<p>My D was an RPI medalist and the application was free.</p>
<p>noimagination-- yes you are right :)</p>
<p>momof2inma- was it free because she was a medalist??</p>
<p>I also think you should look at Tufts, which has a “low wall” between the engineering school and college. It is a nice leafy campus, but minutes from the subway going into Boston or Cambridge.</p>
<p>From your list, Northeastern would seem to fit your needs, and Smith. The UMass/ Smith area (Amherst and Northampton) is great, with 5 colleges and a great combination of rural and sophisticated.</p>
<p>You could also look at Brown. My son did CS there (BS) and loved it, and has a great job.</p>
<p>So I would vote for Brown, Tufts, Smith, Northeastern, UMass w/the criteria you have.</p>
<p>Yes the app was free because she was a medalist.</p>
<p>She is currently at Tufts (engineering) and is very happy. One thing to keep in mind with Tufts is that there is no merit aid it is need based only, although they do seem to be pretty good at meeting need.</p>
<p>Wellesley offers the perfect on-campus experience, with the benefit of being 20 minutes to Cambridge or Boston. On the weekends the bus runs about every hour, so getting back and forth is very, very easy. Also, taking classes at MIT is not a hassle at all. The town of Wellesley offers a nice diversion too…lots of shops, restaurants. etc. But you were exactly right that a women’s college is a very empowering environment.</p>
<p>There is also the Wellesley/Olin connection.</p>
<p>I would also say that you don’t have too many schools on your list. You are looking at a number of very selective schools, and unless you have the most tippy-top stats, a good strategy (in my opinion) is to apply to a number of these.</p>
<p>compmom-- i’ll check it out! i’m already booked for spring break but maybe i can do a weekend trip (visiting smith saturday sooo excited :))
i asked my mom about brown, but she restricted my college search (again) to just MA,CT, and NJ. but i am fine with that. she’s comfortable with the areas they are in ie familiarity. RPI is even a stretch because it’s about 5 hours, but it’s a really good school (my math teacher went there he assured her about safety, etc)
but i do like the colleges that you suggested! by the descriptions of surrounding area/atmosphere i think i’ll benefit best being there (not too deserted but not too busy)</p>
<p>momof2inma- no merit aid? 
i should qualify for some good FA, so it’s worth a try! i do like tufts as well</p>
<p>college4three- i do think wellesley has the best of all worlds! the MIT and olin connection are great! i wouldn’t apply directly to olin, but i would definitely take classes there! thank you! and yes, i’m sort of an activist, and i think women’s colleges most benefit me, although i do know other colleges are too. when i walked onto MHC’s campus even though i didn’t like it, i instantly felt the amazing-ness of the womanly atmosphere i fell in love(with women’s colleges)! also, i did not know about the wellesley - olin connection, that is great because olin seems like a good engineering school if i decide to pursue that.</p>
<p>hunt-- are you saying apply to more very selective schools? or more lesser selective ones?</p>
<p>
Actually, I was just saying that I don’t think you need to narrow down your list. If you have the stats to make Yale or MIT a possibility, then it appears to me that you have a list with reaches, matches, and safeties. The reaches are Yale, MIT, and the selective women’s colleges. I know less about the others, but it appears to me that the others are matches and safeties.</p>
<p>Two factual corrections: Wellesley, not Smith, has the hourly bus to Boston (well, Cambridge, but it’s the same diff). Yale has GREAT financial aid, the best of any school you’ve listed.</p>
<p>SUPERGLEX— :O</p>
<p>Hunt- oh i understand! i do like my list, i think it’ll stay with the addition of tufts after i visit and i’ll take away RPI.</p>
<p>thanks everyone again!</p>
<p>consolation-- thanks for the correction!
