Best LAC's for shy student who wants to change the world

College Search & Selection
61

<p>Update from OP… D retook SAT in November and improved Math so her combined Critical Reading and Math is now 1480 and overall SAT is 2240. Also just chosen by her HS to represent the school at a conference in California as the student leader ambassador. My shy/introverted girl is growing up! Proof that the right environment really can make a huge difference.</p>

<p>Applied and accepted to Mount Allison (Canada). Cost is a slightly higher than we’d like, but is doable and she likes the school, so she’s got her safety.</p>

<p>Applied early action to Ohio Wesleyan. Not her top choice, but is attracted to honors college and theory to practice program. Hoping for chance at up to full ride scholarship.</p>

<p>Applied to Kenyon and Hamilton. Only affordable if she gets their top merit aid though (which is highly competitive), so not holding our breath on those. Just wanted to throw her hat in the ring for a shot at a top LAC without incurring any debt.</p>

<p>Will apply regular decision to these need-only schools. Over budget, but they are her top choices and she would regret not trying. And we would regret not giving her the opportunity.
Middlebury
Swarthmore
Haverford
Wellesley</p>

<p>Will also apply regular decision to Denison and Cornell College (Iowa), hoping for a shot at their full tuition scholarships. Cornell was added late in the game (like yesterday!) as she is very intrigued by the one course at a time plan. </p>

<p>Thank you, everyone, for helping us get to this point. It’s an adventure - that’s for sure! </p>

62

<p>Thanks for keeping us updated. I like her for Haverford and think that valedictorian thing is hard to beat. It should get the attention of Swat, Middlebury, and Wellesley. The rest are looking good for admission.</p>

63

<p>Thanks for the update!</p>

64

<p>@‌redfeather</p>

<p>Your daughter should check out Tufts…</p>

<p>It is just a little bigger than a LAC (5,000 undergrads) and is noted for its very inclusive, “save the world” culture. </p>

<p>The largest club is the Leonard Carmichael Society - which is a community service organization.</p>

<p>Even sports are linked to community service via an initiative called “Fan the Fire”. And the Tufts Marathon Club is an organization that trains 100 runners to run the Boston Marathon to raise money for human health initiatives</p>

<p><a href=“Tufts University - Official Athletics Website”>http://www.gotuftsjumbos.com/Fan_The_Fire/Fan_The_Fire/index&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://now.tufts.edu/articles/inspired-run”>http://now.tufts.edu/articles/inspired-run&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Tisch College is an entire college dedicated to funding, fostering and actually doing research into community service.</p>

<p>Starting this year, Tisch College is offering a new community service “1+4 gap year program” with 3 destinations in Latin America. One of the Latin American projects is protecting the sea otters in Brazil. Full financial aid is included for those with demonstrated need. </p>

<p>This could be right up your daughter’s alley.</p>

<p><a href=“http://now.tufts.edu/articles/tufts-14-service-sites-selected”>http://now.tufts.edu/articles/tufts-14-service-sites-selected&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>A couple of other service programs in Latin America are the BUILD program and one of the Engineers Without Borders projects both sponsored by the Institute for Global Leadership. These initiatives have to do with sustainable development.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.tuftsgloballeadership.org/program/build-latin-america”>http://www.tuftsgloballeadership.org/program/build-latin-america&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Porvenir, El Salvador – Tufts Engineers Without Borders”>http://sites.tufts.edu/ewb/projects/porvenir/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Tufts is one of the top producers of Peace Corps volunteers </p>

<p><a href=“http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/stats/schools2014.pdf”>http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/stats/schools2014.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Tufts has a Vet school (on the Grafton campus) that has a Center for Animals and Public Policy and offers a masters degree in this area. There is an active animal rights club on the Medford/Somerville Campus, as well as a Pre-Vet Society.</p>

<p><a href=“Facebook”>Facebook;
<a href=“http://vet.tufts.edu/capp/”>http://vet.tufts.edu/capp/&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://vet.tufts.edu/capp/about.html”>http://vet.tufts.edu/capp/about.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“About Tufts Pre-Vet Society | Tufts Pre-Veterinary Society”>http://sites.tufts.edu/tuftsprevetsociety/tufts-pre-vet-society/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>In terms of watching A Capella/Theater, if your daughter likes the TV program “Glee”, The voice of the Warblers is one of Tufts A Capella groups (the Bubs). They have performed at the Whitehouse as well. Tufts offers a small Phd program in theatre, so the on-campus theater productions are quite good and in Davis Square there is an old indie theater that offers a mix of programming including original silent movies with a live organist.</p>

<p>There is a frat community (about 15%), but it does not dominate the social life. In fact, because there is more to do in the surrounding area, it is easier to avoid the party scene than at many rural schools.</p>

<p>The biggest potential incompatibility is that Tufts undergrad campus is not in a rural location. The academic quad has lots of green space, (looks like a LAC on a hill), but the surrounding area is suburban/urban. Somerville (which abuts one side of the campus) has the second highest density of young people and artists in the country and as a result, has a high energy level and a kind of a hipster feel. Next to Somerville is Cambridge, which is more of the same. Next to that is Boston.</p>

<p>On the Medford side of the campus (about 2 miles from the edge of campus) is a 3,500 acre urban forest called the Middlesex Fells. Outdoorsy types go to the Fells for Hiking, biking and cross country skiing. The Tufts Mountain Club also has a lodge up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire that anyone can use (they also provide vans) and they organize trips every weekend.</p>

<p>If you have any questions feel free to ask, I am an alum and have a daughter there now.</p>

