The only thing other Brandeis, which is an elite school in many categories, is the work load. Its not really laid back that way and it’s much more about academics than the traditional college experience of the LACs you mention. The campus itself is acquired taste.
The degree itself is worth the effort though and has a really sterling reputation.
It’s trade offs, as you know.
@Halcyon24 Wheaton and many other reaches require CSS PROFILE and noncustodial parent info.
https://wheatoncollege.edu/about-wheaton-college/offices-services/student-financial-services/awards-applications/
Take a look at Towson or Stevenson as well, besides Goucher.
Take a look at Long Island U, in Brooklyn
with merit, too.
https://liu.edu/Brooklyn/Enrollment-Services/Freshman-Scholarships
I know it’s not in the Northeast but Denison University offers a LAC with a campus that feels very classic New England. While it’s in a small town it’s only 30 min from Columbus Ohio and they run regular shuttles to a huge lifestyle center in Columbus on weekends. When my D applied in 2013 the university was Fafsa only, no css profile required. Easier admit than some of the other schools on his list and seems like a great mix of kids. They have used merit to attract some very high stats and capable students.
Denison does participate in CSS Profile now.
https://profile.collegeboard.org/profile/ppi/participatingInstitutions.aspx
I’d take a look at Drew University in NJ. It’s a touch bigger than Goucher, but on the small side. It’s also on the train line to NYC and they offer a handful of semester classes in NYC. They give great merit too.
If he wants urban, Emerson College in Boston? https://www.emerson.edu/admissions-aid/undergraduate-admission/application-process/admission-profile (Run the Net Price Calculator, of course.)
Emerson doesn’t have a traditional liberal arts curriculum. It’s very focused on the performing arts. Most liberal arts disciplines such as math, art history or political science, are minors only.
Manhattan College in the Bronx is a good option if he likes NYC. It’s a small Lasallian Catholic College in a residential area of the Bronx. I think it would be a good fit, they have a 74% acceptance rate, and it’s rolling. It was one of my safeties and I was just accepted with a very generous scholarship. There were no additional essays.
Okay, so here’s the schools we have so far. Keep in mind that I KNOW some of these he won’t get into, but his father insists on applying. He, too, recognizes (I hope) that these are serious reaches. What I want his list to reflect is a good amount of matches and a good amount of safeties.
Reaches:
NYU
Swarthmore
Middlebury
Trinity
Swarthmore
Skidmore
Oberlin
Matches:
Dickinson (more of a Match Reach)
Connecticut College
Bard
Sarah Lawrence
Drew University
Knox College
Kenyon (maybe)
Safeties:
Eckerd
Beloit (maybe)
Goucher
Ursinus
Antioch (maybe–might be too unusual for him)
How does this look? He DOESNT want to apply to some of these schools, like Knox, Antioch, Ursinus and Beloit, but if there is no supp essay and the app fee is low or free, he will. As mentioned in another thread, I am calling these “mommy schools” because I think they might be a fit even if he doesn’t.
sorry connecticut college is more of a reach school.
You may want to look at Clark, which should be a solid bet with his stats.
How about Earlham, which shares the Quaker heritage and value system of Haverford and Swarthmore but might give merit? The International Studies program might be of interest, and there could be merit possibilities.
I know your ex’s thinking is out of your hands, but I don’t understand (at all!) the thinking behind insisting on reach and high-reach applications while being unwilling to contribute to the costs if he should happen to get in. There’s no real rationale for a parent to have authority over college choice, and yet for that parent’s financials to be ignored in the FA calculation.
The risk here is that your son could end up with no affordable option. You’re basically saying that his college savings plus direct loans would cover about half the cost of a private college education. Aiming high and expecting a 50% merit discount are incompatible goals.
Why not some public options? There are high-quality smaller SUNY schools (Geneseo, New Paltz, and others) whose OOS sticker price would be in range. UVM is very popular with students who like a private-college ambience (Burlington is a great college town) - a bit expensive for OOS but he might get merit… and U of Maine (less high-profile but similar in size and vibe) would be guaranteed to be affordable because of their Flagship Match program. UNC Asheville is in a southern state, but doesn’t have a typical southern vibe (or weather).
Have you visited Eckerd? There are many stories of FL kids who are determined to leave the state but then love Eckerd when they visit - and it could be quite affordable with merit and/or Bright Futures. (I’m not clear on whether homeschooling changes anything about BF eligibility?)
So your list is quite short of schools in the NE and near big cities. In your reach group you have Trinity, NYU (really? unlikely to get FA anywhere near the cost) and Swarthmore. In your match group you have Connecticut College, Sarah Lawrence, Drew. Nothing at all in the Safeties. Goucher is suburban and very much so. Most people don’t consider Baltimore the NE.
I’m stumped by choices like Beloit and Kenyon. No where near the NE and not near a city at all. There are a lot of small schools in the NE that would better suit his wish list. If he wants a small LAC, there are some in Florida that would allow him to use his BF and local scholarships (Rollins, Florida Southern, Barry, Lynn, New College of Florida). Almost every Florida school is within an hour of some city.
Almost every school on your list requires the CSS. If the father has no money it might work in your favor to have him complete the CSS, but you said you are the parent who makes the lower income so I’m guessing the father does have some ability to contribute.
