when I applied to college years ago my dad said I couldn’t cross the Mississippi and in case of an emergency someone needed to be able to drive there in a day. We then had a long discussion about WashU and decided it was on the River. I applied and hated it so mute point.
The people that I know that went to Oberlin were all creatives that marched to their own drummer. Most were pretty introverted. They all found there place at the school. So it is for sure one if it can feel close enough to consider.
Those midwest schools were added to balance our list. The original idea was not go too far either and definitely wanted to stay within driving distance. At the same time, academic rigor was the last thing we wanted to give up. Instead of going down a notch in more local schools, we opted to broaden our horizon a bit. Grinnell, as a mentioned, turned out to be a surprise. The rest were swiftly eliminated as more optimum acceptances came in. Having these kind of choices, particularly this year, is a privilege. If things had not worked out in her favor, she would have thrived at the other schools.
I get that you are focused on ED, we were too, though ultimately decided against it for a variety of reasons (spoiler alert: I will encourage the next one to have ED AND ED2 choices), but don’t wait to explore the other end of the list. I know several kids who panic applied to NEU because all you had to do was hit a button and then did not get in. If you read through the threads you will see over and over that kids are getting rejected at what they thought were safeties. I think the reason that did not happen for us was because all the schools she applied to, including the likelies, made sense for a kid with her interests/profile. Finding the right schools to include in that part of our list was much harder that finding the ones to put on the top.
Thank you for this advice. I haven’t heard it before, and it offers a bit of a different perspective on things. D has heard over and over that ED is THE way to go. She sees her Sr. friends get their acceptances back and get to enjoy the remainder of their senior year, stress-free. She sees that the acceptance rates are much higher for ED applicants. I do sometimes wonder if she’s missing out on looking at more foundational schools that she might like better, because she’s blinded by an ED choice to one of her reaches. I’m sure there’s a thread for this philosophical conversation somewhere on this forum! But in the meantime, I will use my one time only “parent choice” card to have her give a good look to Oberlin before summer. Thank you!
100% yet when you dig into the numbers and adjust for athletes, legacy, Questbridge etc… The advantage is not as large. All anyone can do is hope for and acceptance and expect a rejection. Dec 15th is too late to start working on plan B.
Regarding Hamilton, it, more than most other colleges, offers dining and living options that are spatially and atmospherically distinct from each other. This availability wouldn’t mean that your daughter always would need to seek out other introverts, but it would offer her the option of a social variety of her choosing as part of her daily routine.
Chicago might be worth a look even if your D is interested primarily in northeastern LACs. It seems like a potentially good fit academically and socially, and the dating pool for LGB students at Chicago is quite a bit bigger than at most LACs – at least those not in consortiums like Amherst and Haverford. Being LGBT-friendly is all well and good, but having a sufficiently large and diverse LGBT community is something different altogether (and decidedly more rare).
Muhlenberg has a pretty distinguished theatre program and would be a safe match.
My unsporty, artistic, introverted kid thrived at Bates, which is known for being very inclusive, friendly, and collaborative. No Greek life. A lot of athletes, but not a rah-rah atmosphere. She would say LGBTQ kids are very accepted.
Amherst is excellent, and a friend’s child transitioned while there. I do think there is still a bit of a preppy feel, but that’s a minor quibble. I also think Vassar and Middlebury are worth considering. Shame they didn’t love Wesleyan, which also seems a good fit. Haverford is a wonderful school, but it is very small. I think kids know when they first step foot on campus if it’s right for them. If they didn’t “feel” it when they visited, it might not be a good fit.
What about Clark? That’s probably a safety for them and I think it’s a very accepting school that definitely has some bright, quirky students.
I’d say some of the Midwest schools are a great option: Grinnell, Macalester, Carleton, Oberlin, Kenyon. But you said they are set on being near the NE. If they wants to broaden horizons, those are great choices.
Totally agree, which is a major reason why I’m asking these questions! I think that, in this day and age, all of these NE LACs are LGBTQ friendly. But finding a school that is friendly and accepting is different than finding a school where there is a large LGBTQ dating pool or finding a school where you feel comfortable transitioning. That is the level of LGBTQ “friendliness” that they would like to find in a school.
I love Amherst. When I was an undergrad in the Paleolithic era, that was the school everyone wanted to beat on alternate Homecoming weekends (otherwise, it was Williams.) Though it has majorly changed since those days, it is probably the smallest of the NESCACs at this point which means, athletes are going to stand out a bit more because of the number of rosters they still have to fill in order to compete with the rest of the conference.
Haverford is in a tri-college consortium with Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore. Bryn Mawr is within walking distance to Haverford. I am a Bryn Mawr alum with a daughter at Swarthmore and a son waitlisted at Haverford.
Out of the three institutions, Haverford seems to be the least quirky but it is certainly relative to the other schools in the tri-co! Bryn Mawr has had a long standing inclusivity of LGBTQ members of the community. My daughter is currently a junior double major in Psych and Gender and Sexuality Studies. She is taking one of her classes this semester at Bryn Mawr and plans to take another there next semester. I think Swarthmore seems to be the most “sporty”.
Has your child looked beyond Haverford to the other schools in the Tri-Co? I read your description of them and thought immediately of Bryn Mawr and other SLACs like Vassar.
My D17 had a similar profile to your D and just graduated from Hamilton this past May. She had a fabulous 4 years up there. She felt like there was a nice variety of kids and she was able to find her people. The open curriculum is great for kids with wide ranging interests and it makes double majoring very do-able (my D and at least half of her friends had double majors.) Not sure how important something like that is to your daughter. Vassar also has an open curriculum and was on my D’s final list as well.
Did your D find that Hamilton was a good mix of introverts and extroverts? D liked it but had the impression that an introvert might have difficulty finding their people there. Unsure what led to that conclusion…but something on the tour must have,
Re Kenyon where I have a sophomore (who also got into Oberlin, Grinnell and Macalester; we focused on Midwestern LACs with merit)–definitely lots of artistic quirky students; very LGTBQ+ friendly. In addition to creative writing, a very active theater, film and dance scene. Academically rigorous. Very friendly student body.
My D is a definite introvert (who had never been away to so much as sleep away camp before heading to college) and she found her people. She never felt lost there, which I think she might have at a larger school (overwhelmed by too many people) and also appreciated the ease with which you could get to know professors in that more intimate setting.
when I applied to college years ago my dad said I couldn’t cross the Mississippi and in case of an emergency someone needed to be able to drive there in a day. We then had a long discussion about WashU and decided it was on the River. I applied and hated it so mute point.