Mid size flagships or state-associated schools like UConn, UDel or Pitt will have merit possibilities and honors advantages.
Pitt honors makes that school feel small. The dorm (Sutherland) is excellent, the honors kids are tight, and honors classes are very small (and open to anyone actually). It has perhaps the largest dorm rooms I’ve ever seen at a non-Ivy. Has it own cafeteria and store though it is up the hill. Nordenberg is also a nice brand new dorm at the base of the hill and popular with Honors kids that don’t want to climb up to Sutherland. There are TONS of research opportunities. Also Pitt really likes - and rewards - high OOS test scores like yours. And we found with my S18 that the APs are really helpful at Pitt and allow you to do triple majors or double minors/certificates. A downside is the distance and fewer flights in and out of PIT
Have you visited UMass or UConn or UVm or UDel? My S16 went to UConn which he later felt was far too rural. He regretted not going to Pitt instead where my S18 attended. My S24 felt UMass was too isolated like UConn when we visited - perhaps with a better town - but otherwise kind of dreary. UDel is closer to a major city than any of them (not counting Springfield MA) and the campus has some character.
maybe look into University of Maryland’s College Park Scholars program- it breaks down a big school into bite sized like-minded people, like an honors program that adds more outside-the-classroom enrichment activities. Ohio State has a similar program and I think is more generous with merit $.
If you decide to apply to University of Maryland, make sure you apply in the early round. That college accepts more than 75% of its incoming class in the early round.
Is Miami University in Oxford Ohio on your list? It’s a small college town, but is viewed as Ohio’s “public” LAC style college. I’m pretty sure your student would get merit aid there as well. Plus I believe Ohio publics freeze the costs for all four years your student is attending…which is a nice thing.
Thanks, everyone, for all of the suggestions–as I research public universities, I’m struggling to get a sense of both academic depth and the degree to which honors programs/LLCs provide a sense of community, and your insights are very helpful. I know that his geographic preferences are limiting–that’s why I’m having such a hard time with this part of the list (and I keep showing him schools outside of the Northeast, so that he knows what other options there are). I appreciate the thoughtfulness of your replies & will look into all of these options. We do have a good list of SLACs (mostly CTCLs suggested by this group).
We haven’t visited any of the state schools yet–we have pretty limited time to visit, so I’m trying to choose wisely & plan strategically. So far he doesn’t have a strong preference about city/suburban/rural–he’s been a city kid his whole life & he likes it, but he’s intrigued by the idea of spending a few years somewhere with more trees.
I guess I’m looking primarily for schools with honors colleges or LLCs that provide some smaller learning experiences & ongoing community, not just perks like early registration. UMaine is probably going to be our lowest cost, but the honors program doesn’t seem to offer that kind of community (based only on their website). The various Scholars programs at CofC & Alabama would be very appealing for my son, and I’ve had a hard time identifying similar opportunities at northeastern schools. There are several promising suggestions above. Does anyone have experience with honors programs at the various SUNY campuses? Many of the SUNY campuses do flagship tuition match with MA, so those are good financial options for us.
I’m liking the suggestion above of SUNY Binghamton. Really good college, R1 research university, good for social sciences.
And then they do this residential community thing that I think may be what you are really looking for:
The Scholars Program is then a small honors program:
But I don’t know that you even need to do that particularly to still get the benefit of their residential communities. In other words, every student at Binghamton can get something of the vibe of a SLAC as part of their experience.
Edit: Dang, they may not participate in Tuition Match. Still might be worth exploring.
They don’t, but my son who has similar stats to the OP got in this fall and just got a scholarship for $15,000 a year which brings the cost down to very close to UMass Amherst.
My D22 is a sophomore at UMaine. OP-- It’s fantastic, and absolutely deserves a closer look. Like most medium/large schools, there are many ways UMaine can feel like a small school. Besides the honors program, UMaine has plenty of serious students, drawn to the academically rigorous programs such as engineering and nursing. Also, clubs, activities, etc…
P.S. I happen to have attended SUNY Oswego. Also fantastic, with many fabulous programs and a spectacular lakefront location. I LOVED my time at Oswego, and I met so many amazing brilliant people there.
The subtle digs at some schools to suggest they are populated with mostly schlumpy students is sort of… well, irritating and sad. Every college out there has an array of students, programs, proud traditions, great teachers, and amazing stuff going on.
I didn’t say some of these schools aren’t good or don’t have those students.
But numerically, statistically, the preponderance of kids are not at the same level - and that includes those schools my students chose to attend.
Doesn’t mean the education isn’t as good - and for some it may be the top choice. But statistically, on an overall basis, its students are lesser accomplished than OPs student.
That’s factually correct.
Now do these schools offer programs that will work for what the student is seeking? Hopefully and some have already shared some ideas - that will come out of it.
Good luck to OP.
PS - would (I don’t know) TCNJ work for the student? It gets a lot of love on this website.
What are your sons interests outside of the classroom? What other areas of clubs/volunteering/social groups would he be interested in that would support that small group feel. You mentioned music/theatre ECs and volunteering? If he’d say love to join an acapella group, or is passionate about a certain service club, looking into those things could help you make some choices as well.
He is an actor, a debater, and an aspiring acapella singer–I am hoping that he tries some or all of these groups in college, and we’ll be looking at those activities as part of our research.
I do know that any college can feel smaller if a student makes an effort to connect. He goes to a big public school right now, and while it has been great in many ways, he has definitely spent a lot of time feeling anonymous. It took him a long time to find his people (mostly found them through theater & debate). When we’ve visited small colleges (Clark U, Wheaton), he lit up when the tour guides described walking across campus & bumping into 20 people you know. He’d like that kind of socially intimate college experience, at least that’s what he thinks now.
I think that if he has to navigate the social life of a big school like UMass, he can, but I’d also like him to have some options with more structured cohorts in his final mix of schools.
Thanks for your help, everyone–you’ve given me a lot to think about.
Yes! Geneseo is beautiful and has a SLAC feel. My daughter had slightly lower stats than OP’s and was offered their top scholarship last year. We are in NY, so total COA was about $22k/ yr. I’m not sure how that would translate to OOS, but Geneseo definitely fits the description!