But they require Christian religion classes. You mentioned your son not being Catholic (same story here). He is still OK with taking those classes? Even taking one (looks like you have more freedom with the second one)…
To pay money… spend time and effort … for studying something that you have zero interest in… Even if it’s just a few classes… Obviously, every kid is different. But I do understand my daughter’s point…
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Totally get it.
Just make sure your kid understands that life is full of trade-offs. Great academic program- sub-optimal location. Great location and academic program- kid will need to take the federal loans to afford it. Right price-tag and great location- the program generally isn’t as rigorous as others, so it will take some work to make it a robust intellectual experience (i.e. being proactive with professors, doing an honors thesis even if not required by the department, etc.).
Threading the needle with the perfect program in the right geography with an exceptional peer group at the desired price tag-- that’s some heavy lifting!!!
Good luck!
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My son is in his second year of college and considers himself an atheist. Had a Jesuit been at the right price for the right program, he would have gone there. For him, Cuse ended up being the best price for us.
D25 does consider herself Christian and “does not like Catholics” but she has learned a bit through me that while Jesuits are Catholics, they operate quite differently. She is open to taking one class learning about Jesuits. Just as my kids were open to the fact that many colleges require core requirements that include classes they may hate. D25 actually loved hearing about all the service opportunities that Saint Joe’s had. She is not a social justice warrior but does want to help people and thinks that built in opportunities may be a good way to meet other students too as she is generally shy and introverted. (She has toured LeMoyne, Loyola New Orleans, and Saint Joe’s with SJU being her fave of the 3 so far).
Blossom summed it up well, you can hate Jesuits or say no to them and don’t need to explain yourself (my daughter wouldn’t apply to schools whose school colors were brown and gold). The course I teach has a module about Jesuits but I spin it so students can apply what they wish. Example, it ends up being about self care (as college isn’t easy) and brings up the Examen which is a Catholic practice. I encourage students to do self reflection, meditation, or whatever similar practice in their religion is with the goal being raising self awareness and growth!
There’s thousands of colleges out there. What is most important is that your child enjoys their experience and feels supported!
I agree with you 200%. There is (almost) always a trade-off. It’s a matter of priorities. As a result, some criteria are soft, some are hard.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. Yes, I agree! It is important to find the right fit.
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You might want to look into Rowan. They’re expanding their health science offerings rapidly. 2 medical schools, new research building, new veterinary school and it’s down the road from a newer hospital that’s expanding. Full COA is around $46,000/yr but there’s merit available to hopefully get closer to budget. TCNJ is another to check out, about same price but has merit potential and smaller than Rowan.
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Thank you for mentioning those two. Will take a look.
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Rowan is excellent for science and provides merit, especially to students admitted to the Honors college. It’s not as personal as a LAC (even with the Honors college) but if it can get within budget it’d be a solid safety.
Unless something changed recently, Biology is more competitive for admission than the other sciences at TCNJ. The BS core courses are basically a premed/pre health track and despite it being a small, supportive college, the Bio major has a reputation for being competitive and weedout - investigate.
That being said, the Dept is strong; Chemistry is strong too and this is a solid minor to add for someone who wants to work in Biological sciences outside of Healthcare.
https://science.tcnj.edu/academics/majors-minors/
https://biology.tcnj.edu/academics/comp-math-bio-minor/
Elizabethtown would be the opposite in atmosphere - very supportive. If she has an SAT score 1280+ it’s worth submitting but they’re TO.
Not sure you’d get within price point but worth investigating.
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Thank you for recommending Rowan, TCNJ and Elizabethtown. Will look into them.
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I have no personal experience with Moravian, but it is a school I would have recommended checking out, it you weren’t already considering it.
Seconding Allegheny (Allegheny College – Colleges That Change Lives), Drew, Elizabethtown, Juniata (Juniata College – Colleges That Change Lives), McDaniel (McDaniel College – Colleges That Change Lives), Susquehanna, The College of New Jersey, and Ursinus (Ursinus College – Colleges That Change Lives).
I expanded the zone to include Virginia and New York, but mainly focused on the three states you mentioned a preference for. Nearly all of these schools are residential colleges that offer majors in chemistry and physics (a filter I use as a proxy for strength in the sciences) and produced a significant number of alumni who ended up earning a doctorate in a field (as a proxy for the interest of students and the quality of the school’s preparation for grad school). Many SUNY campuses (including all the ones I listed below) will match the flagship tuition of many other northeastern states (source), and I focused on ones that were generally closer to Pennsylvania.
