College list for very bright Aspie with ADHD who wants a smaller college/university

Parents Forum
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Hi all! Looking for advice for my D18’s college search. She is HFA (otherwise known as Aspergers); she can socialize when she wants (that’s key), is quite witty and clever, but there’s no question she is extremely quirky and is not a party girl in any way, shape or form. She suffers from a lot of anxiety and also is on meds for ADHD. She knows she needs a smaller campus and student body, does NOT want a party school, wants limited (if any) Greek life, would likely be interested in substance-free housing, etc. All this being said, she does have a couple of pretty good friends whom she enjoys seeing on occasion, and thinks she might want to try having a roommate. She actually spent three weeks away from home this summer at an archaeological field study in Colorado (we live in NJ) and had two roommates with whom she got along fabulously.

She is extremely bright. She has a 4.55 weighted GPA (most rigorous course load, all APs and HH classes). Her school doesn’t calculate unweighted GPAs, but I would estimate that she has around a 3.85ish (she has had three Bs in High School - the rest As).
ACT: 35C (10 essay) - one sitting
SAT: 1560 (780, 780) - one sitting
SAT2: 730 US History, 740 Bio M, 740 Math 2 (didn’t study tons and not at all for Math 2).

AP tests: AB Calculus (5), AP Biology (5), AP US History (5)

She has two teachers writing recommendations for her that really really like her. One, ironically, is an English teacher in whose class she received one of her only Bs. The teachers thinks she’s fabulous though so I supported that choice (the final grade was an 89).

She has varied academic interests: Bio, Anthropology/Archaeology, Genetics, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Psychology, etc.

She has seen and liked:

Haverford
Vassar
Amherst
Rice
Muhlenberg
Macalester
Grinnell
Beloit

She did not like: Williams, Brown (my alma mater), Swarthmore, Dickinson, Rutgers (NJ resident) and Carleton. She was neutral about Lafayette.

She is an extremely intense person and is looking for more of a collaborative, not competitive environment. She is also very blunt and although left of center socially and politically, can’t stand the type of political correctness that squashes debate.

I still want her to see Carnegie Mellon, Oberlin (worried about PC environment), Case Western and Bates. Would love any feedback on her current list and the colleges she has yet to see.

So sorry for the length!

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Sorry - forgot to add nothing spectacular in her extracurriculars. She plays soccer but is not going the recruiting route (will wait to see if she gets into a college where she might want to play - clearly not a high priority for her). She has archaeological field work experience, and also some bio research experience at a local university involving gliobastoma cells. Other than that she’s into ecology and farming, and is also quite a talented artist (although it will remain a hobby - really talented at ceramics and sculpture).

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What are your financial limits or cost targets?

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She could get great merit aid at Mount Holyoke. Both my kids weren’t sure they wanted a women’s college, but were smitten after visiting. Neither end up attending for various reasons, but we all view it very fondly.

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We are full pay and have savings that can afford all of the above, but yearly income is extremely variable and we might become eligible for need-based aid in a year or two if it takes a plunge. That’s why merit-based aid is looking very attractive to us currently. We have an older one in college currently and pay full sticker price :frowning:

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Her current list looks pretty good to me! Seconding the idea of Mount Holyoke, and perhaps Bryn Mawr as well.

I go to Amherst, and I think it sounds like a great overall fit for her. While there is a party scene if you want one, plenty of people don’t party at all, including me and my friends. We also don’t have Greek life at all (no frats), and there are substance-free floor options for freshman. I’ve found it to be an incredibly supportive and collaborative environment. It is intense, but typically people put the pressure on themselves to do their best and get good grades. It’s not competitive between students or within the class. The roommate matching system is generally pretty good in my and my friends’ experiences.

Re: her other interests, you can get a work-study job at the Book & Plow Farm, which sounds like something she would love! There is also club soccer if she wants to play but isn’t interested in the time commitment/pressure of varsity.

I will say that the overall culture is less quirky than some schools, like Grinnell or Swarthmore (surprised to hear she didn’t like it!). Also, though I personally disagree, some people feel that Amherst is too politically correct. And if she does decide to play soccer, whether as a walk-on or club, the athletic teams are generally more inclined toward a party culture than the school overall. Those are some things she might want to look into more.

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Beloit has some merit aid.

