lesser known colleges

[teachermom2834]

Has anyone's dc ended up interested in or attending a college they had never even heard of before the college search process?

 

I'm not going to mention the specific college (out of fear of sounding like an idiot) but I've come across a small private school in our region that looks like a really good school and a possible fit for my ds.

 

However, I am totally and completely hung up on the fact that I have never heard of it before. I know that is silly. My husband went to the U of Rochester but where we live now people haven't heard of it. The fact that I live about 4 hours from this school and have never heard of it is really bugging me.

 

Thoughts?

[Gwen in VA]

I think the big question is: Have those "in the know" heard of it?

 

Do alums get jobs outside the immediate area? Do alums get into grad school/med school/law school? What is the post-graduation employment rate? And what is the alumni donor rate -- that is a great measure of how well alumni think of their alma mater!

 

My story -- my older kids both attended a college I'd never heard of until a friend became a prof there! (It's a USN&WR top 15 college!) But I am from New England, so I am very familiar with the NE colleges. I am still bumping into colleges in NC or SC or even VA that I have never heard of before!

 

Another example -- due to a family friend, I'd heard of Carlton College in high school, but I hadn't heard of St. Olaf's until I'd read the "Colleges That Change lives" book, even though they are down the street from each other!

 

There are lots of "hidden gems" in this country, and what may be hidden to you or me may be common knowledge to someone who lives down the street from it or had a relative who attended.

 

 

 

I'm an MIT alum. Every once in a while someone in VA will ask me where I went to college, and I'll say, "MIT." Every once in a great while, someone will then look at me, puzzled, and say, "Is that sort of like Virginia Tech?" :lol:

[FaithManor]

I'm an MIT alum. Every once in a while someone in VA will ask me where I went to college, and I'll say, "MIT." Every once in a great while, someone will then look at me, puzzled, and say, "Is that sort of like Virginia Tech?" :lol:

 

:smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5:That's a riot!!!!

 

To answer the OP, Gwen posed the definitive questions. There are more than 2000 four-year accredited colleges and uni's in the U.S. Most of us will not realize how many very interesting picks are in our own region. When I was applying to school way back in the mists of time, no one in my area had heard of Hope College on the west side of the lower peninsula. It's an EXCELLENT school. I was the first to bring it to the attention of high schoolers at my school. The teachers had NEVER heard of it and it is an award winning institution.

 

Faith

[MicheleinMN]

I had not heard of the college my dd is attending, nor the one my cousin did until we started the college search.

 

Does that help?

[Jane in NC]

I think the big question is: Have those "in the know" heard of it?

 

Do alums get jobs outside the immediate area? Do alums get into grad school/med school/law school? What is the post-graduation employment rate? And what is the alumni donor rate -- that is a great measure of how well alumni think of their alma mater!

 

My story -- my older kids both attended a college I'd never heard of until a friend became a prof there! (It's a USN&WR top 15 college!) But I am from New England, so I am very familiar with the NE colleges. I am still bumping into colleges in NC or SC or even VA that I have never heard of before!

 

Another example -- due to a family friend, I'd heard of Carlton College in high school, but I hadn't heard of St. Olaf's until I'd read the "Colleges That Change lives" book, even though they are down the street from each other!

 

There are lots of "hidden gems" in this country, and what may be hidden to you or me may be common knowledge to someone who lives down the street from it or had a relative who attended.

 

Let me add one more piece to Gwen's Words of Wisdom. It is also important to find the school that is the right fit. Sometimes those lesser known schools have interesting (quirky?) programs that are more appropriate for our kids.

 

My son attends a Midwestern LAC that was placed on our radar by a retired high school counselor from a private school in New England. She gave my son a list of schools (some from Colleges that Change Lives, some not) to research. Each had a program that was a bit off the beaten path.

 

On another note, I was at the beach on Sunday with a friend who is high school counselor in the Mid-Atlantic. The parent of an 11th grader came by to ask about collges they should visit. Ivy League graduate counselor friend said "Go to the Midwest! There are an amazing number of good schools that many people have not heard of--but graduate and professional admissions staff know them well."

 

As Gwen noted, that is the key.

 

ETA: Do you homework! The federal reporting site IPEDS has important statistics you can access via its College Navigator. Here you can find the average attendence cost (as opposed to the sticker price), see what percentage are given aid and how much, and what transfer/graduation rates are.

