<p>Hi–my daughter absolutely loved Wash U, but I’m afraid it may be a stretch for her. There’s the possibility she could get in ED, but still may be a stretch. I know of the schools that are considered to be similar to Wash U: Duke, Tufts…What I’m looking for are schools that are similar but not quite as hard to get in to.
What DD loved: The look and feel of the school, the size, the niceness of the people, the intellectual feel: the feeling that it’s cool to be smart, the knowledge that you don’t need to necessarily drink to have fun, the dorms, the food…
Okay, I realize that something may have to give, but if we can get as close as possible, that would be fantastic.
Thanks!</p>
<p>My immediate response would be Tufts, even before reading your paragraph. And tufts is significantly easier to get into than duke and washU (although no cakewalk). So that is a realistic possibility; however, the easier the school to get into, the less “cool” it will be to be smart. But just to name a few more along the lines of what you’re looking for: Georgia Tech, BC, Brandeis, and William & Mary.</p>
<p>Emory is essentially Wash U’s less selective sibling.</p>
<p>Thank you–Tufts, Brandeis and Emory are all on the list. Anything more midwest? Are all of the LACs party schools?</p>
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<p>University of Rochester maybe?</p>
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<p>Where did you get that idea?
LACs typically don’t have huge D1 sports or Greek scenes.
They’re expensive. They usually draw from nationwide applicant pools.
When 60% of students are paying a full $50-60K, coming from hundreds of miles away to a college most people have never heard of, and the classes are so small it is hard to fly under the professor’s radar, there is likely to be a fairly high level of academic motivation. </p>
<p>It’d be closer to the truth to say some of the ~T40 LACs are PhD mills than to say they are party schools.</p>
<p>Emory and U Rochester…</p>
<p>Unless your child goes to a bible college, the school will likely be a party school. My nephew is at Tufts, he’s a serious student (comp sci, high grades). He and his pals party every weekend…they usually take the public transportation to MIT because he says that MIT has the best parties.</p>
<p>My H’s nephew (eng’g major) is starting his second year at WashU. Also a serious student, but also a seriously social kid. I haven’t talked to him lately, but I’d bet ten dollars that he parties regularly with his WashU friends. lol…I think I’ll take a browse of his Facebook and report back. ha ha.</p>
<p>Ok…just snooped…there is a pic of him tapping a keg…lol. And some “red cup” pics. Also a pic in a stadium with face paint. (lol…I didn’t even know that WashU had sports that people watched. ha ha). Looks like he’s enjoying both the academic and social side of college.</p>
<p>TK, maybe I mean the more rural schools. I got that from other boards and college guide books. They said that there isn’t much else to do for fun other than drink at some of the schools that are in the middle of corn fields. We are looking at some cornfield schools! </p>
<p>Mom2, lol–you are too funny! We aren’t looking for Brigham Young dry, but certainly not U of Iowa (ranked #1 party school recently–woo hoo) either.</p>
<p>Have you looked at Rhodes College? </p>
<p>What’s her major?</p>
<p>how about the west coast? Santa Clara?</p>
<p>Some more similar to Wash U:</p>
<p>Rice, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Northwestern</p>
<p>Maybe, Richmond?</p>
<p>Sticking with City schools, Pitt might be an interesting safety, particularly if she qualifies for Honors.</p>
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<p>Rice, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Northwestern</p>
<p>Aren’t those just as hard to get in? </p>
<p>OP…what are your D’s stats? Is money no object?</p>
<p>I consider Loyola Marymount to have more in common with Wash U than Santa Clara although neither promote intellectualism to the same degree that Wash U and its peers do.</p>
<p>Assuming Wash U and Emory are somewhat synonymous, you might also want to check out Wesleyan and University of Puget Sound. Quite a few students at Emory cross applied to Wesleyan and UPS seems to fit much of your criteria other than the size factor.</p>
<p>IMO, the only colleges on anyone’s list that are close are Emory and Tufts and Brandeis. The others are just as competitive (Rice), and/or have much different vibe. (GaTech? BC? no way)</p>
<p>And no, not all LACs are party schools, but then no LAC is WashU-like. In other words, if your D saw WashU as home for four years, she is unlikely to see a LAC similarly.</p>
<p>Disagree with that. I know many people at Emory’s main campus (not Oxford) who seriously considered a LAC. However, those tended to be schools in a consortium or larger ones like Wesleyan.</p>
<p>I was thinking that too Mom2–many of those schools are also hard to get into. We will certainly look into some of the though.
DD has a 3.8 UW/4.2 W GPA
Hasn’t tested yet, but pre-test estimated a 31-34 ACT
Several ECs, but not a lot outside of school–does in-school tutoring count as volunteering?</p>
<p>Money is always an object, and the fact that Emory often gives money is a plus. That said, if she got into Wash U, we’d make it work. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we don’t qualify for need based FA. </p>
<p>As far as geography, would like to stay midwest/east and not too far south.</p>
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<p>She had better test close to that 34 if you are seeking merit money…</p>
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<p>Yes, and they chose the mid-sized Uni, which was my point! :)</p>
<p>Has she visited Truman? Yes, it is public, but they get a larger than average number of gifted students.</p>
<p>Another suggestion might be the University of Tulsa. Beautiful campus that kind of feels like WashU</p>