Salve Regina University

If not the most beautiful college I've ever seen, Salve Regina is certainly one of the prettiest. Located in the Mansion District on the shores of Newport, RI, the school's buildings are just incredible. There are just over 2000 undergrads here, strong science and criminal justice programs, an MBA program, division 3 sports and a strong chance for B+ students to gain admittance. Every student I spoke with here seemed very happy and couldn't say enough good things about their school. Where else do students really want to stay at their college over the summer?!

University of Rhode Island

With nearly 15,000 students, a variety of majors, and about 3 hours from home, Students from Voorheesville who like Syracuse U and/or UVM might want to consider URI as well. Their International Engineering and International Business programs sound very cool and have students regularly spending semesters in China, France, Germany and Spain. Their Pharmacy and Nursing programs are very selective but, overall, students with above average high school records stand a good shot at acceptance into the college.

New England Institute of Technology

In 2 years, the New England Institute of Technology will be moving to a new, centralized location in Rhode Island while still offering accelerated degrees in Auto Tech, Architectural Tech, Nursing, Electrical, Computer Programming and many other technical fields. They start classes 4 times per year, have 10 week quarters and allow students to earn an Associates in just 18 months or a Bachelors in just 3 years. They will have campus housing available once they move and are just 3 hours from Vville. Open admissions means that all high school grads will be accepted here.

Wiliam&Mary

The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg,VA is the country's second oldest with the oldest college building-Wren Hall- pictured above. Known as a 'Public Ivy', W&M is far more difficult to get accepted into for out-of-state residents than for locals. Many grads from here go on to serve in the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps and many more go on to Law or Med School. Located adjacent to the historic section of the city, minutes from Busch Gardens and less than an hour from the ocean, students have many options for fun outside of campus. On campus, lots of activity happens in and around the 'sunken gardens', a massive tract of land in the middle of campus that is several feet lower than the surrounding grounds. Greek life is big here and you can, according to legend, kiss your BF/GF on the Crim Dell bridge and be together forever! Students from nearly every state and many foreign countries attend W&M although at least half come from Virginia. Thomas Jefferson and Jon Stewart are famous alums as will be Jenna Massaroni (VHS class of '07)!

Princeton

The average applicant to Princeton scored about 2100 on the SAT1 and over 700 on 3 SAT2 exams. They rejected more than 90% of them. Add to that the fact that over 1000 undergraduates (of the 4800 total) play a varsity or JV sport AND that students from all 50 states and hundreds of foreign countries apply here and you might have an appreciation of how difficult it is to be admitted.
That said, it seems like such an idyllic place that, if you have the numbers, you should consider it. It's easily one of the most beautiful campuses I've ever been on, focuses on undergraduates, has an incredibly rich history and super-famous alums (at least 2 presidents, 1 queen, senators, actors and our current first lady).
Another plus; their financial aid policies make it possible to graduate debt-free.
With majors in Architecture and several types of Engineering as well as dozens of more traditional Liberal Arts, there is a lot to choose from.
Princeton is just under 200 miles from the Ville, right in between Manhattan and Philadelphia with a small train station right on campus.

TCNJ

In 1996, Trenton State changed it's name to The College of New Jersey and, perhaps, changed it's image at about the same time. While on the bus tour in Vermont, I spent a lot of time with some counselors from NJ and got the impression that this was a 'hot' school for many of their kids. High praise from several prominent national magazines certainly supports their claim. It's a really nice looking campus located in Ewing which is actually right next to Trenton. Ewing seems like a more upscale suburb- a nice place. The admissions couselors I spoke with made it clear that they would love to have more out of state students. There are currently 5600 full time undergrads with plans to grow to 6000. The campus is just over 200 miles from VVille, has majors in Engineering, Sciences, Nursing, Education, Business, Creative and Performing Arts and most of the common majors you'd find at other liberal arts schools. Just 10 minutes from Princeton and less than an hour from both NYC and Philly, TCNJ is worth a look.

Dartmouth

The smallest of the Ivy League with just 4300 undergrads, Dartmouth is quite difficult to get in and has an extremely high retention rate and satisfied grads who give back to the school generously. Located in the small town of Hanover, NH it's just over the Vermont border and about 3.5 hours from VVille. While I was there, I happened to run in to Steven Wang (VHS '07) and had coffee with Billy Corbett (VHS '06). Amazingly, in 2008 we had 5 former students attending Dartmouth at the same time!
A unique feature about this college is "the Dartmouth Plan"- basically a quarterly calender that allows students flexibility to take just 3 classes at a time for 10 weeks. Typically, a student will attend 3 of the 4 quarters each year, including at least one summer quarter (New Hampshire is beautiful in the summer). Most students will spend at least 1 and up to 3 quarters abroad. The schedule also allows for internships during times when most college students are not available to intern, making the competition for spots almost nonexistent.
The Tuck School of Business and the Thayer School of Engineering offer popular majors. Current hot paths of study include International Studies as well as Global Health. Small classes but lots of opportunities for undergraduate research were points stressed during both the tour and info session.
Social life tends to be dominated by the Greeks. 60% of eligible students (sophs and older)are members of a frat or sorority. The school's student run newspapers might have one believe that debauchery was the rule on weekends, but academics are challenging and students must work hard to be successful. The are many artistic, athletic and altruistic options to follow for those who don't believe the school paper.