D1 is off to her second year at University of Alabama (loves it despite the pandemic throwing a wrench in freshman year; joined Greek life and loves that, too). D2 wants a very small college, preferably offering Greek life, with merit aid ideally bringing down the direct COA (tuition, fees, room, and board) to $15k-20k per year. D2 is a bit of an amalgam–she’s openly gay but very quite about it and so doesn’t fit in the “louder” LGBTQ+ culture in a lot of places and somewhat religious (liberal Protestant Christian). Major undecided. Wants a small college with “non-freezing” weather. Schools that are maybe in play:
-Lyon College in Arkansas
-Millsaps College in Mississippi
-Newberry College in South Carolina
-Westminster College in Missouri
-Scripps in California
-Bryn Mawr (might be too cold?)
Other schools we should look at?
Stats: 4.0 UW GPA, 12 AP classes, top 5% of class, 32 ACT, lots of community service and ECs around her foreign language (non-native speaker competitions, tutoring earlier students, etc).
How about Agnes Scott in at Atlanta? Bryn Mawr doesn’t seem to be as good a fit. It’s a fantastic school, but it is very cold in winter! We know they offer up to $40K in merit but were disappointed in the offer for our D with similar stats/ECs.
15K-20K is tough - and being LGBTQ it seems like that’s the wrong part of the country.
At College of Charleston - not small - but can be in Honors and with her stats she can get a Charleston Fellow spot and you could get there. Honors makes it smaller.
Hendrix and Ogelthorpe both have programs to match your in-state tuition.
Eckerd in FL can work but not budget wise. Reed - but won’t work budget wise. Rhodes in Memphis?
I’ll say this - she’s a rock star so if you go to a “lesser” school - like some you are looking at - but they have to have big endowments - and that’s how you cash in…by being better than the typical. Roanoke College?
How bout a public LAC - UNC Asheville or St. Mary’s of Maryland. What is your state? You can get $18K a year so with room and board high 20s.
W&L - totally wrong for your daughter - but has the Johnson - a full ride.
I know you love W&L for the “right” student (and I do too!) but based on your comment for this student, you may be surprised that there seems to be a healthy LGBTQ+ community. At least it is growing. My D’s upcoming freshman roommate is openly gay and she has connected with a good many kids who identify. My D is an outspoken and involved ally in our community so is engaged with supporting at college is well. Absolutely anecdotal and only based on her conversations with current students and the incoming class of 2025.
What about University of North Alabama? Much smaller than U of A and would probably be less than $10,000 per year after scholarships. Scholarship for 4.0 and 32 is $10,000 plus housing. In-state tuition (which is given to those receiving a scholarship) is under $10,000 per year currently, so that would only leave some fees, meal plan, and books. About 6,000 or so undergrads so not tiny but not that large. My son has enjoyed his experience in the honors college so far. It is not a real activist type campus but my son’s RA in the honors college dorm his first year was openly gay as are others and I haven’t heard of any problems. I actually met his RA (has graduated now) and really liked him. There are plenty of churches, not sure which ones would be like what she is used to, but there probably are some. My son is in a fraternity and has had friends in sororities.
Thanks for all the suggestions! W&L looks great–a definite reach for merit aid, but worth trying, for sure. Agnes Scott is another possibility. UNA, I think, would be too big–2,000 students seems to be her upper limit.
We’re in Minnesota.
(Oh, and I meant that she’s quiet–not “quite”!-- about being gay. She’s proud of who she is and not at all ashamed about it–she just doesn’t really jive with hardcore “radical queer” intensity that you see in some LGBTQ+ spaces).
I’d have loved W&L if my daughter got the Johnson…or Weinstein Actually, the entire list set forth I thought - not very “welcoming” schools. I know W&L is welcoming and I laugh when people say it’s got race issues, etc. I don’t see them. But it’s a Greek school and it doesn’t sound like that’s the OP.
I continue to be jealous, btw Your family scored - great luck to your daughter as a Gennie.
There is no path to an under-20K net cost at Scripps through merit aid alone. The maximum award is approximately half tuition, leaving a close-to-50K net cost, best-case, without need-based aid. You need schools that have full-tuition merit awards.
The obvious choice here is U-MN Morris. Public LAC, competitive enough to have a bright and engaged student body; 1500 undergrads. The in-state sticker price is under 26K, and your daughter’s stats qualify her for 5K in merit, so that puts you within $1000 of your target price. Doesn’t get her out of winter weather but at least it’s a default option that she can count on having.
I agree that Agnes Scott could be a good place to gun for big merit. She also sounds like she would like the vibe at Sewanee - they give out a handful of full-tuition awards each year, and I’d think your daughter would have a chance at them.
You might look at Hollins in Roanoke, Virginia, all women. No Greek life, but I think they think of all the other students as their sisters, so in that sense it’s like one big sorority. My D22 did a pre-college writing camp there this summer and I got the vibe that they are very very supportive of their students in general. It’s not an edgy, overly competitive place, but a welcoming place for all types of women. They are big on leadership and helping every student be their best. Great study abroad opportunities and seem like they have good placements for internships, etc. They definitely would give her merit (as would Agnes Scott, which is incredibly diverse, btw).
