The Best Colleges/Universities that You May Not Know About

[barbino]

A few weeks ago at a family gathering, my brother began asking my oldest nephew about his college plans. He's going into his senior year and is exactly the kind of student that colleges look for, as evidenced by the piles of college information that has already been sent to him. My brother stated sorting it all into 3 piles: 1) Definitely consider 2) Maybe and 3) Definitely not/throw out. My nephew was grilled by 6 eager adults including his parents all with their own ideas of where he should go. It turned into mayhem.

Talking to my nephew one-on-one, I found that he knew exactly what he wanted in a college/university. He found this discussion as amusing as I did, because the final decision is his to make. Since this idea of choosing a college/university is one of my favorite topics on GC, I thought that we could have a thread to discuss the good and bad (hopefully not too bad) aspects of schools.

I'd like the emphasis to be on the more unusual, obscure schools, the ones that are not that well-known yet. For example, I'd like to know about Mississippi Women's College (Mississippi University for Women and Men, Columbus, MS). I'd love to hear from somebody in Minnesota who knows about Winona State University, which is one of my favorite little campuses. There are loads of little colleges to be considered --- if one knows about them. I'll start with my next post.

[barbino]

Lewis University - main campus: Romeoville, IL (It has several other smaller campuses around the Chicago area).
Okay, maybe this is a little "mainstream." But usually the Roman Catholic universities & colleges don't impress me that much unless they are Jesuit. This is one that is the exception to that rule. Founded in 1932 by the Christian Brothers (Lasallian); it has approximately 6800 students. There are both undergrad & grad programs with a large selection of academic programs. There is a BA in Liberal Arts which combines any 2 minors for a total of 128 credits. So you could combine International Business with Philosophy, or Communication Studies with Contemporary Global Studies to design your own program of study.
The students could not be nicer when you are on compus. This is a beautiful little campus with a nice bookstore. The facilities and outside grounds are meticulously maintained. Things are expanding and the library seems to be having growing pains. There are several sororities and fraternities including some co-eds and a "fratority." There are most of the the NPHC sororities and a Kappa Alpha Psi chapter on campus.
My nephew said that some of his friends are going here, so it definitely has already been discovered. I can see why -it's an impressive campus atmosphere.

[barbino]

Columbia College - Chicago, IL (Downtown Chicago Loop area)

This is "The other Columbia" (not Columbia University in New York). This is still pretty "mainstream." This is a very artsy type college with some unusual college programs. Founded in 1890, Columbia has approximately 12,000 students. Great Radio, TV, Film & Video programs among others like Dance Movement Therapy and Counseling, Game Design, and Fashion Business. There are also more traditional liberal arts and sciences offerings, but the students here can be highly untraditional.

Everything is taught from an arts perspective here. Creativity is rewarded. If you don't like to write, you may be able to contract with your professor to do an art project instead. It's in downtown Chicago, so it has a very urban feel. Students are surrounded by Chicago's skyscrapers. The campus includes the city. Columbia College's main building is right in the heart of it.

[TriDeltaSallie]

Originally Posted by barbino

Lewis University - main campus: Romeoville, IL (It has several other smaller campuses around the Chicago area).
Okay, maybe this is a little "mainstream." But usually the Roman Catholic universities & colleges don't impress me that much unless they are Jesuit. This is one that is the exception to that rule.

Could you explain this more? (Disclaimer: I'm not Catholic so I'm curious!)

[barbino]

The Jesuits are such excellent educators that I know that any campus that they teach at will require a student to fully engage in learning in order to stay enrolled. Their high school programs are all "college prep" because there is no need for a Jesuit education if it does not prepare one for further academic study.

Whether it is Loyola University in Chicago (I worked here for a few years), Marquette University in Milwaukee, Washington University in St. Louis, College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, or any of the other numerous Jesuit institutions, a Jesuit education is a true liberal arts education, no matter what the field of study.

Integrating the classics with theological thought and social justice, the Jesuits teach a timeless academic tradition that is both contemporary and historical at the same time. Members of my own family have gone to Jesuit schools, so I am familiar with their curriculum. I am no longer Roman Catholic. But the Jesuits still impress me with their educational standards.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by barbino

The Jesuits are such excellent educators that I know that any campus that they teach at will require a student to fully engage in learning in order to stay enrolled. Their high school programs are all "college prep" because there is no need for a Jesuit education if it does not prepare one for further academic study.

Whether it is Loyola University in Chicago (I worked here for a few years), Marquette University in Milwaukee, Washington University in St. Louis, College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, or any of the other numerous Jesuit institutions, a Jesuit education is a true liberal arts education, no matter what the field of study.

Integrating the classics with theological thought and social justice, the Jesuits teach a timeless academic tradition that is both contemporary and historical at the same time. Members of my own family have gone to Jesuit schools, so I am familiar with their curriculum. I am no longer Roman Catholic. But the Jesuits still impress me with their educational standards.

How could you forget the flagship Jesuit university, my beloved Georgetown???



