@chardonMN That’s a lot of good info about Tulane. And she was pretty clear that dance could be important to her. Still need to talk to our GC about why the acceptance rate from our school seems a little off. At least Southwest flies to New Orleans. That’s a plus!
ETA Sorry, I cross posted with @homerdog’s “let’s move beyond employment post” but I’ll leave the below to reduce confusion in case someone responds.
@Publisher wrote,
Perhaps you misread the Carleton tables. What they actually show for the June Senior survey was 72% with full time jobs lined up and only 6% still searching.
My most recent grad, who did not attend Carleton but graduated from a peer LAC, would have been in the 6% as of June because she changed her career plans senior spring. By September she had a good job and three months later is anticipating a promotion after the holidays. LAC grads do get good jobs, and the days when a recruiter has to drive to campus for hiring are long gone.
To find employment information for individual school google “X College employment outcomes” or “X College postgraduate outcomes”
Bates: https://www.bates.edu/purposeful-work/outcomes/
St. Olaf even has a searchable database so you can see exactly where history majors are employed.
https://www.stolaf.edu/apps/recentgradsurvey/index.cfm
I agree that waiting on actual test scores is important.
I thought my D20 wouldn’t get higher than a 30 on the ACT, and after a prep course (she took it twice, after taking advantage of the guarantee that you would be satisfied with your score), she scored a 33. Her practice tests never went higher than 28. We were both stunned! It opened a lot of doors for her, and was unexpected.
She took the test in the summer between junior and senior year, which I think also helped. It’s still early days for your daughter. Good luck.
Based on her early list of colleges and factors in choosing, I would stay away from honors colleges as most do not give you the small and intimate environment as most of the other private, smaller colleges. For example, ASU’s Barret honors college has 7,000 students and the overall college 50,000. There is no way to replicate the same college experience at say a Wake Forest, Colgate, or Elon by going to Barrett. The experience will be night and day.
I know honors colleges market themselves as getting the best of both worlds but I’m not convinced the 4 year education is the same at all.
@roycroftmom I agree. We will have scores from this test on 12/24. She is signed up to take another ACT in Feb. We will make a plan depending on the Dec scores. Looks like a tutor is in her future for sure.
We can visit Denison and St. Olaf without final scores I think. I think her final ACT score will make each of these schools pretty safe even if she ends up at 28/29. I need to consider that could be a possibility. Wake and Bates are also test optional. I think I haven’t let my brain go there because I think she’s capable, we know a lot of kids who started low and gained five/six points just by continuing to study and taking more tests, and I’ve also been in touch with a local tutor who I think could be our answer to D breaking 30.
I want to make these flights to NC, though, before the prices go up.
I agree. We started too early in our visits. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Try to find ways to visit 2 or 3 schools at a time. Make sure they’re different in size, location, etc. It won’t take too long to get a vibe for what type of school your daughter likes.
@socaldad2002 I completely agree with your assessment of honors colleges. I spent days looking for honors colleges for S19. Before that, I thought honors college meant “small LAC in a bigger environment”. It never does. Some are more intimate than others. Some hardly offer anything more than a nicer dorm and priority registration.
While you don’t need any more schools on the list to visit, you should research the dance program at Conn College, maybe to compare to other lacs. They are also test optional, give merit, have a good academic rep along with being a social type of school. Could be a good one to research and have on the list as aback up
@Publisher Bates has a very good and popular dance program. OP has stated that Colgate is a strong contender, which clearly doesn’t have warm weather. So I’m guessing that her D is open to cold weather options for the right school.
Bates has NO Greek life though. There’s a lot of school pride, which isn’t the same as rah rah spirit. While it’s definitely a great school, whose grads have excellent career prospects/high grad school acceptance rate/fellowships opportunities/etc…I think it sounds less and less like the right fit for OP’s D, despite it’s proximity to her S at Bowdoin.
As far as jobs and LACs, I think I’m going to scream if one more person implies that kids in humanities/social sciences at LACs don’t get proper job offers, or don’t have good opportunities to research.? Those ideas are flat out WRONG. I’m not trying to brag, but my own kid has been offered a stupidly well paid job post grad, which she probably won’t take, and she has upcoming interviews for paid research positions at a prestigious hospital. Her BF, also in humanities, will be working at a major investment bank post grad. Her good friend has been doing research since sophomore year and had a research position at an Ivy League school last summer. D also did research last summer. Many of her friends are making other plans for grad schools and/or good jobs.
Universities are great for some kids and not for others. Going to a university is not more likely to lead to jobs than going to an LAC. LACs are definitely not for everyone. I think there’s a lot misconception about what LACs offer. They teach kids how to think, mainly. Just like at universities.
Considering your D’s interest in dance I would suggest Dickinson. I have a sophomore daughter there who is part of the Synergy Dance Team. It is an informal team that dances at some of the football and basketball games, as well as having a recital at the end of the Spring semester. If she wanted to do some more serious ballet she could take part in the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet program.
