<p>What are some standardized testing optional schools with the most beautiful campus and dorm rooms?</p>
<p>I remember thinking the door and room featured in Transformers 2 looked heavenly… hardwood floors, soft colors, long window with sun shining through, natural sunlight throughout the dorm as hot college students walked around with move-in boxes… haha :)</p>
<p>The ideal college/university would located on the East (anywhere from Maine to Florida), and a private one. Not interested in a women’s college or religious school. Thank you!</p>
<p>That campus in Transformers 2, if i’m not mistaken, is UPenn. As much as I love UPenn, cameras and hot actresses can make it look much more attractive than it is.</p>
<p>Take a look at Bowdoin? I don’t know much about a lot of the other test-optional schools, but Bates comes to mind… I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard it’s beautiful.</p>
<p>“The ideal college/university would located on the East (anywhere from Maine to Florida), and a private one. Not interested in a women’s college or religious school. Thank you!”</p>
<p>^^ Agree with m4dskillz07-- Wake Forest is SAT optional, a private research university, and has a very nice campus & facilities</p>
<p>True about the camera and attractive actors/actresses, but at least the featured dorm represented the personality and life of college students, and will look better than the ones I’ve seen featured on college websites… janitor-mopped tile floors and plain, white walls (from what decade, I don’t know).</p>
<p>Wake Forest and Bowdoin aren’t really standardized testing optional, because students are required to submit standardized testing scores after acceptance/before enrolling, thus it’s not really optional.</p>
<p>Bates was actually my top choice, until I found out students need to wear rain boots for part, if not most, of the year, because the campus get flooded with slushy mud water and snow a lot. Coming from a prep school, wearing flats, I can’t see rain boots going well with any clothing I have. It’s also located in Lewiston, Maine, which doesn’t have any restaurants suitable for a date, or any attractions at all. There’s only an Applebee’s and TGI Friday’s in the next town, Auburn, Maine. If it were located in another part of Maine, or anywhere else on the East, I would gladly apply.</p>
<p>I discovered Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, just now. Do you guys know anything about it? It seems perfect, and is where Mr. Rogers (Neighborhood) graduated from, but I get the impression that the student body is shallow, pretentious, and not at all academically motivated…</p>
<p>I hope these aren’t the only schools out there… What do you guys know about California schools? Most of them are public, correct? But do any of them have campuses/dorms/a social life to die for, and would make someone like me change their mind about going to a school on the East coast? Okay, maybe not to die for, but beautiful lol :)</p>
<p>Thank you again for the recommendations. It really does help, to know I’m not limited in options for college, and won’t regret freshmen/sophomore year about where I’m at, because I just found out about a better school that I didn’t know about before (which is now, during my college search).</p>
<p>Bard, Connecticut College, Franklin & Marshall, Hobart and William Smith, and Wheaton (the one in MA) come to mind, though in truth I’ve never visited any of their campuses.</p>
<p>“Wake Forest and Bowdoin aren’t really standardized testing optional, because students are required to submit standardized testing scores after acceptance/before enrolling, thus it’s not really optional.”</p>
<p>huh? testing is optional for ADMITTANCE…why do you care if you have to submit after you are already accepted?..ditto the vote for Wake Forest; of course, if you are not submitting test scores you had better have a great GPA, course rigor etc…</p>
<p>Colorado College (newly test optional this year) is in a gorgeous setting. The campus itself is very attractive, but if it were in a more ordinary location I would not rate it among the most beautiful. Middlebury College has both a beautiful campus (with many newly constructed state-of-the-art facilities) and a beautiful setting.</p>
<p>Both these schools do require some test scores. You can offer a SAT Subject Test, Advancement Placement, Int’l Baccalaureate or other exams in lieu of SAT/ACT.</p>
<p>Icy >> My S attends Rollins and couldn’t be happier. The reputation of Rollins is one that you could find in alot of schools. S says that while those types of students are there he has found many down to earth friends and academically motivated students and just avoids the ones who are shallow, pretentious and academically unmotivated. At his school and many others it just depends on what extracurriculars you become involved in and you will gravitate to those to your liking.</p>
