Wellesley, Whitman, or Grinnell?

californian
Mon, 17 Apr 2006 17:52:53 +0000

I posted this in the parent section – and was encourgaged to post it here as well. I would appreciate your thoughts. . .

Who would have thought that this stage would be so stressful? My D is having a very, very difficult time choosing which LAC to attend and we would value your input. Each school is excellent academically, but the cost and culture vary significantly.

D attends a public magnet high school in California where many of her friends are high performing, religious, children of immigrants. She is athletic, Jewish, politically liberal, out-doorsy, and a bit preppy. She is conservative personally and doesn’t like to be around a lot of alcohol consumption. She is fairly social and fits into the mainstream of her unusual high school, but is not a social leader. D is beginning to be sad about the idea of living far from home.

D feels that the best fit for her is Wellesley (in Massachusetts). The young women have a tight social network, most alcohol consumption happens away from campus, and the students’ ethnic backgrounds are similar to my D’s high school. We have family in the area with whom D is close. The cost is $44 k per year. (We could pay this amount, but there would be no funds left for graduate school and D would need to work hard every summer.)

Whitman (in Washington) is close enough that weekend trips home are possible. Alcohol consumption on campus is about average. The school does not have sub-free dorms. About a third of the students are in Greek organizations (a negative for my D because she worries about social cliques). The swim coach is excellent and the team might be a social fit. The student body is mostly white, affluent, outdoorsy, Pacific North westerners and Californians. The cost is about $30 per year.

Grinnell (in Iowa, with poor transportation options) has no Greek organizations. My D’s sense is that the dominant culture of the school values innovative thought and counter-culture perspectives. The school’s alcohol policy is very loose, though they offer sub-free housing. The swim team coaches are great, but my D worried that the team’s social activities revolved around alcohol. The student body is much more diverse than Whitman and includes a fair number of international students. The school offered generous merit aid. The cost would be about $24 per year. (This would allow my D many more options over the summer and some funding for graduate school.)

Any thoughts would be very welcomed.

p.s. D’s other options (which we think she won’t take) are Bowdoin, Middlebury, and Willamette. Only the last offered signficant aid.