<p>Oberlin is a possibility with need-based aid.</p>
<p>Beloit is a good choice with a lot of merit money available.</p>
<p>Thank you all very much for your many useful recommendations and advice thus far. We very much appreciate it. There are certainly many possibilities for us to check out further. </p>
<p>The options for East Asian Studies/Chinese especially turned out to be broader that I had previously known about. I also think a number of the schools will be good possibilities for solid Classics and Biology programs, as well. While my daughter is undecided about her major among her several interests at this point, we feel it’s best to look for a school that is solid across those several interest areas. I expect her interests will continue to develop during college and like many others, she may change her major more than once. Better to anticipate that at the outset.</p>
<p>I’m still a little concerned about finding some appropriate safety schools (both in terms of admission and need/merit FA). Most of the recommended schools seem to fall into the reach or match category. Are there any of the recommended schools, or additional ones, that we should consider as safeties?</p>
<p>momrath, I especially liked you advice about the adcom forming an image of her from her application.</p>
<p>As to her preferred location, she definitely does not want a very urban locale (Macalester in St. Paul would be an exception). She really likes a small college town, though has no particular objections about a suburban locale.</p>
<p>huskem55, I also thought Connecticut C. might be a good match as far as curriculum. I don’t have a good feel yet for its potential “fit” in terms of environment and social climate. A friend suggested another Connecticut school, Trinity C., I checked out others’ impressions, but it appeaed too “preppy” and too much of a party school.</p>
<p>Simplerules, I check out Augustana and north Central (possible safeties?). I had a niece who went to North Central and have a lot of family in the Chicago area.</p>
<p>Other than Oberlin and, I think, Kenyon, I was surprised that no one mentioned some of the other Ohio colleges (Wooster, Denison, Ohio Wesleyan and possibly others). Any comments on those schools as possible fits for my daughter?</p>
<p>Since you mention Ohio colleges, one that you might want to consider is Wittenberg University. It has a pretty good Asian studies program (including Chinese); it is in a small town in Ohio (Springfield); seems to have a good music program. Based on a visit there, I can tell you that it has a warm, friendly environment.</p>
<p>I second Wittenberg–strong East Asian studies program dating back at least 30 years and excellent merit aid (she might even get one of 5 full-tuition Smith scholarships there with her stats).</p>
<p>melior - we ruled Ohio Wesleyan out because they didn’t have the Chinese, as far as I can remember. North Central and Augustana would definitely be safeties for your daughter. I think she could count on scholarship offers from such schools though I wouldn’t think full ride. Beloit and others in that range would be matches. Carleton, etc. reaches. Sounds like you are casting a nice net and your timing is perfect - by next fall your D. should have a great list!</p>
<p>Sorry - I forgot to say we didn’t look in to Wooster (heard great things) or Deniison ourselves so I don’t know their Chinese programs but perhaps others do.</p>
<p>When you look at which colleges offer merit aid, don’t forget to look at COA (cost of attendance). If college A hands out a lot of $10K merit awards and college B hands out $5K awards, you’d think college A was a better deal-- but if the COA at college A is $50K, and the COA for B is $40K, college B turns out cheaper.</p>
<p>Both Kalamazoo and Beloit would be safeties for your daughter. I’d expect her to get generous merit aid (at least $10K) at both of those schools. My son, who got no need aid, will be attending Kalamazoo for less than we would have had to spend to send him to our state school. Both Beloit and Kzoo are in the $40K neighborhood for cost of attendance. By contrast, Drew University and Bryn Mawr, also mentioned upthread, are in the $50K range.</p>
<p>A dear friend’s son is studying Japanese at Colby and raves about the Asian Studies department. Don’t think they give merit money, though.</p>
<p>I think Middlebury’s program in Chinese/East Asian studies is rated 1. Hamilton also has a very well regarded program and is easier to get in. Here’s the overview from their website.</p>
