<p>So basically I'm looking for colleges that aren't necessarily prestigious, but very intellectual liberal arts schools. Right now, my favorite schools are Swarthmore, Bard, and Wesleyan but I definitely need a longer list than that. I want to find a nice distribution of safeties, matches, and reaches. Since I unfortunately don't qualify for FA but my family is not loaded, a school with good merit scholarships would be nice too.</p>
<p>Rhodes fits the bill. Generally, if Swarthmore, Bard and Wesleyan are reaches, then Rhodes is a match. Offers good merit aid. Level of Academic Challenge per the National Survey of Student Engagement is higher than top 10%.</p>
<p>Ranked roughly in order of decreasing selectivity:</p>
<p>Reaches<a href=“don’t%20know%20for%20sure%20without%20your%20stats”>/u</a>
Swarthmore (very few merit scholarships)
Wesleyan (few if any merit scholarships, as far as I know)
Carleton (very few merit scholarships)
Reed (the most intellectual college in the country, according to Loren Pope; few if any merit scholarships)</p>
<p>Lower Reaches/Matches<a href=“don’t%20know%20for%20sure%20without%20your%20stats”>/u</a>
Grinnell (some merit scholarships *)
Bard (i don’t know about their merit scholarships if any)
Oberlin (i don’t know about their merit scholarships if any)
Macalester College (a few small Merit scholarships)
Colorado College (some merit scholarships)</p>
<p>Probably Matches<a href=“if%20Swat,%20Wes%20are%20realistic%20reaches”>/u</a>
Lawrence University, Rhodes, Beloit (some merit scholarships)</p>
<p>Possible Safeties<a href=“depending%20on%20where%20you%20live,%20your%20finances%20etc.”>/u</a>
SUNY Geneseo, St. Mary’s College of MD
[your state flagship university]</p>
<ul>
<li>I say “some” merit scholarships, not “great” or “good” because that depends on your standards not mine. You can check each school’s Common Data Set for average size of merit awards. For the ones I say offer “some merit scholarships”, the average tends to run around $10-12K.</li>
</ul>
<p>I’m gonna give you only PA schools, since my state seems to be home to 1000 colleges :)</p>
<p>Haverford (Not as well known as swarthmore, but a college with a great, non-traditional atmosphere)
Bucknell (A great, somewhat selective LAC)
Lafayette (Really friendly, close-knit atmosphere, great study abroad and internship programs, professors are really approachable)
Muhlenburg (A bit preppy, but very quaint w/a nice community feel)
Gettysburg (Nice campus, great historial sites, cool rustic looking town)
Moravian (In the heart of Bethlehem, amazing at christmas time)
Dickinson (Solitary, pretty cool area, good academics)</p>
<p>Not sure about merit scholarships for all of these… i’m pretty sure they all give decent merit for the top students. I know Lafayette, Moravian and Muhlenburg give merits.</p>
<p>^ That’s just PA. There are many others in the upper midwest, a few on the West Coast and here and there in the South, and lots of them in the Northeast more generally. My list focused on schools I thought might appeal to somone attracted to Swat, Bard, or Wesleyan (artsy/intellectual, understated Greek and intercollegiate sports scenes, politically lefty/lib). But other folks may have a different spin.</p>
<p>I like tk21769’s list a lot, it includes most of my suggestions. I would also second Haverford from Mare_Crisium’s list. The rest were a bit too preppy for my taste’s (as someone whose first choice was Wes), but the OP’s goals might be different than mine.</p>
<p>Some others I’d suggest looking into from the East Coast:</p>
<p>–Vassar: Probably another reach-ish, if Wes is. A lot like Wes, both in feel and selectivity, but there are plenty of people who get into one and not the other. IMO, in most cases if a person has one as a top choice, they will probably like the other at least enough to have it on their list. </p>
<p>–Hampshire: Probably a match, maybe even heading towards safety depending on your stats and how much you like it and can convey that. A very unique academic system, but it might appeal to you (it tries to stress intellectualism – people get comments from their profs, not grades, for instance). Depending on what you’re interested in, and how much a non-traditional academic structure appeals to you, this could be a great fit. However, I do have a friend who transferred out despite really liking it, because he felt the sciences weren’t strong enough in his area of interest, so if you’re into science, you should probably look very closely at your specific major. OTOH, he claims that he did more writing in his Frehshmen year at Hampshire than he even did at Wes, despite taking a fair number of social-sciences courses, so there you go. </p>
<p>–Goucher: A safety, and I think it gives a fair amount of money to top candidates. Very pretty school.</p>
<p>Some other schools from the West coast:</p>