but MIT does, IMO. i’d be virtually getting a full ride (they have income brackets and what they would do for each)</p>
<p>Smith has hourly buses to Boston, but they’re not free buses, they are Peter Pan/Greyhound buses and they take 3-4 hours (depending on traffic). But yes, Wellesley is the one with the hourly free Cambridge shuttle.</p>
<p>Another thing: a student who needs substantial financial aid should cast a wide net. Cutting your list to save a couple hundred dollars could cost you thousands later.</p>
<p>smithieandproud- hopefully i’ll love smith and if i go there, i wont have to leave! :)</p>
<p>consolation- a lot of people need FA, but i usually dont qualify even though i should. plus, i don’t like any other places, my mom says that’s enough, and i dont have a couple hundred dollars to spend on apps</p>
<p>SUPERGLEX-- you said your a sophomore on another one of your posts, and your profile says twenty… but you posted on a parents forum saying how “you and your child” visited a college etc… ???</p>
<p>I’m not saying that you have to apply to more places, I just don’t think you need to cut your list down. </p>
<p>If your financial situation is such that $75 for an application is enough to prevent you from applying to a school that really interests you, I find it hard to believe that you don’t have a need for significant FA and wouldn’t qualify for it. Unless, that is, your parent(s) are making you personally finance your apps, or unless you have a non-custodial parent with significant income who refuses to contribute to your college costs. Have you run any of the online EFC calculators, including not only FAFSA but Profile and college-specific methodologies? I’m not trying to persuade you to reveal your personal life, I just want to make sure that you have a realistic idea of how much you are likely to get. :)</p>
<p>Wellesley has proximity to Boston and classes at MIT, but Smith has its own, on-site engineering prgm and a wonderful college town just outside the Greycourt Gates. I think Tufts is worth considering (though when D1 looked, the wall b/w egr and liberal arts was pretty high) - - as is URochester.</p>
<h2>My only word(s) of caution - - financial safety. UMass is not your state school and you will qualifiy for reduced tuition after the first year, but will first-year oos tuition be a problem? And how close to in-state tuition is the reduced fee? (I don’t really need for you to answer - - just make sure you have a true financial safety.)</h2>
<p>“I find it hard to believe that you don’t have a need for significant FA and wouldn’t qualify for it.”</p>
<p>I took OP to be saying that she has signif need, but not enough to qualify for application fee waiver programs (and most finaid applicants don’t qualify for app fee waiver).</p>
<p>oh no it’s fine! it’s not just one $75… they add up quickly. i think only 2 or 3 schools wave for online… 75x7 is… $525 :O</p>
<p>i’m also the oldest child so my mother has never done this whole process before(she went to military, then comm coll then nursing school), it’s stressful trying to visit schools and such (it’s just her doing everything by herself, but i’d like to know where my NCP is…)</p>
<p>i’ve run the college board EFC/IM calculators on a rough guess… but my mom is going to find her tax form last year to get an accurate result! on wellesley’s website they have an FA scenario that EXACTLY describes me, and it makes me confident about receiving the FA i need to get the education i want (and need as well)</p>
<p>thank you for being so caring! this is why i love CC parents :)</p>
<p>foolishpleasure-- that’s what i love about smith! it sets it apart from all of the other women’s colleges!</p>
<p>the OOS/IS difference for Umass is only $3,000 with the scholarship… hopefully i can get FA for the first year…</p>
<p>and you are right, i do have need but not enough to wave app fees</p>
<p>CPU- agree you need to get a more accurate handle on the financial picture. when you say you “usually don’t qualify” does that mean that your parents income and assets put you above the FA cut-offs, or that you assume you don’t qualify, or that you are indeed full pay but that your parents can’t or won’t contribute? The parents here can probably save you a lot of aggravation if you can clarify. Not to mention help you target a list of schools which you will be able to afford to attend.</p>
<p>As others have said, for most of the schools on this list, if you apply online (which I assume you will since you can use the common app) the app fee is waived. </p>
<p>It’s a good idea to sit down with your parents and get them to do at least one of the online EFC calculators (keep in mind though that most of these schools also require a CSS profile application, which will take into consideration some factors that the EFC calculators may not). That will give you a good idea of what you’re looking at. Also make sure you’re having honest discussions with your parents about what they are able to pay, what you have to make up for in personal loans, what you think you may be able to get in either merit or need-based aid (be realistic, not all of these give a lot of merit aid.).</p>
<p>when i say usually, it’s based off of comparisons of things like Questbridge and getting free/reduced lunch at school(don’t qualify, but don’t have the money for myself & sister).</p>
<p>my mom’s income (no assets) puts her above the usual FA cut-offs of 60k by no more than 11k (it varies because she works a lot of overtime because she is a nurse, and because hse works at night she gets a few dollars extra per hour than day shift). without working hardly any overtime we’d probably be at 65k (before those darn taxes).</p>
<p>i do care about FA a lot, although my mom says not to worry about that when looking for schools (but i do anyway)</p>
<p>smithieandproud- my mom is going to do an EFC/IM soon. and trust me, we do have honest discussions about paying for college (as with paying for almost everything else we need) thanks for the advice though</p>