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Clarkson (NY): About 2700 undergrads if she’s open to a more tech-focused school (that has lots of bio options)
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Indiana U. of PA: About 7k undergrads
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Ithaca (NY): About 4600 undergrads
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Lycoming (PA ): About 1100 undergrads
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Penn State – Erie (Behrend College): About 3200 undergrads
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Roanoke (VA): About 1800 undergrads
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Salisbury (MD): About 6400 undergrads
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St. Lawrence (NY): About 2100 undergrads…no religious affiliation
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St. Mary’s College of Maryland: About 1500 undergrads…no religious affiliation
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SUNY Cortland: About 6k undergrads
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SUNY Fredonia: About 3200 undergrads
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SUNY Geneseo: About 4100 undergrads
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SUNY New Paltz: About 6100 undergrads
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SUNY Oneonta: About 4900 undergrads
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U. of Lynchburg (VA ): About 1600 undergrads, University of Lynchburg – Colleges That Change Lives
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Washington & Jefferson: About 1100 undergrads
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Westminster (PA ): About 1200 undergrads
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Widener (PA ): About 2600 undergrads
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Wilkes (PA ): About 2k undergrads
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York (PA ): About 3300 undergrads
Below is a map of the SUNY schools, to give you a sense of the campus locations in reference to New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Additionally, any schools that are members of the Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL) association had their profile added.
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Wrt Moravian, I hope I didn’t turn you off it and would also recommend checking it out, especially with the new Fall 2025 curriculum.
It’s steeped in faith&tradition but may well be the vibe you’re looking for (ie., not Muhlenberg despite Muhlenberg being affiliated with ELCA) and can be usefully compared to Elizabethtown (you can visit both in one day, I think they’re about 2 hours apart, or you could take a 2-day trip with the Bethlehem area colleges one day and then the Lancaster York area colleges the other).
My sense is that Elizabethtown is the more moderate/apolitical cousin, Moravian the more conservative cousin, and Juniata the more liberal (but still quite a bit less liberal than, say, Muhlenberg). You’d have to visit for the vibe.
Muhlenberg isn’t so much more liberal than many of the schools discussed here. It is likely more “artsy”- music, theater, fine arts— but no significant differences on the political front. I know a lot of kids who are both recent grads and currently there- I don’t think they’d describe it as more liberal than the other PA small schools. And much less political than Swarthmore, for example.
OP- in general, many of the colleges that folks often describe as apolitical (and accurately, IMHO) have three things in common-
1- large percentage of commuters.
2- significant presence of older students- either working, ex-military, or “non-traditional” college students, i.e. not recent HS grads
3- Heavy pre-professional vibe (of course related to 1 and 2).
So go into this with eyes wide open. If your D is also wanting the dorm life/residential college experience, these three factors (which also result in an apolitical environment) may not produce the lifestyle she’s looking for. If your study partner can only meet between 4-5 pm because she’s got a bus to catch to get home… that will be different from a largely residential campus.
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I don’t think you can get Marist that low – I tried looking at the page the other day and didn’t see any big merit scholarships
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Not political (as in engagement and activity) but quite liberal leaning (as in, general vibe, which comes with artsy etc.)
=> It was my understanding OP wants neither political nor liberal but OP can specify.
I do think Moravian has a different vibe than Muhlenberg (which OP I believe used as an example of too liberal) and can be seen as distinct dots on a spectrum where Swarthmore would be one end and Grove City the other (to stick to PA colleges). Visits during the school year would clear that up, plus because there are college clusters these visits would be very efficient.
Not trying to be contrarian, just trying to precise my post to avoid confusion, as I do think Muhlenberg would qualify as “equally liberal but artsier” than Dickinson or Lafayette and I don’t know where St Joe’s would be. 
The ways the many private colleges in PA, plus PASSHE and state related institutions, are reorganizing/changing/adapting (and…not) is something I’ve been thinking about for a while.
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Yes, thank you very much. We are actually planning to visit Moravian next.
Appreciate all these recommendations and have some familiarity with most of the colleges on this list. Some of them are actually personally recommended to us by alumni and current students and will certainly be included in my daughter’s search list.
Thank you for your very detailed and helpful reply. Really appreciate your help!
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You didn’t turn me off from Moravian and we are planning to visit.
Elizabethtown comes to us highly recommended. Will visit and see what DD thinks of it. Yes, we’ve heard Etown is not dominated by any particular party affiliation, making the atmosphere friendly and cooperative. We are unsure about Juniata due to being too remote and further from home. If DD decides to apply (it’s free anyway), we may visit depending on financial offer.
Thank you for your great recommendations.
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Thank you for your comment. Yes, I agree that we need to be open minded and willing to look at various options.
Thank you for your comment. Need to visit, get the vibe, search the Internet (which can also be very helpful), then she decides whether the college is worth applying. Then once financial offers come in, we will be looking at all the options again.
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Per CDS 22/23, nearly 17k per on about 35% of kids got non need, non athletic merit.
No way a school like Marist could compete without discounting.