My D24 has decided she wants to stay closer to home, within a 2-hour drive. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a large metro area so there are not as many schools to choose from except the public universities and a handful of private LACs. The LACs are highly rejective, but she has a shot given her stats. The public unis are all safeties for her. There are no true target schools in this area. My question is, do LACs have a preference at all for in-state applicants? Or, does it really depend on the school?
Some schools do have a preference for students in their local community, but it is really case by case. You need to check each school.
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Many lower tier private schools give a boost to local/in-state applicants because they have a significantly higher yield from them vs OOS.
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Some schools offer merit scholarship awards/generous financial aid for residents of certain low income/underserved counties in the state of the school’s location.
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S24 applied to a LAC which is a known suitcase school. This reputation has become so well known that the administration has tried to curtail this by offering big merit scholarships to OOS students (my son would be OOS), and requiring all students to live on campus for the first two years.
But then in November they put all over their IG page that they did instant decision days for several local high schools! Meanwhile everyone else who applied is still waiting. So are they really committed to shaking their reputation as a suitcase school? Doubtful.
Personally, I’m not a fan of the school and consider it a back up school that he’ll surely get into. He really likes the location, as it is quite desirable, but I think he’s starting to see past that narrow view. He already has an acceptance to one of his top choices, and will hear from others over the next several weeks.
Totally depends on the school and their ability to draw.
Some, like Colorado College, also give in state kids a cost break (depending on income I believe). Others, like in Florida, are able to use some of the state funded scholarship $$ for their residents.
Some LACs are public - and their residents get a break.
Williams (the creme de la creme) is going to have a different set up than Carroll College in Montana or Augustana in South Dakota.
Different marketing, different reach ability, different endowment level.
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I should mention we are in New England and the top-tier LACs don’t have a problem with draw. It makes sense the lower tier private ones would want to help their yield by giving a boost to in-state. I’m not sure where/how to look this information up for individual schools. Does each school report where their enrolled students are from?
Regarding Williams, there is a priority to recruit students from the public schools in Berkshires and the local area. Similarly for Harvard, they try to recruit local public high school students from the Boston city schools. This is not an in state preference but a matter of equity and inclusion.
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Most have a research division and can break by state. Others will show by region.
You might google the school name plus admission statistics. But easier would be college factual lists the student breakdown for all schools. But it’s third party - so should it be trusted? But it’s a source to compare. I put two below for you. Williams and Wheaton so you can see the difference.
If you are looking for schools that can give you a cost break, you might do two things:
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SUNYs are cheap and I think Geneseo is noted an LAC. They do a price match I believe.
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Maybe look at a niche list of LACs schools in your state or region (can’t list here) or go to the US News ranking below and start at #50 and below - and those schools are more likely to cut on cost.
So are you just looking for admission or money?
If she’s got the stats for a Williams/Amherst/Midd as you said in your first note - then a Colby might be doable and a Holy Cross, Mount Holyoke would be and with merit.
But if you want to go further down the list and these might help financially, how about Union or Connecticut as selective schools that give money.
Or easier and still great - a St. Lawrence, Wheaton, Stonehill, St. Anslem, types.
Hope that helps.
2024 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges | US News Rankings
Geographic Diversity of Williams College Students (collegefactual.com)
Wheaton College Massachusetts Diversity: Racial Demographics & Other Stats (collegefactual.com)
Very helpful, thank you! I was mostly wondering about admissions but knowing about aid would be welcome too. We went to Colby on a visit for the STARS program (Small Town and Rural Students). She is considering applying but didn’t know if her local or rural status would help her chances at all. She doesn’t have any hooks—no legacy, not an athlete. I’m looking forward to checking out the links—thanks again for the info.
Can’t hurt - these schools want rural. So likely a plus.
The question is - if you are full pay, is Colby worth $85k plus to you when other locals might be sub $50 and venture further under $40k.
But admission wise Colby likely wants close because it’s not as big a name nationally IMHO like some of the others including the two Bs.
I was looking to see yield and what they prioritize but they don’t seem to have a common data set.
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I’m not sure about Colby, but Bowdoin definitely give some priority to Maine kids-
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I think the Maine LACs definitely reserve some spots for Maine students (I know Bates does). Brown (not a LAC but often appeals to the same students) reserves spots for Rhode Islanders. These schools see these arrangements as part of maintaining good will with their communities. Not sure about others in the region. The existence of the STARS program suggests that LACs see a benefit in recruiting New Englanders who don’t all live in the Boston area.
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We are definitely not full pay. I’d love for her to not be 100k in debt.
My kid’s LAC always took a couple of well qualified students. I think yes, if the student is a standout in some way, it can be a slight advantage to be very local or instate.
Edit: I just saw @Shelby_Balik ‘s post. My D attended Bates and knew a student from Lewiston and a couple from elsewhere in Maine.
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Small LACs might state that their students hail from all 50 states or 46, or similar, but you are unlikely to find exact information. This will be part of a selective LAC’s secret sauce. 
If two hours is hard and fast, your daughter needs to ensure she is happy with whatever safety she chooses. Anything beyond that is icing on the cake.
One needn’t be in debt. If you don’t qualify for need based aid and you have the academics that it sounds like, there are ways to go to college for a fraction of the cost - but you have to be flexible - i.e maybe not two hours from home.
And $100K in debt is just crazy. The feds will lend $27K - so while no debt is good - that’s the farthest you should go!!!
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Clarification. The federal loans in the student’s name only are $27k total for four years.
But the Parent Plus Loan (also federally funded, I believe) can be taken up to the cost of attendance.
I don’t recommend that families fund college in excess of the federally funded Direct Loan (for the student), but some families choose to do so.
Please please keep on mind that excessive student loan debt for undergrad school really should be carefully weighed. This is a financial burden that will hang on for many many years.
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Colby, Bowdoin, and Bates are all committed to having a fair number of Maine residents in their class, and I believe they all have programs to help acquaint kids with what them. All work hard to be good neighbors so truly local can help too. It sounds like you have already tapped into that through STARS, and yes, that can help!
They are all tough to get into as they all have long established reputations for excellence in New England and they all tend to shown up in the top 20 LACs nationally.
It sounds like your D is a strong applicant and is in a “bucket” the schools want to fill. That can help. Good luck to you!
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Thank you! D24 applied ED1 to Bates so we are anxious to hear the results and I’m not sure what to expect. If denied or deferred she will apply to Colby and hoping to add some more schools to the list. If we extend the search a little further to within 3 hours we are looking at Boston area so that opens up a lot more potentials. She’s the oldest of 4 so this is the first time going through this process. I went to a small private art school 25 years ago so it’s a lot different than my experience! I appreciate all the responses:D
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