I suppose that depends on what kind of history OP’s daughter is interested in?
And how would that impact law school admissions?
I’m going to go on ahead and give you a name: Siena. It’s close to Albany, so if someone’s interested in politics, there are lots of opportunities to get involved in the state capital. You’ve probably also heard the name often when you hear about the Siena/NY Times polls…yes, it’s that university. It’s particularly known for the American Revolution (it has a center there that specializes on it), but obviously its history department covers more than that. There are about 3500 undergrads there, which many find to be a nice size (on the small end of medium). And she’s likely to get significant merit there.
But for us to provide more targeted suggestions, we’ll need more information, particularly surrounding a budget.
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I think OP and student really need to narrow in - otherwise this is a futile exercise.
In other words they want a big list and I get that - we had that - but you still have to have direction within that list.
So right now, it’s just a whatever name you want to say (Gettysburg for History) but it’s got zero basis for what the student might want.
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Yes, you are right. I need to try the financial calculator to see where we are. May update when I have better idea.
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I put two NPCs above - plus a post with the jobs Kenyon grads are getting and UGA (as a UMD sub) - UGA also included grad schools attended as well - all in the two posts above.
It behooves you to sort of see what the student likes (big, small, urban, not), etc. and the best way is go visit a few, even close to you.
Your student will have no shortage of takers. She’s in a good spot to find the right school at the right cost!!!
So be confident there.
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With respect to this, your daughter may want to explore government departments along with history departments. Along these lines, Bates, for example, offers a Politics major. Colleges that offer the interdisciplinary major of public policy also may be of interest, as may colleges that offer term-length programs in D.C., with associated internships.
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For opportunities in politics, then Washington DC area schools should be considered as one can do an internship during any part of the year since the student will already be “onsite”.
Georgetown, George Washington University, & American University are all located in DC. American & Georgetown are in great locations while GWU is a true urban school with a small campus.
Also, consider the University of Virginia.
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She probably doesn’t have that specific idea yet. Generally, History is her favorite subject in school. I will encourage her to dig more.
Miami of Ohio has a great Syncronized skating program. It is also a good public university that gives lots of merit money. Beautiful campus as well.
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With respect to post-graduation prospects, this is how Hamilton’s history department summarizes its outcomes:
For further perspective, Hamilton lists well over 100 history courses in its curriculum. It doesn’t seem that lack of breadth should represent a concern at a school of this type.
Great post !
Breadth depends upon how frequently some courses are offered as well as how many different history courses are offered each semester / each academic year.
Large number of faculty for History.
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Students at University of Maryland also do government internships,
and its school of Public Policy may be of interest.
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Washington college in Maryland has a great history program and a lot of internships for that major. They give great merit.
Does anyone know about College of Wiliam & Mary, CWRU or Wake Forest? Is there good chance to get merit-based scholar?
Case gives merit money. The other 2 much more difficult but W&M is a state school so OOS tuition is going to be less than tuition at WFU.
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You need to ratchet down the selectivity level to have the best chances at merit. I mean, Vandy, WUSTL - in theory you could get a full ride but a school like U Miami often gives merit but a school like U Denver (another mid size) you’d have almost assured merit with your stats.
But you also have to factor in overall costs - because getting merit that gets you to $50K whereas you can find full priced schools for less…or others with auto merit getting her to $20K/$30K, etc.
So those are three great schools - and depending on budget - CWRU might make sense…and a U Rochester, etc. but set your baseline - and if it’s below $60K for example, those become - “possible” but improbable - and make sure you find those assured good things.
If I was looking at W&M and it’s too much, and I was from Maryland, I’d be looking at Christopher Newport!! Much cheaper, beautiful school, top rated dorms, etc and a much lower price point. It’s not on the national level of a W&M but another Virginia public and it shares “some” similarities. Mary Washington to a lesser extent but could be another…if the W&M price is too high - because merit there is likely to be full ride or none whereas these are already less expensive and have merit.
So you can find subs, etc. if schools are going to come in too high. If CWRU is too high, I might look (budget depending) on Denver or Butler, etc. for history…and if smaller is ok, many of the LACs that give a lot of merit - from a Depauw to a Dickinson, Rhodes, Gettysburg, etc.
So set a $$ amount first…because just because a school offers merit, it doesn’t mean you’ll get to a price - whatever that price is that you are seeking. And some schools may beat it without merit. This is where you take advantage of your daughter’s stats - to go to schools that will “buy” her vs. a W&M or Wake where she’s really one of a zillion already there.
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This aggregator may prove helpful to you: Merit Aid by Institution – College Transitions
It indicates the percentage of students without need that received merit aid and what the average merit award was. Double-check the information for any interested schools in their Common Data Sets. And if a school is not listed here, refer to the Common Data Set, section H2, I believe.
But for the three schools you mentioned:
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Case Western: 41%, average $26,072
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Wake Forest: 30%, average $32,196
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William & Mary: 6%, average $9,065
That sounds awfully off base for the last two (just my sense…maybe it’s not).
Wake says this for example - Wake Forest’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions offers merit scholarships to fewer than 3% of first-year applicants.
And since only 368 of 1384 1st year got any need aid (for lack of a better words, it’s a school for the rich) - I don’t see how that # can be correct. They do have some full rides and perhaps how they got to the average $$ - but again, few are getting.
Same with W&M - has some full rides but it’s most common merit, I believe, is a $3K stipend for research.
For OP, always validate with the schools themselves to ensure - as it’s not coming directly from the schools when via a 3rd party. I too, often post 3rd party data, and that part (accuracy) scares me a bit…so I always give that disclaimer.
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William & Mary has the 1693 scholarship…but I think it’s only a full ride for in-state students…out-of-state students need to pay the difference…and they only give the scholarship to fewer than 10 students per year. So if they have a $9k average, then I’m guessing they’re giving out a number of those $3k awards to bring down the average that significantly.
I was surprised by the other two’s data as well, but perhaps the enrollment cliff that’s been projected is making schools more generous for the remaining students? But yes, it’s always a best practice to double-check with the primary source, which is why I also said this 
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I missed that - sorry. Yeah, was just pointing out - the WF especially def stood out.
Just want to ensure OP had realistic assumptions.
As always, you’re the best provider of…like EVERYTHING…especially crazy school lists with awesome odds!!!
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