Back again with one more to consider. Earlham. Has business and sports management minor. No greek. It’s not far from Denison, so should be in driving range for you. Super nice kids and excellent teaching, and at least in DS’ sport, really good team cohesiveness. (He didn’t pick this one…)
I think this is one where the vibe works for you or it doesn’t, but for our family, it was one of the most pleasant surprises in our tours. So warm and welcoming. Small…
Speaking as someone who was a student athlete at Gettysburg, I would say it has more of a Greek presence than Dickinson and Denison (which has no fraternities anymore), but the reality is if he is on the baseball team that will be his fraternity. There are far fewer fraternities there now (I think down to 5-6 vs 12 when I went) and only ~50% of kids are in Greek life. Lacrosse team isn’t even allowed to join a fraternity. Athletes are so busy between school and their in and out of season commitments it is not nearly as big a deal not to be in a frat. That said, my experience is that most (not all) of the athletes do like to party and have fun, whether they are in a fraternity or not and that was the case at all 3 schools I considered (I chose Gettysburg over Dickinson and F&M). I also just liked the campus and town of Gettysburg alot better than Carlise or Lancaster.
If the “sporty vibe” you mentioned is a strong priority, I’m not sure Clark fits that. That’s not to say athletes don’t find their people… I’m sure they do. I just don’t think I see the overall vibe of the place as sporty? That said, maybe that’s because we were specifically looking for something else when we visited.
Great points. Thank you.
I heard that all the baseball players live together?
Since you played in the Centennial, do you have any thoughts on student vibe about some of the other schools such as Muhlenberg, Ursinus, and Washington?
Honestly, they are all nice schools. Different attributes, but basically flavors of the same. Ursinus is closer to Philadelphia and tends to draw heavily from that region, as well as NJ. Not as much a national brand. I looked at Muhl. and liked it, it is close to Lehigh and Lafayette so there’s a nice cluster of colleges and it is closest to NYC which is great. Back then the facilities were pretty tired but they have updated them since. When I was being recruited, Gettysburg had the nicest campus and facilities (Swarthmore and Hopkins have awesome facilities as well, but they were out of my reach academically). Gettysburg abutts the National Park, battlefields which creates a beautiful backdrop. My Mom lives in Chestertown MD now near Washington College. Pretty campus and really cute town on Eastern Shore (albeit sleepy). Very nice athletic facilities as well (particularly their lacrosse stadium). Haven’t put eyes on their gym or baseball complex. I would try and see as many as you can and see which one your son vibes with the best academically, socially and athletically. Schools with the bigger endowments also tend to give more merit aid. With you son’s GPA, I am guessing he will get alot of academic scholarship.
I would make 2 lists: one, based entirely on academics, with schools he likes that are safeties/matches/reaches and then another list of schools he likes based entirely on the strength of the baseball team. What has the recruiting feedback been so far? My son’s sport is soccer, but by this time junior year he was well into talks with coaches and had a hazy sense of where he was a top recruit.
Because if your son is recruited, as long as he meets the academic standard (ie passes a preread) and the coach wants him, he’s in, even if the school is a reach academically.
So to me, the first thing that should be figured out is the recruiting piece.
I agree with all of that, and he can only commit to one school as a recruit…whether it’s a reach, target or safety doesn’t matter…like you said he would be in (assuming positive pre-read and full coach support). Just get a set of schools he likes, and start contacting coaches…ASAP.
Elizabethtown is D3 has business and pre health.
I would look at all of the options in NCAC and Centennial conferences. Is Upstate NY or Minnesota in play? Some good options there too.
+1 to Washington college. The baseball field is right in middle of campus and people have been known to pull out sofas to watch the game. Town is close and cute, but does close around 10pm.
Thanks everyone! Really appreciate each of you taking the time to respond. Very kind of you.
after your input and hitting the internet, we have updated his list to include:
Kenyon
Denison
F & M
Dickinson
Ursinus
Muhlenberg
Gettysburg
Wooster
Washington
Allegheny
OWU
John Carroll
Open to any more suggestions as I know these lists can get smaller quick. My D had 6 D3 offers. we visited them all. she didn’t like any. it’s crazy how all these LACs all have their own unique vibe, personalities, etc.
then visited Denison (no offer) and that was it. she was ok (as best as she could) being a back-up player and loved the school, graduated, and is a proud alum.
thanks again
That’s a great list, lots of good options! Best of luck!
Thanks so much for the update! It’d be great to hear how the college search develops for your son.
Great list, and good luck to your D. My S19 was the same with Denison. We visited in late March of his senior year, after attending an admitted students event at Trinity University. The weather in San Antonio was just beautiful, and then we got to Ohio where it was rainy and grey, but somehow something clicked and that was it for him. I was just thinking about that this morning, as someone has started another thread on what to wear for a February tour of upper Midwest schools that will include Denison. You just never know!
I would add Juniata College. My DD also had Dickinson on her list but chose Juniata. They don’t have any Greek organizations. Friendly student body with lots of activities and sports teams including baseball (volleyball is their stand-out sport). Has business and exercise science
What about Ithaca? It’s in a fantastic college town and has strong business and a wonderful and very popular health science department. They just started a PA grad program! Ithaca also has strong D3 athletics. No fraternities. Wide variety of kids since the strong majors bring in all different types – business, film, journalism, health sciences, and music/theater/dance.
My S25 is also gearing up for his spring sport and looking at one of the same schools your son is. Such an exciting time!
Means what? 3.0 unweighted?
Seconding the Wooster suggestion – it has a friendly vibe, all kinds of kids on campus, from cape-wearing D&D players to sporty types, and they seem to get along. Non-traditional greek life, I think they are not associated with the national orgs or something like that. The charming, hip part of town is a bit further from campus than say just going down the Hill at Denison, for instance, but it does exist in Wooster. The NCAC is a great conference to compete in as the schools are generally within a few hours of each other (Wabash is the outlier that is further away), making the travel more manageable.
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