I think Union, for all that it offers, is underappreciated because of the Greek life, TBH, at least in our family. The “:bro” culture that it’s known for, and the strong partying atmosphere. If you look on niche that’s what’s talked about.
Because of the academics it offers, and the location – on an Amtrak line straight into NYC – and the beauty of teh campus, and the apparently pretty darn good FA, we keep trying to go back to that school. But fear of students getting sidetracked by all that partying, and the inherent dangers of Greek life – not to mention the possible sexism of the bro culture that a young woman would have to deal with if she attended, well, it just pushes this family to other schools.
Connecticut College is a great school. This family has considered it several times on the long list, but it hasn’t made the short list for some reason. It’s not a 529 school–that makes a difference. I think it doesn’t have as clear of an identity. In contrast if you say, “Smith,” or “Vassar,” or “Hampshire” or “Hamilton” you get a clear sense of what those schools are. Connecticut College’s name even allows confusion between it and the state school system. The lack of instant identity may have something to do with the meh feeling that people get, even though I agree that it’s a really good, underappreciated school and I’d love it if a family member attended.
Here are a few more schools that seem underappreciated for what they offer IMO:
Earlham (800 acre campus, great values, merit, excellent academics etc.) – http://earlham.edu/
Agnes Scott (lovely campus, cross reg with Emory, excellent academics, merit, astrophysics for women) https://www.agnesscott.edu/
Sweet Briar – ABET accredited engineering for women, safety school for everyone, gorgeous campus, strong identity, equestrian sports – http://sbc.edu/
Mills – urban campus in the Bay Area with computer science and access to internships in that area; cross registration at Berkeley, low tuition of $28K, cross reg with an art school, gorgeous old campus–full disclosure a close friend of the family currently attends and it’s changed her life.https://www.mills.edu/
Wheaton in Massachusetts – It’s 30 minutes from Boston, lovely campus with lots of history, great academics, personalized education, great values. https://wheatoncollege.edu/
St. Mary’s of Maryland–public LAC, gorgeous campus on the water, sailing and other water-based sports, water-based sciences and of course the arts – http://www.smcm.edu/
Washington College – why isn’t this school better known?? – https://www.washcoll.edu/
