My alma mater Florida Gulf Coast University is a relatively new school. About 10,000 students, it's public, and the cheapest in Florida. They just reached Division 1 status but are in the lower tiers, not like the Big East or something like that. We definitely have a cross country team, and amazing running paths. There is also an engineering school for which the state-of-the-art building was jsut completed. The dorms are some of the best in the country and some are even beachfront. No football team though. The college really focuses on environmental issues and tries to be as green as possible and is currently installing one of the largest solar panel fields in the state of Florida. The whole place is just over 10 years old so it's really pleasing to the eye. The campus has alot of green space and protected wildlife areas (how many colleges can you go to and see alligators on the way to class? - safely I might add, from a boardwalk that goes from the parking lot to academic buildings)

After writing about it, I think my school sounds pretty awesome. But Florida might be too far and too hot for a prospective cross country runner.

There are a lot of great schools in Texas that have excellent engineering programs. I'm not really sure about the level of competition when it comes to cross country running, though. University of Texas at Austin is a good choice both for academics and atmosphere (Austin is probably my favorite city!), but for a smaller town feel Texas State in San Marcos is good... right in between Austin and San Antonio.

My DD wanted to go to USC for their engineering program, but her grades weren't enough to get her in. I'm not sure if they have a women's cross country, but it's a huge school so they might.

Gary~I know about 5 kids who to go Point Loma Nazarene!!

Thanks for the ideas, guys. Of course thinking about far away lands like AK and PA is making me hyperventilate.....I'll live I'm sure. It's fun to hear about all of your experiences.

midwife~when my DD was a junior she was entertaining ideas of school in Boston or even in Canada. When it came down to actually applying, the farthest she applied was Arizona (4 hour drive from home). She sent her SAT scores to Texas, but didn't actually apply. In the end, she chose a school that is less than 2 hours from home.

My mom actually forbid me from going to a school outside of southern california when I was a senior in high school. I had been looking at schools like Harvard and John Hopkins on the east coast and Rice in Texas. We were extremely poor though and financial aid would've helped with the tuition but travel costs were a different issue. I wish I could've gone though, I love the east coast but then again not sure if I would've ever came back :)