Hidden Gem Colleges in the United States: An Orange View

Did you know that the US has nearly 4000 colleges and universities?

While we are aware of some big names that immediately grab our attention, sometimes the best things are hidden from plain sight. The best college for you might be one you haven’t heard of before!

Here are a few colleges for you to research and who knows, perhaps even add it to your list!

Wheaton College

• Wheaton College is a selective, secular liberal arts college located in Norton, Massachusetts, with a 1,760-member student body drawn from over 40 states and 71 countries. Wheaton guarantees funding for every student to participate in an internship, research project or experiential learning opportunity before graduation – a program known as The Wheaton Edge.
• Students can choose from 47 majors and 59 minors. Top majors include Business and Management, Psychology, Biology, Neuroscience, Political Science, and Economics.
• Since 2000, more than 200 Wheaton students have won national scholarships and fellowships including Rhodes and Watson. 97 percent of Wheaton alumni in the four most recent classes have secured full- or part-time employment, are pursuing advanced education or are gaining career experience through internships, fellowships or service opportunities.
• Wheaton has been named one of the top 40 U.S. liberal arts schools for the second consecutive year—and moved up several spots to 106th among all U.S. schools—in a report published by Times Higher Education and The Wall Street Journal.
• With easy access to Boston, Providence and New York City, Wheaton is a desirable choice for many international students

Bucknell University

• Established in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg; renamed Bucknell University in 1886 in honor of William Bucknell, a major benefactor. The University is highly selective, private, nonsectarian, coeducational (since 1883), residential, and undergraduate, with a small graduate program.
• An undergraduate, liberal arts university in the heart of Pennsylvania, this small-size school has a lot to offer across three top colleges: Arts & Sciences, Engineering and the Freeman College of Management.
• In a 2020 analysis of four-year colleges, U.S. News & World Report called Bucknell one of the top 20 “colleges with the best return on investment.” The average total aid package for first-year students with financial need is about $52,100, which includes need-based grants, scholarships, loans and student employment.
• In 2023, the campus enrolled 3,846 undergraduates and 46 graduate students, representing most states and 57 foreign countries. The minority student enrollment is more than 800. About 200 students come from foreign countries. 88% of undergraduates live on campus.
• The University has preserved its commitment to the liberal arts, but it has also integrated other kinds of learning into the curriculum.

Dickinson College

• Dickinson is located in Carlisle, named a “most livable city” by Forbes and minutes from the state capital of Harrisburg. The campus is connected to a vibrant downtown that offers eclectic dining, shopping, and entertainment options.
• Dickinson is a nationally recognized liberal arts college offering innovative programs like data analytics, neuroscience and security studies, and our distinctive approach translates into a competitive edge.
• The college is a member of the EcoLeague Consortium, a group of colleges dedicated to ecologically focused education, modeling sustainability through their operations and facilities, and training future leaders and thinkers in cultural and ecological sustainability.
• What do the president of the New York Knicks, the director of the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art, the president and CEO of L.L.Bean, Lazard’s global head of private capital advisory, IBM’s head of quantum initiatives and a newly minted astrochemist at NASA have in common? They’re all Dickinson graduates.
• Dickinson offers one of the most respected off-campus study programs in the nation, and two-thirds of their students study abroad in more than 50 programs in 24 countries on six continents.

Also sharing below my go-to space to research for Hidden Gem Colleges reports and more as a college planner:

It is best to select a university that has a strong reputation in the discipline or program of your interest! Moreover, the overall rank of a university will not always provide the kind of experience that you might be looking for. Therefore, relying on student feedback becomes key in order to evaluate the right fit.

This is definitely not an exhaustive list, just my view as an Orange Counselor. More college planner insights, next time… keep reading!