Help an overwhelmed gal on her college journey!

I’m adding Bucknell in PA to the list (sorry I missed it if someone else already suggested it). Then definitely check out Wake Forest and Washington & Lee to see if they appeal. Plus I’ll second the PA schools on @AustenNut 's list, Gettysburg, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Lehigh, Lafayette especially. Beware some of these schools aren’t super easy to get to if you don’t have a car.

You’ve done a terrific job in high school and should be able to get into many places. Kudos to you - you’ll do well in life wherever you end up. As others have said, finances might be the issue, so run NPCs and see what’s available for merit aid.

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You’ve gotten some great additional suggestions here. Bucknell meets 94% of financial need and Washington and Lee meets 100%. Both are classified as rural, which is why they didn’t make my list which was focused on suburban schools. As @Eeyore123 mentioned, there are also universities in urban locations that have a defined campus and “traditional” college feel. Once we hear from @heartwood about budget and willingness to expand from her original parameters, we can definitely provide additional suggestions.

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Gotcha - makes sense - though I’d consider Gettysburg and Dickinson as rural as Bucknell personally.

Really surprised that you listed Providence as meets need. That must be a recent change. Providence is a common app from our MA high school but almost no one actually goes there because the aid is so poor. Around here it’s known as an easier to get into alternative to BC but only for rich kids because their aid is so poor. Glad to hear that’s changed.

Are there any particular general areas that you are more or less likely to be interested in? Keep in mind that some majors (particularly in the sciences or engineering) have prerequisite sequences that must be started in the first semester of college to ensure on-time graduation if you eventually choose such a major.

If you do make NMSF and then advance to NMF, that will open up large scholarship possibilities at more colleges.

Be sure to check the net price calculator on each college’s financial aid web pages to get an idea of what it may offer you for financial aid. “Meet need” promises vary, since each college can have its own definition of “need”.

You may want to check how it defines “need”. “Meet need” is easy to game – a college with poor financial aid can “meet need” by defining “need” very stingily. In a way, it is like taking a test and then setting the grading scale so that an A grade requires the score you just got on the test.

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Per the College Board, the most current data shows Providence as meeting 91% of need. Of course, it may be that Providence calculates need in such a way that its estimate of what a family can pay is distinctly higher than what another university’s estimate might be. That’s why it’s so important to run the NFCs at each school when helping to narrow down the list. But meeting the 91% number meant that I thought it should at least go into consideration to see if OP has a good feeling about it and wants to research it further.

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Don’t lose sight of the fact that OP is inclined to LACs and interested in a rural/suburban location. S/he likes Williams, a super rural college.

W&L is in a small town, that’s in easy walking distance to campus. Like, walk 50 feet off cpus and you are in the heart of the town. VMI is also in Lexington, so there are approximately 5,000 college students in the town.

I live in a rural, small town, and we support one coffee shop. Williamstown supports one coffee shop. Lexington has enough critical mass to support 3. (That’s my back-of-the-envelope way to compare small towns :slight_smile: )

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The OP also doesn’t like the political climate in FL. I don’t think that W&L would be a good fit.

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W&L, and Lexington are quite liberal, in a conservative part of the state. Posters saying it’s a conservative school are probably thinking of its historical reputation, npt what it is currently like.

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Eta: confused threads!

If you like Dartmouth and Williams and the idea of a LAC, how about looking at Davidson College? Once nicknamed Dartmouth (or Amherst) of the South, it has a pretty New England style campus attached to a cute college town less than 30 minutes outside of Charlotte. Rigorous academic focus with an extremely strong alumni network w/D1 sports and nice weather w/very mild winters. There is Greek life (non residential frats for the guys and self selecting eating clubs for women along with a Latina sorority) but the Greek life doesn’t dominate the social scene like at some schools and parties are open to the entire student body. It’s a reach school but an easier admit than Dartmouth or Williams, and Davidson is making a strong effort to increase diversity on campus. Admissions is need blind and does offer some scholarships though they are quite competitive to get.

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