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@rosered55 Yes, it’s one reason (among many) we were attracted to Beloit. It’s actually the only place she has interviewed at thus far and we were surprised at just how much we liked it (added plus: she said the interview went well. Not always a given for an Aspie ;)).

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@missypie any chance you could comment?

To the OP…you might want to red this thread. Of course everyone’s situation and kiddo differ…but this is an uplifting thread…but one that also shows the care you need to take.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/2010069-my-son-hs-class-of-09-has-finished-undergrad-p1.html

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@glittervine Thanks for all of the great feedback on Amherst. She definitely liked it (she does know it’s crazy hard to get into). She loved the museum of natural history on campus, and reasoned that it likely attracted other people like her who also love similar things to some of her interests.

I, too, thought she would love Swarthmore, but it wasn’t for her. And she left the Info Session there quite amused about “how competitive they were at insisting that they were not competitive,” lol. I’ve learned not to push - if something doesn’t click for her, there are plenty of other options out there.

Good insight about the athletic teams. I think she’s picked up on that and that’s one reason why she might just do club soccer wherever she goes.

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Rice sounds like a good fit for her with the residential college system vs Greek life and the collaborative environment. Rice was voted number one for quality of life and number two for happiest students in this year’s Princeton Review. It has a small student body. It is about 50/50 male/female

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Also, I thought women’s colleges would be a great idea for her, but she is adamantly opposed. I might try to get her to look at Bryn Mawr (closest one to us), since she liked Haverford so much, but she’s pretty firmly opposed (some nonsense about women’s colleges being “discriminatory”). She has very strong opinions that can be entertaining but also frustrating….

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@Momtothreegirls

I would take a look at Oberlin before crossing it off based on PC reputation in the media. Full disclosure, my daughter is starting at Oberlin in a couple of weeks. She had similar stats to your daughter, tends towards some social anxiety and introversion, not a partier, no patience with Greek life, and likes quirky personalities. Whether it crosses the line for your daughter regarding PC boundaries will be up to her. It might be worth a campus visit to find out.

Oberlin’s maximum merit is between 25-30K. It also has a fair number of singles in residential housing and a substance free dorm.

She also really liked Case Western, merit there topped out in very low 30s last year. The cool nerd purposeful student vibe appealed to her. Greek life there is said to be more service-oriented than crazy partying. She liked the campus and its location within Cleveland, and she’s not a big city kid.

D also really liked Mac and Vassar. Mac’s top merit last year was 20K

Did you look at St Olaf when you checked out Carleton? D liked it a lot more than she would have thought initially.

Good luck!

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@Houston1021 She really liked Rice - flew down last fall to visit. The residential college system really appealed to her. She felt comfortable on the campus and Rice is clearly strong in her areas of interest.

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I might be concerned about the stress levels at Carnegie Mellon. The Fiske guide makes it sound like an unusually stressful place.

My S19 is aspie, has anxiety, will likely end up with grades and scores similar or close to your daughter’s. I think he’d be better off at a small school, although he thinks big schools will be better. He’s looking at both. We’re in NYS and he wants to stay in the northeast, so there’s a decent amount of overlap with his preliminary list and your daughter’s list. So I hope you’ll keep posting, because I will be very interested to see what she thinks about schools and how the process goes.

Wesleyan? Her liking Vassar argues for it, but disliking Brown argues against it.

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I’ve know kids with special needs who find small schools too much of a snow globe - no where to escape, everyone knowing everything. They’ve been a happier at schools that are a little bigger that offer more options for clubs and activities.

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Randomly, Davidson, Clark, Sarah Lawrence?

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Check out College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. Very beautiful small college and one of the CTCL Schools .Another school you should check out is Reed College in Oregon. This is the same college that Steve Jobs attended. No sports or Greek Life.

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I would second Reed. Students are collaborative but individually very driven. In many respects, it is similar to Swarthmore, although the fact that she did not like Swat would give me some pause. Grinnell perhaps?

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It’s in a different tier, but Mercyhurst has great support for hf kids with Aspergers. I would recommend looking at their program to see what they do and to see how much of it is useful to you/available in other schools you’re considering. More as a check on resources than as an option.

Some other schools like Earlham might fit the bill. Great academics, quirky, good merit.

She sounds like a great student who will clear the academic bar anywhere so it’s more about fit.