Friday, June 22, 2007

Where To Go?

I've probably worked in the sausage factory for too many years now to be the best spokesperson for the product. When I'm asked by friends and family what colleges I would recommend their son or daughter consider, I'm often stumped. I know a few places to stay away from, but I find it difficult to give specific positive recommendations.

One college I often mentioned positively was Antioch. Sadly, with its closing my short list of progressive institutions has shrunk further.

I'm once again being asked for college recommendations and I need some help. What schools do you recommend to bright and creative students who want to make the most of their college experience?

6 comments:

  1. Grinnell College. I've heard great things about Carleton College, too.

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  2. I've heard good things about Grinnell and Carleton--but my recommendation is for Agnes Scott, an amazing liberal arts college for women in Decatur, GA. I spend a semester teaching there as a maternity leave replacement, and I've never encountered so much vitality, energy, and creativity in the classroom (and in the college environment). The women in the classes that I taught have so much confidence, strength, and openness--I found it so reassuring, especially since the academy more broadly seems to be becoming more and more pre-professionalized and less attuned to ideals, activism, etc.

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  3. Haverford. The students reinvent their student government every year.

    TR

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  4. That's a bummer about Antioch. I went to Valparaiso U, which was hard in some ways (it's pretty conservative and religious) but I got a lot out of being there, including being part of a small network of disaffected types united by the small size.

    In other news, LP, do you have my email address? I think I may have the wrong one for you but I have a question for you.

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  5. Nate, I don't have an email address for you. Mine is lumpenprofessoriat@gmail.com though.

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  6. Emily 11507, I'm happy to hear that recommend for Agnes Scott. It is a cool school. My best friend's dad, when I was growing up in Dekalb Co., was a german prof there, and I spent many hours playing his son on their tennis courts. Not that this gave me an insight into academic excellence there - but it did seem like a serious place.

    Decatur, where it is located, has become a much more interesting town since about 1990, so Agnes Scott students can do a lot within walking distance.

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