Swarthmore is a hard reach for literally everyone. And Mac is also a clear reach.
My bad! I meant Skidmore!! Swathmore isn’t even on her list.
I think we can look at Mac and Skidmore as rationale reaches……within the realm of possible and not as crazy as say W&L and Brown.
Her weighted GPA is 4.45 … the rigor is there to make her at least considered at those (I think).
I think she has a fighting chance at the Targets. All of them would match her biggest criteria (small class size) and be in budget…but we will see!
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If she is considering W&L because of the Johnson Scholarship but doesn’t like its rural location, Davidson may be worth a look. It’s more suburban and has full ride and full tuition merit. (Belk and James B Duke).
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It’s great to apply to schools you want to go to.
One needn’t get in everywhere. If she gets turned down to Brown or anywhere else, it’s great that she tried - if they’re a good fit. But I would make sure Brown is affordable to you before you try - otherwise it could be a waste. Sounds like you’ve done that with all the schools you are looking at.
Miami, Beloit and Elon, given the rigor, are safeties. If there’s a decent test score (like 28) will all be super safeties.
U Tampa might be another “safety” to look at…it’s gotten very popular. Tuition is relatively low and they have robust merit. Right outside downtown. Ugh. I forgot your other post said states without reproductive restrictions.
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Glad to hear you think those will be safeties… I want to think so too and all are very nice schools academically. Miami is likely too big but I love their emphasis on student learning.
Getting into some of those targets would give her some really nice options.
We aren’t T20 chasing….i just want her to have a great college experience. Mine was a bad match and if I can save her from some of that….it would be great.
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You never know til you’re there - but it’s great you are so invested in ensuring this. Hopefully she finds that match.
One never knows about the people around them or some find “small schools” too limiting but not until they’re there and it’s the same for the big…all you can do is your due diligence and hope for the best!!
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Much as I love W&L, I would remove it from your list. “Rural, small town” is exactly what Washington and Lee is!
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University of Tampa could be a reasonable safety for admissions, and they do give merit aid.
Thanks, that’s helpful. That’s kind of where we started out on S19’s college search, but we quickly learned it’s a challenging ask. A lot of “city schools” are located a bit outside the city - I’m thinking of Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Trinity University in San Antonio, etc. Bates is in the city of Lewiston, which we liked, but it’s not really a “cute shops” kind of place. Thinking a little outside the box, maybe look at Rice? It’s not a small school, but it’s a great school with a relatively compact campus and it’s located in a great area of Houston.
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Seattle University. 4,100 undergraduate students.
Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida.
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You are right. Barnard’s campus is decidedly tiny.
Middlebury’s campus is beautiful, but I would describe it as sprawling rather than compact. The town of Middlebury is a veritable metropolis compared to Williamstown, LOL.
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Congratulations on your kids impressive accomplishments.
I happen to have 5 recent Brown alum (and 1 Georgetown) at my house currently.
Last night they drank me out of High Noons but gave me a chance to ask them a few questions.
Several were valedictorians, athletes, etc and each was accomplished in some unique way. Pretty easy to identify what made them stand out retrospectively after a few questions.
I asked them about their applications and was surprised at the extent each one remembered specifics about their essays. It was clear each of them were very specific about why Brown, how the curriculum flexibility would allow them either to really dig in or explore areas of interest, how post Brown they intended on using their degrees to have impact and focused on what made them unique amongst kids that all have near perfect stats. Most of them had applied to other elite schools but customized their applications.
I called BS a few times and they were pretty adamant and prideful of the sincerity of what they wrote.
I share this just to suggest your daughter can get in but should make sure to not treat the application as a plug and play exercise. She needs to find a personal narrative that is meaningful to her and evidenced by her experiences and ambitions. I know not an easy task for 17 year olds.
FYI non Ivies these kids mentioned most frequently as Brown peers were Hamilton, Wesleyan and Vassar.
Wishing her luck.
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And Middlebury is really more like a village than a town. It’s really small.
