<p>Good mom. 
But as you step aside, leave a copy of Fiske Guide to Colleges on the coffee table.</p>
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<p>But is it “earnest”? That was the question. There are plenty of great schools filled with students who are intellectually curious that do not have a predominant vibe that one would describe as “earnest.” Many of those schools are probably MORE intellectually alive than some of the earnest schools we’ve identified. (Note, for example, that the OP rejected Reed.)</p>
<p>To admit that all schools are not everything to all people is not to criticize them.</p>
<p>I think I saw where you were in the Chicago area. If you are looking for a university for an academic and financial safety you might want to seriously consider Miami University and their Honors Program. If you’re someone who considers rankings important, USNWR just ranked them second nationally for their focus on undergraduate teaching, tying with Princeton, second only to Dartmouth. Miami was ranked 79th overall for national universities. Forbes also rated it as a Best Buy and the best public in Ohio. </p>
<p>The campus has a LAC feel in both its appearance and the staff’s commitment to giving personal attention. Oxford is a cute little college town with a nice variety of restaurants and small shops. The campus is beautiful with a moderate climate. With an ACT over 30 and a GPA of 3.75 or higher your D would receive a significant scholarship even for OOS. </p>
<p>H and I are both products of LACs, but we consider our Ds lucky to have this experience. D1 loves it and could not imagine being anywhere else. D2 just started but things are going well so far. We love the midwest feel.</p>
<p>For what it is worth, D had a 33 ACT and 2210 SAT and was waitlisted at Carleton. She was accepted to some other great LACs, but the cost was just more than we felt was necessary for a great education. Make sure you have a safety that you love. In the end many of the decisions are heavily based on money!</p>
<p>The OP (me) had rejected Reed as a candidate, but I received a PM from a mother who said my D sounds like hers–a recent graduate from Reed who loved the place. Which leads me to believe that there’s a limit to what one can learn without visiting. In any case, I’m mostly interested in weeding out places where there is a noticeable contingent of people who are competitive in an unfriendly way, where kids feel so burdened that they’re not having much fun while they’re learning or where people seem overly concerned about looking/dressing a certain way. Friendly students, accessible administration, niceness–all good things.</p>
<p>*Per my boyfriend, I need to step aside and give my daughter more room to find her own niche. (Really? Really? But, but … She’s my baby!) Of course, he’s right. But I’m going to step aside having put together a great list for her to start with. *</p>
<p>The boyfriend is right to some extent. This will be your daughter’s college experience. Your D has to feel some ownership for where she ends up otherwise you might get blamed if she’s not happy at her school. She may pick a school that wouldn’t be your choice, but it’s her experience.</p>
<p>That said…Encourage her to explore all kinds of schools…LACs…smaller universities that can be LAC-like…big schools with honors colleges…financial safeties…etc. Young people (and some parents) often get a notion in their heads about one type of school or another which can be proven wrong upon a visit. I thought that my older son would only want a small college experience because he is shy and went to a small prep school. In reality, he visited a few large schools and loved them. This is his 4th year at a large flagship and he’s happy as a clam.</p>
<p>Just because this is “her decision,” doesn’t mean that you can’t help. Frankly, many seniors are very busy and do need a parent to help.</p>
<p>*If you are looking for a university for an academic and financial safety you might want to seriously consider Miami University and their Honors Program…</p>
<p>The campus has a LAC feel in both its appearance and the staff’s commitment to giving personal attention. Oxford is a cute little college town with a nice variety of restaurants and small shops. The campus is beautiful with a moderate climate. With an ACT over 30 and a GPA of 3.75 or higher your D would receive a significant scholarship even for OOS.</p>
<p>For what it is worth, D had a 33 ACT and 2210 SAT and was waitlisted at Carleton. …Make sure you have a safety that you love. In the end many of the decisions are heavily based on money! *</p>
<p>Very good suggestions. MiamiU with its honors college would provide an LAC feel with the other benefits of a university. The merit scholarships also make it a good financial safety. There are other universities that also would provide honors colleges and merit scholarships as well. </p>
