One other thought @rjjxv26 How well regarded is your hs? What does Naviance history predict? A kid with those stats at a top hs is going to get in to some of those schools.
That is a very competitive list of LACs and I hope that one or more of them works out. Were there no safety schools other than Binghamton?
If you had to do it again, I would have suggested that you consider adding a couple of lower ranked but still excellent LACs like Colgate, Lafayette, Conn College, Bucknell, Trinity, Dickinson, Skidmore etc. as safer bets.
@swampdraggin, yes I think he would be happy at any of the schools, even Binghamton. My wife went there and got a great education. We think our S would do better in a more intensive student-professor environment than is typically available at a large university. We’re afraid he would end up drifting along as one can do at a big school.
@wisteria100, the high school is a concern. They don’t participate in Naviance, but I know that it’s not as competitive as many local high schools in more upscale communities. I think it would be considered an urban school, though I don’t know how that counts.
Don’t know which schools are still taking applications, but if he likes Wiiliams and Midd, look at St Lawrence for sure. Further away would include Wooster, Kalamazoo, maybe Sewanee or Centre.
Muhlenberg might (not sure) be accepting applications as well and he might qualify for merit aid there, but the school does like to see demonstrated interest.
If you are in NY it is hard to understand not visiting the state university your son lists as a safety. The time to visit the safeties is prior to applying and certainly prior to any decisions about the other schools. If it ends up that he has to consider his safety, I would guess he will hate it no matter what school it is because he will be seeing it after being rejected from the ones he knows he wants. There is a huge disconnect between his desired schools and his safety. I would have thought that Genesseo would be his choice if he had to choose a SUNY-given his other choices. A lot changes in any school in 20 years. I’d not count on impressions of any school that is 20 years old.
In terms of grades and scores, I doubt a lower (but not that low) math score for a student not planning a STEM major would be an issue. Likewise his grades are very good. You seem to be focused on minor differences that wont’ matter (in terms of grades). I agree with other posters about the N for these schools. They are tiny so even if percentages are not terrible for some, the percentages translate into scary numbers. If you are full pay, you son may want to apply to other schools to hedge his bets. That isn’t a suggestion that I don’t think he will get in but I do think it will increase peace of mind. Choose a small private school as a safety! If he, and not you, chose those schools, I would be shocked if he were ok with the chosen public.
Some of those listed in #16 should accept applications till 2/15. Dickinson’s deadline was 2/1, it’d have been a great match since it’s very close to Middlebury in terms of focus on international languages and cultures but less selective.
Muhlenberg has a 2/15 deadline.
http://www.muhlenberg.edu/media/kdmedia/images/muhlenberg_viewbook2.pdf
Because Bing is not a LAC, it wouldn’t be bad for him to try and apply to some LACs still accepting applications. Having a couple matches (acceptance rate 30-40%) and safeties (acceptance rates 40%+) where he’d show interest (emailing admissions is his best bet as of now) would likely yield better outcomes.
At the very least, because his LACs are so selective, you want him to apply to one more safety since all students want to have a choice in the Spring. This would ensure has has Bing and one more safety, so that he doesn’t feel has “has to” go to Bing but “chose” to go to Bing.
Agree with those saying to add one or two less selective lacs asap.
Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions, folks.
I did think about probabilities going into this. If you assume an average probability of acceptance of 25% then applying to 10 schools means your probability of getting rejected by all of them is about 5%. Unlikely. Any probability of acceptance of greater than 40% drives the chances of total rejection down to < 1%. So I didn’t think an N of 10 to be scarily low. But I know this process isn’t as random as coin tosses so perhaps the prudent thing to do is to look into more options.
@MYOS1634, Wow. That is an incredible amount of leg work. Thanks so much!
Great list of colleges above, and if your son can still apply to F & M, it is a great school, on its way up. I recommend it. If your son is happy to apply to SUNY schools, I think he would find Geneseo a great fit, and they will let him in for sure. My D is all about the LACs, and we live in NY? She is a top student, and is happy with Geneseo as a safety. It was designed with LACs in mind, and is the state’s honors college.
I’ve heard on CC that Williams only takes literally a handful of ED deferred applicants per year, so you should assume roughly 5% chances or less. The same is probably true for Middlebury.
