I keep hearing Conn College. I think that’s worth adding to our college tour this summer. A few of those are on my “You need to at least look” list. I’m trying to get her to consider the all women’s college. From what I hear they might be a great match. She’s pretty hesitant about an all women’s college, but she has a gender diverse friend group now. I think she might feel more comfortable than she expects.
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This is great to hear! I wasn’t sure if we should include it on our trip this summer. We’re planning a trip to Boston…and now maybe CT as well. And a later trip to Philadelphia. Both are road trips so we can see lots of places. I’ll be sure to put Brandeis on her radar.
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I think you’ve gotten lots of great suggestions and I don’t want to derail this thread, but I would definitely recommend running NPCs on the schools you/your daughter are most interested in.
You have schools that are meet full financial need (based on school’s definition of need), need-aware schools, and schools that don’t promise to meet full need in the suggestions given. If finances aren’t unlimited, it is a good idea to have an idea of whether schools will be affordable before visiting.
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My D23 really liked Conn College and Mount Holyoke (she ended up choosing a different LAC).
The women’s colleges I mentioned are in coalitions with other schools – students can take classes, there are some cross-institutional majors, and they can eat in each other’s dining halls. MHC is probably the geographic outlier among the five colleges, but there is still plenty of interactions between the schools. Bryn Mawr and Haverford are even more closely connected, with frequent shuttle service and lots of students taking classes at each other’s school. Swarthmore is also part of this coalition, but I think there’s a little less cross-traffic with that school because it’s a little farther away.
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I’ve encouraged her to consider that, but she wants to be in a drivable from home.
If we weren’t another several hours from NYC or any other major hub, she might consider it. We are an hour from a city with an airport. And it only flies a few places, but those places include NYC, Boston, and Philadelphia.
And I think Holy Cross went down even further this year! Just checked - 16 percent.
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Is there a financial limit?
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Yes there are limits, but it’s a little messy. I’ve been using the NPC and for the selective schools that provide 100% need, things look manageable for us. Anything else we consider has to be either a state school or part of the tuition exchange program. If it’s a TE school, we can only probably only afford it if she gets the scholarship.
Thank you for the suggestion. I am working my way through the list. I’ve got quite a spreadsheet going and a ranking. My new favorites are awfully competitive. But she can also apply for TE, so I’m limiting the other options to state schools and schools for whom she would be competitive for a TE scholarship.
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Would a set rate TE award work, or does it need to be a full tuition TE award (or a school that stacks merit awards with TE)?
Okay, I just went through the TE schools and have a list of schools that seem like possibilities. I’ve indicated the percentage of TE applicants that receive TE (per the TE website) and whether they receive the set rate or full tuition. You are likely already aware of this, but if TE is a necessity, I would try and include some schools with higher probabilities of offering TE.
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Clark (MA): Less than 10% of candidates receive TE, set rate. You can read more about it here: Clark University – Colleges That Change Lives
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Connecticut College: Less than 10% of candidates receive TE, set rate.
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Dickinson (PA ): 41-60% of candidates receive TE, set rate.
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Drew (NJ): 11-40% of candidates receive TE, full tuition.
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Emmanuel: Less than 10% of candidates receive TE, set rate. Part of the Colleges of the Fenway where there are combined clubs, arts opportunities, and cross-registration.
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Endicott (MA): Less than 10% of candidates receive TE, full tuition.
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Franklin & Marshall (PA ): Less than 10% of candidates receive, set rate.
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Goucher (MD): 11-40% of candidates receive TE, set rate. Part of the Baltimore Collegetown consortium where students can take classes at other area universities like Johns Hopkins, Loyola Maryland, MICA, etc. You can read more about it here: Goucher College – Colleges That Change Lives
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Lafayette (PA ): Less than 10% of candidates receive, set rate.
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Merrimack (MA): 11-40% of candidates receive TE, full tuition.
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Moravian (PA ): 11-40% of candidates receive TE, set rate.
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Mount Holyoke (MA): 11-40% of candidates receive TE, set rate. Women’s college and part of the 5 colleges consortium with Smith, Amherst, UMass, and Hampshire.
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Muhlenberg (PA ): 11-40% of candidates receive TE, other tuition.
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Saint Anselm (NH): 11-40% of candidates receive TE, set rate.
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Sarah Lawrence (NY): : Less than 10% of candidates receive TE, set rate.
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St. John’s (MD): 11-40% of candidates receive TE, full tuition. This is a unique model, but if it’s a fit, it’s a really great fit. There’s a campus in Annapolis and another one in Santa Fe and students can take switch between campuses. You can read more about it here: St. John’s College – Colleges That Change Lives
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Siena (NY): 11-40% of candidates receive TE, full tuition.
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Skidmore (NY): 11-40% of candidates receive TE, set rate.
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Stonehill (MA): 11-40% of candidates receive TE, set rate.
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Susquehanna (PA ): 11-40% of candidates receive TE, full tuition.
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Washington (MD): 11-40% of candidates receive TE, full tuition. @DPS43 has a kid here and can share more info. 90m to Philly, Baltimore, or Washington D.C.
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Wheaton (MA): 41-60% of candidates receive TE, other tuition.
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I have a grant through work which they say can be used to cover any tuition gap left after TE. It’s not clear to me if the TE has to allow stacking for that. I’ve heard it typically counts against need, so I really don’t how to account for it.
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Thank you for that info! I appreciate your looking that up for me.
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Ask around at work… surely someone has sent a kid to college in the last few years- and start keeping track of which colleges will stack and which won’t. No point in falling in love with a place you can’t afford, but don’t cross something off assuming there’s no stacking if in fact, the college allows it!
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It’s already been mentioned, but my current Vassar student really enjoyed Skidmore when we visited. Oberlin was on his list, too, and both schools gave him much better FA offers than Vassar.
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That is good to know! She won’t consider Oberlin. I’m trying to get her to consider Skidmore. But I’m still working on the list of colleges with a bit higher acceptance rates that have decent NPC estimates.
Interesting (and disappointing). Vassar is known for such generous aid! Gonna tweak my annual donation next year!!
…though my D23 got much better aid from Vassar than from Oberlin
For the OP, my kids (S21 and D23) were looking for something similar to what you describe. Those we visited in the Northeast that have higher acceptance rates than Vassar (especially compared to Vassar for women) that one or the other liked were Mt. Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, Clark, Wheaton, and Dickinson. Skidmore was on the list but didn’t visit.
ETA - there were lots of others they liked, but I focused here on schools in the northeast that were also schools with higher acceptance rates than Vassar’s acceptance rate for women. Be aware that some of these schools are need aware in admissions so don’t count on higher acceptance rates necessarily translating into better acceptance odds for your D…many factors that go into the admissions decisions and financial need can be one of them).
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Did your aid from Oberlin include merit?
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