Hello! I’m a high schooler in the class of 2026, and I’m trying to find the right college that fits my taste. I’m from New England, and am pretty preppy, so I would like to have both of those things in my school. It’s okay if it’s somewhat out of NE, but I would rather it be near me.
I see myself as a pretty to slightly above average student. My grades are nice, and the school I go to is also somewhat rigorous. Around 35 ish students last year got into T20 schools. Other than that, most students go to schools with a >60% acceptance rate. Since I’m a sophomore, I haven’t done the important testing, but I do have around a 3.5 uw and good extracurriculars and good classes for the major I like. Let me hear what you guys think!
I think you’re a sophomore - your interests and desires will change.
Are you in private?
If you want to stay close to home, I suggest you visit some local schools of various size in New England…private, public - rural, suburban, urban, small and large - just to see.
You are very early though - and some will have kids of varying styles.
Still too early - focus on great grades and don’t worry about selectivity. Focus - in a year - on where you’ll be comfotable - that’s far more important than selectivity.
Budget also matters for college.
Here’s one of many lists - I see Trinity in Hartford. But you are waaay too early and not yet accomplished enough to pick a school.
Do well. Get involved in ECs - and you’l be great in a year.
A bit early but some reading to enjoy.
The 12 Preppiest Colleges In America - Thrillist
Most preppy schools - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums
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It’s early for you still, but a few that might interest you are St Lawrence, Hobart William Smith, Trinity, and Bucknell.
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Look into Wheaton, St. Lawrence, Trinity, Connecticut College.
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I have made the plan with my parents to start touring colleges somewhat soon so I can start showing early interest. Right now though, I’m not fully inquiring on the most serious level, more as to help get a sense of what could be good places to go.
Besides that point, I don’t go to a private school, which is my biggest regret. The school I go to is public, but a very nice one.
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Yes - you don’t need to show interest - too early.
You need to see a variety of campuses - environments, sizes.
What you think you want may not be what you want.
And you’ll likely find many types of people at many schools.
You can casually check - even schools you won’t be interested in - to get a feel for the type of campus which will be comfortable.
have fun.
Check out Lafayette in PA, beautiful campus and i thought it had a preppy vibe!
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I agree that you’re early and it’s probably best to get a sense of what type of college you’re interested in. As you’re in the northeast, I’m going to suggest some schools that are relatively near each other to make travel between them easier. With each combo I’ve tried to have a combination of schools that are small, medium, and large and urban, suburban and/or small town, and possibly remote.
New York
- Union College: About 2100 undergrads
- SUNY Albany: About 12k undergrads
- Siena: About 3500 undergrads
- Marist: About 5500 undergrads
Connecticut
- Trinity College: About 2200 undergrads
- U. Conn: About 19k undergrads
- Fairfield: About 4800 undergrads
- Quinnipiac: About 6100 undergrads
Pennsylvania/Maryland
- Gettysburg: About 2200 undergrads or Franklin & Marshall: About 2k undergrads
- Loyola Maryland: About 4k undergrads
- Towson: About 17k undergrads or West Chester: About 14k undergrads
Northern New York & Vermont
- St. Lawrence: About 2100 undergrads
- U. of Vermont: About 12k undergrads
- SUNY Plattsburgh: About 4k undergrads
Rhode Island
- Providence: About 4300 undergrads
- Salve Regina: About 2200 undergrads
- U. of Rhode Island: About 14k undergrads
Massachusetts
- College of the Holy Cross: About 3200 undergrads
- Stonehill: About 2500 undergrads
- UMass – Lowell: About 12k undergrads
- UMass – Amherst: About 24k undergrads
- Merrimack: About 4200 undergrads
- Emmanuel: About 1900 undergrads
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In addition to providing school lists, you’re like AAA too and their Trip Tiks of old!!
You do it all!!!
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Gettysburg, Dickinson, Franklin&Marshall, Bucknell -all in PA. Throw in Penn State.
Trinity CT, Holy Cross MA, Hobart&William Smith.
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A few that come to mind:
Salve in Newport, RI
Fairfield in Fairfield, CT
Endicott in Beverly, MA
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I think its awesome that you are starting this process early. I really feel like the more schools you can visit, the better! Youve gotten a lot of good suggestions already, but I have’t seen Villanova listed yet, which I think may be a good option.
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OP - can you define where in New England and what qualifies as near you ?
outside of boston and i wouldn’t go farther than pennsylvania/new jersey
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Do you want small or a big school? We are in Boston suburbs and my daughter sounds similar to you with a similar GPA (3.55) She really liked Fairfield, Gettysburg, Bucknell but others mentioned would also fit the bill. We toured Trinity and its a good school with a preppy vibe, but my daughter didn’t love the campus or surrounding area.
Agreed on the area around Trinity, my daughter decidedly refused to apply after seeing the area around the school!
Hi! I was thinking of a school that was probably around an enrollment of 3k upwards. I definitely don’t mind a school having a good amount of people. I actually have been to Trinity for a field hockey tournament and I did feel pretty similarly after driving around to try and find somewhere to eat. My parents are also planning on getting me an apartment ( or house) in college and being alone there would definitely have me definitely feeling a little worried.
It’s too bad that Elon falls outside of your specified geographical radius.
This sounds bad writing down, but my parents said they wouldn’t get me my own house or apartment if I did go too far, which is essentially going to set me up for after college.
Something to keep in mind is that many colleges require you to live on campus for at least your first year.
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