<p>[Hamilton</a> College - Academics - East Asian Languages and Literatures](<a href=“http://www.hamilton.edu/academics/faculty.html?dept=East%20Asian%20Languages%20and%20Literatures]Hamilton”>http://www.hamilton.edu/academics/faculty.html?dept=East%20Asian%20Languages%20and%20Literatures)</p>
<p>you should check out Macalester.</p>
<p>Many of these have been mentioned but some are new. All are serious schools.</p>
<p>Beloit College (Beloit, WI)
Lawrence University (Appleton, WI)
St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN)
Knox College (Galesburg, IL)
The Colorado College (Colorado Springs, CO)
Hope College (Holland, MI)
Kalamazoo College (Kalamazoo, MI)
The College of Wooster (Wooster, OH)
Earlham College (Richmond, Ind)
Franklin & Marshall College (Lancaster, PA)
Hobart & William Smith Colleges (Geneva, NY)
University of the South (Sewanee, TN)
Centre College (Danville, KY)
Agnes Scott (Atlanta, GA), plus most women’s colleges including MHC and Bryn Mawr
Whitman College (Walla Walla, WA)</p>
<p>Safeties
St. Michael’s College (Winooski, VT)
Ursinus College (Collegeville, PA)
Juniata College (Huntingdon, PA)
Guilford College (Greensboro, NC)
Wofford College (Spartsburg, SC)</p>
<p>Based on what you have presented (not a very high class rank in a middling public HS, decent but not stellar ACTs, etc.), most of these schools appear to be out of reach or are, at best, a stretch:</p>
<p>Macalester
Oberlin
Williams
Amherst
Bowdoin
Middlebury
Carleton
Kenyon (?)</p>
<p>If she doesn’t want “rich preps”, don’t consider Connecticut, Trinity or Hamilton Colleges.</p>
<p>You will find many decent Classics programs (e.g, St. Olaf, Sewanee, Wofford), Chinese programs will be somewhat rarer.</p>
<p>Holy Cross-great academics, strong alumni network, and school spirit.</p>
<p>Balletgirl, thank you for your reply. I think its a reasonable list of schools.</p>
<p>I dont know that I necessarily would characterize my daughters high school as middling, however. In my original post, I indicated that it was a mix, but that a good handful of kids went to top schools each year. This was to an attempt to distinguish it from the powerhouse high schools, such as those in the northern suburbs of Chicago, for example. Nonetheless, it is definitely known to many top colleges and universities, and, they do recruit there. To give you some idea of this, in the past 10 years, students have received scholarships (generally, top merit scholarships) to these schools (and, these are only the ones I know about):
UCLA; Rice 8; Rochester/Eastman; Macalester 3; Stanford 2: St. Olaf 2; USC 2: Cornell 4 GWU - 2, MIT 3; NYU - 2,;UCB; Columbia; Duke; Cal Tech; Princeton 5; Penn; WUSTL 5; Northwestern 2; Brown, Vanderbilt - 2,; Coloardo C.; Yale; Notre Dame; Amherst; Brandeis; Carleton; and many flagship state universities.
(These are separate kids who earned these scholarships, not multiple scholarships for just a few top students.)</p>
<p>My point in listing these is that several posters mentioned concerns that my daughters class rank could be a potential issue for admissions. My thinking on about this concern is that her current class rank is based on an unweighted GPA in a rigorous curriculum (including B grades in 2 high school math courses taken in middle school, which are figured into her GPA since they are counted for high school credit). Students who took easier courses might well have higher class ranks. Also, as I tried to convey above, her school is not middling in the sense that there are a fair number of very bright kids ahead of her. It is anticipated that the GPA for her junior and senior year will be higher than her current 3.7 GPA. My question is this: How much of a concern is her class rank given the other factors I mentioned (unweighted GPA in a rigorous curriculum in a fairly good school)?</p>
<p>Thank you all for your many helpful suggestions. I have no doubt my daughter will be admitted to a good school. Right now, our focus is on finding the best fit and a sufficient amount of need-based and/or merit FA to enable her to attend without an unrealistic loan debt. </p>
<p>While I indicated in my OP that she would probably do better in a more nurturing environment, it is a consideration that she grow beyond her current comfort zone, too. She recently stressed that she definitely wants a school with some diversity (e.g., minority, international, geographic) in its student body.</p>
<p>Also, comments Ive seen about some smaller schools (especially those in more isolated locations) are that after about two years, many students find it very limiting to only see the same people every day (though opportunities for study abroad might mitigate this somewhat). Any insights about this concern?</p>
