<p>Thank you all for your help and advice, and at the moment I’d definitely put Haverford at the top of my list. But I’m having trouble deciding whether to put Washington or Illinois at second, and St Olaf or Rhodes at fourth…</p>
<p>Illinois may be slightly stronger in math, but U Washington is close on its heels; both are quite strong, really. As for location, I’d go for Seattle, a fun and lively city in a beautiful part of the country. </p>
<p>As between St. Olaf and Rhodes, I guess I don’t know very much about Rhodes. Academically, the two schools are pretty evenly matched overall. St. Olaf has a very strong reputation in math, also in music (especially vocal). It’s affiliated with the Lutheran Church and was founded by Norwegian Lutherans in particular, and it continues to draw heavily from a Norwegian and Lutheran population base in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. Some say that makes it a little more religiously oriented and culturally conservative than some other LACs, though I’m sure you’d find a diversity of cultural attitudes and points of view. Northfield, MN is a charming little college town, about an hour from Minneapolis-Saint Paul, though I imagine most St. Olaf students spend most of their weekends on campus. It’s got a very favorable reputation here in Minnesota.</p>
<p>Haverford is the best LAC on your list, but St. Olaf has a lot to offer in math as well. It’s ~3000, so large for a LAC. Religion will not be pushed on you at all, and the food is fabulous. The folks from Northfield go there on weekends to eat because the food is so good. You should know, though, that St. Olaf is technically a dry campus.</p>
<p>Illinois and Washington are great, too, but Seattle> Urbana/Champaign by many miles.</p>
<p>Good luck and enjoy your year in the USA.</p>
<p>Rhodes is an awesome little school in a great part of Memphis. You have the art museum and the zoo essentially within walking distance, and Midtown is a sort of miniature college town within the city with bars, music joints, etc. The campus is indeed gorgeous (oh my gosh, the library!), and it’s quite safe (some worry about that). Food is, of course, amazing.</p>
<p>The only real downside to Rhodes is the lack of other major cities in the area; while St. Louis and even Chicago are not too far for a weekend visit, you don’t have major metropoleis in the area like at Haverford.</p>
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Having lived in both Chicago and Northfield, I know this is true. Maybe summer in the Sahara isn’t all that different than summer in the Kalahari, either.
Depends on what you’re riding. Memphis to Chicago is more than twice the distance from London to Paris. Obama has put some high speed rail plans on the table … but don’t expect a chunnel under the prairie before you graduate.
Most other selective LACs lost their religious affiliations decades ago. Haverford for example was founded by Quakers but has been strictly secular for some time. There may still be a few Quakers on its governing boards, but most of your professors won’t look anything like the guy on the oats box.
<a href=“http://www.thethriftymama.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Quaker-Oats.jpg[/url]”>http://www.thethriftymama.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Quaker-Oats.jpg</a></p>
![http://www.thethriftymama.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Quaker-Oats.jpg[/url]](http://www.thethriftymama.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Quaker-Oats.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
<p>I agree with bclintonk.</p>
<p>If you want the “American” college experience, I might look at a large school with the american sport of football hahaha (we go crazy over that here)</p>
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<p>Pierre, I’m seriously considering putting down Clemson University as one of my choices. </p>
<p>Basically, my list has a definite top three which is: Haverford, Washington, Illinois. and I’m also going to stick St Olaf in at fourth or fifth, depending on the other institution I put as one of my bottom two choices.</p>
<p>Clemson University seems to be the most reputable of the remaining ‘university’ choices (i.e New Mexico, Oregon, Oklahoma, etc).</p>
<p>So I’m stuck as to whether I should put down Rhodes College, or Clemson University as one of my bottom two choices alongside St Olaf.</p>
<p>Rhodes College has a beautiful campus and a solid reputation as a Liberal Arts College. Its reputation in mathematics isn’t anything special however, and I’d probably be missing out on the college experience, possibly without the academics making up for it (though the architecture might).</p>
<p>Clemson University is a ‘university’ as it were, but it isn’t quite the same size as either Washington or Illinois, though it is a lot bigger than Rhodes. I would most likely get the proper college experience here, so that’s a huge bonus. It’s also a warm and humid climate (South Carolina) which I like, though it’s also somewhat isolated from any major city. Although I imagine the campus life could make up for that.</p>
<p>Which university has the stronger reputation, Clemson or Rhodes, though I understand it’s difficult to compare them as they’re different types of institution, and how is Clemson for mathematics?</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>hmm this is a tough decision. You make some very good points for choosing both schools. It’s really hard to compare both schools since they are different schools (and add on the fact that I really know nothing about their mathematics reputations since I’m an engineering major).</p>
<p>I would probably put Rhodes College down over Clemson.</p>
<p>definitely in this order: St. Olaf > Rhodes > Clemson</p>
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<p>Alright, thank you for your help everyone. But I have one last wild card to throw in and that’s Queen’s University in Canada which has recently caught my attention. It’s got a very strong reputation at a national level, though perhaps not so much internationally. The campus also looks quite beautiful with its neo-gothic architecture. Again, I’m somewhat clueless as to how strong its math department is.</p>
<p>Your help would once again be greatly appreciated, as the deadline for submitting my choices is not far away. Thank you.</p>
<p>Queen’s is a fantastic school. I know it very well, and I’d be thrilled if my kids chose to attend it. Some of my strongest graduate students attended Queen’s and I know many who have gone to top graduate schools in both Canada and the US after doing their undergraduate degree there. I have not yet met an alum that did not rave about the school. I think of it as similar to Rice in some ways: highly nationally regarded, attracted the strongest of students, research oriented, but due to size, it isn’t making the top overall ‘world rankings’. </p>
<p>It draws in the strongest students across Canada, has a famous reputation for ‘highly satisfied students’, is known for it’s very tight knit culture. My sense of the student culture is one that is relaxed, cooperative, and inclusive. HUGE school spirit. Unlike most Canadian schools, it is very self-contained and residential. Very pretty campus in a beautiful college town that borders Lake Ontario. I also think it has the best of both a small school and large school: you can walk the whole campus in 10 minutes, you can get to know and work with your professors, yet there is wide course selection, a very research-oriented culture, and it has enough students and clubs that you can easily find your niche. </p>
<p>Check out its ratings in the school ranking systems of MacLeans Magazine, and the Globe and Mail newspaper. Google will pull them up for you. </p>
<p>It also has a more attractive price tag compared to similar US schools, at $19k tuition. And there are automatic scholarships that discount that price if you have a decent GPA.</p>