$70k is a year’s cost of attendance at some of these schools.
You have great stats and ECs and can get great merit at less selective schools, though, and that $70k might stretch to all 4 years at one of them. Just know that the top LACs and Ivies are reaches for every student who applies.
Speaking of financial aid, Colby is very generous – families making less than $65k pay nothing and families at the $150k range are capped at $15,000 per year. While you do have a nice 529, you may still qualify for quite a bit of financial aid if you were to be accepted. I’ll echo others - you should probably go RD so you can compare financial aid offers - they vary to a surprising degree among schools. Something you have going for you at some of the LACs you are interested in is that you are from an under-represented state -they are always looking to increase regional diversity.
@Thorsmom66 has shown how Colby “artificially inflates” (per another poster) its applicant numbers. It doesn’t. It simply attracts a lot of students who are looking for affordable options and find themselves in that “doughnut hole”.
Thank you so much for this info- I have never looked at that data set! That is very helpful.
I apologize for the harsh choice of words. I meant that Colby is known to adopt policies, such as waiving the application fee and supplemental essay requirement, while simultaneously considering financial need and demonstrated interest within its admissions standards (in other words, attracting both lower-income applicants and applicants with little/no interest who find it easy to apply here but much more difficult to get admitted). Nothing against Colby in any way (I like the school a lot and was admitted there this previous year), but having such an accessible application DOES lead to a more open, and likely less generally “qualified,” applicant pool, particularly when it comes to students who do not feel like putting much effort in their applicants and find it easy to apply to Colby. As implied before, they are also more lenient toward privileged and interested applicants (making it less of a meritocracy) than a good amount of its liberal arts counterparts.
I do recognize that I was too extreme with my assessment of Colby’s admissions standards, and for that I apologize. I edited my response accordingly. It’s a great school, it just simply has lower and fickler admissions standards (specifically for privileged applicants) than schools with similar acceptance rates.
Edit: I was unable to edit my previous discussion post, likely because it is 3 months old, but know that I rescind my statement. Also, given the fact that this applicant is in need of financial aid, I would move Colby up to high-reach, given their need-aware admissions policies.
In terms of competitiveness, Bowdoin and Middlebury are quite similar, with the exception that Middlebury has a much larger class to fill than Bowdoin, resulting in a higher acceptance rate. If you look at the most recent common data sets for both colleges (2020-21), you’ll find the stats of matriculating students are quite similar:
Bowdoin:
SAT Reading & Writing: 660-740
SAT Math: 670-770
ACT composite: 30-34
Midd:
SAT Reading & Writing: 670-750
SAT Math: 670-770
ACT composite: 31-34
As @Thorsmom66 points out, Colby has a very generous financial aid policy. I know many students who have benefited from this - OP should not be discouraged because Colby, like several other NESCAC’s, is need aware. She is a strong candidate, and although all of the schools discussed are reach schools for everyone, it certainly is not a high reach due to her need for aid.
Regarding the competitiveness of Colby’s applicant pool, following are middle 50% SAT/ACT scores for ENROLLED NESCAC students.
Amherst (2020 CDS) 1410-1530, 31-34
Bates (2020 CDS) 1290-1420, 27-33
Bowdoin (2020 CDS) 1340-1510, 30-34
Colby (class of 2024 per school’s website) 1390-1530, 32-34
Conn. College (2020CDS) 1310-1420, 30-33
Hamilton (2020 CDS) 1410-1500, 32-34
Middlebury (2020 CDS) 1340-1530, 31-34
Tufts (2020 CDS) 1400-1510, 32-35
Trinity (2020 CDS) 1310-1420, 30-32
Wesleyan (2020 CDS) 1340-1510, 31-34
Williams (2020 CDS) 1430-1540, 33-35
Although test scores are only a part of a student’s profile, I would say these scores demonstrate that ALL of these schools attract very bright, qualified candidates, regardless of acceptance rates.
Edited for consistency. to include 2020-2021 Common Data set for Bowdoin and class of 2024 Info from school’s website for Colby.
These are fair points. However, Colby is need-aware, meaning that financial aid IS a factor. Even IF they meet full need, getting in is more difficult. That, combined with Colby’s 8% acceptance rate, makes the school a high reach despite the more open applicant pool Colby has in its admissions process.
Another point, SAT scores aren’t a great way to measure a school’s selectivity, as they all weigh SAT scores differently. Amherst and Bowdoin, for example, weigh test scores less than a lot of other schools (also, Bowdoin SAT range on their CDS is quite different from the range you provide).
Yes, Middlebury simply accepts a significantly larger percentage of applicants than Bowdoin, making it easier for people with scores in these ranges to get in.
Bowdoin’s Common Data Set for 2020-2021 lists SAT 25-75% as 1340-1510 and ACT as 30-34.
Here is the Bowdoin source, https://www.bowdoin.edu/admissions/at-a-glance/class-of-2025.html
I agree that test scores are only a part of the picture, My point is that they are all great schools that attract very qualified students, of which the OP is certainly one.
I don’t want the OP to be discouraged from applying to schools based on financial status. Of course, OP should run NPC before applying to any school, but if NPC is favorable, OP should not be dissuaded due to financial status.
https://www.bowdoin.edu/admissions/at-a-glance/class-of-2025.html
I was able to get info from June 2021 from Bowdoin’s website. Most other schools do not list this info. This is more current than CDS.
Yes, but that Bowdoin data is only for students who applied with a test score (56% of the class).
In previous years (Class of 2024 and prior), Bowdoin required even test optional matriculants to provide a test score, which is reflected in the CDS. So, the CDS shows test scores for the entire set of matriculants, including those who applied TO (which are likely relatively lower).
I don’t think Bowdoin required a test score from all Class of 2025 matriculants…because some of them legitimately were not able to take any test.
got it, thanks!!
Absolutely agreed. Some are just more competitive than others. And yes, the OP has an extremely competitive application for any of these schools.
Correct. If you’re going to make comparisons, you should use vetted data from the same class years. All of these schools have released 2020-21 common data sets, so you can compare stats using those.
Sorry for any confusion - Colby has not released common data set numbers in several
Years and I couldn’t find class of 2025 numbers for all schools this the mix. It is the reason I listed my source for each one. In hindsight I am
Sure I could have dug out last Years numbers for Colby to be consistent (they really haven’t changed much). Appreciate the feedback!! Thanks!
I have edited above post for consistency.
By the information you posted, it seems you have highlighted the wide statistical range across these colleges. At the extremes, the 25th percentile SAT score of the school highest by this attribute is greater than the 75th percentile school of the school lowest by this attribute.
Colby stopped publishing their CDS after 2015-2016. Curious, no?
I 100% agree that schools should make this info easily accessible. Colby stopped publishing this info shortly after the new president started. He came from U Chicago who does not publish CDS either. While searching for schools I found a few that did not publish CDS, but was able to gather the information that I was looking for with a few google searches.
To bring this back on topic, OP is a very strong candidate for the liberal arts schools she mentions as well as other who may not have as competitive admission but offer some merit money. IMO she should not be discouraged from applying to any -she has the stats for all.