And only very very very competitive merit aid. But it is less costly than a number if other schools on the list!
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Yes, the only lecture course I remember from college was the biggest one I attended, which used the biggest lecture theater available and it was still completely full with people sitting on the floor (I assume the fire marshal was kept occupied elsewhere). It was Stephen Hawking’s “Brief History of Time” lectures.
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I’m going to weigh in only on the schools I know well (either I attended, or I have a family member or close friend who attended.)
Fordham. Has the advantage of a wonderful location and a strong core curriculum, but the Rose Hill/Lincoln Center split is problematic. And physics is just not one of Fordham’s strongest programs. Also it isn’t worth the very expensive COA. However, if your kid changes her mind about primary major to something else (theater, dance, Spanish, history, philosophy, business, neuroscience, premed, English, social work, psychology, poly sci, international relations, media/communications etc) AND if she gets one of the big scholarships then I give it an enthusiastic endorsement.
Grinnell. Would get an outstanding education in whatever major she chooses! Really nice kids and supportive community. Being stuck in the middle of nowhere has its charms because all the students and profs stick around too.
Lawrence. This one is a favorite of mine. I know 3 grads from here very well and they each loved college and are very successful as adults. Really excellent physics and excellent music conservatory.
Mac. I know many grads as well as professors. Excellent education in any of its majors. Can cross enroll at other local schools including St. Thomas, Hamline, Augsburg, St. Kates and MCAD for additional specialties ( art at MCAD, ASL interpreting at St. Kates, outstanding creative writing at Hamline etc.) Cute neighborhood. The Twin Cities are a great regional theater town. Lots of Equity and non-Equity theaters. Maybe could audition and take terms off if she gets cast?
UMN. See my note on the Twin Cities above. Also note that MSP is an airport hub, so easy travel. Excellent physics. Excellent BFA (Guthrie BFA) in theater but also has a BA and a minor I believe. Is a Big 10 school and has Greek life, but this doesn’t dominate the culture the way it can elsewhere because it is located in a big city, not a college town.
Madison. Excellent education in many majors. Many devoted alums of this school. Although Madison is the state capital, its vibe is still mostly that of a “college town.” Either that is your thing or it isn’t.
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In regards to small class sizes, in my opinion this is a factor worth weighing. A person’s perspective may vary depending on the school they attended. The Ivys and Oxbridge have the clout and money to attract and tenure superstar lecturers. Other schools?.. well that depends. Especially be careful to check if schools with big intro STEM classes have a “weed out” culture or not.
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This is super helpful! Thank you so much fiftyfifty1!
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But you never know. I would have loved to have taken Tom Lehrer’s introductory course entitled "The Nature of Mathematics” at UCSC. He also taught a class in musical theater. I expect both were overwhelmingly popular. Unfortunately he retired from teaching in 2001.
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Pitt checks all the boxes yet is in the bottom 10. That confuses me. At this point I think it would be helpful to visit schools (I know that may not be possible) and see if your daughter can speak to students attending. She doesn’t have to visit to speak with students.
We walked around Northeastern and a student stopped to speak to us. It’s a great school, but she (student) realized she was not a fan of the co-op.
My D had a great experience at UNC, but she had some anxiety when she began and the initial transition was tough. It was also hard to adjust because she was from OOS. Attending a state school as an OOS student can be difficult. It worked out, she made a lot of friends, was very active on campus etc but it did take some time to adjust.
Binghamton is another great school with strong academics that should come in at your price point.
I would have the student dig into the schools and try to connect with students. Figuring it out will be difficult based on our opinions.
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Thank you for responding! note: My list is in alphabetical order, not rank order, so Pitt is where it is just due to that, not rank or preference.
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Ok I didn’t even notice lol. It has been a long week….
Yeah, Northwestern and NYU are her top choices, but we cannot justify paying 90K/year for undergraduate. The only reason BU is still on the list is on the off chance she 1) gets in and 2) gets a $25k scholarship. 
We know that is extremely unlikely and she knows she isn’t going there without it. Neither NW nor NYU really give any merit at all, so we have taken those off the list entirely.
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I am going to pm you.
