I am going to swing back to costs/budget because that is important and will drive the list.
It was previously mentioned that you could probably contribute about $30,000 a year, and that family will help with Princeton if the costs are higher (but only with Princeton). Princeton is not a school that anybody can count on. It’s fine to apply, but it’s also important to come up with schools that are affordable without family assistance, because Princeton does not work out for most applicants.
W&M is approximately $45,000 a year. Can you afford this school? You do not have to answer here, but it is something to think about.
If your budget is $30,000 a year and the NPCs (other than Princeton) show a much higher cost, I would include schools where she may receive merit. I cannot stress enough how important this is.
I agree about including TCNJ when you visit Princeton.
Just my opinion. Please disregard my post if your budget is no longer a concern.
Weirdly I ran the NPC’s on both Princeton and Cornell and they’re only about 10k more than W&M for us if I’m doing it correctly. We visited Cornell but I don’t think she’ll want apply, just did that to get an idea of cost. Yes we can make W&M work even if she got no aid whatsoever. But we can’t cough up 70 or 80k a year.
We’ll still visit Princeton as I said before, but my gut says W&M or somewhere similar is probably her best fit. I do want her to have a great college experience where she can make friends, get involved with things she loves, and not be in a total pressure cooker. Her high school/magnet experience has been extremely stressful and she has struggled socially and been bullied at times. She a unique, really smart kid who needs to find her place both socially and academically. My other younger kid is completely uncomplicated and will happily head off to any state school and find a group of buddies instantly, I have no doubt. Looking forward to a much easier process in 2 years!
Stress is often student induced or major induced, not necessarily school induced.
Why don’t you look at CNU _ a mini W&M - with a gorgeous campus. Yes it’s more regional but perhaps it’d be a good fit - if you liked it and applied to only W&M and there, you’d be done.
You know what’s really stressful ?
College apps - if you do a lot - or it is for many kids.
So if stress is an issue, reducing the college search could be a smart move.
I can’t remember if we already discussed this here, but I also always think that even if the kid does end up choosing the “obvious” college, it is nice for them if that truly is a choice, and not something that happens by default.