@itsatruth First off, love your CC handle. Second, eliminating Oberlin based on perceived isolation is shortsighted, IMO. My kid is a second-year there and I know another girl who will be attending next year with stats very similar to your daughter’s from a very similar kind of school (no AP/IB/weighting/ranking, requires Latin, etc.). Oberlin offers merit up to 30K and acceptance rate, last I checked, was somewhere north of 30%.
While the town is small, it is a half hour drive to the Cleveland airport and about 40 minutes to downtown Cleveland. The college has launched an initiative to have greater integration with Cleveland including the creation of internships and will be offering a regular shuttle to the city in the near future. The college is strong in the fine and performing arts above and beyond the excellent conservatory, as well as in psych, neuroscience and environmental studies (in case she shifts back again). The town is really pleasant and laid back and I could not imagine a more LGBTQ+ friendly campus. It sounds like a great fit for what your daughter seeks.
I also think your daughter’s stats are a reasonable match for Dickinson. My D found the campus to be somewhat more preppy in vibe, FWIW. For safer admissions chances, maybe check out Clark (mentioned above) or Muhlenberg, where she might be competitive for merit.
If she can get that SAT up to 1400+ or an ACT of 32+ that will improve her chances for merit.
@mamaedefamilia thanks for the Oberlin shout out (and the CC handle shout out!)
I’m a huge fan of Oberlin and I think D20 would dig it if she gave it a try. We drove through (not a formal visit) with D17 in summer 2016, and D20 was along for that trip and it didn’t grab her then but I might try again.
TBH though, Oberlin is more selective than schools she really likes already (it’s firmly south of 30% now) and we really need to be adding safeties that are safeties based on her current stats, not hopeful “it would be great if she could hit” numbers. I’m fairly certain she’ll hit 31 but not at all certain she will go higher than that. So I really want to add some schools where the 31 is more than good enough.
I was about to say that Clark and Dickinson looks like safeties based on Naviance scattergrams, but then again so do MHC and BMC and I think that’s just patently no longer true.
@itsatruth FWIW, at Oberlin, they really seem to consider the fit of the student so that is probably a point in her favor from how you describe her. So I wouldn’t necessarily cross it off her list just yet. Also I know of at least one student who applied ED and got some merit money in the ED round and her test scores were not off the charts. I have heard that it is possible to get an early read on merit. Best of luck!
Potentially exciting update - D20 has been prepping for ACT very diligently for next Sat. Proctored test last fall was a 30, her home practice tests have been 31,31, and then 33 yesterday. Nothing official of course but promising!
Catching up on your thread - I don’t have anything helpful to add but it was good to see the updates since we have some overlap. At the moment after our spring break tours my D20 is saying her plan is ED1 to Reed and ED2 to Vassar with NYU, Tufts, Rochester, CWRU, and U Oregon on the list as well (of places we’ve actually been to). Given what shook out as the top two I’m debating whether we should try to go see St Olaf, Carleton, Grinnell, or Oberlin (probably should have insisted on Oberlin over CWRU the other day but D20 didn’t like how it sounded as well in the Princeton guide). We’ll also go see UCSC in June (close enough for a day trip and will be a ‘match’ I think although with a CS major maybe not. Would actually I think be a safety if not for the CS major with the current stats).
Anyway, sorry, going on about my kid on your thread :-). Good luck to your daughter on her ACT!
Did you consider Allegheny as a safety? I have read that they have a well-regarded environmental science major. Very good merit possible for her stats. New incoming president sounds very dynamic.
It is at your max driving time from Philly.
@washugrad great updates, thanks! We do have some overlap but I like hearing about places that aren’t on my D’s list! (I was going to say “yet”, but i have a sneaking suspicion we’re done with the list?
Thanks for the Allegheny suggestion @blue1516 - it was on a “top 50 best places for Greek life” list which was an easy drop for my D.
A couple of other milestones today: D20 opened her Common App account during “Navigation” class (11th grade life issues class which seems to consist entirely of college app process, opioid misuse education, tire changing, and CPR) and she got a nice award/medal for the National Latin Exam. Labor vincit omnia!