<p>–Pomona: Another reach, but awesome. If you like the consortium, there’s also Claremont McKenna (though it gets accused of being more pre-professional). Pitzer and Scripts would be more matches or low matches. </p>
<p>–Occidental as some sort of match.</p>
<p>Almost all of the remaining all-girls seven sisters get praised for their intellectualism. I really wasn’t into the all-girls thing when I was applying to schools, but if you’re willing to do that, they might be worth looking into, as well.</p>
<p>Kalamazoo College is right in your sweet spot. It has a very intellectual but laid back vibe, but it’s not ultra-selective and it gives good merit scholarships. If you are interested in study abroad it is renowned for its overseas programs. And notwithstanding the funny name and the fact it’s in Michigan, it has a great reputation (and a very attractive campus, too).</p>
<p>
I’m so glad you mentioned that. Southern LACs get little love here.</p>
<p>Davidson is probably your best bet in the South. My alum interviewer for Chicago turned out to be a professor at Davidson, and he spent 50% of the interview trying to convince me to come to Davidson. As he put it, it has the intellectual rigor of Chicago with a superior social life. </p>
<p>Other suggestions:</p>
<p>Agnes Scott (if female)
Centre
Guilford</p>
<p>Knox, Denison, and Wooster are your best options for merit aid in the Midwest. About 80% of Wooster students get merit aid, if I remember correctly.</p>
<p>Davidson is pretty good at basketball…</p>
<p>Mare listed dome good PA schools but forgot Ursinus. It has a great rep for merit aid.</p>
<p>For someone competitive for Swarthmore, Ursinus is a great high safety.<br>
I hate to mention any school as a “Safety” unless the accept rate is 75%</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Then there’s Hendrix (Arkansas). Or New College of Florida. Both are probably low matches/safeties (again, if Swat or Pomona is an appropriate reach, and depending on your financial situation and location).</p>
<p>Davidson/William & Mary</p>
<p>Oberlin fits your discription and offers merit scholarships. If you have the stats for Swat then you can probably consider Oberlin a match if you write a good “Why Oberlin” essay.</p>
<p>I second Oberlin, given the OP’s criteria.</p>
<p>For 2008-09, according to Common Data Set figures, Oberlin awarded merit scholarships to 244 first-time full-time freshmen who were determined not to have need (out of 755 freshmen). Average award was $11,019.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>…not MY criteria!</p>
<p>Haverford as a very selective school
Juniata, Susquehanna, Drew, Goucher, Alfred, Hobart and Alleghenny as less selective</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all of your help. </p>
<p>My superscored SAT is CR: 750 M: 700 W: 690 comined 2140
GPA: 4.1 out of 4.25
AP Scores: Art History 4 Euro 4 (those were sophomore year)</p>
<p>By the end of junior year I will have taken 5 APs and by the end of senior year I probably will have 9 or 10. </p>
<p>My EC’s are pretty good. I’ve been swimming all my life and have place 13th at states. I work for a political magazine the Young Idealist, writing and editing. I am also Science Olympiad and have won several state medals. In addition I participate in Math League. I have maybe 200 hours of community service that are dedicated to tutoring at an all girls school for underpriviledged girls and also leading the 4th grade science olympiad team. </p>
<p>Last summer I interned at the Lieutenant Governor’s Office in addition to participating in a CTY Summer Program. </p>
<p>If you really had to ask me what my passion is it would be reading anything.</p>
<p>I have absolutely no hook as I am a female WASP.</p>
<p>Bump
10char</p>
<p>For a female WASP in the echo boom years, the competition will be stiff, so you are right to seek a good distribution of safety/match/reach schools. But your qualifications are very strong, so if you do this, you ought to be happy with the outcomes.</p>
<p>Other suggestions:
At the reach end, Brown and Rice. Neither of these are LACs, but both are sometimes described as LAC-like. A small university gives you some opportunities a LAC can’t provide.</p>
<p>Any idea what your major might be? I see an interest in math, science, and art history, so architecture comes to mind. Rice has a highly-regarded architecture school (as well as good liberal arts & sciences). It has been fielding teams year after year in the Department of Energy’s annual “Solar Decathlon”. This is an example of what I mean by a small university sometimes providing opportunities a LAC cannot. Wherever you look, it’s a good idea to check out opportunities for research projects and internships, which can make all the difference in your employment prospects after graduation.</p>