<p>Srinaldi,
I think you should take a good look at Vassar. They do not offer merit aid but their financial aid is good and they will work with you. Depending on where you are in NJ, it is not a long ride at all (unless you are way down in southern Jersey.)
Vassar takes writing very seriously, in fact - students have to submit an analytical piece of writing along with the regular college essay with their application. Their theater department is just tremdous.<br>
Vassar has about 2400 kids. A "large" class has 30 students - most have about 16. Teachers are very involved with the kids. There is no limit to the activities on campus.<br>
Your son's SATs are right in the ballpark.<br>
The only thing is that I don't know that they have a Journalism major. You'd have to check that out.</p>
<p>A friends son is attending Union College in New York and is on the swim team. I believe he is majoring in either computer science or engineering and also plays in their orchestra. He was given a lot of merit money to attend. It's one of those unique LAC's that offer engineering, something that might fit your math minded son.</p>
<p>grinnell. even though it's farther than a 10 mile drive.</p>
<p>Dickinson and Gettsyburg in PA both give merit money to students with stronger profiles than the average student at those schools. Lehigh and Lafayette too. In NY, Ithaca and Marist College give merit aid. In our experience, most in the top 25 do NOT give merit aid. It opens up once you get past the top 25 - but you have to have a profile that can get you into the top 25. Check out some of the previous threads on this board - there were some really good ones on schools that give merit aid. Good luck!</p>
<p>
Washington and Lee may be a good fit. There aren't a lot of NJ students but there are some.
Actually, NJ has lately become a top feeder state for W&L. Last year it was third after Virginia and Maryland. It also does seem to fit some of what you are looking for. It is about 5-6 hours from Jersey (depending on where you live), offers merit aid (the George Washington Honor Scholarships) and has a theater program (a $24 million dollar art and music center is to be completed by September which will connect to the already existing Performing Arts Center).</p>
<p>Since your son is only in 10th grade I would suggest widening his horizons a bit at this juncture in the process. Yes, he may ultimately decide that only a small LAC is a good fit for him and that is where he should concentrate his efforts.</p>
<p>However LAC's can be a poor choice for some students too. Our son applied to a number of LAC and he does not feel that he would have recieved nearly as good an education if he had chosen that route. Faculty resources in many LAC departments are incredibly small, as few as 3 professors. In such departments the breadth and depth of academics is very limited.</p>
<p>Many midsized universities offer as nurturing an academic environment while having vastly more faculty and laboratory facilities at the disposal of their undergrads. The LAC's he applied to had faculties of 5 or less and no labs with much more than a few Sun workstations. At his midsized university the department has 27 professors who participate in 10 research groups, and labs featuring AI research, robotics. computer vision, Cisco networking, parallel computing, etc. And yes, he is on a first name basis with most of his professors.</p>
<p>When I refer to midsized colleges I am talking about colleges like Rochester, Richmond, William and Mary, Tufts, Brandeis, Lehigh, CMU, Case, Ithaca, etc.</p>
<p>Hey! I'd recommend to your son Seton Hill University. It is a co-ed liberal arts school located 35 miles east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Our enrollment is about 1,850 students (40% male, 60% female). With this being a small school we have a 16:1 student:faculty ratio (86% of our faculty hold doctoral or terminal degrees). At SHU we figure the more personal your education is, the better off you'll be.<br>
We have an honors program with housing options and special study abroad programs. Study abroad isn't just limited to honors students though, it is also available for all majors as well. Seton Hill is extremely proud of it's 94% job placement rating and we encourage all students to involve themselves with internships.<br>
If your son is interested in clubs on campus we have over 30 organizations offered, including Seton Hill Government Association. If your son is planning on playing a sport he'd be interested to know that SHU is a member of NCAA Division II, the West Virginia Conference, and we offer a variety of competitive sports for both men and women. If he's choosing not to play a sport but still loves that competitive life style, Seton Hill also has a great intramural program offered for all students.<br>
In regard to financial aid for incoming freshmen students, we offer merit scholarships for Valedictorian, Presidential, Honors and Division Scholarship students. We also have athletic scholarships available for most sports. All told, 95% of undergraduates recieve financial aid. As a student at SHU I can honestly say that Seton Hill made a great effort in creating a financial aid package for me. Financial aid, and merit based scholarships were the determining factor in me choosing to go to Seton Hill University.<br>
If you have time, feel free to check us out at <a href="http://www.setonhill.edu%5B/url%5D">www.setonhill.edu</a> . Good luck with your son's college search! Hope this was somewhat of a help to you! :)</p>
<p>Thanks To All Who Reply. I'm Passing The Info On To My Son. Thanks Again</p>