just to f/u on Denison app numbers: Denison website say they received nearly 7,000 apps for class of 2020 (2016)…Princeton review has them at 6,100 apps for 2015 cycle…that’s a significant increase in the face of most LACs who are showing decreases…unfortunately Denison is not forthcoming with their CDS profiles as they are not listed anywhere on the website.
College Navigator has all the CDS info though. http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=denison&s=all&id=202523
Check out Furman, Rhodes and Centre. All excellent academics, greek life, smaller and student bodies considered to be friendly and welcoming.
Denison is also very generous with merit aid. They have been very successful attracting students who can help them fulfill their vision. I see this school transforming itself the way Northeastern did. It’s very exciting.
Sounds as if Denison has definitely changed.
I have several good friends who are graduates, and it used to attract a lot of well-to-do types with decent but not stellar stats. Spy magazine (satire, for those not familiar with it) listed it as one of “the colleges of the dumb rich”–none of my friends were dumb in the least, I hasten to add, but neither were they presenting the kind of stats to get into one of the most selective schools. Another person I knew, who was a retired prof from The College of Wooster, said that Denison was known to have much fancier cars in the student parking lot than in the faculty’s lot. 
Like Alabama Denison put some real $ in their NMF merit aid to bring up their average student stats (the Paschal Carter scholarship which is, unfortunately, no longer available).
Am I missing something? OP asks for EAST COAST schools similar to Wooster and somehow a big piece of the thread is now devoted to Denison…located 90 minutes from Wooster in Ohio…NOT on the east coast at all! (And I think Denison is great, but…)
Clark University (mentioned upthread) is a CTCL school and shares many characteristics with Wooster. You may want to look at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, also. They both have friendly student bodies - without a lot of artifice. But no football…is that a deal breaker? There’s support and team spirit for other sports (lacrosse, basketball, etc.)
@JanMom It’s okay. I have no problem with Denison talk. I see it as a real possibilty, and the more I can learn the better. This whole thread has been so helpful and has given me some ideas. Speaking of colleges, my D sent me a text from school today asking me if U of Michigan is good. She also asked about two particular sororities there. I have no idea who she’s talking to at school today, but she is certainly doing her own research! Mich sounds great, but the thought of paying all that money for such a huge school with huge classes seems crazy. It’s pretty much the same price as a small private school.
Keep the conversation going. Every one of you has been wonderful for sharing your thoughts and ideas and it’s so appreciated.
@Consolation Denison has changed significantly over the past 20 years. It used to have the reputation as a haven for east coast kids who didn’t get into NESCACs. Not sure when the change started, but in the '90s, the college made the controversial decision to change from residential to non-residential greek life and to require that all students live on campus – so no unofficial greek houses. At some point, the college also dissolved its Honors program, as the capability of admitted students rose and there was no Honors/Regular distinction.
Over the past 5 years, when we have been looking at LACs for our kids, we’ve seen that Denison uses merit and strong financial aid to improve admitted students’ qualifications and the diversity of student body. A strong endowment helps – it was over $800 million in last USNews rankings, I believe – not Grinnell-style billions, but certainly more flush than the many LACs with around $300 million. On an admitted students day in April, my admitted-kid met someone with a full tuition scholarship at Denison who had also been accepted to Stanford, as well as other students who chose Denison over Brown, Northwestern etc. Anecdotal, but our observation on campus was that Denison was obviously diverse in terms of race and ethnicity and, in conversations with students, also diverse in terms of 1st gen and socio/economic diversity. President Adam Weinberg can be found on Huff Post and other social media outlets addressing the importance of engaging with diversity, not just being able to check the right boxes. They seem to be doing some things very well on campus – not perfect, but intriguing.
I think one of the reasons this thread took a turn is that the reality is there’s not much to compare Wooster to on the East Coast…The only relevant comps would be Ursinus/Goucher IMO…One of the major sticking points in comparing Midwest to East Coast LAC is and always will be $$$, especially Merit Aid…Midwest schools are just more generous with Merit b/c they have to be in order to compete with the elite LACs in the East…it doesn’t work when you flip the script…That’s why you see such a heavy migration of East Coast high-achieving students opting to head to the midwest—comparable educational quality and usually better aid opportunities all the way around.
One more to consider would be Susquehanna. Rising in the ranks (just named top small college in PA) and uses merit to attract top students, does have football and Greek life, diversity, and definitely has that friendly community that you are looking for. It’s in the middle of Pennsylvania, so I’m not sure it’s much more east coast than Ohio, lol, but from a community perspective it meets your criteria.
@citymama9 Just now seeing your post - it’s honestly fantastic being an out-of-stater here. There are so many other northerners that it’s not very likely that your daughter will feel out of place. Many NC kids do go home on the weekends, but NC is a large state, so typically only those who live up to two hours away go home regularly. All of the sororities have a decent mixture of in-state and out-of-state students.
I don’t think that Wheaton in MA is what she’s looking for.
@janjmom, I’m glad to hear that about Susquehanna, because my daughter is a freshman there! She really loves it. They gave her a lot of merit money, even though she’s not a tippy top student. Part of her package is a music scholarship for non-music majors - it’s not much cash, but she gets free piano lessons and credit for them! I’m really glad she decided to go there.
Your daughter and I sound really similar! I’m very girly and social, but love to read philosophy and I’m intellectually driven. I enjoyed William and Mary(most likely a reach), Elon and URichmond. Ultimately, I’ve decided to attend Furman in SC next fall, and I think it’s worth looking into!
@pineapple1203 Congrats on Furman! Have you seen Elon and Richmond? What were your thoughts? Were they intensely preppy or did you see a variety of types of kids there? Thanks so much:)
Oh, and do you think Furman would be comfortable for someone from NY? Is it less diverse geographically than the others you mentioned?
@citymama9 When it comes to southern schools, ‘preppy’ and ‘down to earth’ aren’t mutually exclusive. Many kids can look preppy on the outside, but are genuine and down to earth. Elon will probably be the most preppy looking. When I toured there my mom said, “Wow, there isn’t an ugly person here!” Elon said on their tour that 70%+ of their students are from OOS. The campus is really pretty and all of the students seemed really happy. I chose Furman over Elon because I felt the academics were stronger and I didn’t like the isolation of the campus.
Richmond is more diverse, and also larger. I toured when school wasn’t in session, so I can’t speak to the vibe of the students. It’s larger than Elon and Furman, with about 4k students. The academics are strong and the school has pretty competitive admission, so even if the kids are preppy they are super smart and driven. I would head over to the Richmond thread because I don’t think I can do the school justice. haha
I could go on for days about my love for Furman. I did a summer scholars program there the summer after my sophomore year, and was also named a Furman scholar during my junior year. I definitely think a person from NY would be comfortable there. The CLP program brings in different speakers and experiences from all different viewpoints. Many of the students do come from the South, but there is a decent OOS presence on campus. For what it’s worth, I’ve been talking to some girls in my class from Chicago, California and New Hampshire. Furman isn’t for everyone- it’s not a party school, it’s a four year residential campus and the academics are rigorous. Greek life is present on campus, with about a 50/50 split between Greeks and non-Greeks. If your daughter seems remotely interested in Furman, I would apply for the Furman Scholars program. It guarantees the student a certain amount of merit aid upon their acceptance. I think it might have contributed to my large merit award.
@pineapple1203 Thank you so much for your response. You have been so helpful!!