<p>My son is just finishing up 10th grade . I think he knows what he wants , Liberal Arts school. We aren't sure of the size yet. We are from NJ. A short drive one way 3-4 one hours , any suggestions? WE MAY DO 6-7 HORS ONE WAY. We would like to start looking. Thanks, Merit Money would be a great thing.</p>
<p>srinaldi, no shortage of liberal arts schools in New England and the mid-Atlantic area. Let us know more about him -- grades, scores, talents, interests. What kind of environment does he want -- urban/rural/suburban, sporty/nerdy/arsty, fraternities? </p>
<p>Is merit money a must-have or an "it would be nice?" Many of the selective schools on the East Coast are fairly generous with need based aid but it's harder to find merit money so this distinction is important.</p>
<p>Idiomatically, liberal arts colleges (or LACs) are usually assumed to be small (2-3000 students) that only offer limited graduate programs. Of course it's possible to study liberal arts at a large, research university but those are usually not called liberal arts schools. At this point I think it's good that your son is considering different sized schools as they both offer a lot of pluses.</p>
<p>Yes, merit money would be nice, but not a must. He excels at a small Quaker school , a class of 62. They don't rank class . He takes every honors class school has to offer. GPA somewhere around 4.5-4.70. AP Calc his sophomore year. Taking Calc BC next year and also AP physics. All the rest of his classes are honors. His EC are also very good. He loves to write. Journalism may be his major. He is also interested in broadcasting and directing. He swims varsity, his only sport. Is very involved in all the musicals and dramas. He gets pretty good parts. He was Oberon in Mid Summer Nights Dream. There is lots of talent at his school. You'd think you were watching a college production when they preform.
His EC extend far above the few I mentioned. This summer he will be a CIT( councilor in training) at a YMCA camp. After a month of training they ask qualified CIT to return for another month. He asked them how to assure his position (they know him well) they said just don't commit murder and your in. The last few weeks of the summer the camps college help leaves and they have already asked him to come on as a staff member and he'll get paid. He doesn't have time to work during the school year, his days are long enough. He volunteer for every school activity he can.( open house, security at a concert etc. )His school requires 50 hours to be able to graduate. He aleady has his hours. PSAT was 210 as a sophomore. SAT 2130 with no prep class this past May. 660 CR 670 M 800 writing. He is going to take them again next May. SAT II's tested in June Math II and Chemistry still waiting for those scores. S is my oldest so I'm new at this. I went to a trade school and my husband only has 2 years of college. Would my S be a first generation? Thanks for your reply</p>
<p>I forgot to mention. Not sure of size and location yet. I don't see him in an overly large school. Right now he is a large fish in a small pond. He calls his teacher by their first names and even has a few of their cell numbers. I think he'd miss that if the school were to large. He would like some action on campus or close to it. Theater is a large part of his life.</p>
<p>I have no definitive recommendation but I would suggest that if merit money is a factor and your child wants to attend an LAC, you are possibly making a mistake in focusing on schools within a 300 or 400 mile radius of New Jersey. If you are willing to go a few hundred more miles (still driveable but more in the 500-600 mile; 8 to 10 hour range range) you will find more schools at a high level offering merit money; the top northeastern LACs mostly do not give merit money. </p>
<p>One school that might be a very good fit for your son is a little farther away than you seem to want. That is Kenyon, in Gambier, Ohio. Kenyon does give merit money, soemtimes in relatively small amounts ($4,000-$6,000, but with larger merit scholarships for even more outstanding applicants). Kenyon is an excellent and very pretty school with a fine reputation, and is strong in both English and theater. </p>
<p>There are almost certainly other excellent schools in both the Midwest and middle South that might be good fits for your son and offer merit aid. I know Davidson does, and I think Vanderbilt does (both southern); I think Grinnell (another outstanding midwestern LAC) does, though that would be beyond driving distance since it is in Iowa. </p>
<p>The obvious northeastern Quaker choices of Swarthmore and Haverford come to mind as possible good fits but not for merit aid and possibly not with the present SAT scores,either, despite the 800 in writing. You son might well be considered first generation, which would be very helpful in terms of both admissibility and aid.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply. I think he's had enough of Quaker schools. Not that WE all don't love it, but he wants to try someting diff. We will look into your suggestions. He will take his SAT's again. We'll see how he does. Thanks again</p>
<p>Denison Unviersity.</p>
<p>Oberlin, also in Ohio, also gives merit money and is a highly rated LAC.</p>
<p>Washington and Lee may be a good fit. There aren't a lot of NJ students but there are some. It's a small liberal arts school in Lexington, VA about 50/50 M/F, 1700 kids. Lots of us who went to private and prep for high school.</p>
<p>There are several of us on this board who have received the George Washington Honors Scholarship which covers a good chunk of the total cost. CC has a link for W&l under top liberal arts colleges vs. just the alphabetical listings.</p>
<p>Maybe you should consider Haverford as it has a Quaker origin.</p>
<p>LAC with good merit $ that I am aware of:</p>
<p>Skidmore
Hobart
College of Wooster</p>
<p>Skidmore should not be considered a school with good merit aid. While there are some merit scholarships available, particulary in the sciences, the overall thrust of the school is to provide more need based aid.</p>