Edited September 4, 2012 by Jane in NC
more info

[Janice H]

one of which dd is attending.

 

Even if you are a college sports fan, those schools are only the tip of the iceberg. Guidance counselors, relatives, and friends cannot know all the schools that could be a wonderful fit your student.

 

Dd also applied to one state school that I had never heard of before using the IPED search function; the school's name didn't have our state's name in it and in any case, I had never heard of it.

[Kendall]

My oldest is at a private school 4 hours away that I had not heard of. It is quite well known and thought of in its state(and outside of it) I just wasn't familiar with it myself.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

 

 

I'm an MIT alum. Every once in a while someone in VA will ask me where I went to college, and I'll say, "MIT." Every once in a great while, someone will then look at me, puzzled, and say, "Is that sort of like Virginia Tech?" :lol:

 

I've frequently met people who've never heard of my alma mater, The United States Naval Academy. Sometimes they know it as Annapolis, but just as often, they've never heard of it, even as a West Point for the Navy. People will often ask if you get a degree.

 

I also find that there is something of a New Car Effect with colleges. You know how you've never noticed a car model until you decide to buy it, then you notice them everywhere. I think once you're familiar with a school, then you notice the references.

[momma2three]

Am I the only one who wants specifics of which gems everyone's talking about? :lol:

[TechWife]

People who live around me have never heard of my alma mater, mostly because it's a mid-size out of state college. But, it has some very unique programs and is quite a gem!

[Riverland]

nm

[creekland]

My oldest attends one few (around me) have heard about, but people who hire in his field have heard about it (and recommended it). He loves it there.

 

Middle is going to one few (around me - outside of science fields) have heard about. He loves it there. It's ranked in the top 50 in the US.

 

Youngest might end up at a school I haven't heard of yet - or only have heard of in name as I've searched with oldest (esp since he's now insisting upon a Christian school and I'll admit to not knowing many prior to my search with oldest).

 

The problem with my area is colleges are often only as "good" as their football program if they aren't within a couple of hours. Many couldn't even tell you all 8 Ivy league schools or places like Cal Tech. Fortunately, most employers don't see it that way within their field and they are those whose opinions will ultimately count.

 

I've learned to look for the "lesser-known" schools - esp when trying to fit my boys to a school. I also ask where recent grads have been accepted to grad school or where they got hired.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Am I the only one who wants specifics of which gems everyone's talking about? :lol:

 

Miami University in Oxford Ohio frequently makes lists of public Ivies. ROTC, Greek, not much emphasis on big sports, good science and good humanities.

 

This is one of the schools that I use as a benchmark for meeting the requirements of a solid college.

 

Seattle Pacific University. A friend of ours is attending. She was homeschooled and got solid scholarships for merit. Her focus is linguistics and I've been quite impressed by what she seems to be learning. She's also excited to be there and excited to be learning (which are not trivial). Not a big party school, but they have Zombie Week on campus about once a semester (full campus zombie survival scenarios). Seems like there is a lot of geeky fun to be had.

[momma2three]

Miami University in Oxford Ohio frequently makes lists of public Ivies. ROTC, Greek, not much emphasis on big sports, good science and good humanities.

 

This is one of the schools that I use as a benchmark for meeting the requirements of a solid college.

 

Seattle Pacific University. A friend of ours is attending. She was homeschooled and got solid scholarships for merit. Her focus is linguistics and I've been quite impressed by what she seems to be learning. She's also excited to be there and excited to be learning (which are not trivial). Not a big party school, but they have Zombie Week on campus about once a semester (full campus zombie survival scenarios). Seems like there is a lot of geeky fun to be had.

 

Ah, interesting. I've heard of Miami, because I went to college in Ohio too. I've never heard of Seattle Pacific University, but I live in New England and I'm always embarrassed by how little I know about colleges outside of the area. I'd never heard of Pamona until I was in my 20s, and that's one of the very highest ranked SLACs in the US!

[freesia]

I went to a top 25 LAC that many people have never heard of.

[momma2three]

I went to a top 25 LAC that many people have never heard of.

 

Me too, actually. I think it's top 25... somewhere around there.

Edited September 4, 2012 by momma2three
Double Post

[Riverland]

nm

[Candid]

First I think there's like 4000 colleges in the US (maybe I dreamed that, I don't know), but a bunch and all of them have success stories so finding a college that makes your child a success story is the key.

