Hidden Gems

I was recently talking to my cousin, and she was asking what are some great schools for an A/B student. There is SO much talk about schools that are high in the rankings, and most people overlook tons of great options that end up being an amazing academic, social, and financial fit for their student. During junior year and the summer after that, it’s so important to sit down and really think about what your teen is looking for in a school. I have written quite a few posts about this. However, I haven’t listed names of these schools.

Me with my college roommate at our alma mater, one of the Colleges That Change Lives

One source to find hidden gems is the book Colleges That Change Lives. This book was written in 2000, but it has been updated. It lists 40 schools that are transformational for the students who attend. My alma mater happens to be one of these schools, hence the picture included in this post of my roommate and me on campus in 2016.

The College Finder book by the college counseling guru Steven Antonoff has just been updated. You might remember my prior post about this when I mentioned that I’m one of myriad counselors listed on page xix as being a contributor to it. It is an 800 page book with list upon list of various ways to categorize schools such as “cost, debt, and return on investment” and “student lifestyles, interests, and personalities.”

If you’ve been following this page for a while, you might also remember me mentioning the Fiske Guide with its impartial reviews and overlapping schools.

What I really wanted to focus on here is Dream School by Jeffrey Selingo that I’ve mentioned a ton because it’s so great! He doesn’t want people to view his list of “new dream schools” as an updated list of “colleges that change lives.” Rather, his goal in this book is to widen the aperture. He states, “It’s about choosing a place where you can thrive, learn, and become the person you’re meant to be. If you’re stuck on prestige, this list isn't for you. To consider a border range of schools, you need to push past that layer of sameness and look deeper in the rankings. These are schools with accessible admissions, financial stability, solid earnings-to-net-price ratio, outcomes that ‘punch above the school’s weight,’ student engagement, good job prospects for graduates, and delivery of value to undergraduates.

Below are some of the 75 schools he lists in various categories. I would highly recommend these to anyone depending on what they’re looking for.

Hidden Values: Tend to be private colleges with strong graduation outcomes and opportunities for fulfilling careers - many of them will also cut you a nice tuition discount. Augustana College, Bentley University, Butler University, Creighton University, Denison University, DePaul University, Depauw University, Dickinson College, Elon University, Fairfield University, Furman University, Gettysburg College, Ithaca College, Loyola University Maryland, Macalester College, Santa Clara University, St. Olaf College, University of Dayton, University of Denver

Breakout Regionals: Tend to draw most of their student body from close by and have a compelling value proposition for students. Florida International University, Georgia Southern University, Marquette University, San Diego State University

Large Leaders: Schools with the depth and breadth of other similar schools, but these are campuses where students can thrive and break free of the “elite college or bust” mentality. Arizona State, Case Western Reserve, Clemson, Drexel, Fordham, Indiana University, Miami University of Ohio, Michigan State, NC State, SMU, Syracuse, Texas A&M, University of Alabama, University of Connecticut, University of Delaware, University of Illinois, University of Iowa, University of Kentucky, University of Maryland, UMass Amherst, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, University of Oklahoma, University of Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech

Happy list building, juniors!