<p>Someone asked about financial need. We have been saving since she was born so that combined with present day earnings should allow us to send her wherever she is accepted and decides to attend. I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit that the money some colleges wave in your face to attract NM students is very tempting - it can almost make a generous parent greedy when it comes to providing tuition. We are trying to ignore that information and just let her find the school hopefully "perfect" for her, regardless of any money she might or might not receive.
We have asked her about womens' colleges, which we thought would be a good fit for her, and she does not seem interested. She wants the college to be co-ed, but I think she is just a slightly conservative/modest girl who wants her living area to be some place she can relax and not worry about running into someone in her bathrobe on the way to the shower!</p>
<p>Oh, well, different dorms differ with respect to the bathroom/shower situation on almost every campus. Here at Chicago we have bathrooms which are shared by a single floor in a house (dorms are divided into houses here), bathrooms which are shared among suites (which are pairs of rooms in certain dorms, e.g., Max P), or bathrooms which are attached directly to a specific room (e.g., some rooms in the Shoreland). I'm sure it is like this at almost every school.</p>
<p>You should look at schools in which she is interested otherwise, and then check out the housing situation after that. If a few schools stand out in every other respect it'd be hard to make that argument that she shouldn't attend them because the shower situation might not be the most convenient.</p>
<ul>
<li>not too large</li>
<li>great campus</li>
<li>single sex dorms</li>
<li>most students live on campus all four years</li>
<li>excellent science opportunites (including new science facility opening this year)</li>
</ul>
<p>Many who visit fall in love with the place.</p>
<p>Everyone's plugging the East Coast LACs, and I agree they sound great for your daughter (especially Dartmouth, because I go there, and its amazing). </p>
<p>But, when I read your posts, one of the first schools to come to my mind was Scripps College, one of the Claremont schools in CA. Its a women's liberal arts school, and very small (~200 per year), but it shares a campus with 4 other very good co-ed schoos, so she certainly won't be without guys, they just won't be living in her dorm. She would have access to really really top-notch math and science at Harvey Mudd. Academically, it would be a safety for your daughter, and if she is in fact a NMSF, she will probably get a letter from them inviting her to apply for their JES merit scholarship - one girl gets full tuition, room & board, money for books, airplane costs paid, literally everything. About 40 or so girls are offered half-tuition (~$17,000/year). The only thing you have to do to be considered for the award is to submit your application by november (though it doesnt count as early, as you dont find out til april. she can still apply early somewhere else).</p>
<p>I graduated from U Mich Ann Arbor and I do NOT recommend it for anyone UNLESS
-they are in-state
-they are in honors college
-they are going there for a specific program like music, engineering, nursing, etc.</p>
<p>It is HUGE and easy to get lost in the crowd.</p>
<p>I would actually not bother looking at USC (which was suggested as a safety in one of the first responses). They are in the middle of LA, have a very small campus, encourage specialization, and only guarantee housing for two years. I had a fine experience there, but it doesn't sound at all like that's the sort of school that your daughter is looking for.</p>
<p>I would definitely second Brown as an option, though.</p>
<p>I would second Scripps (as a student). It was the first college I thought of when reading your post. She might also want to look at Pomona. Everything garrrrr said was pretty much dead on, though the Joint Science Department (through Scripps, Claremont McKenna, and Pitzer) is also quite good. She would have her pick of classes at the JSD, Mudd, or Pomona science centers while also being able to dabble in her other interests. Great well-rounded liberal arts education. I think she would most likely be a finalist for the JES Scholarship (they fly you to campus in February for a weekend for interviews), and her chances of getting one likely. Students with JES also tend to receive preferential financial aid packages (student loans replaced with grants).</p>
<p>I think Duke sounds PERFECT for her...unless she doesn't want to go to school in the south, everything matches what you want in a college. It has ~6800 students, I just finished filling out the housing request and you can ask for a dorm that has floors segregated by sex, has a real "campus" feel, students are actually required to live on campus for the first 3 years and many decide to stay on campus for senior year, it isn't really in a "college town" but there is a direct bus line from Duke to Chapel Hill, which is a great city...plus it's close to Raleigh, I'm not sure about the science or language programs (and I could be biased here) but all of the programs are excellent...and if she decides to go pre-med there is no better place to go (Duke has around an 85% placement in med school). Also, Duke is very laidback and everyone I have met there has been extremly friendly and she could most likely play in the orchestra (I could be wrong but I've heard it's pretty easy to join).</p>
