Thank you! I’m feeling the need for some parameters!
I think you find students of all types even at W&M - where you have a b school as an example.
W&M has thoughtful kids - but I’m not sure quirkier than others. Many, for example, lump it with very preppy Richmond.
When other schools like Delaware are noted or UMD - then these are just large state schools. They’ll have many personality types.
While not resorty like Williamsburg, both share a similar ‘distance’ to city and Greek life is a bit tamped down at Miami due to no sorority houses.
I threw in OhioU due to proximity to home. Its tutorials may provide that intellectual/nerdy fit.
In the end, any large school can be made smaller. But not otherwise.
As for quirky - maybe Sarah Lawrence but not sure on the size or intellectual and science strength.
St Mary’s of Maryland is smaller but a public Honors college and on Reddit it says it’s got nerdy and quirky kids.
SUNY Geneseo is a bit bigger but a bit farther - but personality wise, could fit, in the Honors program.
Any thoughts on looking at more LACs? I know you said midsized if possible, but there are quite a lot within not too far from NoVa, and most would have a very different vibe from Swarthmore.
So many kids choose safeties over reaches they got into. That’s no issue. You are somewhere for four years, day after day. While no one can say until you experience it real time, you go to the one where you’ll feel best.
There are kids at most flagships that are Ivy level but choose it for whatever reason my daughters bff at school got into Vandy, Penn, and Rice and goes to a mid size public in Charleston and his accomplishments amaze me.
This is about your student. Not the others who want to see your student at their school.
So it’s wonderful to see many - but in the end, assuming affordability, she needs to pick the one where she feels at home.
Period. End of story.
Both mine did vs reaches. The first one works with kids from the very reach he declined. He said the reach had bad housing, weather, abd distance. I protested his choice but the kids know best.
Every year there’s threads about someone chose what they thought was the right school - usually that means highest ranked - and ended up miserable.
So she needs to follow her heart and not the cheerleaders.
Your student will be the same thoughtful, brilliant kid whether at GMU, W&M or Harvard. And don’t assume that the school will be easier simply because it has a lower rank or reputation like you surmised in the posted quote.
Good luck.
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Your daughter is choosing a major that will likely require some form of graduate school. It really won’t be the school that impresses a committee- it will be what she accomplishes while there.
As noted above, she is lucky to have W&M as an in state option. If that’s the school she chooses she will not go wrong.
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Great! There are some very nice places to eat around campus.
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I know 2 highly exceptional students (both are very “quirky”) who attended the University of South Carolina honors college. You indicated that your daughter would be open to exploring these types of programs.
They both loved their experiences and had the opportunity to present nationally and abroad.
One is currently working, while the other is in a competitive graduate program.
Enjoy your visit to Princeton!
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Enjoy your visit! Visiting schools sometimes helps with identifying both what she does want and what she doesn’t want in a school.
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Below are some schools that are within 250 miles of the 22030 zip code (somewhere in Fairfax, VA) sorted by my guesses as to a person’s chances for admission if they would be competitive for an admission to Princeton. This is not to say that she would prefer any of these institutions to William & Mary (fantastic in-state option!), but if you’re looking to build out a more complete list in case she doesn’t ED or doesn’t receive an ED acceptance, these are some schools she may want to consider.
