Okay! We have a draft list, to be edited after we start visiting, talking to students, etc.
(N.B. we will visit more schools than you see on this list – e.g. when in Ohio we will check out Oberlin; in PacNW we’ll see Lewis & Clark, Reed, Puget Sound, and Willamette; when in Boston/Worcester we’ll visit Holy Cross and Brandeis – but this is my starting hypothesis.)
Reach schools: Macalaster and Kenyon (choose one for ED if it rises above others after visits; at any rate apply EA to Macalester).
Target schools: Clark U (EA), Lafayette, Dickinson, St. Olaf (EA), U. Rochester
Likely schools: Rhodes (EA), Whitman, Wooster (EA)
I’ve eliminated schools that are extreme reaches (e.g. Wesleyan, Carleton) from the mix because it’s not clear to me that the additional value proposition is worth the stress/heartache/opportunity cost and I don’t think my kiddo is interested in a super intense environment (hence no Reed on the short list). If he falls for Carleton when we visit Northfield we may be singing a different tune but I’m trying to focus on showing him reasonably attainable schools where I think he could thrive.
I’m super excited about some of these hidden (to me) gems – Clark has a cool fifth-year master’s program and offers Game Design and Geography majors, which my kiddo finds appealing. Wooster does a lot of independent research and is apparently known for creating scholars from above-average students. Plus, bagpipes! Rochester seems amazing – probably the most diverse/compelling suite of academic options in an interesting setting with diverse classmates. etc.
The list is not super heavy on safety/likely schools but we can add more depending on how he feels about ED/EA options. I’ll report back once we’ve started visiting places and getting impressions but for now, appreciative of the wisdom of crowds and hopeful that my kid will find a firm-but-gentle landing/launching pad.