I didn’t read the all the responses, so excuse me if anything is redundant. We are in MA as well and I think your child has a decent chance at Isenberg (I know kids with lower gpas/SATs that have been admitted in recent years) but your child must apply EA!! If Isenberg doesn’t happen students can still get a business minor. The biggest challenge with alternatives to UMass will be the pricing. Your student has a good chance of admission at schools like St. Lawrence, Union, Connecticut College and Trinity if they are interested in LACs but I don’t know if you’d get to your desired price point so I’d run the NPCs at all of those (if they are of interest). Syracuse is another possibility but it is very expensive and I don’t know if you are eligible for need-based aid (doubtful that any merit would get you close).
Thanks ! Ran npc for holy cross and Lafayette. Both amazing
Great list, @AustenNut. I would add more Catholic colleges, Scranton and Manhattan to your list of extremely likely and Fordham to your list of likely. I would also add SUNY Oneonta and Cartland as SUNY schools which not only have tuition match but which, like Geneseo, also have scholarships for out-of-state applicants
How does your course rigor look in comparison to your HS profile (you likely can find it on your school’s website - most MA schools have it). this will matter quite a bit -if everyone is taking 7 APs, and you have 4, they will notice at these schools. This is particularly true for MA kid applying to northeast schools. Compare your schedule/rigor to what weselyan puts (you likely need bio/chem/physics, language through year 4 and calc (of some level) out. Come from a good MA district this will be expected (unless weird circumstances). Application Process | Wesleyan University This will help you know what is reach for you, etc.
Based on your interests (not price):
Brandeis -
American - DI is CRITICAL
Ithaca -
Clark - DI goes a long way
These 3 will be a little less social-justicey/progressive overall but good business and nice campus vibes from what I saw/know
Quinnipiac
Fairfield
Marist
Fordham
FWIW Umass Honors is VERY hard to get in from what I see, especially for a common major like business (my understanding is they want kids from lots of majors).
last year, at least, Scranton was on Niche direct admissions,so you could have that in your back pocket quickly! you will get good merit too (based on my 25)
My niece was a psychology major at Gettysburg and she had a great experience there.
Can Fordham get to a $30,000 price point? I don’t think so.
Is DI “demonstrated interest”?
Yes, DI means demonstrated interest.
If you haven’t already, take a look at Washington and Lee’s net price calculator. It is a reach, but the combination of generous financial aid, plus a business school, plus the Shepherd Program make it potentially a good fit.
Good point.
I don’t see honors happening, UMASS honors is very selective, my daughters received top merit scholarships, but even with 3.95 Gus’s, 33/34 acts, top 10 in their classes, top rigor, no honors.
I decided to go back through to get a sense of what you’ve shared about your D’s preferences.
Although no methodology is perfect, I pulled grades from Niche for Athletics, Student Life, and Party Scene. I’d urge you to look at the methodologies to see how/whether they align with what your D is looking for, and then let us know which, if any, resonate with what your daughter is thinking of as desirable. (You will need to copy and paste and eliminate the space between niche and the .com to get a valid URL.)
-
Niche Athletics Grade Methodology: https://www.niche .com/about/methodology/best-college-athletics/
-
Niche Student Life Methodology https://www.niche .com/about/methodology/best-student-life/
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Niche Party Scene Methodology https://www.niche .com/about/methodology/top-party-schools/
I then went through the colleges I suggested to see how they ranked in those three areas on Niche. Notes on the grading system are at the bottom of this post.
