Mine liked Vassar also, and looked at Skidmore (NY schools). For Boston region, it was Bates, Bowdoin, Tufts, Connecticut College (although most of these are very selective - probably need to ED except for Conn College). For Philly area, it was Lafayette and Haverford. Mine did not look at all women’s colleges but there are some great options there. Best of luck!
Edit: She also liked Dickinson, 2 hours from Philly, higher acceptance rate and is actually in a town with lots to do.
I know that one of the criteria was “within a few hours of Boston, NYC, or Philly” and you’ve gotten some excellent suggestions. (We looked at many of the school recommended and they all have a lot going for them.) However, due to the fact that a good majority of college kids all want this same geographic region, most of those school are highly competitive, reach schools for nearly all applicants.
I’m going to recommend Macalester as fitting literally everything your daughter is looking for other than its geographic location. Wonderful small LAC right in the heart of the Twin Cities. Students are very progressive, and super intellectually engaged. No Greek life, and less competitive for admissions than comparable Northeast LACs. We were incredibly impressed with it when we visited. My son attended a class there, and loved the class so much that the whole family was engaged in conversation about the topics under discussion in that class the rest of the day.
Feel free to discount this if geography is non-negotiable (I understand) but this school checks every box (some of which are hard to check) other than being in the Northeast. Heck, the climate would even be very similar! Plus, tons of direct flights into all of the major Northeast cities.
Also, they are generous with merit aid.
However, while Vassar is more generalized academically, SLC academic offerings are heavily concentrated in arts, some humanities, and psychology.
Wheaton College in Norton - my son has a big merit scholarship from Wheaton - also got into the Dual Engineering program with Dartmouth College. Great atmosphere but bring a car!!!
I was thinking of Macalester when posting above.
Forum favorite St Olaf is also only like 45 minutes away from Minneapolis-St Paul, and their large international airport.
Oberlin is another that I think of as a prime candidate for kids who like Vassar. Again about 40 minutes from Cleveland, actually only 30 from the airport.
I could go on but I don’t know if this is actually relevant. I’d personally urge a visit to at least one of these states (Minnesota, Ohio, etc.) just to see what it looks like. But not if it is inconceivable.
I second a lot of the suggestions people have already made: Conn College, Sarah Lawrence, Skidmore, Bates, and Haverford (though the last two are more selective). Has anyone mentioned Mount Holyoke and Bryn Mawr? If she’s open to a women’s college, they would be worth considering. And how about Hampshire College? It’s hard to know if they’ve gotten past their recent financial troubles, but if so, it definitely fits the description of laid-back, collaborative, and less selective.
We visited Marist, but she found it too business-y. I think probably not so fun for a pretty leftist person.
Whenever someone reveals an affinity for Vassar, I immediately imagine that they would probably also fit in at Wesleyan. Those two schools seem to have quite a bit in common.
What about Muhlenberg? Maybe Emerson? Goucher is a good safety but check their financial status.
Bates matches her criteria, except that it is pretty selective. Clark is a good choice. Connecticut College, Bard, Mt. Holyoke, Sarah Lawrence all worth considering as somewhat less reachy.
I hesitated to mention St. Olaf, as it’s farther from a city, and I’m already not sure whether OP’s daughter is at all open to considering midwest schools. But, if she is, it’s another strong option. We visited it on the same trip where we saw Macalester and had a similarly great feeling about that school. Yes, Oberlin as well, although I don’t have personal experience with it .
Your description describes Brandeis perfectly. My daughter is a freshman there and loves it. The kids are very smart and driven but it’s not impossible to get into, collaborative environment not competitive, has a free shuttle to take the students into Boston on weekends, and there’s very little Greek life. It’s also very progressive and not prep school at all.
I agree Macalester is by far the most enticing option given what the OP said. So that is definitely a good first step to seeing if this is something this kid will consider at all.
But it is interesting–suppose you want to be in NYC. From St Olaf, it is about a 40 minute drive to MSP, then around a 2:40 flight to NYC. Toss in an hour if you don’t check bags, but you are still talking about being in a NYC airport in about 4.5 hours. In fact even if you use the shuttle service from St Olaf to MSP, with good timing you are only looking at like 5ish hours.
That’s really not that long!
Agree. If geography is negotiable at all, it’s a wonderful option. It’s special school. And, very generous with merit aid as well!
Drew was the first school that I thought of as you were describing what your D was looking for. It’s about a 50-minute train ride into NYC but has its own charming small town, and I definitely don’t think it has a prep school vibe.
I agree with many of the excellent suggestions you’ve received here. Is there a budget that the school should be within?
Also, if you do extend beyond the northeast major cities, some schools to consider would be:
Gustavus Adolphus (in addition to St. Olaf, already mentioned) as they are both a similar distance to the Twin Cities
College of Wooster is about 1h10m from Cleveland (50m from the Cleveland aiport) and is worth considering, too.
I second Bates and possibly Holy Cross in Worcester, which feels like a small city and it relatively close to Boston. These may be slightly easier to get into than Vassar but these days one never knows. Stonehill and Wheaton and Providence and Conn all good suggestions as well.
Last year’s admission rates: Bates 13%, Vassar 18%, Holy Cross 21%.
Oh thank you. Widener is not one I had heard of before. That’s helpful.
Adding them to the list. Thanks!
I was going to also recommend Macalester. My DD just applied as a transfer- fingers crossed.
We used to live in tat neighborhood, it is such a vibrant and walkable city with great public transportation.