The Best Colleges/Universities that You May Not Know About

[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.

[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!

[pshsx1]

Lawrence Technological University is a small private university located in Southfield, Michigan, just a few minutes outside of Detroit. Lawrence Tech is in a great location and is less than 30 minutes from downtown Detroit, shopping centers in Novi and Troy, the Detroit Zoo, and popular Royal Oak and Ferndale. Lawrence Tech has about 4500 enrolled students with under 1000 living on campus. LTU's strongest academic programs are Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Engineering Technology, and Computer Science. LTU has also been ranked as "Best in the Midwest" by the Princeton Review and US News & World Report, in the top 30% by Bloomberg Businessweek, a Military Friendly School, and numerous other accolades. The university has been rapidly expanding its athletics since recently joining the National Association of Collegiate Athletics (NAIA). Student life is also very vibrant on the campus and a new burst of traditions and celebrations have exploded on the campus in recent years. LTU's new slogan, "Possible is Everything," is very evident as almost 77$ of class sizes contain under 20 students (student-faculty ratio of 11:1) which allow you to create unique 1-on-1 connections with your professors, deans, and directors. When it comes to Greek Life, members of Greek organizations are very active on campus, but only 5% of men and 7% of women are involved in Greek Life. An Order of Omega chapter does exist on campus. Greek are governed by the All-Greek Council, the IFC, and the NPHC. There is one NPC sorority (along with 2 locals) on campus, hence the lack of a Panhell. In terms of growth, the University was just approved by the City of Southfield to commence construction of new housing units, educational facilities, new athletic fields, and Greek Row. The University is very heavily involved with the City of Southfield's downtown development.

[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.

[ms_gwyn]

I just found out about St. John's College in Annapolis & Santa Fe

and their Great Books program and it grants 1 degree, a BA in Liberal Arts and how they go about it...it just sounds interesting and intense St. John's College

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by ms_gwyn

I just found out about St. John's College in Annapolis & Santa Fe

and their Great Books program and it grants 1 degree, a BA in Liberal Arts and how they go about it...it just sounds interesting and intense St. John's College

I only found out about them recently also.... I'm really into what they're about.

[justgo_withit]

Originally Posted by ms_gwyn

I just found out about St. John's College in Annapolis & Santa Fe

and their Great Books program and it grants 1 degree, a BA in Liberal Arts and how they go about it...it just sounds interesting and intense St. John's College

St. John's is gorgeous! It's so funny that they share the town with the Naval Academy, too. They have a rivalry croquet match every year certainly interesting to watch.

[barbino]

Thanks for the responses, everybody. I want to apologize for not getting back sooner. My husband came back from his missions trip to South Korea with an unexpected visitor - a missionary from Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). He is currently an intern pastor, and our pastor was still in Korea, so he was expected to show her around town for 4 days. In between family birthdays, church stuff & showing her Chicago & Wisconsin (gotta "do" Wisconsin), I am exhausted. I could not even remember my password & had to look it up.

I'm going to post the 2 schools that I had ready to post Friday am and then I'll respond about the Great Books colleges-- they are all very unusual.

[barbino]

Both of these colleges have approx. 2800 students. One is Jesuit, one is affiliated with the United Church of Christ. One does not have any Greek life; on the other campus it seems to be growing. When I chose to profile these 2 schools at once, I did not know that they were exactly the same size; it just worked out that way.

College of the Holy Cross - Worcester, MA (outside of Boston)

Founded in 1843, this Jesuit/Catholic college is undergraduate only. It has an older, traditional style campus. I personally love classical architecture & this campus satisfies this requirement. It has a large selection of liberal arts programs including Africana Studies, Latin American and Latino Stidies, Catholic Studies, Deaf Education, Naval Science, and Peace and Conflict Studies (how about the last one for "social justice"?) The emphasis seems to be on contemporary global culture. There are no fraternities or sororities.

[barbino]

Elmhurst College - Elmhust, IL (west suburb of Chicago)

Founded in 1871, Elmhurst is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and has programs for both undergraduate and graduate study. Elmhurst has an interesting church-related history of growth. It has small classes (approx. 13:1 student-faculty ratio). Elmhurst has an excellent academic reputation with both liberal arts and business/management offerings like Applied Geospatial Technologies, Musical Theatre, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Exercise Science, and Jazz Studies. It has a beautiful little campus and the train stops right by it and runs into the city at regular intervals.

Elmurst has Greek life - all conferences. What is different here is that the NPHC chapters all share campuses with other universities: Kappa Alpha Psi and Delta Sigma Theta with Lewis University (previously profiled in this thread), Alpha Kappa Alpha with Dominican University, and Zeta Phi Beta with Chicago State.

[barbino]

I've tried to get a long post up 2x - it must be the computer at the church. Irritating! I'll have to redo it a third time on another computer tommorrow.

[kaylaxlove]

William Woods University- Fulton, MO (roughly halfway between Kansas City & St. Louis)

This is my school! It's a small school with right around 3,000 students, it's on a private campus which is GORGEOUS, 2 lakes on campus, a bridge over one that leads to and from some of the buildings. There are around 40 different majors at this liberal arts institution. There is a stellar Equestrian program, with four seats and a excellent Equestrian Science & Equestrian Administration programs. Our American Sign Language Interpreting program is one of the best in the country. The Arts department also boasts excellent Graphic Design, Studio Art, Acting and Musical Theatre programs. It's an NAIA school with excellent athletics and a competitive Athletic Training department. I could rave for days about the small class sizes, alumni support and professors who are knowledgeable as well as professionals working in their industry. WWU is a diamond in the rough just waiting to be found!

As far as Greek Life: There are four NPC sororities and two IFC fraternities on campus. The student population is roughly 35 percent Greek and the university is extremely supportive of Greek organizations and their presence on campus.

[barbino]

OK, you beat me to it !!! On my list of schools to profile is William Woods, Stephens, and Lindenwood Colleges, all in MO, and all having a liberal arts program along with an equestrian studies program (I used to ride/show).

William Woods was the first college I looked at when I was in high school, but I considered all three. I went to a large university instead. I was so excited when I saw your post. I have never seen these 3 campuses, though.

[barbino]

I'll have to break this up into parts because I've tried 3 x to post this now.

Imagine sitting around a table with 6-20 students and one or two tutors/discussion facilitators discussing ancient literature and classical authors like Plato, Euclid, Sappho. Pythagoras, Thucydides, Darwin, Gibbon, Hume, W.E.B. Du Bois, Godel, Simone De Beauvoir, Einstein, Freud, Descartes, Sartre, Rousseau, and more - the great thinkers of history. You are having "The Great Conversation" - unpacking the important ideas of these writers by reading the original sources. There are no textbooks with paraphrasing, only direct quotes from the authors themselves. St. John's College (Annapolis, MD and Santa Fe, NM is the most well-known example of the Great Books curriculum.