I would look at the UMass/Amherst/Smith/Mt Holyoke/Hampshire consortium because it gives a view of a different type of school option. The two children might not want a big State U experience, but might like the option of taking a class or two at that type of school. I think that group of schools includes some different options, and close enough to Boston to be an easy add-on.
I think William & Mary does give of the intellectual/nerdy/quirky vibe and everyone I’ve talked to seems to feel like it has that reputation as well. Same thing when you interact with some of the students on campus. It’s not really in a bustling city though so it may attract different kind of students. When I did my trip down south, I did a trip from DC, UVA, and then William & Mary. William & Mary is literally less than a mile from a train station though so if the OP did want to take a visit, they could take a direct trip from DC to W&M and back in less than a day.
It has a pretty and historical stop if you have the time, and after looking on your list it might be one to consider because I think William & Mary and Tufts seems to attract similar types of students. “Plus they take very good care of their guests from Great Britain.” This made me chuckle. Well William & Mary has a strong relationship with the UK because of its historical ties, unless you consider the fact that it also educated Jefferson who led the revolution.
For citizens of developed countries that have affordable excellent universities, I can’t rationalize getting an undergraduate degree fom a foreign university UNLESS that foreign university is “really worth the while”. You’ve got to justify spending all that extra money and enduring all the logisitical hassle, then justify the added challege of job search in the home country.
“Really worth the while” can mean prestige or it can mean something offered by the school that is not available in the home country’s schools. For one of our non-American expat friends who sent their kids to US universities, the draw was competive athletics. Their kids were elite swimmers who could be Olympic contenders.
For employment after graduation, you must assume that the base case for the fresh graduate is that he/she must return to the home country to work, because that is where he/she definitely has the right to work. There are no guarantees of a foreign work visa. Some British posters on this thread have already brought up how important the perception of the American school will be for employment prospects back in the UK. Some of the posters are dual nationals, so their kids can work in the US.
This is the response I wrote on another thread to an American high school student who asked about the pros/cons of a foreign degree. The basic gist of it would apply to citizens of any developed country, so just substitute the word “American” with “British”, and substitute the name “OxBridge”.
Many posters here are suggesting some excellent but less universally recognized schools. My feeling on these schools is that they are a fabulous opportunity for domestic students or for students from undeveloped countries where simply having an American degree has cache in the home country. But your family has British citizenship, not Bangladeshi citizenship. For each American school you add to your list, you should ask yourself: What can this American school offer to my kids that they cannot get at home?
As you’ve acknowledged that your family is not wealthy, you need to carefully weigh the value of an American degree vs simply a study abroad program. For study abroad, the choice of the foreign university is not so critical.
I think @GMTplus7 is very prudent.
To be fair, UK uni options just don’t offer the same type of broad liberal arts education (Scottish unis offer some flexibility, but only a limited amount). Nor are there any British LACs. And the assessment and even teaching method is very different (for instance, at the undergrad level, they have tutorials, but not really American-style seminars, as I understand). Learning is seen as much more of an individual endeavor dependent on self-motivation (rather than a ton of group work).
If the D is intent on a small LAC, it may make sense to just look at LACs where there’s a chance at a big scholarship (Denison? Juanita? Depauw? Beloit? Ohio Wesleyan? Might even be possible to get decent money from Oberlin/Kenyon/Grinnell/Macalester) because chances are good that nobody in the UK would know much about Bates or even Bowdoin anyway (and that would be true of many Americans as well) and may just assume that it’s some small no-name junior college/technical school. Even BC 1. May not be known at all in the UK 2. Even in the US, has a reputation that varies a lot depending on who you talk to (it seems to be held in very high regard by East Coast and especially Boston Catholics but many older-generation non-Catholics remember it as a local commuter school for Boston/New England Catholics who didn’t want to leave home for college).
So if she chooses an American LAC, she may have to go for a Masters in the UK/Europe anyway.
Otherwise, Mount Allison in Canada is cheap and highly-rated in Canada (but won’t do much for a UK job search).
And if she really wants the US experience and study-abroad is too uncertain (almost every American college/uni would have a sufficient number of programs and slots available for anyone who wants to study in the UK but UK unis may only have a limited number of study-abroad slots to the US/Canada), I would seriously look in to the W&M-St. Andrews double degree program. That way, she gets a degree that is respected in the UK but also gets to experience something close to a LAC atmosphere in the US (W&M is a liberal arts university, so bigger than a typical LAC but still undergraduate-focused).
