Hi All! So my daughter’s top choice is W&M currently. Junior in Hs, I’ve posted about her before. Super smart, intellectually curious, quirky, not a fan of preppiness, wants a mid sized school with research opportunities. She’ll be STEM but not pre-med and probably minor in something humanities. We’re in Va and want to keep it within driving distance if possible. Can you help us build a list of colleges similar to the W&M vibe that meet this criteria where such a student might have a good chance of feeling a sense of belonging?
Linking to previous threads for reference.
Have you/she had a chance to research the schools that were recommended?
In your last thread I wrote:
And here you are! I didn’t realize that you already had suggestions from the previous two threads linked above. If you can share what resonated (or repelled) about the schools that were included in the previous threads, that can help people tailor better suggestions for your D.
Additionally, are schools like Princeton and Brown coming back as affordable when you run the Net Price Calculator? If not, then we know that schools that don’t offer merit aid should be excluded.
Can you be more specific on “driving distance”? Do you mean drive from home to school and back in one day (around three hours one way)? Also, can you be more specific about her academic record - GPA, APs, PSAT, ECs, etc.? This information will help us help you.
Driving distance - yes - hoping for something we could drive to and back in a day. Or at least theoretically. From previous suggestions, she doesn’t want a LAC. Wants more of a research based place. She doesn’t want a tiny school like Swarthmore or Davidson; mid sized seems her sweet spot. Princeton is not on the table any more, she did not like the vibe and wouldn’t get in anyway most likely. Her current GPA 4.4 weighted, 1480 PSAT, really good EC’s but not hooked. Brown appears affordable based on NPC’s, but I’d still be afraid to do that early decision just in case she did get in and NPC was off. Edited to add Brown or anything like that feels like winning the lottery so trying to come up with more realistic options for this list beyond W&M.
What other instate VA public universities are you looking at? You are fortunate to have a lot of great instate options. Have you considered James Madison, for example?
UVA, VTech. She’s reluctant on JMU because half her though school goes there.
It’s not a tiny college. There will be plenty of kids at JMU who she has never set eyes on before. I personally think this is worth checking if you are looking for a less selective VA public university.
I believe UVA is more competitive for admissions than WM. And probably similar competitiveness between WM and VA Tech.
Is your budget still less than $30,000 a year?
Budget is more flexible than that. But we can’t afford 60+.
U Delaware? Temple?
What about Pitt? Is that too far?
The U of Rochester may work (try the NPC) but it might be too far.
Towson? SUNY Binghamton?
I was also going to suggest University of Delaware. It doesn’t feel like a large school…at all.
Buffalo is also a terrific suggestion.
I’m not sure if less competitive…or if it will be affordable, but what about Case Western Reserve University?
Have you considered smaller colleges like Rhodes, where research is a very likely possibility? Again, not sure if this will reach your price point but it’s a great option.
Class of 2028 acceptance rates:
VTech: 57%
W&M: 33%
UVA: 16.3%
Results can be more competitive depending on school/major as well as area one lives in Va…hopefully the student’s HS uses Naviance or Scoir to help categorize schools. I also would encourage OP to add JMU, it’s big enough she is not going to run into HS classmates all the time.
I know this is stating the obvious, but UVA seems like the perfect fit - great school, mid to large sized, wide range of academic offerings, reasonable in-state tuition, close to home, likely admit, beautiful campus.
While on the subject of southern publics, how about UNC Chapel Hill? On paper it is very similar to UVA in size, rankings, etc., and it is reasonably close. OOS tuition is $41,211 so total cost is likely feasible with some merit aid.
My son is at Case, and it has been good for him. The school is strong in STEM and has ties to two major research hospitals, yet has liberal arts. The school also encourages and facilitates double majors in different colleges (our tour guide was a MechE major and Econ minor). If the OP shows lots of interest and the AOs think she might attend, she is likely to get a generous merit award.
Unfortunately, beautiful, scenic Cleveland is not an easy drive from VA.
I’ll be back with more, but just wanted to address this quickly.
If the NPC is off and the school is unaffordable, she is able to withdraw from the ED contract.
If you are considering ultra selective schools in the northeast that are out of your driving radius like Brown and Princeton, why not consider top-tier schools closer to home like Duke, Emory, Vanderbilt, etc.?
Is engineering still a possibility of interest?
With William & Mary as an in-state option, that’s really hard to beat! But if you’re looking for some likelier admits, these are some possibilities she may want to check out. Driving times are given from Fairfax, a randomly chosen location in NOVA.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
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Duquesne (PA ): About 5100 undergrads and can take classes at Pitt or CMU or other Pittsburgh area schools. 3h58m from Fairfax.
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Ithaca (NY): About 4400 undergrads and students can take classes at Cornell. 5h44m from Fairfax. Only consider if she’s not interested in engineering.
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Loyola Maryland: About 4k undergrads; 1h29m from Fairfax. Can take classes at Johns Hopkins, Goucher, and other Baltimore area colleges.
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Rowan (NJ): About 15k undergrads; 2h42m from Fairfax.
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Salisbury (MD): About 6400 undergrads and had one of the highest percentages of students who earned Fulbright scholarships the other year. 2h42m from Fairfax. Only consider if she’s not interested in engineering.
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SUNY New Paltz (NY): About 6500 undergrads; 5h13m from Fairfax.
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U. of Delaware: About 19k undergrads. 2h3m from Fairfax.
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U. of Maryland - Baltimore County: About 10k undergrads and a big focus on STEM research. 1h2m from Fairfax.
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Virginia Commonwealth: About 21k undergrads. 1h49m from Fairfax.
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West Virginia U.: About 19k undergrads; your D receive at least $17k in merit, bringing the sticker price to a little under $25k (source). 3h26m from Fairfax.
Likely (60-79%)
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The College of New Jersey: About 7k undergrads. Sticker price is about $41k, but they do provide merit scholarships of up to $12k for out-of-state students, and I suspect your D would receive an offer on the higher end of that scale (source). 3h46m from Fairfax.
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U. of Pittsburgh (PA ): About 25k undergrads; apply early (like August or September); 3h59m from Fairfax.
Toss-Up (40-59%)
- Binghamton (NY): About 14k undergrads; 4h55m from Fairfax.
Lower Probability (20-39%)
Low Probability (less than 20%)