Totally different feels! One urban / suburban and compact, the other large and spread out in a tiny town near a lake and beautiful scenery! I loved Clemson but both my boys looked at urban schools. (Hazard of growing up somewhere with public transportation, I guess!)
1 Like
She a city lover and has been taking the bus/train into NYC since she was a young teen (and goes a lot when home, 10 miles away), I think with Covid and lack of college tours had her all over the place. Her sister is in Boston for grad school (only applied to urban schools).
2 Likes
This is a fantastic list, @KatMT - you found some new (to me) schools.
2 Likes
If you loved Smith you should definitely check out Bryn Mawr. My daughter was very interested in HWCs and really liked Smith too. Initially she thought Bryn Mawr would be too small - but the easy access to Haverford and the city of Philadelphia changed her mind. She received a substantial merit scholarship, and I would think you have a great shot of also receiving merit with your stats.
4 Likes
With the interest in French along with interest in small schools - I would highly recommend doing a deep dive into each school’s French or French/Francophone Studies programs and course offerings.
Smaller schools will have fewer offerings in upper level foreign language courses. Depending on the school and the professors teaching, the focus of those upper level courses may be geared towards: 15th century French poetry, France in the Caribbean, French influenced Canada, French feminism, Immigration and Racism in Contemporary France, etc.
If you are completely uninterested in 15th century French poetry, going to a school whose department head makes sure to teach that as one of the required upper level course yearly might not be the best choice. Just something to think about when looking at small schools with foreign language departments.
7 Likes
Conn College offered my DS more than 20K+ in merit in 2022. You have similar stats to him. If you want a NE LAC, they may be your best bet. He didn’t end up attending, but I remember how attractive their merit award was.
Maybe consider a LAC in Quebec?
Bishop’s University,
1 Like
My daughter is a sophomore at Smith and she received a STRIDE scholarship, which is a merit award program. Smith does have a limited number of merit award options, so I wouldn’t rule it out entirely: Merit Aid | Smith College
2 Likes
How did your daughter qualify for the STRIDE scholarship? I’d love to earn it, but am a little unclear on the criteria so I’m a little hesitant!
I agree in hoping you don’t give up on Smith prematurely. It’s worth a shot.
My D was offered the Zollman at Smith last year.
https://www.smith.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/first-year/merit
It’s half tuition plus the STRIDE research opportunity. I’d say it was probably a combination of stats, ECs, demonstrated interest, recommendations, and fit…but they don’t give exact criteria for how to get it. Seems like a holistic process for both the STRIDE and the Zollman.
Bryn Mawr also offered her significant merit as did Dickinson (where she applied for and got the Presidential). Beloit really went the extra mile with some perks/offers and was difficult to turn down. Good luck!
6 Likes
With those stats you could probably get merit scholarships to get your net price down to between 30K and 40K at some really good LACs in the Midwest or near-Northeast. My S23 had offers in that range from Kalamazoo, Wooster, Allegheny, Hobart and William Smith, Dickinson, and Ohio Wesleyan. He was a valedictorian with a 1500 SAT. Save some extra money for grad school!
5 Likes
Unfortunately the criteria for STRIDE is not spelled out anywhere–but nichols51 did a good job of listing the likely criteria used to determine award recipients
1 Like
almost everyone i know here at conn college got a merit scholarship of around 30k a semester, if not more.
1 Like
Here is a great list of all of the schools and how much merit aid they offer (be sure to also look at the % of kids who get merit, not just the amount). Merit Aid by Institution – College Transitions
My daughter also chased merit and received it from Brandeis (attending), George Washington University, American University, Sarah Lawrence, and Muhlenberg.
2 Likes
Are you saying that these students received $60,000 a year in merit aid from Conn College? Or more? Or did they have some need based aid in the mix?
Please give some reference that documents what you re saying…because I believe that level of merit aid is not as common as you are saying.
@Mwfan1921 what does their common data set say?
3 Likes
CDS shows 307 first yr students without need (out of a total 630 first years) received an average of $30,816 in merit (for the whole year).
Note that 843 of 1915 total students received an average of $24,168, so it seems the first year merit isn’t guaranteed for the following years at the same level. This is all in Section H of the 2022-23 CDS: https://www.conncoll.edu/media/Common-Data-Set-2022-23.pdf
1 Like
Colleges that offered my kids or their friends merit: U Denver, Wooster, St. Olaf, Luther, Kenyon, Grinnell, St. Lawrence, Union, Lafayette, Whitman, Lewis and Clark, Muehlenberg, Connecticut College, Juniata, Eckerd, Lawrence (WI). Some of these places are just a huge bargain for someone with your stats!
4 Likes
I apologize - I meant 30k a year. There is a scholarship for 32k a year and then one for 34k if i recall correctly. I do not have any official numbers on those who receive this amount specifically, however out of all of my friends and most people that I have met, they have all reported receiving this scholarship. Especially with OP’s stats, I would be shocked if they didn’t receive this sort of merit scholarship. My stats were lower than OP’s and I received 32k a year on top on generous need based financial aid. I apologize for wording my original response wrong, but above a certain level of academic stats it is common for people to receive such scholarships, at least from my experience.
1 Like