@sharkbites, S19 was heavily recruited by HWS for his sport. It was one of his top two choices. We loved the school, we were impressed by everyone we met and everything we saw. We have a good friend who is a grad and the father of dh’s college roommate is a distinguished alum at HWS. I felt strongly that S19, who is a good but not stellar, student would succeed there. In the end, S19 decided on his other top choice which is a mid-sized college comparable in ranking. While I think he made a great choice, I still had a sad feeling in the back of my mind about him not choosing HWS.
One of the things about schools like HWS though are cost. S19 was eligible for a merit award which brought the cost down. I have a younger son with a mild LD. He’s a decent student - As and Bs in college prep courses but a very poor test taker, so his SAT/ACT scores are not going to be very good. Though HWS is test optional, I don’t think S21’s stats would be high enough to get merit aid (gpa 3.5 and his is a 3.2). I think HWS would be a great place for him to thrive, but we simply can’t afford the $70K price tag with four kids to get through college. So yes, while HWS offers merit for “well-qualified”kids as you point out, it is just out of reach for kids who would truly benefit from the environment that HWS offers but simply can’t afford it. It’s unfortunate b/c I think kids in this situation are the type of student who would end up being very successful in this sort of environment.
@4kids4us I completely agree on FA front. It’s a very delicate balance and hard to find exact “financial” match and holistic match at the same time. In an ideal world, kids would find the best fit for them, be thrilled to attend, AND get the FA package they need.
The typical reality is that the kids that will benefit most from the academic environment and are slightly reaching to get there won’t get the FA packages. We had a fairly high EFC while my son was applying last year, and his stats were enough to get him a President’s Scholar (I’m still quietly dying inside that he didn’t accept - he would have KILLED it there)… Instead, he chose to attend a “reach” that he got into with very little merit. In addition, he was a hockey player in high school, and was not going to be able to play at HWS (their team is REALLY good).
And I get it on the sibling front. Daughter (current junior '21) who has ADHD will be lower stats, but is a MASSIVELY hard worker and would also KILL it there, but has very little chance of a substantial merit package and maybe a reach… Am hoping for the double legacy discount ($10k?) and go from there…
Yes…it seems that financial aid (merit vs. need) is a big consideration. I think the CTCL schools, on the whole, tend to be a bit cheaper (about 10K less) since they are often out in the middle of nowhere.
Also…it seems that kids with solid stats and GPA’s from donut hole families (who are too well off for need aid, but can’t pay full tuition) benefit from schools with merit aid.
Most earlier posters have mentioned the obvious ones. Other colleges that could be CTCL schools:
Muhlenberg (PA)
Lake Forest (IL)
Lewis & Clark (OR)
Albion (MI)
Illinois Wesleyan (IL)
Central College (IA)
Whittier (CA)
Hanover (IN)
Alma (MI)
College if Idaho (ID)
Ripon (WI)
Three schools with wealthier student bodies but fairly high acceptance rates:
Monmouth College (IL) - amazing merit even for low stat students, great business program
Illinois College
Wittenberg
Moravian
Lycoming
Loras
Elizabethtown
Albright
Washington (MD)
Washington & Jefferson
Westminster (MO)
Truman State - should be on everybody’s list
Three schools we visited recently with my son check all seven of @Theoden 's boxes:
Ripon
Luther
Gustavus Adolphus
All three seem very similar to the CTCL schools we’ve visited. Ripon and Gustavus both have a nice write up in the Fiske Guide.
If interested in a small, public liberal arts college (which is very rare), check out the University of Minnesota Morris. The vibe is similar to CTCL schools at a much lower price point.
Public liberal arts colleges are listed at https://coplac.org/members/ . University of Minnesota - Morris is one of the less expensive ones for out-of-state students. Truman State is another one that is relatively low cost for out-of-state students, but it is somewhat larger than most liberal arts colleges.
@psblstnr thanks for the list. I’m exploring some of these schools.
@Andrew2199 Thanks for your list as well. I worked at a Lutheran Wilderness Camp in Montana when I was a college student, and several of the staff came from Luther and Gustavus Adolphus.