Best wishes on your trip! I hope you find the United States a warm, welcoming, interesting place.
You listed schools that hold your interest.
One thing this thread has likely made you realize (if you’d not been aware previously): there are good schools everywhere.
I live about three hours’ drive west of Chicago. Some of the best schools within about five hours’ drive of the Chicago area include UChicago (you’re already visiting), Northwestern, Notre Dame, U of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Washington University in St. Louis, Carleton, Grinnell, U of Wisconsin-Madison, Macalester, U of Illinois, Purdue, Indiana University, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Iowa.
Northwestern is an easy drive from UChicago and is also a top-notch school. Even if you are unable to venture west, southwest, or northwest of Chicago, I think the short trip up to Evanston (at least) would be worth your while. It sounds like your trip will take you almost exclusively east from Chicago. But bear in mind that UW-Madison and U of Illinois are just two+ hours away – to the northwest and southwest, respectively.
Also, in terms of staying in North America, I believe that for Canada, you just need enough points in their points system (no idea how that works, though). For the US, it would be essentially impossible with just a bachelors that’s not in a technical field unless she either marries an American or gets posted here by some UK/European company.
Caveat to the above: Americans in the UK likely would know of and respect Bowdoin/Tufts/Haverford/Wesleyan/Vassar (and obviously the U of C and other Ivies/equivalents). Relying on American contacts in the UK to land a job seems a bit chancy to me, though, though I suppose there’s no harm in applying first, see if you get in, then decide whether the extra expenditure and risk is worth it.
Sure there are many attractive aspects of a US-style university education. And while this family can come up w the money for fullpay, it would be painful for them. The fact remains that an excellent education in the UK can be had for a lot less money and with a lot less employment challenge afterwards.
The reason you don’t see many 1st World int’l undergraduate students at US universities is that the value proposition is usually not there. For 1st World citizens, a US education generally makes more sense as study abroad, or at the graduate level where full funding is available.
Before this British family embarks on a wild goose chase visiting schools like UMass or Juniata, Depauw, they need to step back first and ask what they intend to get out of an American undergraduate education. It is shortsighted to be pursuing merit scholarships at relatively obscure American schools just for the sake of cheaper costs, if the choice of school impacts marketability in the UK job market. I presume this family expects their kids to work after graduation, and not just live off a trust fund.
When something is cheap/free, then I’m not so picky. But if something is very expensive, you can bet I expect power windows and tinted glass. When we drew up a list of prospective boarding schools for S, competitive swimming was a must have, so we nixed schools w/o pools. Now that we are drawing up a college list, engineering is a must have, so we nixed schools w/o engineering. That meant most LACs got cut from the list.
This family should also identify what are its absolute non-negotiables.
I think if you want a high-quality broad education, the US is the place to be. Here, we study all sorts of subjects, not just our major.
If knowing a little bit about a lot of things – in addition to drilling down into your major – is important to you, the United States is the best place for it.
I work w a number of British expats. Their knowledge and interest “about a lot of things” doesn’t appear to be lacking.
Sure a US education is great, but a British education isn’t exactly shabby. The OP needs to decide how much more out of pocket that quintessential American experience worth.
Do they get the broad base of study prior to college?
@prezbucky
Now that you mention it, it could be that my British colleagues have a broad knowledge base because they are expats.
@valent2016, If you do decide to drive from the Chicago area to Philadelphia, you will find that Ohio and Pennsylvania are fertile ground for small to medium sized colleges that are academically solid and mid to low range selectivity. Many also offer merit scholarships.
In addition to the several already mentioned I would look at Kenyon (about 5-6 hours drive from Chicago). Excellent academics and one of the best theater programs among LACs of the same calibre.
I would also mention that Williams runs its own study abroad program at Oxford, in collaboration with Exeter College, which may enhance Williams’ name recognition in the UK (though spending a year at Oxford may be the last thing that your kids are looking for in an American college experience 
)
After thinking about my son’s non-American friends who took their undergraduate degrees in the US, I observe that most of them continued on with Masters degrees in the US as well, before returning to their home countries or seeking residency in America. Their graduate schools were generally well known internationally even if their undergraduate schools were not.