<p>He wanted a smaller atmosphere and likes knowing his professors. He was attracted to the seminar style of teaching rather than large lectures. The campus is beautiful and in a nice community - Winter Park but so close to Orlando for other activities.</p>
<p>He is in the science and math departments which have some great people and is challenging enough for him/not cutthroat. Couldn’t really tell you if there is a department that is less challenging but imagine there might be some easier majors that the superficial people flock to just as they will at most colleges.</p>
<p>I guess I’m trying to say is look over the webpage and visit with professors from the areas you might be interested in majoring and don’t worry about the shallow people. If it isn’t shallow people at one school then it is too greek or too many jocks or too artsy or whatever label. Even though Rollins is a small school there is still enough diversity of people and you will find your group. If you cannot visit then call and talk to the professors about your area of interest. We found overall that everyone from professors to admissions staff was quite accessible and very nice to talk with.</p>
<p>TBH, I think you’re a ■■■■■, but for the sake of any prospective students reading this I’ll respond.</p>
<p>Bates is a great school that’s certainly not right for everyone. Returning in August/September through about early December is the stunning Maine fall, and then yup, winter is long. Short Term is almost always beautiful. But yeah, in the winter there’s snow and most people prefer snow boots… just sort of happens in Maine.</p>
<p>As for Lewiston-Auburn - there is PLENTY to do. People often extoll the virtues of getting out of LAC - going up to Sunday River to ski, going to Freeport to check out the outlets, heading down to Portland for dinner. I don’t mean to downplay any of that because it’s ALL fun and I’ve done it, but Lewiston-Auburn itself has plenty of fun things to offer too. There’s far more than an Applebees and a TGI Fridays. In Lewiston, as far as restaurants go:</p>
<p>Fishbones - where everyone takes their parents/you go for someone’s birthday/certainly a nice-ish restaurant (I mean, this is not New York City, but come on, our idea of big spending isn’t Mickey Ds either)
Fuel - Another pretty nice restaurant that’s cropped up in the past few years. I never made it over, I’ve heard mixed reviews. A friend volunteered at the adjoining art gallery though, which I have visited and it’s really quite nice
She Doesn’t Like Guthries, an adorable hole-in-the-wall type panini and burrito place where often Bates bands will play
Da Vinci’s - your typical Italian fare</p>
<p>I’m not even scratching the surface honestly. There’s Indian and Thai and Chinese and a Somali place that keeps opening and closing so I couldn’t tell you if it is or isn’t. There’s a Starbucks just over the river and tons of independently owned coffee shops.</p>
<p>After you turn 21, there is a nightlife off campus, whether its the seedy college bars like the Goose or the Pub (where you make your best memories), grabbing a brew at Gritty’s Brewery, or heading out to Portland.</p>
<p>As far as not eating and drinking, there’s still plenty to do. There’s a running path along the river, and Thorncrag bird sanctuary is about 2 miles from campus and has some great hiking trails - it’s beautiful. There’s a little shopping mall, it’s not much really, and a couple big box stores like Kohls and Walmart. There’s tons of options for volunteer work, anything from working in the schools to volunteering a the hospital to working with organizations promoting religious tolerance. </p>
<p>So no, it’s not the perfect college town. But there is PLENTY going on, and plenty to see and do in Lewiston itself, and in Auburn. I haven’t even mentioned what happens ON campus.</p>
<p>But you’re in for a surprise if you expect to get taken out on a lot of dates. Bates has an extraordinary gap between “casual hookup at some parties” and “we’re in a serious relationship” and very little in between. If you’ve got a boyfriend who just wants to take you out to dinner occasionally, you’ve got more than enough but if you think people often go out on casual get-to-know you dates in the area… yeah doesn’t happen. Just not a part of the scene.</p>
<p>Bowdoin and Holy Cross. Holy Cross is a Jesuit school like Georgetown and seeks diversity in all of its students. HC is also need blind for financial aid(same as Ivies).</p>