If I were looking at women’s colleges, which ones would people recommend? I do love Mt. Holyoke but it’s a bit out of budget (as I know people have said).
So are you a full pay family ?
If so most every college outside of those that cost less than $35k will be out of reach. But that’s why I suggested CNU and MWU. W Carolina, Central Michigan are large publics under $35k. Maybe a Truman State.
But that’s why you need to run NPCs. Some show merit.
Or as you do, have an in state financial safety.
For women’s schools, run the NOCs on Agnes Scott and Hollins.
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It’s really soared in popularity since the time your mom would have attended Carleton and it gets a lot of (well-deserved) love here on this message board. I personally know multiple students who currently attend who are absolutely loving it. Highly ranked for undergraduate teaching, study abroad, value and it’s dining hall food. : ) A (semi) hidden gem.
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The average SAT score for students accepted to Yale is 1515, and Yale has an acceptance rate of less than 5%. I think that it is just out of reach with a 3.4 GPA and 1330 SAT score. Bowdoin is similarly very unlikely. Both would only fit your budget if you were to qualify for significant need based aid. You could run the NPC (or have your parents run the NPC) just to see if either would be affordable in the very unlikely chance that you would be admitted, but I think that both are not really worth the application fee and effort.
I do not know Reed or L&C as well. My guess is that Lewis and Clark might be worth an application but I would put it as a reach.
I think that roller derby is a cool and unusual extracurricular activity!
I just figured out that CWU is Central Washington (rather than Case Western). Now this makes sense and should be a safety!
I think that you have a good mix of schools on your list. Which ones will meet your budget I do not know. You or your parents might want to run the NPCs.
You also might want to think about whether there are any WICHE/WUE schools that you would want to add to your list.
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Many Colleges that change lives would work for what you want.
“Safety: Evergreen State College, CWU”
=> Seconding the person who said SOU would be a much better fit for a safety.
Elmhurst would another good fit safety, not sure about it making budget.
StMichael’s (VT) is in a very LGTBQ friendly city and they have merit.
Likely: Willamette
Hendrix, Earlham (not LGTBQ friendly surroundings though)
Match: perhaps apply EA to Muhlenberg to make it a match? Sounds like a good fit. Run the NPC.
Other good matches: (seconding) Agnes Scott, SUNY Geneseo
I would have said UNC Asheville for sure but I don’t know what shape they’re in after the devastating floods.
“Reach: Yale (I know it’s incredibly unlikely but it’s been my dream school for a while), Bowdoin,”
Unreachable. I understand your GPA is likely severely impacted by the F in math but go to the forums and see the profile of people turned down.
“Reed”
Not sure it’s the right fit and definitely a reach.
"Lewis and Clark*
This is a match and a good fit.
St Olaf, Mount Holyoke, and Whitman are other reachable reaches. You’d have to apply ED to one of them to have a good shot.
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Welcome, @tange_c! You have some very interesting extracurriculars and it sounds like you have an upward trajectory going in your GPA. That’s great!
Below are my guesses as to what your chances for admission might be.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
- Central Washington
- Evergreen State
Likely (60-79%)
- Hampshire
- Lewis & Clark
- U. of Puget Sound
Toss-Up (40-59%)
Lower Probability (20-39%)
- U. of Washington
- Whitman
Low Probability (less than 20%)
- Mount Holyoke
- Oberlin
- Reed
Very Low Probability (less than 2%)
- Bowdoin
- Yale
For Evergreen State and Central Washington, would you be happy to attend and enroll for four years? If so, then those are great safeties. If not, however, then I would suggest finding other sure things.
Many people advise against writing about one’s struggles in their main essay. But your writing process or derby could be interesting topics!
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Agnes Scott (GA) might not seem to hit some of your preferences, but I’d give it a good look. Atlanta is not a small town, but Decatur, where Agnes Scott is located, is considered one of the most walkable and charming parts of the metro area. It’s also part of the ARCHE consortium which allows students to take classes at other Atlanta-area schools like Emory and Spelman. As it is in a larger metro area, the community tends to be much more LGBTQ+ supportive than what some people think of for “the south.” It has strong academics, a diverse student body, and because Atlanta is a major airline hub, the odds of getting a direct flight home are much higher. I’d call this a likely admit.
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Hollins (VA), also already mentioned would be another school to consider. In the last year or two it received a very substantial donation from Mackenzie Scott, so I believe its financials are on solid footing despite the fact that it’s a smaller school (about 700 undergrads). I’d consider this a likely admit, perhaps bordering on extremely likely.
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College of Saint Benedict (MN): About 1400 undergrads attend this Minnesota women’s college. I’d call this an extremely likely admit.
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If you’re looking for a different big reach school, you might want to consider Scripps which is part of the Claremont Consortium. Odds are definitely against an admission, but if its NPC comes back as affordable, then maybe you’d want to consider it? I’d consider this a low probability school.
As smaller colleges that offer majors in both anthropology and linguistics tend to be pretty small in number, I’ve added some coed schools that you may want to consider. They are sorted by my guesses as to your chances for admission.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
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Southern Illinois – Carbondale: About 8k undergrads and really punches above its weight academically
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SUNY Oswego (NY): About 6k undergrads
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U. of Minnesota – Duluth: About 8800 undergrads
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U. of Montana: About 7200 undergrads
Likely (60-79%)
- Lawrence (WI): About 1400 undergrads
Toss-Up (40-59%)
- Bennington (VT): About 800 undergrads
Lower Probability (20-39%)
Low Probability (less than 20%)
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Central Washington university assures admission with a 3.0 HS GPA with all CADRs completed, according to Central Washington University | Undergraduate Admissions . If that is the case, then it can be moved to the 100% category.
