<p>D will be applying to Bryn Mawr ED1. Other schools for RD include Haverford, Vassar, Wesleyan, Wellesley, Mount Holyoke & possibly Bard. D wants small (ideally less than 2,500), liberal thinking, LAC in Northeast. Does not want a school with a Greek system. Top 5 - 10% of class, SATs (710 M, 720 CR, 730 W), SAT IIs (730 Bio, 780 US History), weighted GPA 101, 25 college credits at local community college and decent ECs. We are in serious need of some appropriate safty schools. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Wheaton, Goucher, Clark?</p>
<p>Conn College, Skidmore, Bennington, Sarah Lawrence, Hampshire?</p>
<p>Do you need merit money or need-based aid?</p>
<p>Honestly, I think she will be successful applying at Bryn Mawr, unless there is something about her app that doesn't come through the bare stats. BUT, I also know that slightly panicked feeling. For something totally different - how about Agnes Scott? It is an Atlanta womens' college. Once a SOuthern belle finishing school, now very diverse. I do not know about politics of the student body, but I do know that it is quite different than 30 years ago.</p>
<p>Fortunately, financial aid is not an issue. D won't consider any schools South of PA/NJ (where do they get these "picky" preferences?) and we don't want her too far from home (NJ) since she has some chronic medical issues. Based on all the "research" we've done, we feel fairly confident about Bryn Mawr ED - but it's scary not having any true safety (yes, I spelled it correctly this time!) schools.</p>
<p>Dickinson, Gettysburg College, Union</p>
<p>conn is more selective than byrn mawr, so that wouldnt be a true safety. and union has a very active greek life.
i second the suggetions of skidmore, dickinson, wheaton, sarah lawrence.
another one is muhlenberg</p>
<p>Drew University. Would have said Muhlenberg, Ursinus, Lafayette, but each have some frat/sorority presence.</p>
<p>Connecticut College is not a safety school because it is about as selective (not more so) than Bryn Mawr. CC's SATs are slightly higher, but that can be attributed to the fact that SAT score submission is optional there, but not at Bryn Mawr. The number of students in the top 10% of the class is higher at BM. Acceptance rate is also higher.</p>
<p>They're about comparable. So Conn isn't a safety.</p>
<p>Has she considered Smith? It's a lot like Bryn Mawr and Wellesley, but more politically active from what we saw.
BTW, my dd loves Wellesley and she is only in her second week of classes.</p>
<p>Wellesleymom - very glad to hear your D is happy at Wellesley - we both loved the school when we toured in August. Smith actually fell off the list after we toured, which surprised us. Loved Northampton but the school didn't feel right.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the suggestions - some are greek heavy as was mentioned by a few responders. Any other ideas would be great.</p>
<p>It is very wise to think of some additional safer schools, but, if the decision is only stats, she should certainly get into Bryn Mawr and Mount Holyoke. Please post again when you hear from Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>Another school to consider -- Wells (upstate NY)</p>
<p>Stonehill College in MA?? Are any of these schools rolling admissions? We have a few small LACs that are rolling admit down here, because their main competition is rolling admit - ie state schools. A rolling acceptance could allow you to relax.</p>
<p>(1) The one kid I know who's at Bryn Mawr right now had Franklin & Marshall as her safety, although there might be a greek scene there. Bard should be pretty safe (and Greek-free), too, if she likes it.</p>
<p>(2) Really, your daughter's chances at Bryn Mawr ED are probably "safety" quality. Last year, Bryn Mawr accepted 2/3 of the girls who applied ED, and your daughter would be comfortably in the top third of the projected class statistically. That combination is pretty much what defines a safety.</p>
<p>I think the women's colleges are sometimes hard on girls with high test scores if the college suspects it is being used as a safety, but with ED the calculations go completely the opposite direction. (And I also suspect that your daughter will be in the top 20 or 30 kids, by numbers, in the ED pool, since lots of girls in her position might use ED to "reach" for a school like Williams or Wesleyan.) Unless there's something dark and evil that will come through in her application, or she gets a horrible, horrible feeling from the interviewer, I don't think your "safety" is ever going to be more than an intellectual exercise.</p>
<p>I would second JHS' point: your D's CR SAT is right at Bryn Mawr's 75th percentile and both her Math and CR/Math combined are above that mark. And ED admit rate for last year was 67%. She really should be fine.</p>
<p>If she likes Smith, those scores might put her in line from some merit money and some great research assistant positions. Smith is around 2600-2700 students and Northampton is great. D liked Welleslely (bridesmaid) and didn't even want to park the car at Mount Holyoke.</p>
<p>(signed) Dad of Smith Junior</p>
<p>Your list is interesting because most of your RD schools are harder to get into than Bryn Mawr -- with the exception of Bard and Mt Holyoke. She really should be fine at Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>But, I'm not sure what is being asked. If your D really liked Bryn Mawr on her visit, well enough to commit ED - then I agree she's a likely admit. But if she's not yet ready to commit to an all-girls school, be careful not to panic and feel she must choose the ED route.</p>
<p>I'd also suggest Scripps, Smith, and Mills.</p>
<p>I agree with what everyone said about Bryn Mawr for your D. I also think the rest of her list is very good and should yield some admits. However, I agree with you to create a list with at least one safety. We all know that even when kids have the stats to get into schools, it is not a sure bet that they will and why not have a safety, even though your D looks good based on the raw numbers (we don't know anything else about her). </p>
<p>I think you got some great suggestions that I also would have said such as:
Skidmore
Goucher
Bennington
Drew
Sarah Lawrence
Wheaton
Hampshire
Clark</p>
<p>Other ideas:
Hobart and William Smith
St. Lawrence
Endicott
Wagner</p>
<p>I realize this is a bit bigger than her ideal size:
Ithaca College</p>