You could also look at Roanoke College in Salem VA. They are co-ed and do have Greek life. Her stats would probably get merit there too.
I’ve seen several recommendations here on CC for Eckerd College in Florida. My D22 does not want to go to Florida so wrote it right off, but it might be worth checking out.
What year does she graduate? Is she class of '22 also?
Maybe Elon? Not sure if that is too big. They do have Greek life. Pretty popular I believe. Not sure of the price point.
Great options for this student to consider! Add Truman State, New College FL and Fort Collins to the list of public LACs to research.
You may laugh, but I’ve read enough to know the issues are real for some African-Americans at W&L. You may laugh, but some students are negatively affected by living in a place that glorifies historical figures that seceded and fought to continue a culture that enslaved and otherwise denigrated their ancestors.
You may not see it, but it’s a real thing. W&L is a very good academic school. Some minorities may do just fine there. Others may experience difficulty with W&L’s long history and recent history. It will probably never affect a majority person, but it is definitely something for minorities of all types to consider before enrolling. It’s not a laughing matter for everyone.
I’ve had gay sibling/relatives and friends tell horror stories of their college experiences. Researching a college’s history with this subject is definitely something a parent and student should do.
Agree. The fact that one poster does not see any issues (and even goes so far as to laugh at them) does not mean those issues do not exist.
We briefly considered W&L because of its scholarships, but after reading about current issues at the school, I determined there was not a scholarship large enough to motivate me to put my URM kids in such an environment.
Several have mentioned it here but I’m going to throw Roanoke College out there again. Seems to hit the sweet spot of all of your considerations. Weather, Greek, accepting supportive community, big merit for top students, size.
A college that consistently flies under the radar yet delivers a great student experience. It’s not that warm in mid-winter (KY persists in thinking of itself as southern, but the weather is more mild mid-western) but to somebody used to MN winters it will be a doddle.
I’m not sure UNC-Asheville is what you are looking for. It is very LGBTQ friendly for sure, but Greek life is minimal and I don’t know about scholarships. There may be something, but I’m not seeing a lot on their website. I’d have to dig into the CDS on that. We are in-state and I want my LGBTQ D22 to look at it with students on campus, but she’s not super interested right now. We went and looked last summer when campus was super empty. Asheville itself is like the Portland OR of the Southeast, super artsy, super liberal. There’s a “Keep Asheville Weird” sentiment for sure. I think UNC-A attracts a lot of louder, more politically active kids, but I’m sure there are some quieter kids too. If you’re in the area it might be worth checking out.
Ditto for Guilford. I don’t think they have any Greek life. It’s certainly not emphasized there. It’s got a pretty chill/little bit hippie vibe. It’s a Quaker school so they have that Quaker kindness/progressivism.
Have you looked at Wofford or Furman? They are too Greek for my kid (she would be happy with no Greek at all). Also too conservative for her (she is pretty far left, but not shouty about it).
Niche is pretty good for a quick impression of student/campus life (whether there are a lot of kids in Greek life, etc). I also like to read the student reviews on Unigo. If a school has enough of them you can begin to get a picture of what kind of student goes there, but it’s like Amazon reviews — if there are only 5 they don’t mean that much, sometimes just squeaky wheels.
Agree on Roanoke on being the sweet spot. Nice campus. Spread out some so it doesn’t feel super small. Cute town adjacent to campus. I would guess she would in the top of the applicant pool so good merit.
Juniata (no Greek life, but lots of merit, and very inclusive but not “loud”) and Dickinson (low key Greek life) - both in PA but compared to MN, not “freezing”.
I don’t know your financial situation but $15-20K could be hard anywhere. Run the NPCs for all 3 schools. For a straightforward situation - married, W2 family, they were all all spot on for us.
Denison University, although it may be a bit larger and in Ohio, so maybe not the weather, that she is looking for. Great merit (and need based aid as well), greek life (no houses - but approx 40% participate),
I really think the vibe she’s after sounds like Elon, but not sure about the $$ and the size is a little bigger (6,277), but it doesn’t feel like a big school IMO. Might be worth visiting. People who like it love the campus. It gets good marks for LGBTQ too which surprised me because I think of it as being more Greek-y and less LGBTQ-y, but I guess it’s both!
(and I do too!) but based on your comment for this student, you may be surprised that there seems to be a healthy LGBTQ+ community. At least it is growing. My D’s upcoming freshman roommate is openly gay and she has connected with a good many kids who identify. My D is an outspoken and involved ally in our community so is engaged with supporting at college is well. Absolutely anecdotal and only based on her conversations with current students and the incoming class of 2025.
Actually, the entire list set forth I thought - not very “welcoming” schools. I know W&L is welcoming and I laugh when people say it’s got race issues, etc. I don’t see them. But it’s a Greek school and it doesn’t sound like that’s the OP.