My daughter has thoroughly enjoyed her experience at Dickinson: strong academics, campus is located in a cute, walkable town; close relationships with professors who have offered to write letters of recommendation for some competitive State Department scholarships she is applying for next summer/year, excellent study abroad programs, pretty invested in sustainability efforts (one of the greenest colleges in the country, increasingly diverse student body, etc…
D still has not declared her major (they have until 2nd semester of Sophomore year to decide), but is leaning towards Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies.
I toured many liberal arts colleges with both daughters (oldest one graduated from Dickinson this year) and they also preferred a small campus located within a walkable town. They have enjoyed being able to walk to the local crepe place, noodle shop or independent bookstore without relying on transportation.
I recall 2 campuses located up in a hill (Denison and Connecticut College) that required a shuttle to go into town. They were both cut from the list because of that.
My daughter has some friends from the Chicago area. They fly to Harrisburg airport and the school offers shuttles from the airport and train/bus station during breaks.
Starting next year, Dickinson has increased its merit scholarships. Top one used to be 20K. Now they offer additional merit scholarships of 25K, 30K and 35K. Seems like Diclinson would be a good match school for your daughter with merit potential.
@idiomas thanks for posting! Helpful for sure.
@Lindagaf you know I’m on board with the LAC model. No need to convince me!
@wisteria100 I’ll look at Conn College. At this point, I think the more safeties the better. We can be more serious about the other schools if she gets that ACT score up. 
Oklahoma has a very strong dance program (though not sure how much is available to non-majors) and an Honors College that matches your D’s stats. So amongst large universities that may be one possibility to visit as an alternative to Boulder?
Depending on where her scores turn out, perhaps UNC Asheville? In any case, Asheville is a beautiful town and you will not be far away and could spend a day there.
I agree that honors programs at large universities do not give the same experience as found at LACS (definitely not a worse experience, just different). Both my kids got into UGA honors and would have had excellent academic experiences had they gone there but definitely different from the smaller schools they chose. My nephew is doing great at UGA honors and loves it, but it’s completely different from an experience like Colgate or Davidson.
However, I guess there is a chance that your D may change her mind about some things over the next year and half and could possibly be open to a larger school as she goes about her search. On your southern trip, I do think adding one university might be good for comparison purposes.I would probably look at Clemson over U. SCarolina but maybe research both and see which one appeals more.
My D20 is a dancer and don’t underestimate the impact dance may have on your daughter’s decision. Over the last few years, we’ve been surprised at the various paths others in her studio have taken in weighing the importance of dance. My own daughter changed her mind dramatically on how important continuing dance - and for her ballet with pointe and performance opportunities would be in her college search. Her list changed dramatically from fall of junior year to summer before senior year. Dance programs vary dramatically between focus, performance opportunities and accessibility if you’re not majoring.
Conn College is a solid option. And I know you don’t need convincing, homerdog. 
What type of dance most interests her? If she wants to be on a dance team or do dance cheer that would argue for a larger school. LACs have little to no opportunities in this area. If she’s more interested in modern or ballet but doesn’t want to be a dance major a LAC might be a better option because classes are usually more open to non-majors. Seconding Conn College if she decides to look at LACs. Solid academics and good dance.
Does she have solid summer plans? Would she be interested in the Bates dance festival? It might give her the option to meet instructors from a variety of schools across the country.
Well, first finances are important to us. We are willing to look for the best fit college for D and that might be full pay for us. But (1) maybe she won’t get into her best fit college(s) so we need options and we’d like “safety” schools to give merit or (2) maybe just maybe she will like a school that give merit well enough to save the money and use it for something else. We aren’t dying to pay $300k.
@Twoin18 We know a dancer very well at OK. I believe she’s even double majoring in dance and something else. D danced with her for years. She’s having a very good experience. I’ll seek her out. Good suggestion in the vein of a bigger school, honors program, and dance.
@Darcy123 Yes, I don’t want to underestimate the dance part. It’s a very long story but she danced ballet (and also contemporary and modern) since she was three. Ballet training was Vaganova so pretty serious. She stopped for reasons having nothing to do with her love of dance. I think, if she wants to dance as an EC in college, she needs to get back at it this summer. I will look into the Bates program. She will also have other options close to home. I think she misses dance badly so that’s one reason why she wants to consider it for college but, also, she sees that her brother has found his best friends through running in college and I think he’s telling her that it’s made a big difference for him that he feels like he has a solid group of friends. She could find those friends through dance. She would be content with a contemporary program. Doesn’t need to be ballet.
I know getting into dance classes as a non-major is an issue at certain schools so I’ll need to look closely at how dance works at each school. She would want a chance to perform as well. Looks like it would be an option at Wake and Richmond. Those are the only two I’ve had a chance to look at so far.
The consensus I’ve heard suggests that colleges with BA programs in dance offer greater opportunities for non-majors than those with BFA programs.
@merc81 Our dancer friend at OK started at Indiana as a business major and thought she’d be able to get into ballet classes. She’s a very advanced dancer but they would only let her into beginner classes. She didn’t check this out beforehand and didn’t realize how much she would miss dance. Couldn’t double major at IU. Transferred to OK.