Need Mid-Size Schools for English / Art History Major

College Search & Lists
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I could use some help finding schools for my daughter (high school senior) to consider applying to.

Academics:
– 4.0 GPA (unweighted), not sure what it is unweighted but she has all A’s in all her AP classes (7 so far)
– Top 10 rank out of 500 students in her class
– SAT: 1510
– ACT: 34

Extracurriculars:
– National Honor Society
– Book Club, vice president, 3 years
– Academic team, 4 years – quick recall (5th in state), arts + humanities (1st in district and regional, went to state), language arts (2nd in district and regional)
– School library assistant, 3 years
– Mock UN
– Future Problem Solving team
– Member of a Harry Potter community online role-play where they write as their own characters

Awards:
– Accepted to Governor’s Scholar Program (KY state program)
– Accepted to Kenyon Young Writer’s Summer Program

Work:
– Shelver at local public library, 2 years
– Volunteers regularly through church (Thanksgiving Food Drive, Angel Tree, painting a health center, etc.)
– Has done several writing workshops and camps in our area
– Interned for small local graphic design studio (social media, photo and design editing)

These are her thoughts so far:

Reach
– Oberlin College
– Kenyon College
– University of Chicago

Target
– Centre College
– Clark University

Safety
–University of Kentucky (in-state public school)

She is looking to study English / Creative Writing and Art History. She prefers mid-sized schools (5,000 to 8,000 students) near or in a large city, preferably in the Midwest or Northeast. Looking for generous merit aid, as we have no money really to contribute :frowning:

I’d love to know of other colleges that might be a good fit for her criteria and stats…and if you think that her current school list is attainable or a stretch :slight_smile:

Thanks!

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@jdawnj80 Few colleges in the northeast offer merit scholarships, but they are generous with need-based aid. Have you checked a few net price calculators to see if need-based aid would be workable?

In the LAC category (like Kenyon and Oberlin) with merit, strong art history and overall excellent academics:
Smith
Mt. Holyoke
Bryn Mawr
Skidmore

Most midsized privates and large universities have good art history departments. You’d have to check on their financial aid policies. For example, she could look at JHU, WUSTL, UVA, UMich

I think your daughter would be a strong candidate for all the schools on her list. Her grades, scores, rank are excellent. Her ECs could use some editing and expanding on. If her most important EC is writing, she’ll have to make sure this is communicated in her essays and recommendations.

UChicago has become quite selective and is definitely a reach. Kenyon and Oberlin are less reach-y, maybe high matches for her.

If you can get by with need-based aid, her list can expand considerably.

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Tufts might interest her but I suspect some on her list may be better fits, especially with merit.

Definitely look at Bryn Mawr. Philadelphia is a city with good art resources (and not far from NYC for an occasional trip.)

Bard is not known for great merit but could be a great choice for those interests.

Dickinson has good merit and does some interesting things in its Art History program. I think all seniors curate a show.

Overall, your list looks like a solid start.

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Looking for clarification here because it can really matter. Do you believe that you will be a full pay or high EFC that you will not be able to pay? Do you know what your max family contribution is (parent + student)? This can really change the reach level of the school. For example, if you are full pay and can afford $50k/year, then the schools in your reach category (at least Oberlin and Kenyon) may be reasonable reaches. If you can afford $25k/year then they become very high reaches. Others can better comment of merit possibilities at UChicago.

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Boston College seems to fit the bill

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What would folks thoughts be on this if one was looking at places in the mid-atlantic to southeast regions?

7

Congratulations to your daughter on her hard work and success!

She’ll do great with college admissions; she could succeed anywhere. The challenge, it seems, is to find schools where she’d receive sufficient aid.

I like your list of schools, especially having the in-state choices to give her some great possibilities that are likely to be affordable. I think two other general approaches would perhaps help her find affordable choices.

  1. Google “colleges that meet full financial need”: Note, the schools may be “need aware” and probably have more a more challenging situation in admissions; or they may accept her and then not award enough aid, and she and your family still think the school is unaffordable. But, it’s the best place to start, and you could probably discuss any gap that makes the school unaffordable after aid has been awarded. Unfortunately, the schools you find will be among the most competitive. In her case, though, it seems like a good bet to take a crack at a couple of them.

Some possible good-fit schools, that are not Ivy League or similar, and, though very competitive, perhaps not quite so hyper-competitive: Bryn Mawr (see post above); Carleton College; Colgate University; Middlebury College; Smith College; Vassar College; and Williams College.

  1. Look at schools where she would be a real stand-out academically. There are some very good schools where that would be the case. Here’s one example:

https://miamioh.edu/admission/merit-guarantee/index.html

Note that it is recommended that students seeking merit aid apply before Dec. 1. This is also true at other schools. So be on top of those applications. It might make a difference between getting merit aid or not.

One other one: She seems to have liked Kenyon, which is fantastic, and in a very small town, as she knows. What about Sewanee? Similar school, similarly beautiful campus, literally on top of a mountain (well maybe a plateau). Strong academics, very good students, and she’d be a very strong candidate. Don’t know that it would come through with enough money, but maybe you could run the NPC. Check out this video “This is Our Story” if you don’t know the school well.

http://admission.sewanee.edu

Good luck!