Vibe-wise, Bard might be another one to look at. Not sure if there’s a path to affordability but it might be possible.
I went back and forth about suggesting Scripps, as it would be a pretty big reach, but still far less of a reach than Bowdoin and Yale. Seems like it could be a good fit if you could get in and afford. The 5C’s even had a roller derby team, but I’m afraid it might not have re-launched after the pandemic - there’s no post-2020 content on their socials.
I’m glad you’re going to look at SOU. It is not at all the “large, fratty, public U” that you’re trying to avoid - it only has about 4400 undergrads, and there’s no Greek life. My kid’s theatre-loving LGBTQ+ friends who went there really loved it, found likeminded friends, discovered a lot of new interests, and got great internship opportunities. It has a lot to offer at an affordable price point, with the WUE discount.
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Interesting. Why do you think Oberlin is highly unlikely but Occidental be more of a “reasonable” reach? (I think that’s what you are saying?). Theses two schools have very similar CDS profile when comparing:
Mid-50 test scores (1380/90 - 1490)
Average GPA (3.7)
Percent admitted with GPA in the OP’s current range (13-15%)
Percent admitted with GPA in the OP’s target range (29%)
Overall acceptance rate (33% vs 36%)
I agree they are both reaches for OP but these two schools seem really pretty similar on these acceptance stats so wondering why you think one is so much less likely than the other?
And, IF OP raises GPA to the 3.6/3.7 range as they hope to, and increase math SAT a bit, I would put both of these in the low reach/high target category. Good luck OP!
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I think problem is following…
If schools OP apply have EA, OP needs to apply now and not RD to be able to get some merit…
So OP is not in good position. Wait - no merit, do not wait -too low GPA at many places.
That is why OP needs to apply now to schools with lower ranking that would appreciate the OP.
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Fair question -
Oxy admitted women at a 5% higher clip last year…now how Oberlin admit rates work given the conservatory, I can’t say.
Oberlin has 54% submit a test and it has slightly higher scores than Oxy (1390 to 1490) where Oxy is a 36% submit rate with a 1370 to 1470 according to the CDS. But go on their respective student profiles, and Oxy shows 28% submitted and Oberlin a 59% submit rate.
On the Oberlin website (not CDS), they show 20% in the top 1% of the class, 48% in the top 5% and 64% in the top 10%. Oxy CDS shows 52% in the top 10%.
On their individual websites (not CDS), Oberlin shows a 3.8 unweighted while Oxy a 3.65.
All in all - I surmise - Oxy is an easier admit and while a reach, more likely for this student than Oberlin.
Thanks
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I think another problem is a budget. Sounds like OP relatives would pay for top LACS but not for lower LACS. I am not sure what is with FA for this student.
Given that the student has no stats for high LACS, and maybe not enough FA for lower LACs, we have unpleasant picture. Schools like Juniata do not have ton of money, and definitely not for 3.4 GPA.
OP should be very careful not to end up with bunch of unaffordable schools. (Would you pay 50k for Juniata? )
So schools like St.Mary’s MD should be prioritized if affordable enough…
And OOS Tuition +Fees cost there is $47.5k too. Hardly affordable and probably no FA for OOS.
Therefore instate schools and not LACS should be focus in my opinion.
Oh, budget isn’t $35K?
That’s where a Truman State, CNU, SUNY Geneseo might come in.
But does the student want to go to a regional public whereas they can attend school in state and not be in an unknown area with regional kids.
OP isn’t applying anywhere right now.
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Maybe Knox College, Illinois Wesleyan, Cornell College? All pretty liberal schools with small student bodies.
I would take a look at the USNews Regional College lists. Some great small schools on there.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/regional-colleges
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If you are interested in New England, check out Wheaton in MA. It’s in a small, safe town. The campus is beautiful. You can take the train into Boston or Providence on a weekend in under an hour. It’s very queer friendly. And, they give generous merit.
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Thanks for this. I’m aware Bowdoin and Yale are high reaches, ESPECIALLY Yale. I know I probably won’t get in, it’s more of a childhood dream thing, and if I don’t apply, I’ll always wonder what would happen if I did, you know? I’ve saved enough money for about 15 applications senior year, and plan to make more money for apps over the holiday season.
I’m going to look into the WUE program for sure, because I want to go to grad school and not having to deal with student debt would be ideal.
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I’m definitely checking it out, then! Thank you.
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You have to be smart about it.
You’re not getting in BUT I think it’s fine that you apply. You have 20 common app spots - you need one that’s affordable and an assured entry, preferably 2-3.
But you SHOULDN’T apply to Bowdoin or Yale (very different schools btw) - if you cannot afford them.
You say you saved money for about 15 apps - that tells me you have need.
Please have your family fill out the net price calculator i put in for Bowdoin in message 2.
If it comes back and says you are full pay or it will cost you $60K a year and you can only afford $35K - then it would be wasteful to apply.
Why? You couldn’t go if you got in (they have no merit aid) - so there’s nothing worse than getting into a dream school and not being able to attend due to affordabilty.
So you have to add that level of realism too.
Good luck.
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Thanks to everyone for their help! I’ve refined my list here and I think this is more reasonable. Assuming I have a 3.6 by senior year, (which I should, I’m a good student who just dealt with a lot of obstacles freshman year), and retake my SAT to get a higher math score, this is what I’m working with:
Safeties: CWU, SOU, Evergreen State
Likely: Hampshire, Lewis and Clark, UPS
Lower Probability: Whitman, St. Olaf
Lowest Probability: Scripps, Oberlin, Mount Holyoke
Does this look more well rounded? Lmk!
I’ll refine this based on aid calculations with my moms.
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