What about Agnes Scott in (~) Atlanta? Very diverse and LGBTQ friendly, cool SUMMIT program, especially for undecided kids (look it up).
Davidson would be in okay with a 3.8 from college but not sure that’s the right vibe.
Occidental, Scripps?
Eckerd if you want the beach (but it’s Florida).
Would Rice be too big? It seems to have the vibe she wants. Although, you’d probably be on the hock full price.
ETA: Am reading more replies and seeing some of these ^ have already been mentioned. Seconding Hendrix and Trinity TX ![]()
Rice is still very small. Also thought it could be a good fit, but doubtful it would be affordable (and despite Blue Houston, its still in Tx)
Cal State Chico might be one to consider. I think it’s WICHE/WUE and lots of people really like it . It’s fairly small for a state school and is one of the few non-commuter Cal States. Looks like it has an ASL program. It takes lower-level transfers . It still has a party reputation so that may nix it, though.
Another option might be to look into a year at Santa Barbara city college, which is very well integrated with UCSB in terms of housing and student life and then transfer to UCSB. The money you save at the city college could make the total cost affordable, even though UCSB would be expensive. But UCSB might be larger than she wants. It also has a reputation as a party school.
If you think CSU might have been the better choice for her, what about a semester at Front Range CC in FoCo. They have a program that integrates students into CSU as transfers if she ends up liking it. If not, not much is lost while she earns some more credits and decides where she wants to be.
https://www.bestplaces.net/voting/city/california/merced says that, based on recent voting patterns, Merced County and Merced Metro are “somewhat liberal”, which is less liberal that the state of California which it lists as “strongly liberal”.
I’m not sure that’s very different to a county with a sizable college voting blue in a red state. Regardless, I assume OP & student would visit before applying or committing, and draw their own conclusions about the Central Valley.
If you are interested in Agnes Scott or Warren Wilson, hit me up. My D-22 attended Warren Wilson before transferring. We parents loved it, but it was a little too hippie for her. It is super duper gay, though.
We also toured Agnes Scott and she almost transferred there. I think the SUMMIT program at Agnes Scott would be a little weird to step into in having not been there as a first year, but I’m sure they do take transfers. It is very racially diverse and very LGBTQ friendly. Decatur is cute and it would be walkable.
To me, though, from what you have said about her interests and her academics, I think William & Mary might be a great fit, although out of state tuition may not make that palatable for parents. W&M is nerdy and LGBTQ friendly and very good academically. She would be challenged there. But it’s a nice mid-sized school (just under 10,000) with a bit of a LAC vibe. Not huge like Boulder but not itty bitty teeny tiny like Warren Wilson (less than 1000).
I know a lot of parents and out of state students like Elon, but as a NC-er who lives nearby it just doesn’t do a lot for me. Might work for a Coloradan, though. It’s in kind of an unremarkable small ex-urban town --not a “cute” small town, and not “rural”, although people on here will say that. Rural is just a mischaracterization. Warren Wilson is rural. Elon is a good solid school and might be worth checking out, though.
Can she pinpoint what she really didn’t like about CU? It sounds like it was an academic fit so was it living in a dorm (esp Willie Villie)? Dorm too close to Farrand Field and all the pick up football (and drinking and shouting ) that goes on there right outside her dorm room? Having to eat in a cafeteria?
Would being able to carve out her own experience be better? My friend’s daughter moved into the honors dorm all the way from Broomfield (about 7 miles). She liked it okay but was happier when she got to live alone just off campus. Her circle was more about her friends from her work at a cafe, a boyfriend, and a few friends made from her classes. I’m not sure she ever went to a football game. She didn’t like the big school stuff, but liked the academics so made the big school what she wanted.
I know she wasn’t on campus this spring, and it certainly isn’t guaranteed for upcoming years, but I bet there weren’t 10 days this spring when the weather wasn’t in the 50’s in Boulder. There were times when Colorado had higher temps than Florida, and we sadly had much less snow than NYC or Boston.
Another option if no school offers everything she wants is a school she likes that doesn’t offer ASL in a consortium with one that does? Goucher, for example, may not have ASL (I don’t know if it does) but maybe Towson across the street does, or Loyola down the street does. I think a consortium works for a few classes. You might check out Smith and Mt Holyoke, because if they don’t have a class, it is likely UMass does.
I am out in Australia, so I am not as familiar as others with the scene in the US (I know a little).
That said, out here in Australia, a US school that is being pushed hard (because we don’t have a local equivalent) is St. John’s.
It is touted here as a warm, inclusive school for serious students. It also has the advantage of the January intake, where you can still complete 2 years by starting the second semester of the first year. They offer it for a number of reasons, one of which is students who, for whatever reason, don’t like the first semester of their current school and want to transfer. It also has a reputation for enhancing critical thinking with students needing to think HARD, but without the stress of grades. In fact, unless you have a good reason you cant even optain them. There are posts of people who went from school to school to find the right fit, and it was the only school for them. But it is niche. Still probably worthwhile to visit and be part of a class.
I have to say, if I had my time over again, a school like St. John’s would be very appealing, even though you need to study a foreign language (yuck). I know they are working on getting a similar school (or maybe another campus of St Johns) here in Australia.