Overlapping with other posters, I’d suggest you look into Kenyon, Connecticut College, Barnard, Smith, Middlebury, Grinnell, Hamilton and Amherst. From this group, Smith, Grinnell, Hamilton and Amherst have essentially open curricula. Hamilton and Grinnell are recognized for their strength in math. Kenyon and Hamilton have some Greek presence; in Hamilton’s case it is non-residential.
Interest in science won’t be all that helpful (unless you applied to a school like WPI that’s STEM-focused and disproportionately male). Being female makes admissions a little tougher at many LACs, which often have more female applicants (of those which have been brought up, Bates, Conn, Vassar, and Midd especially).
If you wanted to include universities, check these out too:
Brown
U of Rochester
You need at least good scores and grades to get into all of the schools I have mentioned. Amherst and Brown are reaches for everyone – very selective.
Go to the website for Connecticut College. They are a small liberal arts school in New London. They do have a generous financial aid package and next year test scores will be optional. They allow students to be individuals able to forge a tailor made path. And yes, I am an alum.
@DraFabu As a student at Connecticut College, I’m a big fan, but it’s super weird for a poster to come on and do nothing but recommend one specific college. Are you going to do anything else on CC?
I am a CC alum and just found and signed up to this forum today. I could rave about CC because it is truly a phenomenal place but was not sure about the ‘parameters’ of posting and through the succinct would be best. Great to see the CC logo as your pic!
What have your experiences been like at conn college? I will definitely consider it. Would love to learn more about it from a current student and alum
PS how is the diversity there? (Both racial and economic)
Also open to women’s colleges
I’m only an incoming freshman, so my direct experience with the school is pretty much limited to visits and filling out the enrollment guide.
It’s similar in economic diversity to most of the other LACs mentioned (about 50% get FA, and 50% can somehow afford 250k for undergrad). They meet need for all students and don’t include loans above the Stafford amounts in packages.
It’s honestly not very ethnically diverse, although I get the feeling they’re trying to change that; many of their “essays that worked” on the admissions page relate to ethnic identity.
I second the mention of Smith for women’s colleges. Wellesley is also strong in the sciences, and while my politically active sister goes there and has certainly found her niche, I would say it’s more subdued than m say, Vassar. Really excellent financial aid, though, since it has a huge endowment. You might also be interested in Bryn Mawr, though I don’t know all that much about it.
Go back to step one, and listen to @Gumbymom and all the other posters who said this: ask your parents to run the Net Price Calculator for at least 2 of the schools mentioned above. Ask them if they are willing to pay that amount*.
Hand on heart, every single spring there are heart-broken students and families who suddenly work out that they can not afford the Dream school (or even the Good Enough school- and sometimes even the If That’s The Only Choice school) that the student has just been accepted to. Nobody thinks it’s going to be them, everybody thinks that ‘it will work out’- and then it doesn’t.
Note that 1) there is no guarantee that is the actual amount they will pay- it is designed to give you a good idea, not a to-the-penny; 2) there are factors that can make it less accurate (divorce situations, owning your own business, owning more than one house or property.
You sound like you would like Oberlin, Wesleyan, Hampshire, U of Rochester, Earlham and College of Wooster and Skidmore. You have to check out the websites and see if they appeal to you. Also, since you like women’s colleges, check out Mt Holyoke, Bryn Mawr and Smith
Will do but will not post info here atm
As a rising junior, if you are someone who likes to let things to come to you as you move through a process it would make sense to take some SAT and ACT practice tests this summer to figure out which test you are better suited for. Then you can begin to prep to take exams stating in the Fall of 2016 or early Winter of 2017.
if you are able to reach your target score (whatever that may be for the schools you are most interested in attending) then you’ll be done with that portion of the process and you can better narrow your search list with an appropriate amount of target, reach and safety schools.
My twin D17’s took this path, were able to get the ACT wrapped up in the Fall of their Junior Year and were able to both have a better sense of which schools made sense to visit spread over their Junior Year and were able to then focus on Junior Year grades and SAT 2’s instead of trying to do everything at once - there isn’t only one path, but this has made sense for them as they are now rising Seniors in the midst of visiting again and interviewing at their short list and can’t wait to make the decision as which of these schools to apply ED at.
They also focused on mostly NE liberal arts colleges, but have also expanded their search to Pennsylvania and some Midwest schools - lots of great choices out there.
So I really live in RI so the public option isn’t as good as UMASS. Also- I wish to have a strictly modern program, maybe with jazz. PS IM A SENIOR AND FREAKING OUT. Thought being a junior would make me look more put together
I am a minority and would feel left out at places like conn college
Does that mean I’m looking in the wrong place?
If you haven’t already done so you’ll want to sign up for the September SAT and October ACT - those are the next available dates. Then you could always take the SAT again in November and The ACT in December if you aren’t happy with your scores - but first things first.
You are definitely not looking in the wrong places - look at the incoming freshman student profiles and you’ll see very diverse environments at many of the small LAC’s - Amherst and Swarthmore are standouts and add in Smith and Wellesley if you would be interested in all women colleges, but there are many others.
Also look at Vassar, Wesleyan and Tufts for great arts programs.
Relax. 
You’ll find a good group of friends wherever you go (as long as you are personable, respectable, don’t stay in your room 24/7, etc.).
Knowing what you want in a school is simply about knowing yourself. Based on your answers to my questions in #3, I responded with a list, and added two more (Brown and U Rochester).
The schools I listed are reach and match schools for most very good students with unweighted GPAs in the 3.7-4.0 range, SATs of about 1350+, and ACTs of 30+.
If you are such a student, then you have found potential reaches and matches among the schools I listed. If so, Connecticut College would probably be a match for you – like Beloit, Whitman, and Hampshire. Other schools at that level include Trinity (CT), Lawrence, Dickinson, Gettysburg, St. Olaf, Skidmore, Kalamazoo, Earlham, and Bard, among others.
Read about the schools listed in this thread – look at photos and read about their academics, social scenes, environments, political scenes, etc. Figure out which fit you best.
At the same time, cultivate a list of safeties – you want at least one, preferably two (or more…), schools that are virtually a lock to admit you and which you could surely afford. Pick an in-state school and maybe UMass-Amherst, which you are already considering, as potential safeties.
Every school you apply to should be a school you 1) Like and fit well with, and 2) Can afford without taking on too much debt. This requires a bunch of research on your part. But if you do it, you are more likely to be happy going away to college, not sad because you’re stuck with a school you don’t like or one that requires lots of debt.
To find out if you “fit” with a school, read about it. There are a bunch of good school suggestions on this thread to get you started.
To find out if you and your parents could afford a school, run the Net Price Calculator for each school that holds your interest.
Posting in here was a good move. Begin your advised due diligence now, and you’ll be fine.