Also, St. Louis University is Jesuit but Washington University in St. Louis is not.

[barbino]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

How could you forget the flagship Jesuit university, my beloved Georgetown???



Also, St. Louis University is Jesuit but Washington University in St. Louis is not.

Sorry, Sen, for not mentioning Georgetown specifically. There are so many Jesuit institutions and so little time ...
Thanks for pointing out that it is St. Louis University that is Jesuit and not Washington University. To me, this falls under the category of 1) Boston College & Boston University (same town, two very different schools) and 2) Georgetown and George Washington (same town, two even more different schools). One of my brothers went to one of these for his masters and I never could remember which one it was.
I love your GIF. Let us know about Georgetown; give us a profile of your alma mater, mainstream as it is.

[deadbear80]

Originally Posted by barbino

Whether it is Loyola University in Chicago (I worked here for a few years), Marquette University in Milwaukee, Washington University in St. Louis, College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, or any of the other numerous Jesuit institutions, a Jesuit education is a true liberal arts education, no matter what the field of study.

Wash U. is not nor has it ever been a Jesuit institution. While it was founded as "Eliot Seminary", it has always been nonsectarian .

[KDCat]

Wash U was founded by Unitarians. It's sort of the opposite of Roman Catholic.

St. Louis University is the Jesuit university in St. Louis. It's a solid school, but it's not Wash U.

[Titchou]

I would venture to add on the female side that any Sacred Heart school would be included in that discussion. They are considered the female Jesuits from an educational standpoint. The fact that there are many fewer nuns today than in the past may have impacted them though. I've been out of school for a number of decades.

[Titchou]

And back to the original post, interesting to me is the comment that it is the young man's decision to make. Is he independently funded at this point in his life? His parents have no say?

[SIGMANU@MSU]

Mississippi University for Women is located about 20 min away from Mississippi State where I went to school...It's a small university of about 2500 students. It's mostly known for it's Nursing program and for Culinary arts. MUW, or "The W" as it's called here doesn't have athletics and the vast majority of it's students are women (like 85% I think) even though it's admitted men since 1982 I believe...I attribute this the fact that I'm a dude and I wouldn't want my diploma to say "Mississippi University FOR WOMEN". I think a name change would help attract students and improve it's image for sure. As far as greek life goes there are a few NPHC orgs, but there are no IFC or NPC sororities on campus. They do have "social clubs" on campus which really work like local sororities--however they have 2 year and 4 year clubs...these clubs are for women. According to their web site they have one local fraternity.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by SIGMANU@MSU

Mississippi University for Women is located about 20 min away from Mississippi State where I went to school...It's a small university of about 2500 students. It's mostly known for its Nursing program and for Culinary arts. MUW, or "The W" as it's called here doesn't have athletics and the vast majority of it's students are women (like 85% I think) even though it's admitted men since 1982 I believe...I attribute this the fact that I'm a dude and I wouldn't want my diploma to say "Mississippi University FOR WOMEN". I think a name change would help attract students and improve its image for sure. As far as greek life goes there are a few NPHC orgs, but there are no IFC or NPC sororities on campus. They do have "social clubs" on campus which really work like local sororities--however they have 2 year and 4 year clubs...these clubs are for women. According to their web site they have one local fraternity.

A former GC poster attended the W...I believe she was a member of its "Highlander" club.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by SIGMANU@MSU

MUW, or "The W" as it's called here doesn't have athletics and the vast majority of it's students are women (like 85% I think) even though it's admitted men since 1982 I believe...I attribute this the fact that I'm a dude and I wouldn't want my diploma to say "Mississippi University FOR WOMEN". I think a name change would help attract students and improve it's image for sure.

Is there a reason, other than tradition/alumnae resistance, that the name hasn't been changed? When The Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, popularly known as "Woman's College" or "WC," went co-ed in 1963, the name was changed to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. There were certainly many alumnae who found that disappointing, and there are still WC alumnae out there who talk about the school as "WC." (BTW, with over 18,000 students, the school still has about a 2:1 female-to-male ratio.)

The "new" name had the effect of emphasizing the connection to the UNC System, but it also set a pattern that ultimately had the effect of making the school another "UNC at ___." When the consolidated university system was formed in 1931, it was comprised of three institutions brought under one umbrella -- UNC-Chapel Hill, WC and the State College of Agriculture and Engineering (since 1961 NC State University -- the school's trustees and supporters in the legislature fought off efforts to rename the school UNC-Raleigh). So, when WC changed its name in 1963, it was the only "UNC at ____" other than Chapel Hill. But since then, the system has grown to include all 16 public universities in the state, 6 of which now have a "UNC at ____" name. (And one of those is Chapel Hill, the school everyone thinks of when they hear "UNC.")

While the move to a new name was appropriate and necessary in 1963, I think some still wish that the new name had reflected something of the individuality of the school.

[modorney]

> Also, Modorney - thanks for the pm. If you clean out your box I can resend my response.

All cleaned out! Thank's for the tip!