All great schools, but they don’t fit the school size preference. FWIW re: Skidmore - one of the things that turned my D23 off of Skidmore when we visited was that in the info session prior to the tour, they really hyped the management/business program, which I believe is the single largest major at the school (I could be misremembering that part). In any case, despite the school’s liberal arts tradition, this seemed to tilt the vibe more in a pre-professional direction, which my D wasn’t comfortable with. I only mention this because OP said their D wanted to avoid the same.
I thought so too, but academic peers WashU and Emory have already been mentioned, and they are a hair less rejective than Vandy. (based on admit rate at least, though that can be misleading…). If she is looking for matches and high matches, Vandy very likely isn’t one for her… or anyone else who isn’t royally hooked.
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What about Kenyon? Again, too small? Kenyon, Oberlin, etc are great little schools! (Slightly smaller than her desire, but great little places to encourage critical thinking)
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Another Scripps vote here. Could be “The Barnard of the West” were it not for the distance from L.A.
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American U. is also a thought. A bit higher on the acceptance rate (41%) so should be a good target.
And smaller than target but a good thought is Dickinson.
How about Bucknell?
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near urban center or at least with a college town with lots to explore,
I think this is where the tradeoffs come in. Lots of great names - but many don’t hit the selectivity, size, or environment (urban or urban-ish).
But a Scripts or PItzer as another example - hit size with the shared campuses.
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Pitzer is great too; I just didn’t suggest because the acceptance rate is a little under 20%. Plus, if they’re merit-hunting, the max merit at Pitzer is 5K/year, whereas Scripps has up to half-tuition scholarships.
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I missed merit hunting - oops. But if that’s the case then the dream schools won’t work.
I don’t see it but maybe it came in a later comment ?
They will definitely have to make trade offs on their lists’ second tier.
To me this student sounds like Chicago.
Get deferred.
Get the bait and switch. You’re deferred but go ED2 - and oola - we loved you (and your money) all along !!
CWRU too - which would be a good choice strong not only in STEM and they do the same.
I don’t see that either. Maybe OP can confirm.
I don’t see that they are merit hunting.
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No, I didn’t say that OP mentioned merit. I merely offered the information that there’s a significant difference between those two Claremont schools if merit is a factor. And for a high-stat student looking for match schools, merit potential is often in the mix. Sorry, didn’t mean to introduce confusion.
Echoing @2plustrio : without knowing your budget we are just spitballing here.
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Not schools with a 76% acceptance rate.
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Rice University? T20. Only 9% acceptance rate but if you ED, it’s probably about 15%?
A little smaller than 4,000 students but in urban location - Houston.
Very diverse. Not sure if it matters, but 35% Asian student population - tons of great food.
Reputation of happy, geeky but fun students and extremely collaborative.
No Greek system.
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Yes, I noted this when I stated - that trade offs in the match/ safety set will need to be made and acknowledged that in my recommendations like Pitt.
And I stated I gave an “example’ that sometimes you have to look further under the hood. And provided one specific example that I know about which is a rigorous program with high level qualifications needsed at a less rigorous school - but in the right size and fit.
I noted this is where trade offs come in - I was referencing Bucknell. OP wants urban but will have to accept trade offs in a second or third tier - whether it’s a high acceptance rate, small size, or geography that on paper they don’t preference.
Thank you.
Its hard to find many that fit all of her criteria, but these schools have college towns. They may be slightly smaller than her desired, but IMO they are far, far better fits than CofC. IMO, the best way to be helpful when posters are asking specific questions is to try to answer them as best we can, within as many of the parameters of their request as possible.
W&M (33% admission rate, 32-34 ACT mid 50%) is a match for this student. CofC (76% admission rate, 24-30 ACT mid 50%) should be a safety. They are not the same in selectivity.
It meets the size and urban-ness. Some, but not with regularity, like OP attend and would do so in these programs. But the point was to look deeper.
It’s no different than W&M - it hits the size and selectivity but not the urbanness.
A Bucknell misses two out of three but would be a great choice. These kind of choices give the OP something to look deeper into - which is great - because it (and all these) vary in some way from the initial ask.
In the given list of schools presented, OP would have to decide what trade offs, if any, they are willing to make.
hopefully OP is able to leverage these thoughts. Perhaps they hear things or learn things they weren’t aware of.
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Wake Forest would fit the bill, I think, but the acceptance rate is around 22% now, so not an easy RD admit.
Both our kids are/were there. It has rigorous academics, small class sizes, strong liberal arts programs, and excellent career support. However, there is a strong preprofessional vibe and a large Greek system which may or may not be attractive to your daughter. DS is a finance major with a philosophy minor, DD doubled majored in English and business. They’re typical Wake students in their diverse interests.
Winston-Salem is a nice small city, with excellent restaurants and abundant cultural opportunities.
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A student who would like to explore a wide variety of academic interests may be especially well suited to colleges with open curricula.
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Wake Forest certainly deserves a look see. Winston Salem isn’t NYC or Boston, but it’s a great town. And that college is terrific.
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