I am an international student and I would like to know which of these colleges would be the best fit for me knowing that I want to pursuit a geoscience or physics major and I need full financial aid (or at least 90% ) . I do not care about location or size .
Thanks in advance 
Haverford , sorry for the typo .
As an international student, what is it about these schools that makes them attractive for geoscience or physics? If you don’t care about location or size, there are plenty of better options. These are LACs and seem like odd choices, unless you really want a small school.
Why Haverford in particular, which only offers geology through cross-enrollment?
Regarding LACs in general, however, several could be superb for a combination of geosciences and physics (as well as math, should that be an associated interest of yours).
I already have 14 choices and I want on more which would be a somewhat match (all are reaches if you need financial aid like me) .
My other choices are :
Harvard (not sure , depends on how much I’ll get on the december SAT)
Caltech
Duke
Stanford
Yale
Princeton
Brown
Rice
Washington In St. Louis
Emory
Tufts
Colby
Carleton
Grinnell
If somebody can give me some better options I would love to hear them . Oh , and I do not want any more super competitive colleges , because I already have a bunch of reaches .
merc81 , I didn’t know that haverford has only cross-enrollment geology , thanks !
Note as well that Haverford appears as one of the most selective U.S. colleges:
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-smartest-colleges-in-america-2016-10
Emory as far as I know offers little in the way of traditional geology, nor does Grinnell.
I wouldn’t cross Haverford off the list because of cross-enrollment geology. Haverford is in a bi-college program with Bryn Mawr and certain departments are shared. It is seamless with cross-registration, coordinated calendars and scheduling, constant bus transportation, etc. Many students from Bryn Mawr and Haverford take classes and major at the other college. It is designed for this and is actually a benefit not a hindrance.
As far as your initial questions, W&L, Haverford, or Middlebury, all provide a strong education but are different in scope/campus vibe/location.
W&L has a southern vibe, pretty conservative politically, less diverse, preppy, a major emphasis on greek life - frats and sororities.
Middlebury is more isolated and cold given its location in Vermont. A bit jocky and outdoorsy.
Haverford is the most urban of the 3 - located on a bucolic campus but easy access to Philly with all Philly has to offer - a major city strong in the arts with a great dining and music scene. I would also say Haverford is the strongest in the sciences of the 3 choices. It is academically rigorous but has a down to earth, noncompetitive student body with good diversity for a small school. With the bi-college with Bryn Mawr and the Quaker Consortium with Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, and UPenn, you have broader academic offerings. Haverford also places an emphasis on its Quaker values - acceptance and community - and on its student directed governance and honor code.
3 strong schools, 3 different vibes.
Your list is very top heavy. Do you have some safeties in mind or options in your home country?
I agree that Haverford could belong on your list based on notable strength in physics and math in combination with cross-enrollment opportunities in geology.
Yes , I do have as safety anything in my country and some matches in Uk .
And yes , I know that Grinnell has little to do with geosciences , but I chose it because of its astronomy program , knowing that it even has its own observatory . I did not mention that I also think about astrophysics and astronomy because I knew that Haverford , W&L , and Middlebury are not that great in these areas of study . (and Emory for its physics program )
Actually, Haverford does well in astrophysics. Small but tight knit department and grads in that major have continued to great post-grad outcomes.
https://www.haverford.edu/college-communications/news/three-fords-earn-nsf-graduate-research-fellowship-awards
https://www.haverford.edu/academics/astrophysics-major
https://www.haverford.edu/physics-and-astronomy
https://www.haverford.edu/college-communications/news/lee-rosenthal-15-selected-fulbright-us-student-award
https://www.haverford.edu/college-communications/news/haverford-students-recognized-american-astronomical-society
https://www.haverford.edu/alumni-profile/miriam-mimi-fuchs-13
Plus more, but there’s a start.
Astronomical observatories at even smaller colleges are not particularly rare. You will find quite a few with telescopes with diameters in the teens range (though they range from smaller, such as at Williams, to larger, such as at Vassar). I agree though that the presence of an observatory should be an important consideration for a student interested in astronomy. A major or minor (since astronomy on some levels consists largely of physics and other supporting sciences) in the field should also be available.
Washington and Lee is a terrific school. I’m not sure I’d recommend it for a lot of international students. Greek system is very strong and very prevalent. It’s a very important part of the social scene. If you’d enjoy that, or be comfortable with it, it might be a great choice. If not, I’d look for a school with less of a Greek system.
