Third child college search - Looking for outdoorsy and good financial aid or merit [CA resident, 3.98 GPA, 34 ACT, <$15k]

College Search & Lists
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This forum was super helpful for my first two children. We are now looking for great fit schools for our third child who is pretty different than my first two.

GPA UW (only thing on transcript) - 3.98 (one B)

GP W (going by UC weighted upcapped) - 4.5ish

10 AP, 16 community college classes

Edited because forgot to add: 34 ACT

Average involvement in clubs, volunteer work, regular part time employment

D27 wants:

ideally medium sized school but with small class sizes, outdoorsy people and good outdoors center (hiking, camping, backpacking, snow shoeing, etc.)

specific majors not important because she is completely undecided - interests range from art history to environmental studies to math and lots in between

preferably not urban

Us parents want:

A school that is known for very generous financial aid and/or generous merit scholarships that will bring total costs down to about $15,000. With our older two, we were able to get this much financial aid, so we know we qualify in the eyes of some schools, but the two older children were competitive for the most generous schools in ways that D27 is not.

Schools she has mentioned she likes so far on paper:

Appalachian State (she will apply for the full scholarship but I imagine it’s very hard to get)

Dartmouth (would probably be generous if she got in, but very low probably and I don’t know if it would be her people - she is far from the skiing/finance crowd)

University of Vermont (likes a lot about it but it’s a little too urban and I don’t think they offer full scholarships).

Colorado College (loves the block schedule idea - hoping to hear more about how generous they are with financial aid)

Skidmore - hoping to hear more about how generous they are with financial aid

UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz - we are in state so she will apply but probably won’t be as affordable as private schools if we can get good financial aid

We welcome any more ideas! Thanks!

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Have you tried each college’s net price calculator?

You may want to calculate your three UC GPAs at GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub .

Using the weighted capped UC GPA, you may want to look at Freshman admission by discipline | University of California to see how selective various UC campuses and major groupings were.

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The student’s possible majors would be important in checking whether a college has a reasonable program in every possible major that the student could choose.

The student will have to be careful in choosing frosh year courses to ensure that they will not be behind in any major that they could possibly choose.

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So what you want - and what a school like Dartmouth will give depends on your level of need as they have no merit. As you know, $15K is just dorm cost and often room and board alone are more than that.

Yes, assume full rides you have no shot - and you likely need a test score. It doesn’t mean one can’t happen but assume it won’t. They are very competitive.

Do you have an SAT? You need one for Dartmouth. Edit - I now see a 34 that helps.

Look at a school like Cal Poly Humboldt - you’re $10K over without merit - $25Kish for tuition, room and board.

So looking at schools like App State and UVM are for the most part wasting time. I mean, you can apply for the Johnson at W&L but it’s unlikely. Out of state schools support their tax payers. Some do incentive heavily on gpa and SAT - but often those are southern and not necessarily outdoorsy.

A Central Michigan can be low 20s or a W Carolina too - as examples of schools who don’t hit budget - but with automerit may get close (need to check CMU to see if a test is part of their criteria)..

Look in state and then maybe at some WUE schools. Idaho State tuition is $9300 - are there merit scholarships with WUE? You can look. U of Montana is $10K tuition. NM Highlands is $7300 tuition. Southern Utah is $9700 tuition. U WYoming is $8100 on WUE. But that still puts you well into the 20s - unless they offer merit.

First, fill out a few NPCs and see what they show you so you can understand do you have need and is it substantive enough to get you to $15K all in.

Net Price Calculator | Financial Aid

Net Price Calculator

Net Price Calculator for Colorado College

https://wlu.clearcostcalculator.com/student

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I agree with you about the “full scholarship” being unlikely. From what you have said merit aid sounds very likely, but I would not expect this to bring the total cost of attendance down even remotely close to $15,000 per year. For us the NPC did predict merit aid (out of state, but way closer) and turned out to be spot on accurate. Don’t forget to consider the costs of flights between Burlington and California (which I am guessing might also require a stop somewhere).

One daughter similarly had one B. I said something along the lines of “this is fine” but was in fact thrilled when she got her B. This made the point that she did not need to be perfect in life – an important point for a student to learn. We went out for ice cream. More recently (years later) she has mentioned that she remembers this and remembers going out for ice cream on the way home from school that day.

Given that you have listed multiple small colleges on your list, have you run the NPC for some of the very good small colleges in southern California? I will admit that this might not fit “snow shoeing”.

There are some small universities in Canada that would be very good overall and with regard to snow shoeing, but they are not going to fit a $15,000 budget unless maybe if you have Canadian citizenship (or for one of them French citizenship).

I thought they were pretty good. Have you run the NPC? I don’t think that it is a safety, but it does look like it is very much worth an application if the NPC is okay. My understanding is that they have some limited merit aid, but that the NPC is not likely to predict this so I might not completely give up regardless of what the NPC says.

Edit: I also agree about considering WUE schools, such as U.Wyoming and others.

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If she is looking in New England (Dartmouth), maybe look at University of Maine and University of New Hampshire. Other thoughts…Keene State College.