<p>I really like the quality of the curriculum at some of the womens colleges and their strong offerings in fields that interest my daughter (e.g., Classics, East Asian Studies). However, the intensity of coursework and limited social life (i.e., no guys) would be concerns. On the plus side, some of them certainly provide an intellectual climate, diversity, excellent physical amenities, good need-based FA, and, tend not to be big party schools.</p>
<p>melior, Rank is a tricky indicator because it’s out of the student’s control. Your daughter’s rank is puzzling: 100 out of 450 with an UW GPA of 3.7 suggests serious grade inflation. Take a look at the school profile that your high school sends to colleges and see how this is addressed. Sometimes a counselor can glide over rank issues in his/her recommendation. Ask yours how best to address your daughter’s position. </p>
<p>Then, let it go. My opinion only, but I don’t see it as a deal breaker.</p>
<p>What I believe is going to get your daughter into a selective college is her summer in China plus her demonstrated interest in Chinese language and culture, which will set her apart from a lot of other candidates. How she presents this in her application – essays, resume, recommendation – will be pivotal.</p>
<p>My son didn’t find the social environment of his small LAC limiting and he stayed on campus all four years. He had a core of close friends and concentric circles of acquaintances that he met in class, through his ECs and through other friends. My guess is that the number would be the same had he gone to a Mega U.</p>
<p>I think reaction to a small – or rural – campus depends a lot on personal preference. My son liked small and rural. For graduate school he chose large and rural. Some kids get hives if they get too far from a city. My son found the insular environment supportive and the natural beauty invigorating, especially within the context of severe academic challenge.</p>
<p>Women’s schools vary quite a bit in terms of their interaction with the opposite sex. My son had high school friends who are twins. Both wanted all women’s. One went to Barnard and thrived. One went to Holyoke and transferred.</p>
<p>Basically you have a smart kid who isn’t at the tippy top of the statistical indicators. Plus you need merit money. Your daughter needs to figure out which compromise she can live with and which are non-negotiable.</p>
<p>Momrath, the class rank situation is puzzling to me, too. All I can figure is that there are number of other bright kids at the the top of her class as well as a number of other kids who did well in less rigorous classes. I assume that if her school did weight GPAs for more difficult courses, her class rank would rise. Her school explained that they stopped weighting GPAs because the colleges will just “unweight” them anyway. I’m not going to worry too much about it because, as you said, it’s outside the student’s control, and a host of factors will enter into admissions decisions as well.</p>
<p>Thanks for your insights.</p>
<p>melior, I think you have to keep your sights on the fact that a 3.7 unweighted with a rigorous course load is a darn good GPA and not get discouraged by the competition. A few B+'s and even the odd C (gasp!) are acceptable, and at the end of the day colleges, especially selective LACs, are looking for interesting kids who do interesting things. Yes, you need the statistics – grades, rank, scores, serial number – but don’t underestimate the impact of passion, focus, and life experience.</p>
<p>Melior,</p>
<p>Any more clarity of the issue of class rank. Curious to see what is on your radar in terms of LACs that fit your daughter’s profile and interests?</p>
<p>Pomona as a reach, Dickinson as a match</p>
<p>(From Zapfino, formerly melior)</p>
<p>Balletgirl, there’s no more clarity at this time on the class rank issue.</p>
<p>My D just finished her junior year with a 4.0 for the year.</p>
<p>As for what LACs are on the radar, we’re still checking out the many suggestions. So far, Beloit, St. Olaf, Macalester, and Knox are on her match list and our flagship state uni on the safety list. Some that are probably out of consideration: Furman (good academics, but based on conversations with a couple of current students not the best match socially); women’s colleges (D ruled these out for social reasons). Trinity U (TX) is being considered, but D’s not sure about TX (for the most part, she says the South is a “no-go” zone. As a real reach, she likes Brown, even though it’s quite different than the LACs she’s otherwise considered.</p>
<p>brassmonkey, Dickinson will probably end up on a match list. An older cousin graduated from there several years ago and loved it.</p>