Exactly…making sure there are options is key. IME many students in this situation just can’t devote enough mindshare to transferring and the applications/the decision making when they are living an unhappy day to day.
Happy to help however I can, PM if you like. Good luck 
Not sure how complete this is but this shows 238 photography schools. If any name piques an interest, you can look further.
Big future is from the College Board.
You just have to hit - see more schools a lot til all 238 appear.
Yes, I’m the CSU parent. In terms of sports, it’s only rah-rah if you want it to be. And it’s really only during football season. But it’s nothing like being at an SEC school. Think more mid-west with a Western vibe. It’s so cool.
Greek isn’t really a thing. There is a Greek system for those that want it, but it has no influence on the school. It’s a small percentage, and only people in the Greek system really care about it.
I’m not sure where your daughter is now, but CSU is a very big school. Of course, there are pros and cons to that. I don’t know anything about their arts/photography majors. As far as I know, they aren’t known for them.
The town is awesome, and if she is into wildlife photography, there are tons of kids who would share that interest. And while the school tends to be very liberal, there is a large group of kids that join the church groups that seem very nice and laid back that I hear parents talking about on the school FB page. I have a son who is into completely different things than your daughter, but I don’t see it as a place with many “queen bees”.
That being said, I don’t know if you are going to find “hands on”. At least not in the gen. ed classes she’ll have to take.
While some things seem to be a match, I’m not seeing it really line up with what you say she is looking for unless there is something about the photography department that I don’t know about.
If you have specific/personal stuff you want to ask about, feel free to PM me.
She could consider Wyoming. It is a Div 1 school, but I wouldn’t call it rah rah. My daughter sometimes went to football games because tickets were included with her student fees, but if the weather was bad or she had something else to do, she’d leave. It has about 10k students and is similar to CSU, about 45 minutes away, and a third the size. My daughter wasn’t a huge party girl (she did belong to a sorority, but wasn’t a big participant, never held an office), and her long term friends are from her job at Starbucks and her hockey team.
It has a photography minor and a business major. It is cheap. It is cold but that doesn’t seem to bother the kids, and I’ve seen many a kid on a bike in shorts going to the gym when it is 20 degrees and snowing. My daughter happily wore her flannel lined jeans to work at 5 am.
One thing to consider is that it will be likely at any school that business is in the college of business (duh) but photography will be either in Fine Arts or Arts and Sciences (or both) so it isn’t just a double major, but a double degree, which might require a lot more credits and an extra semester or year as an undergrad. In the stone age when I was at school, a friend completed all the requirements for a BS in recreation, and thought she’d completed everything for a BA in history. She was notified (when she applied for graduation) that if she wanted both degrees, she would have to complete 150 credits (not 124) and all the requirements for the BA like a foreign language and some other core requirements (our school didn’t offer minors). She happily took the BS and a certificate in history with her 124 credits.
Thank you so much for the detailed reply. You have pretty much confirmed my impressions (both as to what fits and what doesn’t.)
I don’t think KU is necessarily a fit in terms of student life, but it’s the closest to home and they have a very well regarded photography program.
Well regarded Honors too at KU.
One question, maybe concern.
She was going for engineering. Didn’t work out.
Are you 100% confident in photography ? She doesn’t need more schooling but wondering if maybe a summer class to ensure it’s right would be smart or a special program.
Would just hate to see if that didn’t work out too. Or are you comfortable in the swap?
There are two things she has consistently been interested in since she was a young girl, has put in more than the standard amount of effort, and seems to have a genuine talent: cooking/baking, and photography. While we would be fine with her pursuing a culinary career, the practicalities of it don’t seem to mesh with her health limitations. Photography is much more flexible; she has already held 2 summer photography internships, and when my husband asked her what she would like to learn more about, she answered along those lines.
We are somewhat at the point where she is so much in a bad place that she can barely articulate what she enjoys and where she sees herself—this is where we are having to guide her based on watching her grow up and listening to her over many years.
In any case, she could get a degree in photography and end up going to law school or getting her MBA. Life is unpredictable. Our concern right now is that she gets to a place where she is once again well (“happy”) and that she get her undergraduate degree.
Hopefully you can find that right environment. I noticed Truman State has a photo major - in case smaller and rural works - as you mentioned KU and UNL but also Colleges that Change Lives which are smaller and sometimes rural.
Hopefully she’ll find that comfort zone. It does happen. There was a student on here miserable at Hamilton but found her place at St Olaf. So there’s hope.
Looking forward to hearing of her success.
We’ve covered Truman State pretty thoroughly up-thread, and OP/kid made clear that it wasn’t of interest - has that shifted?
Trinity-TX was in the mix a while back - is that still under consideration, or has the geographic shift made another Texas school less appealing? Fall semester app deadline there was 4/1 so presumably she’s either applied or decided not to.
NAU does seem like a reasonable option.
Sure, the branding of CTCL is marketing… although calling it a marketing ploy feels like an implication of something disingenuous and I don’t think it’s that. Small colleges that a lot of people haven’t heard of have to market themselves somehow, and I think the CTCL branding gets at a real commonality that is worthy of highlighting (although certainly there are additional non-member schools with the same qualities, including public LAC’s like Truman).
I once mentioned Kalamazoo (a CTCL school), but it was a long time ago… their proximity to Western Michigan U, and the availability of cross-registration there, adds additional depth to what’s available through K-College’s Studio Art major. Nice small-city locale too, and a 6/15 transfer deadline.
Sorry she’s having such a rough go of it. Is there any chance that a more structured gap year, like one of the Americorps programs (City Year, conservations corps, etc.) might give her time to regroup without the loss of momentum that you fear if she comes home?
