If she's worried about isolated schools you might want to nix College of the Atlantic. The school is tin and Bar Harbor, although lovely, is the definition of isolated.
@dadof2d Bennington: Too small, too isolated. So, yes, @Sue22, COA should get dropped too but I am completely intrigued and want to go visit myself so I may put it in the Spring Break visit mix as my wild card. (I'm sure I'll be rethinking that 'round about Portsmouth NH...)
Another update: PSAT11 came in at 650M 700EBRW, and she just got a 30 on a proctored practice ACT. No prep for either of these, and/but she also said tonight she's not interested in any tutoring or test prep. So, filling in the Match/Likely part of the list is increasingly important.
Definitely apply:
Reach: Barnard
Match: Byn Mawr, Macalester
Likely: Mount Holyoke, Sarah Lawrence
Want to choose 6-8 more to visit this winter and over spring break from this longer list:
Reach: Brown, Wellesley, Vassar, Wesleyan, Bates (high match? @Lindagaf ), Middlebury
Match: NYU (reach?), Skidmore
Likely: Conn College, Bard, Eugene Lang of New School, Clark, Hampshire (match?), Wheaton
College counselor has suggested at least researching this list, none of which seem like a good fit to me (D hasn't done research yet):
Bowdoin
Hamilton
Hobart William Smith
Lafayette
Oberlin
University of RIchmond
William and Mary
I'd take Middlebury off your list and put Oberlin on from the GC's list based on vibe. Brown is probably a super reach but no harm in looking. The GC's list looks way more mainstream than your D's, which suggests that he/she doesn't really understand what she's looking for.
Agree with @gardenstategal that it makes sense to add Oberlin and drop Middlebury, as Oberlin would overlap in terms of culture a lot with Bryn Mawr, Holyoke etc -- independent minded, interesting students.
In terms of match, have you considered Dickinson? While it has a fairly "mainstream" vibe, the kids we know from there are smart, hard working, all around nice kids. And the art facilities are gorgeous -- a restored shoe factory bordering campus, with student loft apartments next door! My kid was salivating over the prospect of rolling out of his loft apartment and heading to the art department.
Thanks for the helpful messages, @Midwestmomofboys . We know a few Dickinson faculty and agree that's a good fit. The kid went through this list from GC and took them all off the visit prospect list for Spring:
Bowdoin
Hamilton
Hobart William Smith
Lafayette
Oberlin
University of RIchmond
William and Mary
Oberlin was the toughest to take off but distance from home and distance from a city were the deciding factor. Bard College made it onto visit list even after a look at Google maps and the train/shuttle schedule.
We're getting closer to our spring break visit list. Need to rule in/out: Vassar, Wesleyan, Conn College, Hampshire, Skidmore, Middlebury. I think I can convince her that Middlebury is not the right culture/vibe fit, and we will also look at the all-helpful Google maps again! (It's been an eye opener how poor my kid's geography knowledge is!)
circuitriderRegistered UserPosts: 3,199Senior Member
I'd hold on to Wesleyan. Not because I think it's necessarily better than any of the others on your remaining list, but, because it's size gives her the largest on-campus dating pool. Hampshire, of course, has the largest off-campus dating pool.
Monkey wrench thrown in the works by sudden very keen interest in NYU. (Talk about a large on- and off-campus dating pool!). I spent some time earlier trying to figure out how applying to NYU works -- do you have to apply to a specific major or just a specific school? Confused. I'll post query in an NYU-specific board.
Wow what a difference three months and a 6-day tour can make! I almost laugh looking through the posts above in terms of what we've learned and what D20 thinks she wants now. In the last 6 days we managed to: rule out NYU (based on Gallatin info session only), The New School, and Wesleyan; confirm that Mount Holyoke is still on the list (did interview and overnight with cousin); add Vassar to the "definitely apply" list; and park Bard on the "maybe apply" list. But perhaps the most interesting takeaway of all after this tour is that she would like to see "more bigger schools in really good cities.". Not sure exactly what that will look like (or how much more bandwidth I've got for visits), but the list she's going to go research some more includes Pitt (we're in-state), McGill, Cornell, Tufts, and Northeastern. I'm sure the landscape will have shifted equally dramatically in another 3 months...
How about DC schools? GWU and American might bring some merit money. Cool city and LGBT friendly campuses. There is some Greek Life which could be a problem for your D. Check out the degree plans plus changing her major should be doable at these schools.
Thanks @txstella, I was on the same page as you in suggesting GW & American (and also UVM) for the bigger schools to explore list but she didn't bite. Surprised about UVM given strengths in environmental, but what can you do? From my limited research over the past day, I'm surprised to see how much more selective Northeastern has gotten! Wow.
Replies to: Help us balance out a visit/explore list!!!
Will put Wheaton on the list, thanks @TheGreyKing abd @gandalf78!
Definitely apply:
Reach: Barnard
Match: Byn Mawr, Macalester
Likely: Mount Holyoke, Sarah Lawrence
Want to choose 6-8 more to visit this winter and over spring break from this longer list:
Reach: Brown, Wellesley, Vassar, Wesleyan, Bates (high match? @Lindagaf ), Middlebury
Match: NYU (reach?), Skidmore
Likely: Conn College, Bard, Eugene Lang of New School, Clark, Hampshire (match?), Wheaton
College counselor has suggested at least researching this list, none of which seem like a good fit to me (D hasn't done research yet):
Bowdoin
Hamilton
Hobart William Smith
Lafayette
Oberlin
University of RIchmond
William and Mary
Any input welcome!
In terms of match, have you considered Dickinson? While it has a fairly "mainstream" vibe, the kids we know from there are smart, hard working, all around nice kids. And the art facilities are gorgeous -- a restored shoe factory bordering campus, with student loft apartments next door! My kid was salivating over the prospect of rolling out of his loft apartment and heading to the art department.
I'll PM you with some further thoughts.
Bowdoin
Hamilton
Hobart William Smith
Lafayette
Oberlin
University of RIchmond
William and Mary
Oberlin was the toughest to take off but distance from home and distance from a city were the deciding factor. Bard College made it onto visit list even after a look at Google maps and the train/shuttle schedule.
We're getting closer to our spring break visit list. Need to rule in/out: Vassar, Wesleyan, Conn College, Hampshire, Skidmore, Middlebury. I think I can convince her that Middlebury is not the right culture/vibe fit, and we will also look at the all-helpful Google maps again! (It's been an eye opener how poor my kid's geography knowledge is!)
How about DC schools? GWU and American might bring some merit money. Cool city and LGBT friendly campuses. There is some Greek Life which could be a problem for your D. Check out the degree plans plus changing her major should be doable at these schools.
You are a good parent!