You have been given great advice on this thread. I would just suggest keeping Brandeis on your list since it is a wonderful place and seems to hit all the right boxes. If you don’t mind a school with a religious grounding, I would also consider Fordham. It has a very strong core curriculum and is in the Bronx so easy access to Manhattan with all of its dance opportunities.
I think a college consultant could help you and your daughter.
Now…having said that…I would suggest you start a thread in the parents forum asking for suggestions for your daughter. List out her stats, and what is important to her and you in admissions. Please prioritize these things. For example, I think this thread may have gotten muddied a bit when you mentioned merit aid. If this is a priority and is needed, that is one thing, and might lead to different suggestions than if it’s not.
If ballet is a priority, then list that as a priority. If it’s not a necessity, then make that clear too.
Let folks know about academics and the types of schools your daughter would like to consider.
If having a Japanese speaking population is important…put that down also. If it’s not essential, then mention that too.
Include any cost restrictions…not necessarily a dollar amount…but would you be willing to be full pay if your daughter didn’t get merit (I believe you said yes…but clarify that on your new thread).
I’m guessing you will need to answer all of these questions…and more…for a college consultant to be helpful as well.
And i agree with @oldfort about ED. If your daughter has a clear front runner in college choices…use that ONE ED application wisely. Now…having said that…I personally would not let my kid apply ED to a school they have never seen…but others might not share that opinion. I suppose if she gets accepted, you could do a QUICK trip here to see the ED school if she hasn’t already seen it…but it’s not like you are traveling from a close distance.
And agreeing again. Swarthmore is a great school…but like every other great school, it’s not for everyone.
The common data set is your friend. Last year, more than 5400 women applied to Swarthmore, compared to 3900 men. As noted above, Swarthmore seeks and maintains gender parity.
As a female, LAC is not your friend when it comes to application. I would seriously consider Barnard.
Any suggestions for this family in terms of college search?
Ok @thumper1 I’ll bite!
First, we are expats in India with a DD who sounds a lot like yours! DD was a high stats HS student - IBD - all 6s and 7s with 4 HLs. 1550 SAT.
RE: Counselors - India has a HUGE number of college counselors that work with kids applying to the US. I happen to teach SAT English with a woman who is very experienced in this area - if you PM me I can share her details. She works with kids in other countries as well.
RE: Colleges. Our search was similar to your’s. Our DD was rejected at Swarthmore (saw the discussion above) but accepted at Bryn Mawr (merit aid), Mount Holyoke (merit aid), U Pitt (full ride), Wellesley (no money), GWU (merit aid), Smith (small merit aid), Grinnell (merit aid), Haverford (no money). She was waitlisted at a few high reaches (Brown, JHU, Case Western) and rejected by a few others (Yale).
She is VERY happy with her decision to go to Mount Holyoke. MUCH more rural than we thought she would end up at. But she LOVES the liberal vibe, the feminist vibe, the open community. Our tours of the women’s colleges were great and she reallly fell in love with the idea of attending one of them.
We were clearly searching for some merit aid to help with the costs of an American education!
Please PM me if you have any questions!
What a wealth of information I’m getting. Really didn’t expect it. I looked at CC when my S did his search two years ago but his choices were so clear cut since there are a very limited number of great film schools but my DD search is more complicated, so I really appreciate the help. As for my original question, I have received great recomendations for consultants and am interviewing them now and it looks like I will likely work with one of them. As for all the other comments, I found them all to add additional information I may not have previously considered; for instance the disadvantage that might be inherent when a girl applies to Swat. So thank you @roycroftmom for that insight. @CValle I appreciate your experience and am adding Holyoke and UPitt to the list. @thumper1 you’ve certainly added a lot of depth to the discussion as has @oldfort, @Publisher and others. So thanks again!
OP - your counselor will be doing what is equivalent to wedding planner doing the month of coordination, not a full planning (still can’t get the wedding off my head). Your kid has what she has at this point (stats wise), and the counselor’s job is to help her shine.
The counselor should meet with you (together or separately) to go over list of priorities for colleges (very similar to what thumper1’s list). Out of that he/she will give you a list of colleges to consider. A good counselor will be realistic, but not necessary manage down your expectations. My kid’s counselor encouraged her to shoot higher, but she was not interested in those schools. Hopefully, you will get a chance to visit some of those schools this summer or early fall to find an ED school. Your D should also start her major essays this summer and have her first cut of application ready for the counselor to work with by early Sep. I would very much encourage your kid to work with the counselor on her essay topics, and that’s why it is better you select your counselor earlier rather than later. If your kid has not asked teachers for LORs yet, the counselor should also be able to help you on who to ask and what should be in the LORs.
What your counselor can really help out with is the application. It is one of the most important marketing materials your kid will write. A good counselor can help your D’s personality come through and help adcoms know who she is.
FYI - some counselors will not take on senior students or may charge more.
@oldfort This is so true but so often forgotten!
We are now about to fly to the US for college visits. Thanks to the advice I received on this thread (thank you @CValle and others) and the counselor we hired based on recommendation received here, we are visiting many of the schools mentioned: Barnard, Swarthmore, Smith, Bryn Mawr, Holyoke, Haverford, Wesleyan and Brown. Also some a bit safer: Sarah Lawrence, Fordham and Ursinus. It’ll be an exhausting trip but hopefully make things clearer.
She has decided to apply ED to Barnard. Holding my breath! Actually she has many great RD options so I’m sure she’ll be fine regardless of outcome… but still, holding my breath.
Thank you for all the help, suggestions and support, everyone. My DD was just accepted ED into the Barnard class of '23! There’s some crying going on over here in Japan.
Well, that’s good news @ReelLife
Congratulations @ReelLife
Congratulations. Happy Holidays.
I just read this whole thread. Congrats to your daughter @ReelLife! It goes to show that SAT scores are not all the top schools consider (not that hers were bad, but here on CC, those with sub-1500+ may feel discouraged from even applying). If you look on the Barnard ED results page, there are many “higher stats” kids who were rejected. In fact, that page is downright depressing, with so many great kids rejected ?
I’m curious. Did you end up using a consultant for your daughter? If so, do you feel it was worth it?
I love a happy ending!
Yes we used a consultant and she was very helpful.
ReelLife, Can you share who did you use?
She will love Barnard! Icing on the cake -it has a great dance dept.