It sounds like the financial side is going to be very important for you. Often schools look for international students to pay full costs–they are need aware in admissions. But I would suggest you google colleges that meet full financial need. These schools will at least strive to cover all or nearly all the costs a student cannot pay. These schools include the wealthiest and most competitive schools, like Harvard, Princeton, etc. but also some smaller schools.
Ones that are not hyper-competitive but still strong schools that might be a fit include: Franklin and Marshall College, Lafayette College, and Macalester College. Maybe also Clark University and Holy Cross, both in Worcester, MA. Macalester has a very international focus and a fair number of international students.
If your grades and test scores (ACT/SAT) are very high, which would be necessary for all the schools on your list, you might also google schools that give good merit aid. These would include the University of Alabama (main campus) and University of Alabama at Huntsville (home of a large NASA facility, which would be a plus). Here’s a table for the Miami of Ohio that gives you a quick picture. Note that deadline to receive merit aid consideration is Dec. 1. This is true at some other schools as well. The application deadline might be Jan. 1 or later, but a student must apply by Dec. 1 to be considered for merit aid. Good luck!
We visited all three and substantially favored Middlebury. It’s a beautiful campus in a beautiful corner of the country. Haverford would be next on our list – beautiful and in a great location. Washington & Lee is a very fine school – the equal academically to the other two – but has a very different vibe. Not for us, but many love it. But you can’t go wrong with any of these three.
If you’re interested in earth sciences, and in LACs, you might want to familiarize yourself with the 18 college Keck Geology Consortium. W&L is a member (as is Carleton.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keck_Geology_Consortium
From 2006-2015, 65 Carleton alumni earned PhDs in Earth Sciences.
According to NSF/WebCASPAR data for the decade, that is the highest number for any undergraduate institution in the USA (in absolute terms, not adjusted per capita). By my counts, every one of the top 10 LACs for alumni-earned earth science PhDs in that decade was a Keck Consortium member. Collectively, alumni of those 10 small colleges earned over 250 earth science doctorates, compared to 45 for alumni of UC Berkeley (which enrolls ~29K undergrads). Oberlin alumni earned as many earth science doctorates as Harvard alumni; Colorado College alumni earned more than alumni of UChicago, MIT, Princeton, or Duke.
Many of the Keck colleges claim to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, at least for US citizens. However, other than Amherst, they are “need aware” in admissions for international students. That could reduce your chances if your qualifications are on the borderline.
Wow ! I didn’t know that LAC’s can be that good in geosciences . Thanks for the stats !
Just to reemphasize some of the points above, it can be very difficult for an international student looking for substantial aid. Colleges can be need blind or need aware. A few, like Harvard, are so rich they don’t really care if students pay. But the vast majority will have financial considerations when it comes to admissions, especially for international students. Most would give preference to a fully qualified applicant who can pay full freight.
So, if you are an extremely strong candidate, apply to some of the schools on your list like Stanford, Yale, and Princeton. They will be happy to give you lots of aid if you are accepted. Just understand that they are incredibly difficult to get into, FOR ANYONE, domestic or international. Quick example: We were told at a tip-top LAC that 70% of applicants were fully qualified to attend and succeed. The school (then) accepted 14%. So 4 in 5 fully qualified applicants were not admitted. That was at 14%. Stanford is probably about 1-2% acceptance for an “unhooked” applicant, a couple of others on your list barely above that.
But, if you are really committed to studying in the US, I would also recommend applying to a few schools that either advertise meeting full financial need and/or have good merit aid, and also have an RD acceptance rate over 30 or (better) 40%. And if you are offered admission at one and aid as well, but that aid is insufficient, make sure to contact them before you reject the offer to see if it can be worked out.
There are approximately 3000-4000 colleges and universities in the US (depending how you define it). Many, many offer world-class educations, not just the Harvards, Princetons, and Yales. It depends much more on HOW a student goes to school than WHERE they go. Work hard, have fun, engage with people, take advantage of opportunities, create opportunities, treat everyone with dignity and respect–and you can be very successful at any school mentioned on this thread. Good luck!
You could add Vassar to that list. I believe they offer all those things you mentioned and they just opened a brand new and beautiful science building. I also believe Colgate is strong in geology but I personally don’t like the vib and it is even more isolated then Grinnell if that is possible