I like your list!
I love other’s’ suggestions of Vassar and Amherst for you.
Would you consider Swarthmore? They have a lot of what you are looking for, plus lots of dance and definitely LGBT friendly.
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@halyardic, congratulations on building such a strong profile in high school! You have some very unique interests, and I am definitely looking forward to following your college journey.
Although you’re not looking for any more safeties, I’m going to suggest one anyway 
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- Susquehanna (PA ): About 2200 undergrads. Offers several education majors, and its public policy major allows students to choose an emphasis on education policy. There’s also a 4+1 Master’s program, too. All or nearly all of its students have research projects, including in education.
These next schools you stand a decent chance of acceptance to, but are by no means sure things.
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Brandeis (MA): About 3700 undergrads and its Education Studies major focuses on the historical development of educational policy, human learning and development, and the role of schooling in society.
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Dickinson (PA ): About 2100 undergrads at this school. Its Educational Studies major offers a concentration in teaching and learning and one on education and society.
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Skidmore (NY): About 2800 undergrads. Its education studies department has a focus on social justice, which seems as though it may be of interest to you.
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U. of Rochester (NY): About 6800 undergrads. Offers a 5-year program called GRADE whereby students are guaranteed at least a 30% tuition scholarship for 4-years of college and a 50% tuition scholarship for grad school. That Master’s can be in educational policy, program evaluation, teaching and curriculum, etc. Its curriculum is also on the more open side.
These next schools tend to be reaches for all, but I definitely think you have a shot:
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Barnard (NY): This women’s college of about 3400 undergrads gives you a more intimate home base, but also has access to all the benefits of Columbia as well. The Educational Studies major is only open to Barnard students, and it focuses on analyzing and conducting research on the role of education in society. Other possibilities (which are also open to Columbia students) include urban education and urban teaching.
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Smith (MA): About 2500 undergrads at this women’s college. It also runs its own laboratory school to try out various research methods as well as to gain practice in teaching, and it also offers an MAT (source). Its concentration in Community Engagement & Social Change also seems like it might be of interest to you.
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Swarthmore (PA ): About 1600 undergrads and part of the consortium with Bryn Mawr & Haverford. Its educational studies major focuses on educational research, policy, theory, and pedagogy.
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Wellesley (MA): About 2400 undergrads at this women’s college, and its education department seems to really focus on educational research and theory.
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Wesleyan (CT): About 3100 undergrads and its education major focuses on education & society and more on analysis of educational systems.
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What about Sarah Lawrence?
Kenyon is very LGBTQ+ friendly (it’s already on the list, just wanted to reassure the OP; my daughter is a senior there).
Thanks for all the suggestions!
I included being LGBTQ in my post here as it ties in to a lot of my extracurriculars, as well as important in terms of feeling safe/comfortable in a college community.
I’m in-state for UMass so the COA is much lower than $33k. Less expensive would be nice but isn’t a requirement; I’m lucky that budget is not necessarily a constraint. I’m also not sure if I’d end up teaching permanently (if I did teach—not necessarily my final decision) or move into a more administrative role as a principal/superintendent.
Emory I’ve thought about but will definitely look more into. I spent a few weeks at Sewanee over the summer but its enrollment is 82% white, which was a turnoff.
I lumped my targets and likelies together as matches; I know kids at my school with similar stats have historically had good luck with NEU and Wesleyan (we have SCOIR scattergrams).
Thanks again for your advice!
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A good friend of mine with similar taste in schools who is also applying for education loved Stonehill; I’ll have to check it out! Thank you!
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Unfortunately Columbia doesn’t have an undergraduate education major; it seems it’s only at Barnard and not open to Columbia students. I was planning to check out the quality of their psych research and strike it if not impressed. Barnard is on the list to look at, but has a pretty strong definition of “woman” as in women’s college that I’m not sure I fully fit.
Edit: Reread your post and realized you weren’t necessarily suggesting Columbia for undergrad and I was missing context; my bad!
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Thanks everyone for the ideas!
Will be looking more into: Hamilton, Stonehill, Muhlenburg, Simmons, Sarah Lawrence, Susquehanna, Dickinson, U. of Rochester, Bard
Had been considering and will take y’all’s feedback into account: Mt. Holyoke, Barnard, Smith, Wellesley, Vassar, Swarthmore, Brandeis
I liked Skidmore a lot in general but their education program had an emphasis on elementary education that didn’t really align with my specific interests.
