Help finding safety and target schools that are a good fit [English/psychology major; 3.9 UW/4.5 W GPA, 33 ACT, IB DP, <$50k, DE resident]

College Search & Lists
, ,
21

If you can afford 50K/yr, and are looking for merit money (mostly) to close the gap at private colleges, consider Brandeis. Suburban campus but easy commuter rail into Boston. Fits the size. Great research university, strong English and Psych departments with grad programs in both. They’re in that economic spot where they’re not in danger of going under, but they’re offering merit money to attract students who are paying more than the cost of room and board, but won’t pay the full cost of attendance.

The only thing is that the campus, which is beautiful, has a lot of modern architecture buildings, not so much on the old ivy-covered buildings feel.

3 Likes
22

I think part of the problem has been people like me. I grew up in the Northeast and had been in Ohio only once in my life, for a college horse show. So the Midwest was a mystery to me and I’ll admit I worried it might be boring or close-minded. However, I tried not to let my personal prejudices get in the way when we were building my son’s list and he looked at schools all over. But it was love at first sight when he visited Denison, and I was greatly humbled by his experience there. Denison is a great school, Columbus is a great city, and “Midwest Nice” is a real thing. He ran in the same conference as Kenyon, Oberlin, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan and Wittenberg - Ohio is really rich in LACs.

6 Likes
23

I do think the strong tradition of Upper Midwest LACs can sometimes start off a little under the radar for families interested in such colleges, but who live in other regions (or countries, for that matter). And that is understandable, of course, LACs are a niche sort of school to begin with, and then it is entirely possible few if any of their closer peers (kids’ or parents’) will even be considering these colleges.

But I have also heard a lot of similar stories about visits potentially really opening kids’ eyes to the possibilities. Unfortunately that is not financially viable for all families, but I do tend to think any family with a kid seriously looking at LACs in general and who can swing a visit to one or more of the Upper Midwest LAC clusters might want to give that a shot.

24

We have a Columbus OH relative who enjoyed her time at Ohio Wesleyan about 25 years ago. She started in nursing program (now gone) but switched to psychology.

2 Likes
25

Of the recommendations provided so far, I give a strong second to:

Seeing Tulane on the list as well as a couple of Jesuit universities, I can’t help but think of Loyola New Orleans (about 3k undergrads) which is literally right next door to Tulane.

Some other possibilities your family may want to consider include:

  • Baylor (TX): About 14k undergrads and about 3h40m to the Galveston beaches.

  • Christopher Newport (VA): About 4400 undergrads at this school that is the easier admission (and lower cost) William & Mary. Lots of water nearby, with Virginia Beach 45 minutes away (with some other beaches even closer).

  • College of New Jersey: About 7400 undergrads at this school that’s about one hour from the beach.

  • Mercer (GA): About 4500 undergrads and about 3 hours to Tybee Island or Hilton Head.

  • Monmouth (NJ): About 3800 undergrads and less than 10 minutes from the beach.

  • Pepperdine (CA): About 3600 undergrads at this Malibu school that’s about 5 minutes from the beach. I’m not as confident about this one hitting budget.

  • Rollins (FL): About 2600 undergrads, about an hour to Dayton Beach, and high likelihood of direct flights to wherever you live due to the Orlando airport.

  • Salisbury (MD): About 6100 undergrads and about 45 minutes to Ocean City, MD (and lots of other water opportunities all around it as it’s part of the eastern shore of Maryland). It’s one of the top Master’s level universities at producing Fulbright Scholars (at least it was #1 the other year).

  • Samford (AL): About 4600 undergrads at this college that’s about 4h15m from Destin Beach.

  • Southern Methodist (TX): About 7300 undergrads, and about 4.5 hours from Galveston. High likelihood of direct flights to wherever you live due to DFW airport.

  • Texas Christian: About 11k undergrads, right at about 5 hours from Galveston. High likelihood of direct flights to wherever you live due to DFW airport.

  • U. of North Carolina-Wilmington: About 15k undergrads and less than 15 minutes from the nearest beach.

4 Likes