OK - such a long thread - I missed it. Well, i didn’t go back to the beginning. Of course KU and UNL are back in the mix but were non starters a year ago. And OP mentioned small schools - CTCL - only reason I thought of it.
Yes, OP has to thread a needle here to find the right school - to maximize the best hope as the student is already on a struggle emotionally coming in.
They’re going to pick 4 and hopefully it will be four good ones for them!!
Location is very important to her. She doesn’t want to be in Michigan or Missouri or Minnesota; her desire has always been to be someplace beautiful out West. If we could afford California I would consider that (even a Cal State school), but it’s very expensive to live there…just rent and groceries and gas.
I agree a lot of these places like St. Olaf or Truman St. are pretty schools and even excellent schools and might be great fits but they aren’t sparking anything in her. Flagstaff and the ability to take astrophotography? That sounds cool to her.
KU is an option because it is the best combination of program reputation and closeness to home, if she decides she needs to be close to home. It might be too large and typical rah-rah. I don’t think UNL has ever been a good choice because she has never liked it, but again if she needs the support of her hometown friends then that’s a decision she will make. Colorado State is good as far as location as well but their photography program doesn’t necessarily impress me.
No she hasn’t applied anywhere. She has been in a loop of inertia and self-blame. We hung back and tried to give her space and follow her lead, as the advice at this stage of parenting always is. It’s clear now that she needs greater direction and guidance. Of course not making a decision is also a decision, but in this case I believe she is setting herself up for failure.
Our son did the Conservation Corps. It would really depend on the placement, but it might not be the best for someone with a serious medical condition and the limitations she has. I’ll look into Americorps.
Flag is great - you have Winter and Summer.
If she doesn’t apply anywhere, then she’ll be on to Spring admissions - so the coming home, even if not best because she may not go back, might be what happens. Well looks like KU is really late…maybe August 1 per AI (couldn’t find a date on their website). Lawrence is great but there will be some rah rah due to basketball. Any big conference school will have that - vs a UNM, NAU type, etc. Both Baylor and KU are in the Big 12. UNL is in the big 10.
You all should take a trip to the Grand Canyon - and stop in Flagg 
My son was a photographer in HS - used to take pics of planes taking off. Even on vacation, we’d have to stop at random airports. They call that plane spotting I guess. Never thought of it as a career but that’s cool she has that passion.
I hope the academic side of it enhances her interest and abilities.
Makes sense. What this brings to mind for me is that another school that checks the same boxes would be UNevada-Reno. Urban-adjacent, but with top-notch nature (Lake Tahoe, etc.) nearby. Only 15 miles from the California border (and a little over 2 hrs from Sacramento), but far more affordable than the CA schools. (About a quarter of UNR students hail from California.) Good mix of conservative and liberal perspectives. August 1st transfer deadline. The art department offers a BFA, a BA, and a minor, and photography is one of the focus areas offered. Photography and Videography | Art | School of the Arts | University of Nevada, Reno And like Flagstaff, Reno/Tahoe is another top-tier astrophotography site.
Interesting suggestion, thanks!
Yeah my concern about KU is that it will feel too much like her current school, without the religious aspect.
Someone else mentioned it upthread, but I’ll go into more detail about Cornell College and why it might be a good fit.
I’ll start with the fact that I know it’s not in her desired location, but it may be worth a closer look or visit just because it’s so different from anything else, and, as you said, inertia. Maybe she needs to really start over with something different.
It’s very hands-on and immersive. The one class at a time model allows for ongoing projects and to work in small cohorts where you really get to know your classmates and professors.
You’ve mentioned health issues. If, for some reason, she would have to take time off, it’s easier to make up the one 3 1/2 week class, than make up 4 semester long classes.
While the courses can be intense because they are so short, there is also downtime to catch your breath between them.
The one course at a time model allows for there to be courses based on travel, and you don’t have to plan an entire semester around it.
Sports won’t be an issue and the Greek life is non-traditional. It might even be something she is interested in. At Cornell College they are “social groups” and there are no national chapters. They are much more into shared activities and philanthropic events. (This will give you an idea of how different it is from Texas Greek life. https://www.cornellcollege.edu/greek-life/fraternities-and-sororities/index.shtml)
The school is pretty integrated into the town. The town library is the school’s library, so there is a homey feeling and lots of ways to feel a part of a town rather than just a part of a school.
Almost all students live on campus, but there are some apartments for upperclassmen. I’m not sure how easy they are to get.
I’ve only been able to briefly skim through the thread and I know there’s a lot of “don’t wants”, but Cornell College is kind of a special, stand alone place to consider (or not). It really works for some people.
I love that it sounds so different.
We’re texting right now and her concern is that a lot of other schools would be “different location, different major, and secular, but not DIFFERENT”.
Anyway, I’m looking at it now. Thanks for taking the time to point all that out to me.
There are schools that are different. It’s just harder to find ones that are truly different and they might not fit your geographic preferences. For example, if she were still interested in engineering, I’d highly recommend WPI. RIT might still work for photography, but might not be the “special” place she is looking for even though it is completely different from where she currently is.
Another place that would be different and have the hands on/experiential learning she is looking for is Cal Poly SLO. Their whole philosophy is “learn by doing”. They look like they have a nice photography program.
We talked about RIT today.
My best friend’s daughter attends SLO. It’s a little bit expensive for us, unfortunately. I hear rent is extremely high there, and there won’t be any tuition breaks. We could maybe swing it, IDK.
How is the RIT NPC ?
Did any new schools pop on that Big Furure list ? Not sure if you looked at all 238.
