My son is currently attending community college in Maine, but was very interested in transferring to Marlboro College, for several reasons:
it’s a small school, which means small teacher-to-student ratios
it’s rural (he would prefer suburban or rural)
it’s LGBTQ friendly
they had planned on lowering their tuition to around $27K which, with financial aid, would be within our price range
their teaching philosopy is very similar to his high school, which was a “learn by doing” type of school, with a lot of leeway to follow your interests academically.
socially, it seems to be a little “left of center” - kind of nerdy, if you will, in a good way
We found out today that Marlboro is closing and merging with Emerson, which is urban and seems to be more of a “mainstream” college - not to mention much more expensive. Can anyone suggest colleges to consider that would be similar to Marlboro in pedagogy, is in the Northeast, and isn’t $60-70K per year?
Bennington (small, artsy, and at one time had a bit of cache; started as a women’s college, and prior to its going co-ed in the late 60s there was the stereotype of the “Bennington Gal”).
Sarah Lawrence (see Bennington above, though SL has twice as many students)
College of the Atlantic (also in ME, also very small–approx. 330 undergrads).
Hampshire (but look into the financial problems that this school is facing; there’s disagreement–a la Sweet Briar–about how much the financial concerns are real versus how many of the concerns were created by the president that was hired (and lasted less than a year) and the board of trustees).
Bard College (def. larger but artsy and very LTBTQ+ friendly)
Skidmore (also a former women’s college, but a pretty tough admit)
You’ll have a tough time, OP, finding a school like Marlboro that doesn’t have a high sticker price, but financial aid should bring down the sticker price somewhat. . If you were from NY (I’m guessing the OP is from ME since the son is attending community college in ME), you could check out public options like Binghamton or SUNY New Paltz.
What are your son’s statistics? Things to keep in mind, transfer students will receive lower financial aid than freshman. New College, Florida may fit the budget, but it is an honors school and we don’t know the student’s statistics and it isn’t in the Northeast. The other schools mentioned: Sarah Lawrence $60,000, Ithaca $55,00, Bennington $72,000, COA $53,000, Evergreen $40,000, Hampshire- (besides admitting less than 20 students to this fall’s freshman class and possible merger with a larger institution, $57,000.
I am unfamiliar with the state schools in Maine. They probably don’t fit the philosophy you are looking for though.
Do any have smaller campuses or honors programs that your son may be admitted into?
New College of Florida is, IMO, the obvious next choice. OOS tuition is effectively $15K after scholarships, and the academic program is extremely similar to both Marlboro and Hampshire College. Many alum that I know had considered both of those schools but chose NCF instead.