Refining the list -and looking for some mid-sized schools to add [3.85 GPA, <$30k, possibly biology or communication disorders / speech language pathology]

College Search & Lists
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I’ve gotten a lot of great assistance from this group - and we are actually approaching a REAL initial college list/serious visits. We need some assistance revising if you have the time.

Academics/GPA/Extracurricular:
Daughter is a Junior 3.85 UW, 4.5 weighted. Will be going test optional.
Extracurricular: 300+ hours volunteering (including volunteer position with competitive application process); Camp counselor (summer-leadership position); 10 hours week employment (30 hrs week in summer)
School related activities: In special program as part of school where she conducts independent research – 20 hours week for Junior and Senior year; will participate in ISEF qualifying events/other poster presentations during second half Junior year and Senior year
Almost exclusively honors classes – also will have 8 community college classes completed (Math, ASL (4 semesters), Science)

Awards: Poster competition winner at specialized national conference, National Honor Society, Honor Roll

MAJOR – unknown – looking at STEM fields: Biology/Biology adjacent (Neuro), potentially Communication Disorders/Speech Language Pathology

CAREER GOAL – unknown - likely medical: Physician Assistant, Dentist or Audiologist - will be doing information interviews/shadowing this semester to help investigate these options further. However, may also end up in research and go the Master’s route.

FINANCIAL: 25-30K per year COA (without loans-saving loans for grad school); Please NOTE: I have run calculators (from the school’s website) for each of the schools below. IF they are listed – it means that the calculator has said the cost falls within this price range PER the calculator OR I have made a note indicating how it MIGHT fall within that range. I am well aware that calculators are not always 100%. The safety will definitely fall at that cost or lower. This is our biggest hurdle and many schools that would otherwise be good/great contenders academically are not feasible.

Ideal college ‘environment’:
Small class sizes with interactions with professors
Chance to continue doing research
Northeast, mid-atlantic, great lakes regions
Strong study abroad or school in another country (hence Canadian colleges)
Lots of clubs
Balance between strong academics and time for a social life/clubs/work
Strong stem, pre-health – ideally good placement rates in grad programs (but this is really up to student effort in many cases)
Enough major options (small schools struggle with this -but hit many of the other elements)
Don’t care about sports, doesn’t plan to go Greek (but also not opposed to Greek life)

SAFETY:
University of Kansas - ideally honors program

LIKELY (* most likely choices here, and 1-2 others)
*Miami University - I visited and I think this is (surprisingly) a good fit despite being larger than her original school options; talked at length with admissions -and they have generous out of state scholarships that she has a good chance of getting (they use WEIGHTED GPA)
Beloit
REMOVED - University of Vermont (good OOS scholarships) - multiple people suggested this was not in budget and I think they are correct.
Elon (Elon questionable regarding cost)

TARGET (* most likely choices here, plus 3-5 of the others)
*Union College - her favorite teacher went here and loved it, fits all the boxes
*Dickinson -fits all the boxes

  • Mount Allison - Canadian college - meets COA
  • Dalhousie University - Canadian college - a little above COA but only needs a SMALL scholarship to make it work
  • University of King’s College - Canadian college - meets COA
    Brandeis
    Mount Holyoke
    St Olaf
    Lafayette
    Bucknell - possibly too (party) Greek?
    Connecticut College

HARD TARGET
Macalester College - visited and really liked
Skidmore

REACH (apply to one or two)
Washington and Lee (Johnson) -this would be a long shot but it IS in the reach section
Vassar -recommended by her favorite teacher
Scripps - I think she’d love this but again it’s a long shot
Case Western

LOOKING FOR:
Feedback - if you think something should be eliminated OR added - let me know
I feel like we need MORE mid-sized schools to give her more options for majors – maybe more like Miami University?

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This is a great list.

For schools similar to Miami, maybe U Delaware, maybe Pitt…although not sure either will get to your price. I think her safety, Kansas shares much with these schools too. I will note that Miami is pretty Greek, and some students might not love that if they aren’t in it, especially young women.

