College suggestions.

[Roz]

Hello CAA! Quick beginning note: I have searched this topic on the forums but haven't seen any that could apply to my situation. If I have just missed it I am sorry, and would someone point me to the correct thread.

I am in the process of trying to transfer to another college next fall and I wanted to hear from some brothers and sisters in Christ about favorite and/or recommended colleges. I have asked some non-Christian friends but they recommend colleges for things that I would not be interested in, like the ease of drinking, partying, etc. The reason I ask CAA is because there is such a huge pool of people here from so many different places that love the Lord. I would really like to attend a Christian school but I realize that may not be an option realistically.

Must haves:

--In the USA.

--I am a fast pitch softball player so I would be looking for a college with a competitive woman's softball team to try out for.

--I really would not like to go to a huge gigantic school.

--A strong Art program, since art will probably be my major wherever I go.

--Four year program. I'm not looking for a community college.

--Nice surrounding community. I doubt I would live on campus so a college with a safe surrounding environment would be important.

Any recommendations would be appreciated. I would rather have too many to research than too few.

Thanks you so much and God Bless! Roz \^_^/

[Hiryu]

How far are you willing to travel?

[mechana2015]

The reason I ask CAA is because there is such a huge pool of people here from so many different places that love the Lord. I would really like to attend a Christian school but I realize that may not be an option realistically.

Must haves:

--I am a fast pitch softball player so I would be looking for a college with a competitive woman's softball team to try out for.

--I really would not like to go to a huge gigantic school.

These may be somewhat mutually exclusive. I don't know a lot about Softball, but my experience with college sports in general has led me to believe that a school will have to be a certain size to support a competitive DI or DII team just to attract the talent and funding it needs to participate and be competitive. Look at what league any school you consider competes in, and note that there are VERY few christian schools that are thought of as competitive in any sport on a nationwide level.

--A strong Art program, since art will probably be my major wherever I go.

This should actually override our sports preference unfortunately. This is your major so you should absolutely prioritize this, unless you plan on playing softball professionally. A less prestigious softball program would be preferable to a mediocre art program.

[Roz]

USA. Aside from that I dunno. *shrug* And who knows, maybe someday I will go abroad for a year.

A less prestigious softball program would be preferable to a mediocre art program.

Precisely. Softball would be partially for scholarship purposes. I would just need a school that was competitive enough to give out athletic scholarships.

[ClosetOtaku]

A quick visit to the NCAA Division I Fastpitch Softball Website suggests that very large State schools have the most competitive teams. The Top 5 from last year include UCLA, Arizona, Georgia, Tennessee, and Washington. These are all huge schools.

I attended UNC Chapel Hill for my graduate degree. Kiplinger's Personal Finanace ranked UNC Chapel Hill as #1 for best value in public education in 2010, so it is a bargain for in-state folks (maybe not so much for out of state). It is a large school. However, it has many of the other aspects you are looking for, and placed in the Top 25 of Division I schools for fastpitch softball. Getting admission, though, is extremely competitive.

If you are looking for a smaller school, perhaps you should consider Division II for enhanced economic aid (but not a full-ride scholarship).

As far as strength of Art program... my experience is that a program is frequently as good as you make it or as rewarding as you are willing to work for it. There are a lot of different measures of what constitutes a good Art program. And the only way you will actually be able to judge if a program is a good one is when you talk to students, faculty, and alumni on a one-on-one level. Unless you narrow it down a little bit in terms of what you can afford or where you will go geographically, it's a little difficult to make recommendations.

And, I'm an engineer, so I don't know the quality of Art programs as well as other people would. I do know UNC Chapel Hill has a number of galleries, shows, and other outlets for artists to demonstrate their work. My undergraduate school (Carnegie-Mellon in Pittsburgh) had a brutal art school environment that fostered competition between students; not sure if that's what you really want, but maybe that would be most beneficial for you.

Again, just my two cents. I think if you could narrow your scope some, it might help us try to point you in the right direction...

[Roz]

Thanks for your help! What I mean by competitive is not club or just a walk-on team. That kind of team usually doesn't give out scholarships. And the top 5 teams you mentioned are exactly that. The very top. I know girls that would love to play softball for Tennessee in their wildest dreams. I'm looking for something MUCH smaller.

Some of the schools I have looked at and liked are (lol, I feel like I'm asking for an anime recommendation ^_^ ) Bryan College TN, Gardner-Web NC and Cedarville OH. Probably not any schools smaller than these but not nearly as big the U of Tennessee, etc.

By a good art program I mean that they must actually have an art program and a major for art.

Geographically. I would prefer Eastern USA, although I may be open to Colorado (just cause it's so cool! ). Not extreme Northern (New York, New Jersey, etc.) or extreme South (pretty much Florida).


I hope this helps! Thank again all!

[Atria35]

One other way to look is giong through collegeboard.org. They have a system that goes through criteria that are important to you, and can help make a choice (you can compare colleges) or find other options.

[shooraijin]

USA. Aside from that I dunno. *shrug* And who knows, maybe someday I will go abroad for a year.



Precisely. Softball would be partially for scholarship purposes. I would just need a school that was competitive enough to give out athletic scholarships.

Mech is right, you're going to have a problem finding a small school offering that (Title IX has really changed the collegiate athletic dynamic in ways both good and bad).

[Roz]

Thanks for the advice guys! And thanks for the website Atria35, I'll give it a shot. I was thinking I might have to do that kind of web search at some point.