I can’t tell if you’re kidding in post 91, probably because I’m about eight drinks deep and slower than usual. hehe
I base my beliefs on the assumption that when a person goes to college in the UK, the curriculum is centered almost wholly on the major, without the degree-requirement breadth we commonly see at US schools.
Some comments make me wonder just how many colleges some think OP should visit, how far this list will expand, and whether or not you’ve even “matched” based on anything other than stats and maybe some FA/merit. How many of us visit any/every place, even over the time we have in the US, as residents?
When an OP has an original list of targets the he/she researched (at least it seems,) rather than add wantonly, why not let them see the priority schools and then, as a mater of convenience, make a decision? Eg, whether or not to visit Colby, after seeing the other two Maine schools. Or whether to stop at Brown, when it’s right on 95, en route to Wesleyan. I really can’t see dredging up a list of colleges like Grinnell (4+ hours from Chi) or Macalester, 6+, just because “we” like them. These folks would be exhausted before even getting back to the east coast. JMO.
I’m going to back up a little and try to re-address the OP’s original question.
It seems to me that there are two different ways to approach this trip, hinging on how much you want it to play the part of a family vacation vs. just focusing on college visits. One would be what most of us seem to have been suggesting, planning out your college visits then adding in a little tourism along the way. The other would be to plan out a fun family trip and find a way to get the schools on your list, with the option of adding in a couple more if they turn out to be convenient to your itinerary. People have suggested a lot of good schools but obviously you can’t visit them all, so why make yourself crazy?
If you’re going to visit U. Chicago it makes sense to really enjoy your trip. Go to a baseball game at Wrigley field, visit the Navy Pier, hit the beach, see a show at Second City. I’m sure the Chicagoans can help you fill in 3 or 4 days.
Boston. See the schools on your list plus the North End, Cambridge, some of the Revolutionary War sites (Freedom Trail, Lexington and Concord) if anyone’s interested in that kind of thing. Fenway Park, Faneuil Hall, maybe even Cape Cod for a couple of days.
Maine. A quick loop of 2 days leaving and returning to Boston. Bates and Bowdoin with the possibility of Colby. Rocky shores, so the beaches aren’t great, but the lobster’s fabulous and the weather will be a nice break from hot summer temperatures. Stay overnight in Portland and wander the Old Port area for an afternoon. Do a whale watching trip, take a hike. Enjoy the outdoors.
South through Connecticut to see Wesleyan. Connecticut College, Trinity and Yale are all close to Wesleyan so you could do a drive-through of some or all of those schools. Swing west to Vassar, then south. A couple more hours and you’re in New York City! I’ll leave the question of how to get into the city-car or train-for now. Enjoy the city. There’s so much to do, and how would your kids feel about a trip that took them within 100 miles of NYC but didn’t let them walk through Times Square? If your kids have ever read Macbeth get tickets to Sleep No More. You’ll be blown away. I guarantee it. http://www.sleepnomore.com/#share
If you have more time, what about DC, another iconic American city? Stop through Philly and see Haverford but spend whatever remains of your trip seeing the Capitol. Plenty of historic sites plus Georgetown. Fly back directly from DC or on to Chicago.
My 2 cents: DC and Chicago in the summer are terrific places to visit as a tourist. NYC is expensive but lots to do.
@prezbucky, the English do get a little bit broader education in 2 years of college before university, but study is still concentrated in a handful of subjects (I don’t know how the Scottish system works).
NYC is expensive. @valent2016, do you live somewhere that might be attractive to a New Yorker for a home exchange? We’ve had good luck with them and had a great place to stay in the heart of the city. We did have to trust that we wouldn’t come home to a ransacked house (house stayed in great shape), but otherwise it was virtually free.
Whale watching south of Boston.
NYC doesn’t have to be so expensive, but many stay in one of the suburbs on the commuter transpo lines.
Before you visit any of these schools you might need to check their break policy. I am English and my son goes to Northeastern university in Boston which has a large international student body, most dorms are open year round.
Our second choice school closed during all breaks so the student would have to fly home or move into a hotel room for the short breaks, Thanksgiving and/or spring break. That is a hassle and added expense.