Honestly, I don’t think the list looks very reasonable. Most do not meet his wish of NE and urban, and why should he apply to 5-6 schools he has no interest in? For my kids (who were also in Florida for hs) they had a budget and my requirement that they apply to one Florida public. Both applied to ONE school with rolling admissions, got in early, and neither applied to a Florida public (so much for the Mom pick). They knew if they didn’t go to their ONE school they’d have to sit out a year and both were fine with that. Each went to her chosen school on time.
My kids had visited MANY schools, with me and with their uncle, over the years. They didn’t apply to most of them because they weren’t good academic or financial fits. Duke, BC, Air Force academy, Smith, Princeton. Fun to look at, not worth the application fees.
Have you visited Trinity? It’s a beautiful campus, but that area of Hartford is not nice, and there have been safety issues. There also is a worse-than-normal rep for drugs and alcohol abuse. Socio-economically it’s not very diverse. May want to do some research to ensure it’s a good fit.
@Halcyon24 , I’m not nearly the expert on colleges some of the other responders are. But I’ve spend a lot of time this year investigating a lot of colleges in the mid-atlantic and NE. I’m not sure of the aid for these schools, but it would always be in your interests for you to run the NPC for any school.
The SAT/ACT scores give a good spectrum, and your son’s desires help too. I know that to a kid in the south, saying “NE” doesn’t necessarily mean only Philly-NYC-Boston areas – it often means "somewhere not in my state where I might see snow sometimes and a decent sized city. Ignoring a teen’s ability to change their minds on a dime, here are a few suggestions of schools that caught our eyes.
Hofstra - On first blush, it may not fit the very small-school, academic slant of some of the other suggestions. On the other hand, it’s a long subway ride to Manhattan, and his stats might lead to enough merit aid to make this a good financial option. They don’t use CSS.
Loyola Maryland - They may or may not give enough merit aid to work, but it’s in Baltimore which should give him the city vibe he seeks, it’s not a huge school, and it is an appealing setting.
Drew - Already mentioned here. I like this as an option for his parameters, if not a guaranteed financial fit. No CSS.
Macalester - a bit of a reach for his stats, but if accepted they might help financially. No, it is not in the NE corridor, but the Twin Cities is a large metro area with a lot to do for a college student.
UNC Charlotte - Large city, modern campus, but maybe a little larger than he wants. Not the NE corridor, but not Florida. Might be just affordable enough. He might qualify for Honors which might give him the smaller school setting he seeks. A lot of “mights” I know, but … No CSS.
Rhodes College - Not the NE corridor, but Memphis isn’t exactly a tiny city. And it’s not Florida which I assume might be more important to your son than specifically being in the NEC. The school is smallish and has good academic standards. Try the NPC.
I like several of the options already provided. I hoped to provide a few more that might be options. It’s going to be tricky to find that perfect fit that is a guaranteed financial fit as well.
One strategy to consider might be to look at schools that fit from a size and location aspect, but may not be considered to be the exact sort of academic setting you prefer for him. For instance, a school like Manhattan College may not have the academic prestige you seek for him, but his stats might allow significant merit aid to make it affordable.
Good luck. Please let us know where he ends up.
Both the student and the patent will be utterly exhausted by 20 applications. Better to do an excellent job on fewer apps. Applying to 7 reaches is not a good strategy.
@roycroftmom , I agree that this type of search is more work than the typical round of 5 applications. The OP’s specific circumstances dictate a wider net.
I laughed when I read your post because it is true. Applying to 20 colleges is more work than applying to 5.
However, personally, my son and I are glad we cast a wide net. He’s already been accepted to several colleges, including some in-state financial safeties. And he’s been deferred or denied from others. A couple of acceptances don’t have enough FinAid (merit and/or need) to seriously consider. A couple of universities that we would have skipped if not in wide-net mode, have already accepted and offered significant FinAid. Those two results alone make the extra work worth it for us. And we’re waiting to hear back from others.
It’s not a strategy for every family. Believe me, I wish I had an extra $50K/yr to send him to one of these schools. And I wish his first option was an in-state public that he was guaranteed to be accepted into. But just as some parents are more than willing to pay $300K for their child’s education, I am willing to help fill out 20 applications (and pay for them) for my child’s education.
Just as some people have to work two jobs to make ends meet, some families have to fill out 20 college applications to find the right academic/financial/personal choices fit. More work yes, but for my child and I, it is worth the extra work. I assume it’s worth it for the OP as well.
But again, I have to agree (and laugh with you) it is extra work. In this household, I can find the time and energy to help with extra apps. What I can’t find around here is $250K. 
Have you considered Franklin & Marshall College? I’m a current undergraduate student there, and I applied with similar SAT scores and GPA that your son has. The school is located in Lancaster, PA (so a small city) and is about an hour away from Philadelphia and an hour or two train ride from NYC. The school has about 2,400 students, so it’s a fairly small liberal arts college. The atmosphere of the school is challenging but not competitive. Students are often willing to help each other out, and most people are there because they wanted an academic challenge. I also know F&M has great accessibility services for people with ADHD/ADD. Quite a few of my friends have accommodations, and they do very well. F&M, being a liberal arts college, is also a good school if your son doesn’t know what he wants to major in yet. Students don’t pick a major until their second semester of their sophomore year. The school also requires that you take classes in various fields to explore different possibilities.
The school has also made a commitment to meet 100% of a student’s demonstrated financial need, which was a big stress relief for me and my family.