| School | Athletics Grade on Niche | Student Life Grade on Niche | Party Scene Grade on Niche |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bryant | B | B+ | B+ |
| Butler | A- | B+ | B+ |
| John Carroll | B- | B- | B- |
| Loyola Chicago | B+ | B+ | B- |
| Loyola Maryland | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Marquette | A- | A- | A- |
| Saint Anselm | B- | B- | B |
| Saint Joseph’s | B+ | A- | B+ |
| Seton Hall | A- | A- | B |
| Siena | B+ | B- | B- |
| Stonehill | C | C | C+ |
| SUNY Plattsburgh | B- | B | A |
| SUNY Oswego | B- | B | A |
| U. of New Hampshire | A- | A | A |
| West Chester | B- | B+ | A- |
| Xavier | A- | B+ | B |
| Providence | A | A | A |
| SUNY Geneseo | C+ | C | B+ |
| U. of Dayton | A- | A+ | A+ |
| Binghamton | B | A- | A+ |
I also went through the colleges you mentioned (apart from the ME colleges which you indicated were no longer being considered) so you’d have a sense of how the ratings compare to what your family knows about these colleges:
| School | Athletics Grade on Niche | Student Life Grade on Niche | Party Scene Grade on Niche |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart and William Smith | B+ | C+ | B |
| College of the Holy Cross | B+ | B | B+ |
| Lafayette | B+ | B | B+ |
| Connecticut College | B | B | B |
| Wesleyan | B | A- | B+ |
| Trinity | B+ | B- | A- |
| Colgate | A- | A- | A+ |
| Union | B | B | A |
| Hamilton | B- | A- | B |
| Boston College | A+ | A+ | A- |
| Washington & Lee | B- | A | A |
| U. of Richmond | A | A | A |
| Lehigh | B+ | A | A+ |
| Bucknell | B+ | A- | A |
| Gettysburg | C+ | B- | A- |
| Syracuse | A+ | A+ | A+ |
| Dickinson | C+ | C+ | C+ |
I’ll be back with a few more thoughts, as this post is already quite lengthy.
For info on letter grades on Niche view https://www.niche. com/colleges/rankings/methodology/
Came here to say this too. None of my kids got honors college. GPAs ranged from 101-93, ACT scores 34, 32, and 33. Lots of rigor, 5s in AP Calculus BC, etc.
I’m unsure what your family considers isolated, as I would consider some schools on your family’s list more on the isolated side (like Hobart, Colgate, Hamilton, and Bucknell). If areas like that are fine, then some of the SUNY schools I suggested like Geneseo or Binghamton might be fine, too.
Based off the Niche grades, I would probably start checking out the schools I recommended in this order:
First Group
- U. of Dayton
- Providence
- U. of New Hampshire
- Marquette
- Seton Hall
Second Group
- Butler
- Xavier
- Saint Joseph’s
- Binghamton
- Loyola Maryland
In terms of the rest of the schools, I think it’s really dependent on what categories/methodologies best matched what it is your D is looking for.
If you head to Washington & Lee take the time to pull off I-81 at exit 245 and take a look at James Madison University.
Niche grades: (overall A-)
Athletics = A-
Student Life = A+
Party Scene = A+
Campus = A+
Campus Food = A+
James Madison is a terrific college, but for OOS students, it costs about $48,000 a year. The OP was pretty clear that they would not pay more than UMass instate cost for any public university in another state.
This does not meet their $30,000 a year price point.
@collegedad73, can you give us a little bit more clarity on the budget? Do all schools (except whatever your family gives exceptions to) need to fall under $30k? Or if a school ends up at $35k or $40k, or whatever, would they still be considered? (And though you don’t need to tell us the exceptions, make sure that your D understands the policy of which schools you would pay for at which price so that there is no confusion when the offers come in.)
Anyway, any insight you can provide on the budget so that people can provide suggestions that will be most useful to your family would be appreciated.
Additionally, as an FYI, here is a bit of history of Holy Cross’s acceptance rates (taken from here with an addition of this year’s rate as reported here and elsewhere on the interwebs).
| Holy Cross Class Year | Overall Acceptance Rate |
|---|---|
| 2029 | 17% |
| 2028 | 21.10% |
| 2027 | 36.36% |
| 2026 | 43.00% |
| 2025 | 37.94% |
| 2024 | 34.22% |
| 2023 | 38.01% |
| 2022 | 39.60% |
| 2021 | 38.46% |
| 2020 | 37.03% |
| 2019 | 43.34% |
| 2018 | 32.97% |
So, four years ago Holy Cross had an acceptance rate of 43%, and this year it has an acceptance rate of 17%. Although its admission rate has more than halved, I don’t think the quality of the school has changed drastically during that time.
Here are the Niche grades on a couple of the Catholic colleges that I suggested adding:
Athletics Student Life Party Scene
Scranton — C —— A ————— B+
Manhattan - B —— B- ————- B
I took a look at a number of calculators and for many schools - Colgate, HC, union, Lafayette, trinity, Richmond can get in the 40-45k range.