If your D likes Denison, definitely have her apply. My D was offered one of their top named scholarships ($40K per year). D’s stats were quite good but your D’s test scores are better. D had good ECs but no national awards or anything. We live in OH so D had visited twice, interviewed and had gone to a regional event. D did not end up attending (bo,y was that $ hard to turn down) but with the scholarship Denison went from her safety to a strong #2 on her list. A girl from our HS the year before had received another one of those big scholarships and ended up turning down either UChicago or Cornell (I can’t remember which) and is attending Denison very happily. Denison is definitely not as liberal/activist feeling as Oberlin. I think your D has a good shot of one of the big scholarships there.
So my shy student who wants to change the world will be starting that journey at… Middlebury!
In the end, it came down to Middlebury or Wellesley. She loved Wellesley for the stellar academics, bright and motivated peers, and quiet non party atmosphere. But for this environmentally conscious, outdoorsy, small town/rural girl, Middlebury really is an ideal fit. And they came through with a better than expected FA package. Yay!
Final results (in case it’s helpful to anyone reading this thread in the future)
Acceptances (safeties)
University of Minnesota Morris (full tuition scholarship for National Merit Finalist)
Mount Allison University
Ohio Wesleyan University (honors college and $28,000 merit scholarship)
Acceptances (match/reach)
Hamilton (Bristol Scholar)
Bates (best financial aid package of all of her acceptances except Morris)
Wellesley
Middlebury!
Waitlists
Kenyon
Haverford
Swarthmore
Bowdoin
Asked her the other day what she would do differently if she had it to do over. She would have applied to Williams instead of Swarthmore and would have chosen College of the Atlantic as her 3rd safety instead of Ohio Wesleyan. After visiting, she really had hesitations about Hamilton, Kenyon, and Bates - could have found her niche I’m sure, but the overall vibe wasn’t really a good match for her. And she admitted she should have gone a little further out of her geographic comfort zone and visited some of these schools - Grinnell, Carleton, St. Olaf, Whitman, and Oberlin.
But, she smiled and said she still would have chosen Middlebury!
Where is this parallel universe where students get admitted at Middlebury and Wellesley, but waitlisted at Kenyon? Don’t answer I’m kidding…slightly. Every year kids admitted at Haverford Swarthmore and Bowdoin are waitlisted at Wellseley and Middlebury and vice versa, but it’s pretty rare to be admitted at these two and waitlisted at Kenyon.
@urbanslaughter, we were a little surprised by the Kenyon waitlist too. Looks like it’s definitely increasing in popularity (and selectivity).
Redfeather, or Kenyon knew your child was applying as a safety and she would be accepted at much more selective schools and never end up going to Kenyon, thus hurting their yield. Well-played Kenyon.