I do not think she will get merit at Tulane. I hear they are moving toward need based aid and kids from our HS with your D’s stats get in…but don’t get merit.
I think she can maybe get merit at Union…I mentioned Muhlenberg but I don’t think Pa schools are on your list.
Just want to put in a plug for St. Olaf. It has so many strengths. My S wanted out of MN but otherwise I’d have been pushing it hard and will tour it with my younger one for sure. Academics are strong there and the kids I know who go there are smart and down to earth.
@chardonMN thoughts on St. Olaf and religion? D is ok taking theology classes and might even think it’s interesting but she’s agnostic. I’m afraid to even bring it up because of the name. Lol. But I do think it’s probably not much different than other LACs that she would like.
From what I understand, the religion requirement can be filled with comparative religion/theology classes or philosophy type courses. We are not religious at all, yet I would easily send a child there. Nice features are size - I think around 3000 which is larger than some LACs - great financial aid, great study abroad, J term, music and math programs are well known and it is a very green campus - has been innovating in that area ahead of the curve. I think the alum network is great in the midwest, as well.
@chardonMN I’ve been looking at St. Olaf this morning. I think I’m going to plan a trip there. We can visit the cousins and the college. I think being near some family would be a plus in her book. We’ve been discussing this morning while she’s at the ACT and I think we are just going to tell her that having schools that offer merit need to be part of the equation and she needs to find at least a few she likes. And we need to go back to W&M. She wasn’t a huge fan last visit but it’s less OOS than some others and such a good school with, no joke, every single thing she wants.
While S19 did not choose one of the schools that gave him merit, maybe D would. Who knows? If we decide to not use ED, then it will be good for her to have options and we really don’t know where she will get in and what she will like best from her options.
@homerdog No worries if the PNW LACs don’t seem interesting, but I just want to correct the impression that they’re hard to get to. Lewis and Clark is about 20 minutes from the Portland airport, Willamette about an hour. UPS is right in Seattle. Whitman is one that would require a connection through Seattle for most, so there’s a bit of extra effort required there. Not saying you should add to the list if they don’t fit, just wanted to clarify.
@homerdog - a safety with good merit that isn’t too much of a safety and really an excellent school is Rhodes College. It’s one of the rare LACs in a city and has extremely strong ties with St Jude’s for research. I highly recommend taking a look if your daughter is drawn to Richmond and Davidson.
I think any of the southern schools, especially those in smaller towns, are going to have more of a religious atmosphere than people in the north are used to. Public or private, there is just more religion in the south. You don’t know if you are going to get put into the ‘religious’ dorm where everyone does go to services every Sunday, if you are going to be in the ‘artsy’ dorm where no one does, but I think there is going to be a more religious atmosphere in general if the school is in the south and if the school has a religious founder.
The California catholic schools on the list are, well, Catholic. Yes, there is religion there. There are BIG churches right on campus and yes, some students do attend. LMU, Santa Clara, and U San Diego will have religious and service requirements. Many options to fulfill those requirements, but remember that a lot of your new friends and classmates will take the ‘traditional’ route and choose religious courses, join religious missions, actually pick the schools because they are catholic schools and want the religious feeling. Everyone is welcome.
The comment was made that a lot of Villanova students already know each other from high school. I think that’s true of many of the catholic schoosl. My kids went to a Catholic high school in Cal and a lot of the students do attend catholic colleges. The Val was accepted to Harvard and Stanford but went to Santa Clara because he wanted a catholic college (and for soccer). My niece went to USD and knew at least 20 students from catholic high schools in the Denver area (not just her hs). She met plenty of other kids too, but many in her core group were friends from her youth activities like sports, children’s choir, summer swim club, etc (both in her grade and those a few years above and below her). Her BFF/college roommate remains her BFF and they both now live in DC (just a coincidence of post college jobs).
My daughter knew TWO other students (from Kindergarten) at her flagship. By the second day she knew 100 other students. One of her K pals lived in her dorm and she rarely saw him. The other joined her same sorority and they remain friends but not BFFs.
Fun, a new journey! The first thing I noticed is that all the colleges on the tentative list lean more conservative in vibe. So is she looking for that type of vibe? I think SCU and Bates might be the odd ones out of those you’ve mentioned, but not too odd. ?
Are you (or is she) interested in merit aid? If so, I think Gettysburg and Dickinson are both worth considering. If she’s interested in Santa Clara she could also consider U San Diego, though I’m not sure how much there is of school spirit there. I do think F & M is a good choice, but there is no merit aid there. The vibe sounds like it might be her cup of tea though.
^Just to clarify, there will be theology course requirements, but generally there will not be service requirements. Santa Clara is half Catholic, USD 40% Catholic, LMU half Catholic. There is a random article that says only 24% of professors at LMU are Catholic. In contrast to SCU/USD/LMU, Villanova’s student body is around 75% Catholic.
I don’t think Davidson is that conservative, at least not as much as W&L.
St. Olaf is a lot less religious than several on your original list. I have an atheist child who felt comfortable applying and whose list was a bunch of non-religious, fairly liberal LACs.
So…again, she’s not looking for conservative per se. Like I think I mentioned earlier, she’s socially liberal but not a SJW about it. She’d be super happy at a place that’s got a little of everything when it comes to politics. Southern schools on the list because she likes the weather and I didn’t think they were too too Southern (except I guess Furman). I mean it’s not like Ole Miss is on the list. Lol.