<p>Skidmore has merit music scholarships available</p>
<p>You can start by visiting some nearby schools in a low-key, no stress way. It's easy to check out colleges in New Jersey, Penn., New York, etc. Pick a large one, smaller one, urban one, rural one. Then just get a feeling for the categories your son might like.</p>
<p>Pick up a copy of the latest Fiske Guide to Colleges and thumb through that when you have time. Many people are fans of Loren Pope's books too. He specializes in raising the profiles of smaller schools that might be overlooked ordinarily. </p>
<p>And keep hanging out at College Confidential! I've been here only six or seven months, and it's amazing the amount of information you can soak up. You'll soon be an effective researcher for your son!</p>
<p>One last piece of advice: Try to enjoy the process. It can be a great bonding experience if done right.</p>
<p>Thanks again To all who reply.</p>
<p>BTW Kenyon has a superior swim team too.</p>
<p>If seeking merit money, your son should be clearly in the upper 10%-20% of the applicant pool for that particular college. You are hearing lots of non-northeastern schools because the LACs in the north east tend to get so many applicants that they do not have to offer aid to draw the top kids.</p>
<p>I suggest you look into some of the girl-heavy schools: Goucher would probably have merit aid and schools like Vassar, Skidmore, & Conn College would probably be fairly good admission bets (though not aid treasure troves).</p>
<p>Merit money can be hard to come by in LACs unless he is willing to be in the top quartile of the peer group and show a lot of interest in an institution. University of Richmond has many Atlantic state students..it was Baptist founded but I notice a lot of Catholic students and also a healthy amt of intern'ls there. They inducted a female into the head chaplain position a couple years ago and she made the service very ecumenical. Local boy won a huge merit there this year but has a state title in the arts and was valdictorian. Dickinson is a very good school in PA.
Roanoke College in Salem is Lutheran founded and a good small LAC. I like Randolph Macon near Richmond as well. I am attended Furman after growing up in Delaware and got a wonderful liberal arts education but it is a more southern student body..very Atlanta/Charlotte based. He would likely be admitted to the University of the South in Sewanee. Perhaps you should look in Florida as well. Elon College in NC is a good smaller college. I like Bridgewater in northern Virginia's corridor an hour plus from DC burbs.
good luck and enjoy these last two years with your son..</p>
<p>I do enjoy every day w/ my sons. My oldest is so busy in his life as a teenager , he is happy that I started doing some of the leg work. Thanks for your reply.</p>
<p>Elon has a program called Junior Scholars (I believe that's the title). Anyway, apply in fall of Junior year. If accepted, the student receives merit money, a non-binding admission, and possibly some other perks. Worth looking into. Elon is a medium-sized (about 5000 undergrads) school, beautiful campus, small classes, alot of new building recently. My older son attended there and loved his 4 years.</p>
<p>Srinaldi, your son has excellent credentials and if he keeps up the good work through his junior year and scores within expectation on his SATs then hell certainly be of interest to many colleges. </p>
<p>So in the next year or so he needs to research his options. At this point its okay to have a list of 25-30 options. Between information on the internet, talking to friends, help from his guidance counselor he should be able to narrow in on about 10 or so that he would like to apply to. The actual number is not important. Some lists are very focused and are shorter. Some are wider in scope, especially with the merit aid wildcard thrown in, and are longer. Hopefully, hell be able to visit some campuses and get a better idea what seems to suit his personality.</p>
<p>The most important point is that his final list MUST include a good balance between highly selective colleges and those that are easier to get into. The highly selective ones are generally better known. It's the less selectives (safeties) that take more time to research and identify. </p>
<p>From what youve said he sounds like hed like a small LAC where there is great emphasis on individual attention and personalized teaching. There are plenty within your geographic range, but as noted, those in the Northeast are not so generous with merit aid. If theres a possibility that he would be interested and able to swim competitively at college he should begin contacting the coaches in the fall. </p>
<p>Based on what youve told us Id take the look at the following for strong academics, athletics, music and theater, outdoorsy atmosphere: Williams, Hamilton, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Skidmore. Dartmouth is not an LAC but the ambience seems to fit. Id also second Kenyon even though its out of your travel limit. Among these I dont think theres much merit money offered (except Kenyon).</p>
<p>You do need to be clear on your position on merit aid. If its just a plus but not a necessity, then go ahead and allow your son to consider a wide range of schools. When the acceptances come in along with the financial aid offers, you can decide which is best for him and your family. This is common procedure with many families, but I think its important to be honest with yourselves at the beginning that the merit aid isnt really necessary as it can be heartbreaking for a kid to get into their favorite college then be told by his/her parents that they cant or dont want to pay for it. Im not implying that that will be the case with your family just suggesting that you think through the financial situation sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>Good luck and let us know how it goes.</p>