<p>And, yes, a couple of financial safeties is important. Besides, your D may have med/law/business school in her future and if she saves on undergrad, then affording professional school will be easier.</p>
<p>Wow, different strokes for different folks indeed. The thread title might be a concise statement of someone’s vision of hell.</p>
<p>Dear cherokeejew,</p>
<p>Ha! I am ROFLMEAO (rolling on the floor laughing my earnest a** off). Not really. But chuckling. Thanks! </p>
<p>absweetmarie</p>
<p>Actually, I’m strongly reminded of the scene from the movie Volunteers in which the suave sophisticate Yale grad Tom Hanks hops a plane to anywhere–in order to escape from some gentlemen interested in collecting on his gambling debts, IIRC. I believe that he is wearing a white dinner jacket and black tie at the time. He brushes aside the cabin curtain only to reveal a plane full of earnest Peace Corps volunteers singing Michael Row the Boat Ashore. He falls back in horror, saying, “Oh my God. It’s Hell.”</p>
<p>^ I think that is quite funny, and I come from a whole family of Earnest Ones.</p>
<p>Consolation, I would like to understand your point about Hamilton better. I’m always this big Hamilton fan. What is the predominant vibe you see it as having, since you don’t think earnest is the right adjective? I’m trying to educate myself, since I have a family member who is considering applying, and I want be sure he has the right information.</p>
<p>Kenyon College struck me as quite earnest, and DISI (dare I say it) wholesome.</p>
<p>I’d plug some of the LACs in Ohio - Wooster, Kenyon, Wittenberg, Denison, Hiram, Marretta, Ohio Wesleyan. </p>
<p>And if you go to visit Haverford, might as well drop by Villanova as well to see if she might also like a larger LAC.</p>
<p>if they visit Haverford and Villonova … then Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore are also easy visits … although Swarthmore may face the same fate as Reed</p>
<p>Oberlin, Carleton, and Macalester are great choices</p>
<p>Since at least a couple of people have mentioned Catholic schools (Villanova, Gonzaga, Santa Clara), would people mind taking a moment to educate me (a lapsed Catholic, now more-or-less atheist) about how big an influence Catholicism is on the culture at these schools? It sounds like a dumb question, even to me! So bear with me. What I’m really wondering is how doctrinal the education is. I think my child could stand to learn more than she currently knows about the Judeo-Christian underpinnings of thought in our country/much of the world, but she’d have to learn it in a setting where she felt comfortable being a nonbeliever. 'Course I think if Gonzaga was good enough for John Stockton it must be a pretty cool place.</p>
<p>Swarthmore is both super-edgy and super driven, so it probably doesn’t have the right vibe.</p>
<p>You might check out the current thread on Whitman. My son just arrived there as a freshman, he sounds very much like your daughter. The academics are engaging, and the student body is gregarious, close knit, and healthy. He very nearly chose Macalester, where the kid’s are a tad bit nerdier, but they are really nice and I felt a lively sense of fun about the place. Academics are top notch but not all consuming in both places.</p>
<p>If you’re planning a visit to the Pacific Northwest, I’d encourage you to also look at Willamette University in Salem. I think they fit the definition of “earnest”. They’ve been getting a lot of positive press, and the students I know who go there love it. Reed deserves another look as well. It’s not the right place for everyone, but many really thrive there academically, and it certainly is earnest.</p>
<p>My son and I visited Hamilton last February. He was the only prospective student there that day, and had an individual tour and an interview. We got in there between two snow storms, flying in through Syracuse. The following day, he attended a Greek history class, with five Greek majors. The teachers and students were exceptionally welcoming. We had lunch there. Students were not just friendly, they were very genuine, helpful and down-to-earth. Very frank, as well. It seemed that they have a very strong sense of community, and students seemed very happy and relaxed.</p>
<p>bopambo: Whitman is one of the schools about which both my daughter and I are excited. I probably would have been skeptical had I not traveled to Walla Walla for business a couple of years ago and found the town very likable. Certainly a fine college town for someone who can live without bright lights of the big city. </p>
<p>morganhil: I think, regardless of what I may read that may threaten to dissuade me (rampant alcohol abuse, cold winters, whatever), we will for sure visit Hamilton. The focus on effective communications is enough for me. My daughter liked the description of the fitness center that she read in one of the guide books. </p>
<p>AspiringInSalem: Thanks for heads up on Willamette.</p>