<p>So can someone help me categorize these schools into Reach/Match/Safety for me?</p>
<p>Rice
Dartmouth
Amherst
Swarthmore
Williams
UC: Berkeley
Reed
Oberlin
Vassar
Wesleyan
Bucknell
Middlebury
Bowdoin</p>
<p>These are the LACs that I have cut my list down to (+ the couple national universities)</p>
<p>REACH</p>
<p>Dartmouth
Amherst </p>
<p>LOW REACH/HIGH MATCH</p>
<p>Bowdoin
Middlebury
Rice
Swarthmore
Wesleyan
Williams </p>
<p>MATCH</p>
<p>Bucknell
UC: Berkeley
Reed
Oberlin
Vassar</p>
<p>Thanks, that makes it a lot easier. I’d like to get more opinions though, anyone?</p>
<p>Also, can you mention some National Universities that you’d feel would be good matches/low reaches for my stats/interests?</p>
<p>When we started our LAC search, we were also stuck on the east coast/west coast only because the midwest was characterized in our minds as ‘flyoverland.’ Minnesota (Carleton and Macalester) and Iowa (Grinnell) sounded too much like Iceland and Papua New Guinea. Then we started reading about the schools: Being Asian in the midwest makes you a URM. Great merit aid, in addition to financial aid. After visiting most of those low reach/high match schools listed above, S visited the midwestern LACs and fell in love.</p>
<p>That’s interesting… I just can’t see myself living in the midwest! idk why… My dad went to Macalester College.</p>
<p>bump10char</p>
<p>I agree with M’s Mom. Strongly. But I took you at your word when you said, “Not really interested in the mid-west schools or the CMK Colleges.”</p>
<p>Now, if we can start you wavering from that statement, there are other good ones besides the three M’s Mom mentioned (which are certainly 3 of the best). Don’t get me started on Colorado College because I can’t say enough good things about it. It shares many applicants with Middlebury, and to a lesser extent Bowdoin and Dartmouth, but is a little less selective than they are (like ~26% v. ~10-20%). These are all outdoorsy schools with good academics, where a lot of kids are into winter sports, hiking, etc. However, Colorado College offers better weather than any of them, truly world class Rocky Mountain hiking and skiing, an urban setting (not boondocks), a couple of D1 sports programs (men’s ice hockey, women’s soccer), merit scholarships, and a unique one-course-at-a-time “block plan”. It’s also a tad more lefty-liberal (a la Reed or Wesleyan) than the other 3. It or Macalester might make a good “match” for you (a few kids even turn down the slightly preppier Middlebury or Bowdoin for CC). Another thing to consider: at Colorado, Macalester or Oberlin, you’d be more like one of the top 25% of admits instead of about average for Dartmouth (which some people suggest can work to your advantage as pre-med.) </p>
<p>With such high average SATs and ~20% admit rates, I’d say Middlebury etc. are at least low reach for nearly everyone these days. None of the schools on your list can be considered a true safety (with the possible exception of Berkeley for in-state), even with your excellent credentials.</p>
<p>I’ll definitely take that into consideration. Do you guys know anything about Reed College? I am attracted to it, but it’s ranked only 49th of the LACs in U.S. News. I know this rankings need to be taken with a grain of salt, but they have to mean something…</p>
<p>Here is a link to a STUDENT review site of Reed College.</p>
<p><a href="http://www..com/OR/RC.html%5B/url%5D">http://www..com/OR/RC.html</a></p>
<p>I also think you should take a good look at Colorado College. And there is always Evergreen if you are looking for something more unconventional.</p>
<p>Okay so it won’t let me post the website. Go to google and type in - review reed college - it should be the first one to pop up. I think it is called studentreview</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry that Reed is “only” ranked 49th. Reed is precisely the sort of school that places absolutely no value in such ratings.</p>
<p>Have you had the opportunity to visit any colleges? Even if they’re not colleges you’re interested in attending, spending time at schools nearby can help you understand what kind of environment you like best. There are schools on your list, for example, that are very rural and athletic/outdoorsy (i.e. Dartmouth, Williams, Middlebury, Bucknell, and to a smaller extent Amherst and Bowdoin). There’s Rice, which is in the middle of a large city. Most of the other schools are inbetween (suburban or in a small city), but most of the other ones also have a social ‘type’ they attract (more liberal and artistic, less athletic and Greek-dominated)). So if you could tell us which of those types of schools sounds better for you, that’d help to narrow your list down.</p>
<p>As far as ranking your chances:</p>
<p>Reach:
Dartmouth
Amherst
Williams
Swarthmore
Middlebury
(you’re qualified for them all, but they’re all very selective)</p>
<p>Match:
Bucknell
Oberlin
Reed
Vassar
Rice
Bowdoin
Wesleyan
(with the bottom 4 being more selective than the top 3)</p>
<p>I left out UC-Berkeley because I don’t know anything about Cali in-state admissions.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, it does mean something. It means Reed College as a matter of principle refuses to participate in the USNWR rankings game by providing the magazine requested data. So it “competes” based on incomplete information. Years ago, before it took this position, Reed was ranked in the top 10.
(<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_college_and_university_rankings_(North_America[/url])”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_college_and_university_rankings_(North_America)</a>)</p>
<p>Reed’s great. Loren Pope called it “the most intellectual college in the country”. Reed has a policy of not showing grades to students unless requested, and most students don’t request them. Its program is very rigorous, including an oral exam at the end of 3rd year that can include any material covered in the student’s preceding course-work. Then it requires a senior thesis. The school has an excellent track record of preparing its graduates to complete Ph.D.s and a good record for getting them admitted to top professional schools. Suburban setting. Rains a lot.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I’d want to consider Wesleyan a “match” school.
