I thought round 3 of the college search, with DS19, would be easier. I was so wrong! Rounds 1 (DS14) and 2 (DD14 - yes, twins) chose a flagship and CTCL school.
DS19’s requirements seem to be an urban, but self-contained campus (think American, as opposed to GWU), on the smaller side. MUST be diverse and liberal, and wants nothing to do with the SE. (We are in FL) Greek life can be present, but not prevalent. Party/pot culture is a turnoff. Big football culture is a NO. Religious affiliated is a no. International Relations or Global Affairs are major interests currently. Strong Study Abroad program is a must. Schools he didn’t like include University of FL (too big…or something…just hated it before we even got out of the car), GWU (too big and no campus feel), University of Tampa (love the campus, but not the vibe there) and College of Wooster (to my dismay), bc it was too in the middle-of-nowhere (but he liked the campus itself and the people).
32 ACT (33 for the rare school that superscores it) - perfect scores on English and Reading (which tells you about relatively weak math scores!). Likely just over a 3.7 UW GPA after this year (again, math pulls him down). 4s and a 5 on freshman and sophomore APs taken so far. 760 on both Bio and WH SAT subject tests (we weren’t sure whether he would be looking at highly selective schools, so took them last year to be safe.) Will graduate with 10 APs, so rigor is good. Eagle Scout, Senior Patrol Leader, selected as Boys State delegate this summer, co-founder of hs Young Dem Club and President-elect for Senior year, Scout camp ecology merit badge counselor this summer, organizer of his hs’ National School Walkout, NHS, Beta, etc.
We are a “donut hole”(does CC still use that term?) family, so we desperately need merit $ or sticker has to be under $35-40k. This is hugely limiting, obviously. Really can’t afford to apply ED anywhere bc of financial aid and what the NPCs look like. EA is an option of course.
Right now the list looks like this in order of his preference:
~American U (no clue what odds are RD for acceptance or merit $)
~UMiami (an exception to his “no-FL” and no football rule…I think bc our tour guide described a great DC internship with a congressman. It will help that we are in-state and they will give Bright Futures credit to us, and a FL resident discount)
~Occidental (he loves everything about this school on paper, but we haven’t visited and won’t unless he is accepted. Making contact with admissions officer to express interest though.)
~University of Puget Sound (again, sounds great on paper and no visit until acceptance/financial aid offer. I’ve heard it described as very similar to Wooster-vibe.)
~Dickinson (not sure how he feels this is a better location than Wooster, but they seemed to emphasize DC connections when we toured and I think he liked that. Drawback is that it didn’t feel very diverse at all.)
~New College of FL (this just felt a little TOO small and maybe TOO hippy-ish to him…but needs to remain on his list as a financial safety. He prefers it to other FL universities.)
Considering additions of:
~Goucher (worries about location and student retention rate)
~UMass Amherst (not a city, but interesting vibe with 5 colleges there. Great honors college, if he gets in, which would make it more desirable too. Potential for merit. His sister will be in grad school there, so we will visit and decide if it feels too big.)
~Eckerd (again, that hippy feel and he has stayed on the campus in the dorms for a program and was unimpressed.)
~Macalester (I’ve heard a lot recently about high stress there, and it doesn’t appear their merit offers are great, so likely not affordable. But, it checks all other boxes)
~Vassar (not in a city, but close…sort of. Supposedly has a good reputation for merit aid? Conflicting info there…)
If anyone can think of any Boston schools that would fit, I’d love to hear about them! I think he would LOVE Boston, and we know that area well…plus it’s an easy flight! But, I can’t come up with anyplace there that fits. Tufts would probably be a dream school for him…except for the price tag. Really, any suggestions of schools in the NE that fit all of the criteria are appreciated. Chicago area would work too. But, I think I’ve exhausted them all in my research.