Schools that are members of the Colleges That Change Lives association had their profiles linked, as I often feel that the more expansive narrative descriptions can give a better sense of the school, though one should still acknowledge that it is marketing information.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
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Allegheny (PA ): About 1400 undergrads, Allegheny College – Colleges That Change Lives
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Drew (PA ): About 1500 undergrads
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Duquesne (PA ): About 5100 undergrads and can take classes at Pitt or CMU or other Pittsburgh area schools
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Guilford (NC): About 1100 undergrads, Guilford College – Colleges That Change Lives
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Salisbury (MD): About 6400 undergrads and had one of the highest percentages of students who earned Fulbright scholarships the other year
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Susquehanna (PA ): About 2200 undergrads
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The College of New Jersey: About 7k undergrads
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U. of Delaware: About 19k undergrads
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U. of Maryland – Baltimore County: About 11k undergrads
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Virginia Commonwealth: About 21k undergrads (and it seems more her vibe than GMU or JMU)
Likely (60-79%)
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Binghamton (NY): About 14k undergrads
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Dickinson (PA ): About 2100 undergrads
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Fordham (NY): About 10k undergrads
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St. John’s (MD): About 500 undergrads in MD and about 400 undergrads in New Mexico. Obviously much smaller than she’s looking for, but the academic vibe might be right. St. John’s College – Colleges That Change Lives
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U. of Maryland: About 30k undergrads
Toss-Up (40-59%)
- Bryn Mawr (PA ): Women’s college of about 1400 undergrads in a consortium with Haverford & Swarthmore
Lower Probability (20-39%)
- North Carolina State: About 26k undergrads
Low Probability (less than 20%)
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Barnard (NY): About 3400 undergrads at this women’s college that’s strongly tied to Columbia
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Columbia (NY): About 8900 undergrads
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U. of North Carolina – Chapel Hill: About 20k undergrads
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You posted on your other thread that your family can probably “swing” about 30k a year. Is this still true? If it is, I would use the NPCs to see if the schools on your list are affordable.
I would use the NPC for Princeton before visiting.
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@2labs Wesleyan’s a great idea.
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I’ve only read about the first half of this thread but I wanted to say OP - I get it. Also a VA resident and my kid is adamant that he won’t got to JMU because “too many kids from his school go there” even though it makes a perfect safety. He won’t apply to UVA, which has his preferred major and is very strong in it, because “too many UVA kids are the people I hate.” So I get the not taking some of the local offerings.
I know someone mentioned Case Western earlier. One thing interesting about them is that there are a lot of medical and research options that might fit in with her science/researchy interest really well. We live in NoVa and when we toured it with my older son we found the campus to fit with that nerdy quirky vibe. More STEM-y than W&M, which has a little more humanities vibe, but it’s not a totally STEM school. Plus we were very pleasantly surprised by how much we liked Cleveland. CWRU does give good merit aid, but I think it’s one of the schools that tracks demonstrated interest, so might be a good place to visit.
And if you’re driving there, might as well drive through Pittsburgh and visit Pitt too - although it’s definitely a different vibe because it’s more city (although CWRU is technically in Cleveland, I’d say it’s kind of like how American is in DC, sure it is, but not really downtown and it feels like there’s neighborhoods around). Anyway, Pitt is a good mid-size and they have access to a lot of health/medical/bio resources. It should also be a likely for your daughter I’d think.
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Quirky is a relative term at Princeton. My friends who didn’t wear straw hats in their class photo were considered the quirky ones.
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If she is considering LACs, another that isn’t terribly far (about 5.5 hours) from NoVa – I used Alexandria, VA as a reference point – is Davidson.
U of Richmond, which has been mentioned, is another selective LAC that would be within that “five hour” time limit of NoVa.
However, Davidson is reputationally more artsy/quirky than URichmond, so I figured I should mention it.
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If you make the trek to Princeton you might want to swing by TCNJ. It’s about 20 minutes away and could be a good match/likely for your daughter.
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That’s a good idea. I’m not doing a great job on NPC’s. I have a feeling though that if she got in Princeton we might get some family support that we otherwise wouldn’t (sounds awful but probably true)
I’ve heard good things about Case Western and ironically it’s one that has sent her tons of material. I just felt like it was probably too far. But will add it to the list of things to look at.
Absolutely worth the trip.
Best education, facilities, alumni network and growing campus.
Intellectual discusions, curiosity, culture.
If your family would help pay for Princeton (only), I would just make sure she has other affordable options that she likes and will likely be accepted to.
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Just something to keep in the back of your mind as you’re navigating this process, some of the things that were deal breakers junior year, were NOT senior year - speaking of not just my kids, but also their friends and our friends kids. Location, if child driven, can change drastically as they enter senior year. We know ones who insisted they absolutely, positively would not stay in state, who ended up 5 minutes from home and others that wouldn’t consider anything that required a plane ride, who ended up on the other side of the world. Kids change a ton at this age, so just keep in mind that her criteria could adjust. It’s the reason I insisted both my kids apply to one instate school - neither one ended up there, but it was good to have the option.
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