I’m a big Pitt fan. My son just graduated and my third will apply. It’s rare that someone doesn’t like Pitt. There is ALOT to do in the city. Everything from concerts to major sports to museums (many) and lots of food options. Plus, they like high stat kids for merit - just keep taking that ACT. They have a lot of great programs beyond STEM (#1 philosophy, many options for languages, etc) and ridiculous research options. Some downsides - the airport doesn’t have as many flights as you would expect and it the edge of the Midwest so hours of travel to the next large cities.
Rutgers is also a great school that is often overlooked (our state flagship). Many family and friends attended. It lacks visibility due to the high percentage of in-state kids. The move to the Big10 has helped. Keep in mind - it is massive and you need buses to get around freshman year. That gets better as you move off to Busch, Livingston campus or stay on College Ave. Some pluses: it is absolutely FULL of school spirit and New Brunswick is lively and close to both Philly and NYC. Some downsides - it’s kind of impersonal - you have to be your own advocate so not a place for someone who needs a lot of hand holding or advising. Also New Brunswick is not NYC or Philly ( or Pittsburgh. )
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It’s funny - my kids have different interests than your dd, but we have looked at many of the same schools! I can see the appeal of most of them, even though they seem different. And, as related to my kids, one day they see themselves living it up in a big city, but the next day they think a small close knit student body in the middle of a beautiful rural area sounds great!
Our college counselor (at school) recently reassured me that having different types of schools on the list was a good thing! It gives the child a lot of different options as they are still changing and growing and the person they are on May 1 may not be the person they are today.
We haven’t made it to visit any of these other than CU Boulder. Beautiful campus in a great college town and not too far from Denver. My kids are both applying. But I have heard great things about literally every school on your list.
Sometimes it is helpful to pick two schools that seem similar - whether location, type of school, odds of admission, cost, size or something else. Have your kid do a head to head comparison. You can potentially rule one out as an unneeded duplicate.
The spreadsheet is great!
ETA: Also - if you can visit any local schools (even if not on the list) it could help rule out some types of schools. My kids ruled out rural slacs after visiting a couple near us. Even though there are a couple of those that seem like they would be great for one of my kids, it isn’t going on the list.
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I agree that class size is going to depend on the class and the size of the school. At CU Boulder, a freshman physics class may be 100 while a junior level course might be 30. If the lab is built for 40, it will have 40. The theater classes are probably going to be big as all the entering class will have to take them so if the entering class has 45 members, probably all 45 will be in the same class (at some point they’d open a second section). classes that are filling electives or Arts and Sciences requirement (history, English, art, business) are going to be full, so look on the registration pages to see the cap on those classes.
Many of the schools you’ve listed are accepting students at capacity. CU has the biggest freshman class in history this year. That means every class is full (especially at the fresh/soph level).
For classes that are required for the major ( like the calc series) the class size could be huge as that’s also required for a lot of majors. My nephew’s calc class was in Chem 140, a HUGE lecture hall. Not sure how many were in the class, but I suspect about 200.
I’d group the schools by the size and then compare within the size. Do you like Fordham better than SLU? Do you like UW- Madison better than Rutgers?
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Take out College of Wooster. It is in the middle of nowhere and not your daughter’s level. Most students are from OH.
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Thanks. Yes, I agree it should come off. And it sounds like the town itself is pretty conservative which she would hate.
Ok, your favorite Richmond. Campus is beautiful. Kids are smart. However, my feeling of the school was that it is extremely preppy (i.e. full of very rich white girls…) DD really liked it, but I was concerned 
(we are white middle class Jewish family). I was very happy that she did not get merit there (she was accepted. ) Her very affluent friend who also got a scholarship there altimately also decided on another option (girl is very humble. )
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Richmond is a strong school with a gorgeous campus, but it is not for everyone. My daughter did not like it at all for the reasons you provided. It was also too small for her.
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Great that I am objective 
ooh, very good to know, thank you. I think my kiddo is going to be pretty turned off by the preppy vibe generally, as where we live (SLC) is extremely laid back. I have tried to describe to her what “east coast” vibes are like but I don’t think she will really grok it until she experiences it. And if Richmond is preppy for the east coast, then it is basically preppy on steroids compared to what we are used to here.
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