Decatur, GA
Located in the Atlanta suburb of Decatur, Georgia, Agnes Scott College is a private liberal arts college for women. Affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, the college is open to students of all faiths and beliefs. Students admitted to the school have the choice of joining more than 50 student-led organizations. With fewer than 1,000 students, Agnes Scott College promotes unity through a ceremony known as Black Cat. This ceremony marks the end of orientation and officially welcomes the new class to the community.Freshmen admitted to the college are required to live in a dormitory assigned by the school but can select their roommate through an online matching service. Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors participate in a housing lottery during the spring semester. All students are expected to live on campus, but students can request an exemption. Agnes Scott College is a member of the USA South Athletic Conference in the NCAA Division III and fields six varsity programs. Its teams are known as the Scotties.Agnes Scott College prides itself on its sustainable practices and offers composting in its dining areas and at some events. The college offers a post-baccalaureate pre-medical program designed for non-science majors who want to pursue medical school but have no previous training in the sciences. This 12-month program is the only one of its kind in the state of Georgia. Students looking to experience the night life or overall city life of Atlanta are only six miles from the center of downtown. Notable alumni of the college include Jennifer Nettles, lead singer of the Grammy Award-winning band Sugarland; Ila Burdette, Georgias first female Rhodes Scholar; and Katherine Krill, former president and CEO of womens clothing retailer Ann Inc.
Wheaton, IL
Based in Wheaton, Illinois, Wheaton College is a Christian liberal arts school where, it says, "the pursuit of faith and learning is taken seriously." The college believes academic excellence, Christian commitment and leadership are the essential ingredients to a liberal arts education. Freshmen are welcomed into the school with an orientation that includes multiple lunches with current students, a formal event with the faculty and a sightseeing trip to Chicago, which is 25 miles east of the campus. Wheaton College believes in four building blocks for an education: attending classes, going to chapel, participating in extracurricular activities and living on campus. Students are required to live on campus during their career at Wheaton and can choose to live in residence halls, campus apartments or campus houses. The Wheaton College Thunder are members of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in the NCAA Division III.Wheaton College offers students multiple off-campus study opportunities. The college sponsors study abroad programs in Asia, England, France and Spain, among other destinations. It houses a Science Station in Rapid City, South Dakota, for students interested in field instruction in the natural sciences. For students interested in music, the Conservatory of Music at Wheaton College is internationally recognized and is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. In honor of one of its most notable alumni, Christian evangelist Billy Graham, the Billy Graham Center is the primary location for a majority of Bible and theology classes and the site of multiple museums and auditoriums. The college uses this center to share its faith and beliefs with campus visitors. Other notable alumni of the school include horror film director Wes Craven, symphony conductor John Nelson and former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.