Looking at your list, I’m concerned that many of the schools will not meet budget. Below are some other schools that your family may want to consider, though priority/scholarship deadlines may be coming soon. The good news is that most state applications are relatively easy (i.e. not many supplementary essays).
- Louisiana State: This is a big state flagship with about 31k undergrads, but if your daughter has a good writing sample, then I think she would likely be accepted to the honors college according to its admissions page (source). That would give her access to a smaller environment within the school and smaller classes. At the same time, she’d have all the fields available that are harder to provide at a small school. I will warn you that I’ve read a number of complaints about slow admissions and scholarship decisions on CC, but that eventually there is some generous merit aid provided.
Take a look at several of the North Carolina publics. They tend to have much more affordable rates and provide a quality education. If your student is accepted to an honors college at one of them, that would also help provide smaller classes.
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Appalachian State: About 19k undergrads
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East Carolina: About 22k undergrads
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UNC-Greensboro: About 14k undergrads and has a reputation for providing excellent supports to a range of students, not just those within a particular program
Another public that is likely to come in within budget is Western Kentucky. If your child’s weighted GPA is above a 3.8 then there’s an automatic $7500/yr scholarship; if not, then it would be $2500/year (source). But, out-of-state students who receive one of those scholarships also qualify for a Tuition Incentive Scholarship that will reduce tuition rates further (I suspect to near in-state rates, but was unable to find an amount). The deadlines for those scholarships, though, are for students to apply and be admitted to WKU by December 31. Additionally, its honors college has a priority deadline of December 1, so if this option is of interest, an application should be sent out soon.
- Middle Tennessee State (about 17k undergrads) is another one your kid may want to look into.
The nice thing about many non-flagship state colleges is that they often will have many more options for fields of study, but their requirements/standards for entry into honors colleges are a little bit easier for good students to get into (whereas they might not be accepted at a state flagship’s program).
In looking at smaller colleges, you may want to look at some of the Atlanta schools. Agnes Scott has already been mentioned, and Oglethorpe has a flagship match program. The Atlanta schools are part of a consortium that allows them to take classes at other schools, like SCAD, Emory, Spelman, Georgia Tech, and Morehouse. This would provide a more intimate home environment, but permit the exploration of fields not offered at the home school through other programs.
You probably already know, but Towson State is similar in a consortium through the Baltimore Collegetown network which lets students take classes at MICA, Loyola Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Goucher, etc. Speaking of Goucher, that might be another school your kid may want to investigate. Strong offerings and usually more generous merit aid than at Loyola Maryland.
If your kid’s looking for warm and sunny, there’s one more school that might be worth investigating: U. of Hawaii at Manoa. It’s a smaller flagship with about 14k undergrads, and a couple of years ago there was a student on this site with a similar SAT score who got a scholarship that brought the price within your budget.