All have the outdoors things she wants. Don’t know if they will meet budget…

Look at the Colleges That Change Lives list of colleges. Some of those are in locations that would appeal to an outdoorsy student. And many give generous merit aid.

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I hate test prep in general, but in your kid’s case- I think it’s a good idea.

Competitive merit awards (not just the “here’s 3K for considering us”) are going to be MUCH more realistic with solid test scores to submit. It’s really a wing and a prayer to apply for these aggressive awards with just a GPA which is so hard to normalize and compare to other applicants since every HS is different.

Your post is the first time I’ve ever heard Burlington VT being described as urban! Yes, it’s a city. But it hugs the coast of a ginormous lake with bike paths, it is literally 15 minutes away from gorgeous and well maintained state parks, it’s more like a cutsey college town than an actual “hustle and bustle” urban city. If you can determine whether or not it could be within financial range it might be worth more serious consideration.

Good luck.

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Sorry forgot to add she has a 34 ACT. I edited the initial post.

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For outdoorsy schools, check out Whitman and Western Washington University in WA state. Not sure about whether they would provide enough merit or financial aid though. Whitman has an incredible outdoor center and gives each student a stipend to do an outdoor trip.

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Why about Montana? Or Utah? Or Wyoming.

Some provide decent merit aid to OOS students.

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I put the Whitman NPC in my post above. They tell u aid up front.

Someone noted Skidmore. In the single digits of how many get merit. But a student recently reported a $4800 cost so you can do the NPC. If your need fits…

There’s a state park in town which I went to last summer. But upstate NY is not enormous mountains although you have NY’s best a reasonable drive away.

One thing I’ll remind you - if your need is crazy high and the schools agree, many are need aware. So they can and may turn you down based on level of need even if the NPC is favorable. But a 34 and 3.98, you can add need blind schools - Williams, as an example. .

So find that close to home that absolutely hits your budget - which likely means commuting. It’s the most important as you start building a list.

https://skidmore.clearcostcalculator.com/student/default/netpricecalculator/survey

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Colorado College at least reportedly sometimes makes good offers. I would definitely check the NPC.

Whitman, same deal, that seems like an excellent suggestion to me.

I’d suggest running the NPC at Rochester, which is a great school for exploratory kids. They also have merit, although I have seen some contradictory things on whether their institutional merit stacks, or just replaces loans/work study (although that can be helpful!).

Sticking on the Upstate New York theme, maybe Union, St Lawrence, or Hobart and William Smith?

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This site may offer you ideas for schools to research further:

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I hope your daughter has a chance to visit Williams. Extremely generous need based aid. Three world class art museums on or near campus. And a vibrant outdoorsy culture that takes full advantage of Williams’ insular mountain village setting.

Highly selective but admissions favors what I call the Williams Trifecta: academically accomplished students who are involved in some aspect of visual or performing arts as well as sports or individual outdoorsy activities.

About half of Williams students double, or even triple, major so if her interests remain diverse she can do both, or all three.

I would also look at Hamilton.

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Whitman was my first thought. Between need-based aid and merit, I think they have a decent chance of hitting your price point, and it’s a great, outdoorsy school (although it may be a little smaller than her ideal size.) Have her look at their Semester In the West program, which is offered in alternating years. The merit pre-read, as already mentioned, is very helpful.

Lewis & Clark is more suburban but in a lush/hilly suburb with lots of nearby nature.

I’m not aware of a path to affordability at Western Washington - she could probably get the WUE rate, even though it’s competitive, but that’s still not going to get close to 15K/year.

Sewanee is a long haul from California but a gorgeous setting. Like Whitman, they don’t guarantee full-need-met aid but they’re likely to fill the gap with merit for a high-stat kid.

If she likes Skidmore, look at Conn College too, particularly if a coastal setting would appeal.

Lots of rural upstate NY LAC’s. Hamilton, Colgate, HWS, Vassar, Bard, St. Lawrence… probably more that I’m forgetting. Colby in Maine could be worth a try. Not sure if Trinity U in the San Antonio hill-country burbs is nature-y enough but it’s a little bigger than the tiny LAC’s and a great, well-rounded school that meets need, so maybe worth a look.

Hope she can find the right fit at the right price!

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She is hoping to spend freshman year exploring everything, so ideally will be at a school that encourages exploration and where she would not have to start major courses the first year. It is helpful that she is definitely not interested in engineering, nursing, or anything impacted like that.

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Yes Skidmore NPC looks good. I will always worry though until a real offer comes. I know from my previous two how the financial aid can be so different at every school.

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Yes I have heard it is so beautiful and it seems perfect for her! I don’t get the “too urban” either.

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We will definitely look into Whitman more! That is amazing that they give students stipends for outdoor trips.

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Math (since you mention it as a possible interest) or science majors often do need the prerequisites started in the first year, although if she will have advanced placement in math through AP calculus scores and/or college math course work, that can allow for more schedule flexibility. Of course, these first year courses could be part of the exploration phase. It may also help to check colleges’ general education requirements to see which colleges have those which can be fulfilled by the exploration courses that she would take (rather than general education requirements that would not apply to any of her possible majors).

You mention that she took a large number of community college courses – do those help give her an idea of what are more likely and less likely majors?

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