^^ I didn’t realize Allegheny had such a notable Greek life. I had the impression that Dickinson was more Greek than Allegheny but I guess I was incorrect.
@Itisatruth Wow! OK, that puts her into a different place admissions-wise. Dickinson, Clark, Oberlin, Mac are possibilities, as well as some of the women’s colleges you mentioned up thread, IMO. Congrats to your daughter!
Brief update (Yes, I realize this thread has become my mini-blog-journal of this whole process):
D20 and husband and I agreed tonight that we will have a weekly college check-in meeting and study break (Tuesday nights 9:30-9:50) and noother college discussions allowed outside that window. D20 will set the agenda and run the meeting, parents can add agenda items. Categories for agenda are: List, Testing, Revisits/Interviews, Common App, Essays. Some categories won't have any agenda items in a given week.
D20 doesn't know this yet (because I can't discuss it with her until Tuesday night :smile:), but I am going to reiterate my strong advice (might make it a requirement) to add a "guaranteed" safety to the list that she's truly excited to attend. She's waffling a bit on both Sarah Lawrence and Bard which are currently occupying that spot and that's not going to fly. My suggestions to research/visit are Pitt, Clark, Conn College.
The 33 ACT makes me really want to push her to at least go visit Bates. It just sounds like a place that could be a great fit (I hear you, @Lindagaf!), and as with her safeties, she doesn't appear to be 100% in love with her reaches (Barnard and Vassar).
She has to decide ASAP about taking any SAT2s in June. She's not particularly keen to, and I'm not sure I'm willing to push if none of her schools require them. She would probably take 2 out of Latin, Lit, Math2.
Look to local schools, lesser known women’s colleges, and early action schools for a safety. If Barnard is her absolute first choice, ED there should be a consideration. It’s always good to have some early accepts to take some tension and stress off of the long waiting period when peers will be getting acceptances. It made a huge difference to my kids to have a school or two in the pocket while waiting for their top choices to respond.
D any of her choices require or recommend SAT 2? I’d give them a miss if not.
We really liked Clark. It’s definitely got a social justice vibe. The students are engaged and friendly. Merit money is a real possibility. The location is improving apparently, especially due to the new fast train to Boston. There are two other very respected colleges in Worcester, Holy Cross and WPI. Many pops complain about the area around campus, but it didn’t bother us. Yes, she should check out Bates, though it’s another reach.
We have similar kids so interested in this thread–similar GPA (uw) and now a similar ACT (same as you we were surprised). I am pushing to research Clark, Dickinson and Sarah Lawrence as safeties for a kid who likes Brandeis, Smith and Barnard. So far, no luck…
My similar but one-year-ahead kid just finished this grueling process, committed to Brandeis. STEM, LGBT, super smart, wants a social justice theater vibe not frats or academic intensity. Holler if anyone has questions.
First weekly college meeting took place last night! D20 led it, and even set up a spreadsheet to take weekly notes in the five categories we agreed to: Visits, Interviews, Testing, Apps/Essays, and List (acronym: VITAL). I also attempted to start us off by having everyone (D20, H, me) state some “First Principles” for the process, but I was the only one who had any first principles, lol. I had 5:
D20 is in charge of the process. Parents and GC are here to support and guide.
List has to include a "foundation" school with >90% change of admission.
Regardless of final list, deadlines, and application plans, all apps have to be submitted by the Sunday before winter break.
No applications should be submitted to schools that D20 has no interest in or minimal enthusiasm for attending.
D20 is also in charge of info sharing about list, preferences, etc. and can determine policy for what info parents share with whom and when. This is important because I am mildly obsessed with the process and more than happy to talk to the mailman or the barrista about exactly what D20 is looking for and where she's applying. Fortunately, the parental "cone of silence" policy is pretty standard at her school. It's very common for parents to just shrug and say "we're not really talking about it until she's made her decision" in response to any questions about college interests, apps, etc.
ACT essay score also came in at a 10, we’re definitely happy with that.