but that can’t be his whole list.
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