Beloit seems to be an outlier, how did that get on the list?

Big picture, I would only apply to schools that she would like to go to over Kansas and Miami Ohio.

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I was really impressed with College of Wooster when looking with one of my kids. May be worth looking into.

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I think Beloit was on the Colleges that Change Lives list? Most of those did NOT fall in our financial parameters --but that one did.

As far as Greek life - a large number of these schools have Greek: Union, Bucknell, W&L. We’ve had a lot of talks and she isn’t anti-Greek -she just doesn’t like big parties. I think she would actually LIKE many aspects of Greek life - she loves to be busy, likes to plan social events, likes volunteering – what makes her shy away is the reputation for partying. I was not in a sorority but my impression is that some are less into partying and more into service? But I imagine she will decide whether Greek suits her when she is actually on site… so I’m a little less worried about that as I used to be.

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Hopefully she can visit. I personally think Beloit is great, but would call it a fit school. @knowstuff ‘s kid went there, I’m sure he can give some good insights.

There is Greek life and there is Greek life. For example, at Miami Ohio and Bucknell, Greek life an important part of the schools culture so it can be difficult from a social or engagement perspective for some students if they don’t join. W&L is different in the sense that most students join Greek life because there is an option for all types of students. Maybe @DramaMama2021 can share any thoughts.

Your D will have to do her research for each school which should include speaking with women who aren’t in Greek Life.

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I believe sororities at Miami don’t have houses. They house in the dorms. Not sure how that impacts.

Beloit is tiny. UVM seems out of place to me and I don’t see it getting to cost. Miami has a sliver of a chance getting to cost but unlikely. Elon either as you note. Bucknell seems off personality wise.

You have admits here. So that’s good. But I think your list isn’t built for your budget on the OOS publics.

Did you check Rochester ? SUNY Geneseo? Maybe too regional but Christopher Newport. U of MN Duluth - which is part of the MW exchange ?

Why Scripps ? It doesn’t hit your region preference. Did you check Bryn Mawr NPC ? Fir an NPC, many speak highly of Wheaton on this website - the Mass one.

I wouldn’t worry about study abroad - everyone has affiliates or you can go through another school.

I also wouldn’t worry about research. If she wants to do it and pursues, she’ll be able to - big or small.

One thing I’d caution you on budget - with need aware schools, if you need too much, that could be a reason to ding you although at 25-30k if your price is there, it’s unlikely. If you were coming less than $10k, then it’s possible.

Good luck.

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Thanks for the heads up on Greek vs Greek life :slight_smile: I didn’t think to ask that question while I was visiting Miami U.
Union has about 25% of women in Greek life but it seems to be trending downward from what I’ve read.

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Update - I think I was relying on OOS scholarships for University of Vermont – and I’m not sure that’s a really good use of resources. Appreciate your feedback and took that off the list.

I think I agree about Bucknell – it’s too bad because academically it has some really cool stuff going on. Okay -I’ll take that off the list.

We originally had West Coast but most of those schools simply didn’t make budget so I kind of gave up on the region (partially tuition but mostly off campus housing). But Scripps has so much that she’d like – I left it on there.

Bryn Mawr didn’t seem like a fit? But maybe that was just what I read. It’s been on and off the list a few times.

Yeah - need aware may make some of those targets harder targets :frowning: It’s why she’s stuck applying to so many (chasing money requires more effort).

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SUNY goes on and off the list too -I’m looking for a reason to make one of them stand out.

Rochester WAS on the list -and then the price went up :frowning:

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Definitely need relatively more apps when chasing merit because many schools aren’t transparent about how much merit an applicant might get. Just to strategize common app slots, your D might apply to some schools using their own app…for example, KU has their own (easy) app. Hopefully she doesn’t need to apply to more than 20 schools, but just thinking ahead!

Regarding KU…that is a great safety to have if it appeals to her. IMO it’s a hidden gem and every kid I know who has gone there has loved it, and many counselors say the same.

I second Wooster and Wheaton Mass suggestions. Another school that she might research is U Dayton. That would be a safety for her in terms of admittance, but may not get to her price. Although I have known students that attended Dayton for less than $30K. Another happy school.