Villanova’s Catholic number is scaring me a little bit. It is true that the kids we know there went to the Catholic schools in Chicago even though they live out in the burbs with us. SCU, LMU, U San Diego sound like a better fit. D has friends at BC and they are definitely Catholic light. I mean, really, barely Catholic. They aren’t feeling an overwhelming feeling of Catholicism there. I wonder which of the schools on her list feel more like BC. Maybe Villanova does not.
@Lindagaf Glad you’re here! S19 was accepted EA to Dickinson with merit in Jan. He ended up with two other options early (William and Mary with their postcard in Feb and Grinnell as one of the RD kids who got accepted early in Feb) and so Dickinson fell off the list almost right away. Maybe it should be on D’s list. I don’t think I would be able to consider Gettysburg. No one here has applied probably ever but definitely not in the last three years according to Naviance.
In ACT news, she got back and said it was “fine”. Gave a few details about each section but nothing enlightening. At least she didn’t freak out and have any sort of anxiety attack. She is feeling some pressure but seems to be in a good mood so I think it went ok. She’s probably shy to think it went well because she thought the last test went well. She was giddy about it when she came out and her score was way off what she expected. So now she doesn’t trust how she “thinks” she did. Do we think that’s normal? Do kids generally have a feeling about how they did and they’re usually right? I don’t know why she thought the last test was pretty easy and then didn’t do well.
I’d suggest really looking into W&L before making it permanent on your daughter’s list. It would fall into the conservative camp IMO.
@doschicos Agreed!
Since you mention Ole Miss, it might be interesting to visit if you plan to visit Rhodes College.
The Honors Colleges at Ole Miss & at Arizona State (ASU) receive lots of positive reviews.
One of the Big 4 acccounting firms has established fully funded scholarship specialty masters programs at Ole Miss which include an assured job at excellent pay upon graduation. It is possibly the best program in the nation.
Also, Ole Miss has a program designed for future FBI agents.
There is a lot more going at at SEC schools than many realize.
Also, I think that students at Ole Miss are a bit less conservative than those at Furman University. Ole Miss attracts a lot of wealthy kids from Atlanta–especially from the Westminster Schools–easily among the best private schools in the nation & I believe that it has the largest endowment of any private high school in the nation.
P.S. The one SEC school with which I have never been able to connect is the University of Arkansas. But schools like Georgia, Alabama, Auburn & the University of Mississippi have very well established, strong honors colleges / programs.
Plus, Oxford, Mississippi is a great college town. Ole Miss & Oxford provide substantial instruction & support for writers–primarily creative writing. Oxford is overloaded with published authors. Anyone can meet & have coffee or lunch with a number of published authors in addition to college professors.
OK. I’ve been talking to my H and he feels strongly that she should go to school somewhere that has some serious career services. I would argue that the schools on her list all do fine in this category but he sees her as non-STEM, undecided and that’s worrisome especially for the full pay schools. He threw out Northeastern. While my first reaction was absolutely not, the idea is kind of growing on me. I’ve already mentioned that D is not hyper intellectual like S19. While she’s said she wants a pretty traditional experience, I’m not sure she wouldn’t be open to at least looking at NEU.
She’s on the yearbook committee at school and it looks like she will be editor next year. It’s a big deal. The yearbook usually wins national awards. That class is like a job with a lot of overtime. The kids have to work together to put that book together. She loves the project mentality in there. I’m wondering if maybe she WOULD like having a few more internships and maybe a place like NEU would give her more chance to try out different avenues since she’s so undecided. I checked out Naviance and it looks good if she can get her ACT to a 31.
Anyone know kids there? I think @RightCoaster 's S17 is there? Hey Rightcoaster! Long time, no see. Want to chime in? How’s going for your S?
I think now is the time to show her all different options. She would get a kick out of being in Boston near her BC friends and S19. Of course, I know NEU doesn’t really have a traditional campus, right? And it’s urban which I’ve said she doesn’t want. But maybe it’s worth a look. It could be a “Dad Add”.
Few LACs place as well as Wash & Lee.
While W&L is conservative, conservative as relative to what ?
Wash & Lee and Davidson College often compete for the same students.
Both are overlap schools for each other and their overlaps overlap.
P.S. Choosing The Right College the ISI Guide–a very conservative publication–likes both W&L and Davidson College and regarded them as direct competitors.
We looked at Northeastern and although it’s a great school…my kid could not get out of there fast enough. It was too urban for her taste and did not seem traditional (as defined by a 16-17 year old). If I remember correctly, there is a campus.
I think Northeastern would be a very good one to add…given their co-op combined with your D’s interests.
@homerdog: If you are seeking merit scholarship money, writing opportunities & strong placement, then you really need to think about the honors colleges / programs in the SEC.
The University Of Georgia Honors Program & Foundation Fellows is the nation’s leader. Lots of positives at Alabama & Ole Miss. A lot more than many of the schools on your current list.
Oxford, Mississippi, home to the University of Mississippi, is among the most liberal college towns in the entire South.
@twogirls I wonder if NEU is like Drexel. I don’t get the feeling it’s quite THAT pre-professional but not sure.