 

My favorite unknown is Deep Springs: http://www.deepsprings.edu/home They have a total of 26 students, and are only two years. I'm not really sure it's for anyone in my family, but I like it.

[Belacqua]

 

My favorite unknown is Deep Springs: http://www.deepsprings.edu/home They have a total of 26 students, and are only two years. I'm not really sure it's for anyone in my family, but I like it.

 

That is a nifty idea for a school. As you say, not for us (the kid saw "up at dawn" and "no girls" and that was it for Deep Springs), but really interesting for the right student.

 

I know about Grove City, Heather! It was actually the popular college for a lot of the smart girls (why not boys, I don't know) in my high school class. I think our valedictorian went there.

 

Funny what people aren't familiar with, though. I remember reading about a kid who got into Caltech only to have his guidance counselor send him a consoling e-mail telling him not to feel too bad. She also pointed out that if he worked hard, maybe he could transfer to [perfectly good but no Caltech regional school].

[Sebastian (a lady)]

First I think there's like 4000 colleges in the US (maybe I dreamed that, I don't know), but a bunch and all of them have success stories so finding a college that makes your child a success story is the key.

 

My favorite unknown is Deep Springs: http://www.deepsprings.edu/home They have a total of 26 students, and are only two years. I'm not really sure it's for anyone in my family, but I like it.

 

I think Margaret in CO should open an extension of this school when she retires from homeschooling.

 

That or offer one week dude camps for burned out homeschool moms.

[momma2three]

I know someone whose father went to Deep Springs. It sounds like an interesting school, to say the least.

[creekland]

Funny what people aren't familiar with, though. I remember reading about a kid who got into Caltech only to have his guidance counselor send him a consoling e-mail telling him not to feel too bad. She also pointed out that if he worked hard, maybe he could transfer to [perfectly good but no Caltech regional school].

 

:lol::lol::lol: Really funny, but really sad too when it's coming from a "guidance counselor."

[Jane in NC]

First I think there's like 4000 colleges in the US (maybe I dreamed that, I don't know), but a bunch and all of them have success stories so finding a college that makes your child a success story is the key.

 

My favorite unknown is Deep Springs: http://www.deepsprings.edu/home They have a total of 26 students, and are only two years. I'm not really sure it's for anyone in my family, but I like it.

 

Marlboro College with its 250 students is huge in comparison! ;) I have thought that Marlboro would be a terrific college --for the right kid.

[Gwen in VA]

Wow -- Deep Springs is even smaller than my son's college, webb-institute.edu

 

There are 24 students in my son's freshman class and about 88 students total -- he says he knows the name of EVERYONE on campus already! :tongue_smilie:

[Chris in VA]

Don't feel too bad. I had never heard of VCU, where ds is a Sr this year. It's the largest public college in VA.

[FloridaLisa]

A Florida public university many outside of Florida (and even inside) are not aware of is New College, Florida's honors college. No Greek system, everyone must live on campus, small (800ish students), top faculty, and seminar type classes. Consistently turns out students highly competitive for graduate programs. It's an intriguing school but not a good fit for my kids.

 

Lisa

[Mandy in TN]

Both of my big boys are at Berea College. The first time I heard of Berea was when I did the first college search for my oldest when he was in junior high. However, we were looking for small private colleges in rural settings, so I had not heard of most of the schools on his first list.

 

Mandy

[Riverland]

nm

[Belacqua]

Hmmm, should I share that with dh?:D

 

Actually, I always thought the boys were smarter than the girls.... It was the boys in the really, really tough engineering program. When dh went on for his masters, he said that much of the material had been covered during his BS at GCC.

 

Heh. Our community, especially back in the mid-80s, wasn't exactly progressive about gender roles. Once a few girls laid claim to a college, the boys backed off and wouldn't even consider it. Sadly, I doubt things have changed much since then.

[Angie in VA]

I'm an MIT alum. Every once in a while someone in VA will ask me where I went to college, and I'll say, "MIT." Every once in a great while, someone will then look at me, puzzled, and say, "Is that sort of like Virginia Tech?" :lol:

 

 

NO!!!!!! :blushing: Shame on those Virginians!

 

Gwen, I'm a born-and-raised-lived-here-most-of-my-life Virginian and *I* know what, where and how important MIT is!