<p>Washington and Lee, davidson. W&L just built a new music center, is a very friendly campus, small classes in which professors are known to have personal relationships with students, nice college town, living on campus a requirement for two years, around 2000 students. everything your daughter is looking for.</p>
<p>In my opinion, USC and Scripps would not be best for a midwest girl from a small town. LA can be a little overwhelming. The types of girls at Scripps would be fine, but the location is in the LA suburbs. Some of the other schools suggested sound fine. She should stick with a small LAC and perhaps would be happiest in the midwest or south.</p>
<p>I would respectfully disagree with the above poster, at least about Scripps. I'm from the midwest (a small town) and attend Scripps and don't find it to be very overwhelming. Because Claremont is a suburb located 40 minutes from LA it doesn't feel at all like you are in the city. In fact, Claremont can actually feel rather small compared to many colleges I visited. The village (center of town) has a number of small shops, a Starbucks, a phenomenal ice cream place, a few expensive restaurants and a few affordable cafes. Not at all what one would expect from a suburb of LA.</p>
<p>That's not to say Scripps would be the right fit for her, but she should visit if she can to get a feel for it (before/after acceptance). From the opinion of one small-town Minnesotan, Claremont is a far cry from the so-called overwhelming feeling of LA.</p>
<p>A financial safety in the midwest: Truman State University. It's a public liberal arts college in Missouri, it's inexpensive (even for out of state students), and it fulfills almost all of your daughter's criteria. She would probably get a full-ride.</p>
<p>As a Notre Dame grad, I would second the suggestion to check it out. It has a definite "campus" feel, single sex dorms, and an incredible nurturing environment. They especially like to admit high-achieving students like your daughter who clearly stand out in a crowd.</p>
<p>But as a small town kid myself - my hometown is 1/10th the size of yours (but now live in Chicago suburbs) - I caution you about jumping into the deep end of the Ivy/East Coast LAC thinking without first asking yourself, and your daughter, about what kind of environment she truly wants. The pressure cooker environment of some colleges on the east coast - just look at the symptoms exhibited in many postings on this site - can be overwhelming for some. However, some of those same schools can be like miracle-gro fertilizer to a fertile mind hungry for the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the top academics and students in the country. It depends on what "fits" best for your daughter.</p>
<p>There are a number of Midwestern colleges and universities that offer an excellent education on par with anything you can get at an IVY, but do so in a campus atmosphere that may seem more comfortable for a typical Midwestern girl. Northwestern, Chicago, WUStL, etc. plus "colleges that change lives" like Knox, etc.</p>
<p>I too am going through this same evaluation with my daughter. We've looked at a variety of colleges from east to west and although she absolutely loved some Boston area and California schools, her focus is now back here in the Midwest. She wants the national student body, but on a Midwestern campus. She wants to be challenged but not be obsessed about the "right" college or major. </p>
<p>I've told the story before of my nephew who was an overachieving student at a small rural high school who was waitlisted at Harvard (and later offered full admission with scholarship $$) yet chose Bradley University in Peoria and has never regretted it. He already has a part-time job at Caterpillar with an offer to work in international marketing full-time after graduation. He couldn't be happier. </p>
<p>When I talk about college now with my daughter, we talk about the "right fit" rather than the "right college" and I couldn't be happier. (Disclaimer: However, I'm sure I'll still lose more hair and patience during the whole application/acceptance dance this coming winter.)</p>
<p>Ha, the single sex dorm reminds me of Balch hall at Cornell.</p>
<p>The huge hall was donated under the condition that it would always be a women's residence. It's the nicest dorm on campus, it's absolutely huge, and if you request a single, and single sex housing..I know people that got doubles as a single, complete with two closets, and sink room.</p>
<p>It seems to fit academically....but you said you were looking for small to mid sized schools. If your daughter is ok with 13,000 undergraduates (it really does feel smaller) take a look. </p>
<p>What about MIT? They even have a living group dedicated to German, as well as an internship program in Germany. AND students at MIT can cross-register for additional language classes at Harvard.</p>