OP, not to discredit what your child is looking for, but her description…
… is what MANY students are seeking. She needs to understand that she will have to compromise. If she loved Mac, then she can apply ED and hope that works out. But she needs to be flexible and put some colleges on her list that don’t fully comply with her wants.
If she has some nonnegotiable’s, that is fine. But every nonnegotiable is another college she can’t apply to. So if she definitely wants a campus that is integrated with the town, Brandeis would be off the list, as would Conn. Mount Holyoke is off the list, Smith stays on. But Smith is much harder to get into than MH, so she might miss out on great colleges if she is rigid in what she seeks.
A lot of students find themselves prioritizing as they get closer to applying. For students seeking the LAC experience, the most important aspect for many students is the opportunity to be in a close knit community with easy access to professors, and the ability to really engage in critical thinking with like-minded students.
From your previous post, she seems to have a lot of variation in what vibe she likes. MHC and Brandeis are VERY different to Union, for example.
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This description, plus the nature of the current list, makes me think the suggestions of Haverford and Bryn Mawr above are worth exploring further. As that poster explained, the local areas are nice and accessible, and then it is a quick train ride into the heart of Philly.
Neither campus is as compact as Mac, but something has to give, and they are by my standards reasonably compact in the core campus portions. I also personally think Bryn Mawr is right up there with Mount Holyoke for just really attractive campuses. Haverford is more understated and while I like it, my S24 was meh. But he was meh on Macalester too, so what does he know?
Also given that description, I might as well toss in S24’s actual choice, WUSTL. Again, really, REALLY nice campus, it is in a streetcar suburb sort of area with some nice local restaurants and such, Forest Park is one of the best urban parks in the world (I kid you not) and right across the street from WUSTL, and then you can again Metro right into the heart of St Louis.
For what it is worth, it came down to Carleton versus WUSTL for my S24, and for sure the location and all the things you could do were a big part of his decision. But also, WUSTL had this sort of sell for its Arts & Sciences college as being basically a big LAC in spirit, which we kinda bought.
Of course this is not necessarily helping too much in terms of selectivity, but not as bad as Brown at least!
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Totally agree! Compromise is pretty much the name of the game. I was mostly trying to figure out which of these might be similar since Mac is a reach.
We’ve been to WUSTL! It’s lovely …she has a cousin who went there and he showed us around. I think she’d have to be academically stronger to have a real chance there. If Mac is a reach, WUSTL is an ultra reach.
But good for your son! It’s an awesome school!!
We haven’t seen Union or MHC or Brandeis or anything besides Mac and KU from the list. They are on the list because of strong academics, small class sizes and a rationale chance at admission along with an NPC that works. Since we are limited in what we can visit…,I’m trying to help her make a smart list. It seems like a crap shoot trying to judge from websites, At least CC sheds some info on the campus vibes.
We are most likely going to have to roll the dice a bit and then do admitted student visits.
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Meredith College is quite compact, has a handful of walkable locations and super easy bus access to downtown Raleigh with all kinds of arts and culture. Also adjacent to NC State, and a greenway trail leading to the art museum and adjacent park.
I’ll throw in my Alma mater of Hope College. Definitely a contained campus, and my freshman and sophomore years I walked down to pick up Pizza Hut breadsticks more nights than I would like to admit. Cute downtown, with another pizza shop. A bit of a haul to the nearest big city, though…Grand Rapids is about half an hour away, and Kalamazoo about an hour.
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I think ‘unpleasant trek’ is an overstatement. It’s a long (but extremely safe, pleasant, tree and sidewalk-lined) walk, but an easy bike ride and the shuttle is constantly running. Plus, the town of Clinton is super cute! Reminds me of a quintessential New England town with cute shops, restaurants, coffee houses, and a town green/gazebo. Hamilton is super integrated into the surrounding community at large. The local cider mill hosts tons of events for the students in the fall, lots of student events, students gathering at the coffee place, etc.
Plus, super small class sizes, very friendly, close-knit sense of community on campus and a 9:1 student/faculty ratio- I mention that because @ali-ice mentioned the ‘significant’ preference for small class size and close contact with professors.
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