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We toured both Mount Allison and Dalhousie, and liked them both quite a bit. Dalhousie was bigger than what our younger daughter was looking for, but we liked both it and the location.

Strictly speaking in Canada, Mount Allison is referred to as a small university. They use the term “college” for something more like a community college.

You might also want to consider Acadia University. It has a strong biology program and is in an attractive location. We got slightly more merit aid from Acadia compared to Mount Allison (this didn’t matter all that much to us since our daughters have dual citizenship and either would have been very affordable). For us (and probably you) Mount Allison is more convenient to drive to, but Acadia has the advantage that there are non-stop flights to Halifax from more locations compared to Moncton, and Acadia is close enough to the Halifax airport that a cab ride is reasonable. In comparison to get to Mount Allison we would need to either drive, or take two flights to get to Moncton, or take a rather long cab ride from the Halifax airport.

Regardless, for my younger daughter who wanted a relatively small school, perhaps the most difficult part of the admissions process was deciding between Mount Allison, Acadia, and Bishop’s University (which is in Lennoxville, Quebec, and quite a bit closer to where we live).

My best guess (and it is a bit of a guess) is that with your daughter’s stats all of Acadia, Dalhousie, and Mount Allison are probably safeties for admissions, and at least will not be all that far off with respect to cost of attendance.

I would have expected UVM to be closer to $40,000 per year with a presidential merit scholarship. However, you have a good list of schools and this is something that you can find out for sure with an offer in hand before needing to make a decision. It does have neuroscience as a major, as well as some sort of physical therapy and/or sports therapy. Generally speaking UVM and Dalhousie will have more majors available compared to Mount Allison or Acadia simply because UVM and Dal are larger.

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Is Macalester NPC in budget? Friend’s kid just got in and got only 20k scholarship…
Did you consider south? What about Rhodes College. Should fit the bill after scholarship.

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Also same friend got very good money at Trinity, TX…

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Replied to wrong person! Sorry

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Macalester was in budget the last time I ran the calculator! We checked before we went to visit. They use the CSS -so our very limited assets mean that we qualify for need based aid.

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She really doesn’t want to go south - not a fan of heat or bugs. She doesn’t mind the cold so much (hence all those brrr northern climate schools!)

I have Elon and W&L but Virginia isn’t super far south. NC --more so.

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So - trying this again!

We can’t visit Canada easily so we scanned the websites/videos – She loved Dal – she liked the location (Halifax), the broad options for majors – if only it was a TINY bit cheaper - it would be top of the list.
Since she liked that location I also put University of King’s College on the list.

She also liked Mount Allison but thought Acadia would be too remote?

Also - maybe you know this (or maybe not) – if she wants to continue with grad school after college - she’d still be international, right? (Unless she got married or something!)

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When chasing merit make sure you have the assured. At least two.

Kansas Honors is very highly regarded. Perhaps it’s the only large school you need.

Check the NPCs but with full costs and auto merit, will a Geneseo or New Paltz make it ? Will a CNU or Mary Washington ? The issue is these are regional in student body. They will be close if not good.

Hendrix is an LAC that will because they match your instate for every admitted student. But it’s in Arkansas - great rep though - and that may be the trade off for an assured price.

Washington College in Maryland is another that will potentially be more merit aggressive than others. Kalamazoo too.

So the ‘could make’ is a minimal requirement - like W&L and Johnson but yes you need an assured to make.

Best of luck.

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Random NY question - Do you know anything about Syracuse?

ETA: Oops I heard you were NOT the person to ask about Syracuse. Haha!

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Kalamazoo came in at 34K :frowning: Am I making a mistake by not including that one? The school looked great and I thought she’d have a good chance at merit there. But I didn’t know if merit would really go beyond the calculator amount.

With regard to Geneseo and New Paltz - I thought they would be heavily ‘commuter’ campuses -and she would be very sad to go to a school that didn’t have a lot going on (all the time). Did I misjudge those?