As I recall, Wes had over 10K apps last year. They reject some well qualified students.</p>
<p>okay that gives a brief overview, thanks… any experiences on here with any of these LACs?</p>
<p>As for what type of environment I prefer, I really can’t decide. I live in the suburbs right now and have lived in CA my whole life… I can’t decide whether I’d be more comfortable staying in an environment like this, or trying something new. I may visit these colleges after the application process.</p>
<p>I know I wouldn’t be able to stand a conservative environment. I probably don’t like the big-city environment, but then again, I loved Berkeley and LA, so I’m not really sure. I love the athletics and outdoors, however.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>From that perspective, a reasonable set of apps might include something like:</p>
<p> Reach Schools<a href=“visit%20as%20many%20as%20possible%20on%201%20New%20England%20trip%20in%20the%20fall*”>/u</a>
Dartmouth (small rural town)
Middlebury / Bowdoin (small rural town, pick 1)</p>
<p>Wesleyan (small city)</p>
<p> Match Schools<a href=“visit%20in%20spring%20if%20necessary%20after%20decisions%20arrive”>/u</a>
Macalester / Reed (urban/suburban, pick 1 if you decide you like this setting)
Colorado College (small city with nearby wilderness – apply EA and you should get a decision by late December)
Bates / Whitman (outdoorsy / small town, pick 1 if you decide you like this setting)</p>
<p>Berkeley (urban)</p>
<p>Safety
[one other California school as admissions/financial safety if Colorado College does not accept you early (unlikely) or give enough merit aid to make the balance affordable]</p>
<ul>
<li>In the fall take at least one trip to visit a mix of urban//rural, preppy/crunchy etc. Buy the Collegiate Choice Walking Tours videos for the others (if you cannot arrange a trip to western/mid-western match schools, which I recommend you try to do to contrast with New England.) Adjust application choices after visits & research. Then in April visit any final choices you have not already seen.<br></li>
</ul>
<p>This is an example of a realistic, focused strategy that gives you a lot of geographic & other variety without applying to (or visiting) an unmanageable number of schools. 6 or 7 applications, maybe only 1 big trip. </p>
<p>Remember, there is no law saying you must attend the most selective school that admits you. These are all good schools; you have at least a shot at all of them.</p>
<p>“Remember, there is no law saying you must attend the most selective school that admits you.” Now I get to agree with tk21769. Strongly.</p>
<p>One thing about LACs is that, because they are small, you want to make sure you are comfortable with the culture. At a medium or large school, you can easily duck the dominent culture and find a sub-group that fits. At an urban school, you can escape into the city. At a LAC, most of which are rural or suburban, the dominent culture is ‘in your face’ to a greater degree, so do your homework. It doesn’t have to be a perfect fit, but if a place is predominently preppy and preppy gives you hives, think twice, even if it’s more selective than ‘good fit’ school. </p>
<p>S liked the New England LACs well enough, but after checking out the midwestern ones, he realized that the culture of the north east was much less comfortable than the midwestern one. That was a surprize because he’s lived his entire life in the mid-atlantic region-no reason at all to expect the midwest to be his natural home-but I’m from California myself and I can see the appeal (in spite of the harsh winters).</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Yup, my kid made a similar discovery with a couple of schools. The uber-selective New England school that was love at first site last August turned out to be much less attractive, in its social atmosphere, after an over-night visit in the fall. Your mileage may vary of course.</p>
<p>Yeah, I am taking that into consideration as well. At Berkeley I’d probably be able to find somewhere to fit in easily.</p>
<p>One issue with all these privates is that my parents have been set on sending me to public school because we can’t afford 50k a year. Thing is, my dad’s a family doctor so we’re not rich enough to afford a private, but not poor enough to receive significant financial aid. How is the aid at these schools? Is there a way to pay for them besides loans?</p>
<p>[sound of screeching tires] this is why flyover country should not be ruled out right away. you sound like you may be interested in “merit” aid, as opposed to, aid based on what the schools think you can afford. You’ll find that almost all the midwestern LACs offer merit aid while the NE LACs, with few exceptions only offer need-based aid, and in today’s economy, it is the rare college that will unconditionally commit to a 100% “no-loan” policy for the Class of 2014 (I think Yale and Princeton are the only ones to do so, so far.)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is the dilemma for so many middle/upper middle income families.</p>
<p>From everything you’ve told us, your admissions and aid “sweet spot” may well be a mid-western LAC. If your essays, LORs, etc. match your stats, I’d expect you could qualify for about $10K/year in merit aid from one of these schools (Macalester, Oberlin, Colorado, Grinnell), plus some loans. Subtract that, plus what you think you can earn from your own jobs ($7500?), then ask if your family can afford the balance.</p>
<p>If you pick a less selective LAC, you may get more merit aid. Pick an in-state public, and the sticker price goes down. Another strategy would be to try to graduate in 3 years, not 4, by leveraging AP/IB credits. That’s what my S wants to do at Colorado College (not just to save money but to move on in life). They granted him 1.5 semesters worth of credit for IB courses. They allow all students to attend 1 summer for free. Between the IB credit, the one summer, and partial credit for music lessons, he should have 1 full year. By this strategy, total COA can come close to the total 4 year COA (with no aid whatsoever) at a good in-state public.</p>
<p>Hypothetically:
midwest LAC = $150K (3 year cost) - $30K (merit) - $20K (work) - $15K (loans) = $85K
State = $100K (4 year in-state full cost)</p>
<p>My kid has almost earned his year 1 work goal from summer earnings plus winnings from a writing contest. Outside scholarships may be worth checking out, too.</p>