<p>Best of luck, your daughter sounds like a great kid.</p>

65

<p>If your daughter likes Haverford, would she consider Bryn Mawr? My D has a very similar profile and set of interests as your D but her stats are slightly lower so Haverford is out of reach but Bryn Mawr offers access to Haverford, Swarthmore and Penn through the consortium. My D mostly has a mix of co-ed and women’s colleges that are a notch below your D’s in terms of selectivity, including Smith and Mt. Holyoke. It sounds like your D would have a great shot at merit at BM, MHC and Smith. I think Smith would gobble her right up and I think it would offer what she is looking for. <a href=“Center for the Environment, Ecological Design, and Sustainability (CEEDS) | Smith College”>Center for the Environment, Ecological Design, and Sustainability (CEEDS) | Smith College;

<p>But really, I think she is bound to have success with a number of these schools so wishing her the best possible outcome and oodles of $$$$. </p>

66

<p>@Mastadon‌, Tufts is definitely a terrific school and meets the vast majority of D’s wants and needs in a college. However, she has her heart set on an undergrad only, super small LAC setting. I suspect in a few years (around grad school time), Tufts may be a top contender though.</p>

<p>@LeftofPisa‌, we visited Bryn Mawr and Mt. Holyoke (didn’t make it to Smith), and D just didn’t connect with either school. Nothing concrete, just not the right fit for her. I expected the same response at Wellesley, but she loved it. Go figure! Thank you for your kind wishes. Oodles of $$$ and a happy D would be awesome!</p>

67

<p>@jkeil911‌, I like her for Haverford too! It’s currently her top choice, so here’s hoping…</p>

68

<p>@redfeather‌ </p>

<p>Tufts clearly doesn’t work, but you might want to pass this along…</p>

<p><a href=“Geminid Meteor Showers Light Up Both Hemispheres : The Two-Way : NPR”>Geminid Meteor Showers Light Up Both Hemispheres : The Two-Way : NPR;

69

<p>OP, if she get in, pm me.</p>

70

<p>What about Clark?</p>

71

<p>I second looking at Clark University in Worcester, MA. She would be a great candidate for their LEEP Scholarship - full tuition plus room and board for four years, as well as the opportunity to complete a master’s degree in the fifth year tuition free. They have an Environmental Science major that offers the opportunity to focus on Biology, setting it apart from other, more typical ES degrees.</p>

72

<p>The LEEP program at Clark is awesome! Worcester, however, scares the dickens out of my country mouse D.</p>

73

<p>Your daughter has great stats, and will very possibly be admitted to most of her schools. In terms of merit aid, though, she’ll be competing against many students at those schools who have very similar stats. Chances of getting anything between a half-ride and a full-ride merit scholarship increase greatly as you drop a notch in prestige and broaden outward geographically from the northeast to the south and midwest. Denison, Wooster and Earlham all provide top-notch educations, as does Hendrix, Rhodes, Furman & Sewanee further afield. </p>

74

<p>@Redfeather:</p>

<p>Here are the Peace Corp ranks for the colleges on your list. How did your daughter like Kenyon?</p>

<p>Kenyon 4
Hamilton 23
Middlebury 41
Wellesley 47
Swarthmore 53
Ohio Wesleyan 58
Haverford 70</p>

75

<p>Oops! I forgot 2.</p>

<p>Peace Corp rank can be a good proxy for an idealistic “change the world” culture…</p>

<p>Kenyon 4
Denison 14
Hamilton 23
Middlebury 41
Wellesley 47
Swarthmore 53
Ohio Wesleyan 58
Haverford 70
Cornell College 150</p>

76

<p>If she likes the one course at a time idea, Colorado College in Colorado has that system. Oberlin sounds like a good fit.</p>

77

<p>@MidwestDad3‌, agree that odds of receiving significant aid increase greatly by dropping a few notches in the rankings and venturing further from home. My favorites on your list are Hendrix and Earlham. Unfortunately, though Earlham offers good merit aid, they do not offer anything close to full tuition. Same thing with Wooster (ran the net price and requested an early estimator from the FA office). Hendrix, on the other hand, does offer significant aid, but D has a super strong preference for northern or western schools. Lots of factors - political environment, climate (she’s now an avid hiker and Nordic skier), health (no asthma now for the first time in her life).
Denison is still on her radar. Visited and thought it was a charming town and beautiful campus. </p>

78

<p>@Mastadon‌, love the Peace Corp rankings! One of my personal favorite rankings is the Washington Monthly - I find it helpful to compare the BA to PhD rank with the peace corp rank - kind of an informal indicator of smart kids who are also idealistic and want to do good things. Kenyon definitely struck me and my daughter as just that - an environment that fosters intellectualism and idealism, with more than a little creativity thrown in the mix. Neat place.</p>

79

<p>@LoveTheBard‌, Colorado College was on our radar early on in our search - seems like a great place for an intellectual, idealistic, outdoorsy type student. Unfortunately, after talking to FA and running net price calculator, we found it’s not affordable for us. Cornell College seems to offer much of what Colorado does, but has the potential for a full tuition scholarship for top applicants. </p>

<p>I thought Oberlin would be a good match as well (very smart, intellectual, idealistic, students and also has a pretty awesome environmental studies program). As a pretty naive, old fashioned type girl, D felt a bit intimidated by the more “liberal” nature of the social scene. It’s actually been a bit of a challenge to find schools that appeal to both her strong affinity for social justice issues and her much more moderate/straight laced approach to the social scene.</p>

80

Can’t you study in a Yurt in Acadia National Park with St. Lawrence University. Live in the North Country and do Peak Week in the Adirondacks ? Not too far from home. Near Ottawa and Montreal. Bet they would hand her Scholarships.