While the probability is low, it’s far from impossible or even improbable of being denied at all LACs because they’re so highly selective and unpredictable. Your son has all the “objectives” so it’s certain he makes the first cut, but then the subjectives come in (LORs, essays…). And since he didn’t apply to Holy Cross (which favors classics applicants) or Vassar (where being a boy is as good as a hook), he’s applying unhooked at most of them.
If his school is urban, his teachers/GC may not be used to writing LORs for this level of schools and it may hurt him. I would typically recommend the GC review the whole application but if the school isn’t used to this type of applications and doesn’t have Naviance, it’s quite possible the GC would not know whether something’s amiss or not.
Is he first gen?
I checked and Geneseo doesn’t offer Classics. Otherwise it’d have been a perfect safety - public, instate LAC with high-stats students.
I checked in case Dickinson could somehow be convinced to accept an application on Sunday instead of Monday, but hey’ve received a record-high number of applicants and ED/EA results are looking good (ouch for those late housing deposits and risk of triples, if the trend continues.)
It might still be worth reaching out, I don’t know… here’s their big project that should interest your son:
http://www.dickinson.edu/news/article/1766/east_meets_western_classics
I found another public LAC -inexpensive, high stats- with classics:
http://www.truman.edu/majors-programs/majors-minors/classics-major/
@MYOS1634, thanks for the additional thoughts and research.
My S did apply to Vassar, so he’s got a least one God-given hook.
The GC asked us for a parent letter, which my wife wrote (she’s quite a good writer). We can’t be sure exactly what happened after that but are hopeful that the letter was either turned in verbatim 
or used as a template. I’m confident his two teacher recommendations are very strong. Both are AP teachers who are smart and have been at it for a long time.
Not first gen, so no help there.
Yes, Geneseo has no classics whereas Binghamton does. In fact, Binghamton has pretty impressive faculty in classics, english and history (S’s three areas of interest). But it’s bigger.
Our S doesn’t want to be too far away from home (Maine and Phildelphia are stretching it) so we’re constrained geographically. Also, the schools on his list offer great financial aid. Some schools people have suggested – and I truly appreciate the gesture – simply don’t give a lot of aid.
"If you assume an average probability of acceptance of 25% then applying to 10 schools means your probability of getting rejected by all of them is about 5%. Unlikely. "
Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works.
Agree… something like a glitch in the recommendations or an off-pitch essay could hurt him at all of them. It isn’t like a coin toss at all. And the parent letter… almost no schools request or accept those. Maybe you mean that the GC used that to get to know your son better for the GC recommendation? Also, sometimes colleges call to talk to GCs – a GC not experienced with this type of school could inadvertently say something that hurts vs helps his chances. A lot of things can go wrong – that is why safeties are important.
Right it does not work as straight percentages. Each school is reviewing the same set of materials for a given student. And many of the schools overlap in terms of what they look for. So, the same 25% are likely to be given multiple offers. You want your kid to be one of them obviously. He has a strong record so he probably will be but I’d still recommend he apply to a safety he is likely to be ok about.
Hamilton would be a great match and slightly less competitive than some of the ones your son applied to.
Vassar is his best shot then, in terms of likelihood. Has he demonstrated interest?
If not, he should email admissions and ask to be put in touch with a Classics major.
(He could do that at all of them if he hasn’t already, actually).
Hamilton would be a great pick but the deadline’s passed.
See if you can get him to apply to another LAC, if only so that he has a choice if it comes down to it (other LAC vs. Binghamton). No matter how ok with Bing he is, his academic status means he’s expected to have a choice, and having to say “I have to go to Bing” will hurt, as will the fact he hasn’t “chosen” it. If it’s otherLAC vs. Bing, he’ll have to think it through and really “choose” Bing, therefore convince himself rather than feel he’s stuck.
Lots of good colleges on this list - but, alas, the RD deadlines for many have already passed. Gettysburg was Jan. 15th, for example, and Dickinson Feb. 1.
Two that are coming up (Feb. 15) are Muhlenburg and College of Wooster - no idea if they have classics, but you S should get in with $$$ and if worst case scenario plays out, he would have options other than Bing (which is an absolutely fine school, but NOT a small LAC)
I do think your S will get in to a couple on his list, with Vassar being most likely, but putting 2 or 3 more apps out there at schools a notch down might not be a bad idea.