If you might want to consider survey-based information, note that Macalester appears in this site:
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I’m sure this will change at least 5 more times before the fall, but this is the current plan. Even though ES is a coordinate major at Bowdoin, she is very interested in the Biology: ecology, evolution, and marine biology major there.
EA:
Lewis and Clark (later notification)
Macalester (possible EDII)
St Olaf
University of Vermont
ED:
Bowdoin
RD:
Amherst
Bates
Carleton
Colby
Middlebury
Mount Holyoke
Oberlin
Pitzer
Scripps
Skidmore
Vassar
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Still confused - I forget which of the Maine schools she didn’t like but all three remain. Why?
Also, you used to have Oregon, why did it fall off? Just curious.
You certainly have an acceptance on this list - so it’s fine.
She had a bad tour guide at Bates who talked about partying too much which turned her off, but we don’t think that is really representative of the school. She didn’t like Bowdoin at first because of the coordinate major, she loved the school itself. But looking into the Biology: ecology, evolution, and marine biology major, she really likes it.
Oregon was on the list but it is pretty big. Vermont would be a better state school for her. And she would prefer Lewis and Clark and St Olaf (I know not as likely) to Oregon.
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No one from the class of 2024 from D25’s high school is going to any school on her list. I know that doesn’t mean that no one got in, but it doesn’t seem great. Even though it is a (or the) top public in the state, there aren’t many going to LACs. They do have 18 going to Wash U though which seems crazy.
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My kids’ HS is one of the top publics in our state. Almost no one goes to LACs. Maybe a third (or more?) go to our state flagship. We also have grads going to lots of other public flagships, a handful of Ivies and Ivy+, however you define that. Some privates seem to spike in popularity (this year, we have a bunch going to Tulane). And a few dozen, if that, to LACs. My daughter thinks she is the first one from our district in a very long time, maybe ever (she found a way to search matriculation history by zip code, I think) to attend Bates. And yet there she is. And someone else from her HS will start there next year.
Moral of the story: small schools are there for those who want them. People who are not seeking a LAC often haven’t heard of most of them. The vast majority don’t apply for a number of reasons: chasing merit, desire for big-U vibe and big-time sports, pursuing majors that might be better served at a big university, including pre-professional majors (we have a lot of students going into finance, business, and similar majors). But for those who want a LAC, the opportunities are there. Don’t worry.
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Interesting! my DS24’s neighborhood public HS seems to have pretty good distributions - close to 70:30 between public (in-state/OOS) and private (ivies, ivy+, regionals, and even LACs). Even one kid committed to St Andrews (in Scotland). Among LACs, there are Bryn Mawr, Marist, Vassar, Sewanee, Davidson, Williams, Reed, Carleton, Macalester, Bowdoin, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin and few more. (by the way, this is based on their class instagram postings and my conversation with their brand new principal (few months in and he was shocked how many kids are choosing these OOS private over instate public.))
Any given years, their HS (and 2 other HS in the district) send not insignificant #s of kids to LACs. My unscientific observation is many of LAC going kids have at least one academic as a parent (we live in a college town.) So it must be okay they are sending their own to LACs over where they work! 
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I was impressed by how many of my D’s friends at Williams are the children of academics and educators at all levels. I, too, found that heartening.
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I don’t know if this checks out entirely in my experience, but it sure does in our family. D23 and S26, both children of two academics, both attending/ interested in LACs.
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Our high school newspaper has a senior edition listing where most students are going. There are a few Ivies plus Stanford. Not many LACs - Grinnell, Kenyon, Elon, Oxy - that I remember.
We definitely aren’t a college town but we do have many Wash U and SLU Profs in our area.
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I wouldn’t worry about that. Most kids, by nature, choose large state schools (like Mizzou), the regionals, and the local community college, etc. Most every school has a few kids that choose a school that’s like - what’s that, never heard of it. That might be yours.
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If her top 3 schools are Bowdoin, Colby, and Macalester, is choosing Bowdoin as her top choice because it doesn’t require a foreign language “valid” reasoning?
If it’s valid to your student, then it’s valid.
Nobody but your student has to approve of the decisions she makes in setting her application formula.
I’m not sure that having no or less foreign language, while not required, gives you an edge though:
“Although Bowdoin does not require a prescribed high school program or number of courses, the typical entering first-year student will have had four years each of English, foreign language, mathematics, and social science and three to four years of laboratory sciences.”
And I would hope that if she has a favorite vs. a top 3 and what’s easiest to get in - that she focus on the favorite when looking at being locked in - unless she doesn’t meet a requirement for the favorite which makes it then a high reach.
OP is talking about students not being required to take FL in college, not what HS FL level is typical for successful college applicants.
For OP…not wanting to take FL in college is a completely valid reason for list building/prioritizing schools.
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Correct, I meant not requiring it to be taken in college.
She did also say that she feels Bowdoin is more academicky and likes that its sea campus is so close.
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Oh sorry.
I think any criteria a student chooses to use, if important to them, is valid.
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C25 changed their list a bit. I think they could change it a bit more after ED/EA decisions come out.
ED:
Bowdoin
EA:
Lewis and Clark (later notification)
Macalester
St Olaf
University of Vermont
RD:
Amherst
Bates
Carleton
Colby (possible EDII)
Middlebury
Oberlin
Pitzer
Pomona
Skidmore
Vassar
Wesleyan
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Did they truly love Bowdoin? I just don’t recall that was the case. What would the 2nd major be (you need two, right, at Bowdoin?)
They might be done right there.
All the EA are acceptances and a few, at least, of the RDs.
Fine list.
In reviewing the thread, these were some of the comments regarding the kid’s thoughts on Bowdoin:
@groundhog74, is your D planning to write all the supplements and essays for the other reach schools while waiting to hear from Bowdoin? Or is she going to work on all of them to have them ready in case they are needed?
Yes, they like the Biology: ecology, evolution, and marine biology major at Bowdoin. They seem to love Bowdoin.
That’s a good question. They are done with their main essay and all supplemental essays for ED and EA. I’ll try to encourage them to write the other supplemental essays before December. They signed up for 3 interviews so far.
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