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Since you are not interested in colleges which are 70%+ White, here are the colleges on your last post:
Susquehanna (79% non-Hispanic White)
Stonehill (77% non-Hispanic White)
Dickinson (75% non-Hispanic White)
Muhlenberg (76% non-Hispanic White)
Sarah Lawrence (73% non-Hispanic White)
Hamilton (70.5% non-Hispanic White)
Simmons (62% non-Hispanic White)
Rochester (55% non-Hispanic White)
For the second group:
Mt. Holyoke (67% non-Hispanic White)
Smith (61% non-Hispanic White)
Vasser (60% non-Hispanic White)
Brandeis (57% non-Hispanic White)
Barnard (44% non-Hispanic White)
Wellesley (38% non-Hispanic White)
Swarthmore (38% non-Hispanic White)
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Smith is a super option. It’s in a great town, has an Education major and a great Psychology program, very LGBTQ+ friendly and warm, supportive vibe (likely good in the context of ADHD). Wellesley also fits most of the above but has a more intense, competitive vibe so maybe a less great fit with ADHD.
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I want to mention that you do not need to be an education major to teach. This would open up more schools for you.
There are programs such as City Year and Teach for America. I would look at the TFA website and take a look at what their alumni do- it seems like something you might be interested in. They will also pay for most of your masters if the state you work in requires it (you attend their school). My daughter paid less than $3000 - the rest was covered.
I know it’s very early to think about this, but I posted to let you know you can still teach if you decide not to be an education major or if your college does not have the major. My daughter did this for 3 years and then moved on.
From these programs you can move on to admin work, education policy or research…or any other degree you may desire (many go to law school, med school, education policy etc). TFA/teaching provided my daughter with great interview conversations when she applied to grad schools.
I actually believe it is important to teach before moving on to admin, policy or research (you said you plan to teach). It’s hard to understand what needs to be done unless you experience the issues firsthand.
I know it’s early, but I just wanted to provide additional information. These programs might be of interest to you, and would possibly allow other colleges to be added.
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My daughter loved Susquehanna. She got a wonderful education and is still in contact with a few of her profs, over three years since graduating. One is mentoring her as she applies to grad school.
The campus itself is diverse and very accepting of everyone. Her only complaint was that the surrounding area is not that way. She found it pretty bigoted. She had planned to live in the area after graduation but decided she couldn’t handle the attitude so she moved home to Portland.
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D attended Teachers College for her MS and loved it - but I believe the school only offers graduate degrees (OP can check).
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It’s true that Teachers College Columbia is graduate programs only. But it’s food for thought for the future for this poster.
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That might be a valid concern. As a women’s college it serves persons who positively do identify as such:
any and every prospective student who lives and identifies as a woman at the time of application. This policy includes transgender women and intersex women as well as cisgender women and excludes people assigned female at birth that now identify as men or outside of the gender binary.
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Wow, that’s a hard line they are drawing, which I honestly wasn’t expecting. OP, look closer at Mt. Holyoke and Smith as they have a very inclusive admissions process in terms of gender identity.
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Re Wesleyan: You’re going to hear a lot about the varsity sports field in the middle of campus. Don’t let that throw you. I’ve never met a kinder, more intelligent group of human beings than Wesleyan cis men, including some of the most physically imposing athletes on campus. Recruited athletes can be found taking music and dance classes, in rock bands and compose a smaller percentage of the student body than most of the NESCAC colleges, as well.
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it’s a hard line because of the number of men (however defined) who are trying to “game” their Columbia admissions by also applying to Barnard. I don’t think the policy is at ALL reflected in campus life once you get there…
My mom attended Columbia teachers college for her advanced degree
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The motivation behind most published policies probably is to draw a hard line, somewhere.
I guess there’s two different philosophies behind how a women’s college can define itself:
- by the absence of men (in which case non-binary is “not man”)
- by the presence of women (= those who identify as such)
I’m not saying one viewpoint is “better” than the other, but Barnard currently defines itself not by excluding men (plenty of male students in classes, using facilities, and as faculty), but instead by seeking to advance women.
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