@truthinblues, will she qualify for financial aid? If so, some of the schools already listed have excellent FA. The newly released Money Magazine ranking breaks down some of the financial information, such as average debt and they have a “build your own ranking” tool. Like any ranking system it should be taken with a huge grain of salt but it might provide some helpful info.
If she won’t qualify for FA you’ll want to concentrate on schools that provide a lot of merit aid. Do a search on CC and you’ll find a ton of threads. You can also check out the schools listed here:
UNC Asheville, Warren Wilson, and the College of the Atlantic fit the vibe you are looking for – I know people that went to each of those that have that vibe. The advantage of a school like Warren Wilson is that all students work part time while on the college campus, which significantly reduces tuition.
That advantage may or may not drive net costs lower than what you’d pay to attend some other schools with good financial aid. It all depends on your income and other factors considered in awarding aid.
According to College Scorecard, Wesleyan University and Swarthmore have lower average costs for family incomes of $48,001-$75,000 (or lower). For family incomes of $75,001-$110,000, Swarthmore is a bit more expensive than WW ($23,359 on average for Swarthmore vs. $22,022 for WW). For family incomes of “$110,001+” (the highest College Scorecard bracket), the difference widens to $25,643 on average for WW vs. $42,386 on average for Swarthmore.
You’d need to run the online net price calculators to estimate your own costs for these (or other) colleges.
If you can stretch a little geographically, you might find the atmosphere you want at a discounted price at Midwestern schools like Beloit and Kalamazoo. Antioch, too.
Seconding Goucher, a former women’s college. Think Reed but in MD. Goucher is less selective than Reed, but definitely a very, very liberal, artsy, and “crunchy” school. They are very generous with merit aid. It’s also one of the “Colleges that Change Lives.”
If she’s open to the west coast (you mentioned UC Berkeley and Reed), there is UC Santa Cruz and Evergreen State.
Adding another vote here for SUNY New Paltz. Relatively affordable OOS, and the darling town of New Paltz is about as hippie as it gets. Also if your D is into hiking/the outdoors, the beautiful “Gunks” mountain range is nearby. Also Woodstock, NY, is about an hour (maybe less) away. Not the site of the music festival (that’s Bethel, still in the same general vicinity), but the town feels like it was preserved in time in 1969.
A friend’s D graduated several years ago with an environmental studies degree, sounds a bit like your D, and she loved her time there.
If larger schools appeal, Virginia Commonwealth U, in Richmond, might offer enough merit aid to meet your budget depending on your D’s stats. My youngest was offered enough merit several years back to bring costs close to our state flagship. Richmond is an artsy, foodie city with lots to do, and a diverse population full of transplants from all over. VCU has a highly ranked, popular Arts school, so lots of creative, artsy students, and strong health sciences and engineering programs.
It sounds like even with merit aid, many of the schools mentioned here seem too expensive for the OP. My suggestion would be to check out honors programs at OP’s flagship state school(s.)
I find that people often assume that privates, LACs in particular, are somehow more intellectual than state schools, forgetting about the exciting academic scene offered at the selective honors programs at many big public universities.
My DD struggled to find the perfect fit. She’s a hippie/writer at heart, but also an athlete who wants to go into medicine. She was accepted to Bard, her first choice. They didn’t offer any merit aid without financial need. I think our EFC was 71k? We appealed but they didn’t budge.
Now she in her 2nd year at Juniata, now studying neuroscience. Starting Lacrosse goalie, on campus job, dean’s list, loving it. And her bill is $21k. They were thrilled to have her!
Amazing LAC, top notch education, wonderful history, small class size, beautiful campus, wonderful art museum and programs… She is thrilled.
Eckerd College, a CTCL school, would fit the hippie but intellectual vibe. Has an honors program, Phi Beta Kappa chapter, she can join in several orchestral groups and ensembles even if she is a non-music major. Large merit aid packages plus financial aid. www.eckerd.edu/about/ /www.eckerd.edu/campus-life/https://www.eckerd.edu/academics/
Oberlin, Grinnell, and possibly Kenyon probably have the type of intellectual and social vibe she’s seeking and all offer merit.
Definitely check out some of the CTCL (Colleges that Change Lives) schools; many of these schools have already been mentioned (e.g., Goucher, Eckerd, Juniata, New College of Florida).
The best options for merit will be in the Midwest and in the South; limiting yourself to the Northeast/New England might prove more problematic for merit. Brandeis might have some of what she’s looking for, and they offer some merit. There might also be some great fits in the Pacific Northwest. Whitman might be worth looking at for an environmentalist and they offer music and talent scholarships in addition to academic ones…
Are women’s colleges an option?
(As an aside, NYU hardly comes to mind when I think vegan environmental activist and/or affordable options)