<p>Do give Skidmore a look. Seems to fit most of your requirements. Saratoga Springs is a great place, but is cold in the winter. It has an artsy vibe to it.</p>
<p>Not sure exactly how many hours away these are, but I second St. John’s in Annapolis and Dickinson in PA! I’m curious what he thinks about the St. John’s curriculum/structure…</p>
<p>What about Franklin and Marshall. Strong LAC. Probably within the driving distance (although on the edge). In a small town, but not rural. Feels a lot like Conn.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon? It’s close enough to NYC, and nowhere near as big or frat-like (trust me, that was one of my criteria as well) as many of the SUNY schools and a lot closer to the action than they are. Also, I’d give a recommendation to Hopkins, as it’s my ED, and just BARELY 4.5 hour drive to the city (3 hours by train).</p>
<p>Mutti, re: Wheaton, interview & show an interest! Plus they need more males. :)</p>
<p>I agree that Hopkins sounds like a good fit and American is worth a look. Maryland is very rah-rah, fratty and sports oriented. The intellectual kids I know who where in the honors program did have have great social experiences. He might want to consider BU as a safety. It’s big, but the individual colleges feel smaller, and has a low percentage of greek life.</p>
<p>If he can pick a favorite among the reach schools, you might want to consider having him apply ED.</p>
<p>Re Clark - I don’t have the sense that they turn down applicants who may well be applying to Clark as a safety.</p>
<p>I’ve visited the school and it definitely is not fratty nor particularly artsy. You can read my review here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/clark-university/855537-clark-visit.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/clark-university/855537-clark-visit.html</a> </p>
<p>They have an Early Action option, so your son could have an acceptance in his pocket by December.</p>
<p>Delaware (honors program, esp) might be worth looking at for a safety. Very easy access to NY (train, bus), beautiful campus, very suburban. It is bigger than some of the colleges your S likes but it doesn’t really seem big to DD (who is just finishing freshman year). Has sports if you want, but definitely not anything like UMD or PSU for rah-rah factor. Sizeable Jewish community (10% +), with active Hillel and Chabad (lots of kids from NY and NJ there). Only about 10% Greek so does not have to be a factor. Weather is definitely better there than NY! (It’s not Miami, but still, DD notices a big difference.)</p>
<p>Agreeing with the others, check out American as a safety. My DD - who didn’t want an urban school - defiitely liked American (was one of her top choices). There’s so much to like a about it. It is more than 4 hours from NY, but there’s always Amtrak and the shuttle.</p>
<p>Definitely check out Johns Hopkins. My DS (finishing HS soph year) really liked it. He wanted smaller than UD, does not care about rah-rah and is a very serious kid all around (not a party guy). Not a safety, but I think your S should consider it. Carnegie Mellon too. Not sure where you are located, but CMU admissions is giving presentations in the NY area now (we are going to one in June). Check their website.</p>
<p>I’m definitely going to follow this thread. DS hasn’t taken SATs yet, but he has a lot in common with your DS so I’m interested in what everyone is saying here!</p>
<p>Someone else mentioned all my ideas, but would reiterate Drew as a safety. I think there is merit money there as well that DD was awarded, though I’m not sure since she didn’t have to choose her safety.</p>
<p>NYU is worth a visit. Some kids who don’t want the city change their minds when they explore the Village. With those test scores they might want him, particularly if he finds something he likes at Steinhardt. Arts and Sciences is more competitive but still possible I would think.</p>
<p>Fordham has always had a large Jewish population, though your son might not like the Jesuit presence at all. For some kids (mine) it was a non-issue, though again, we were lucky and she didn’t have to choose the safety.</p>
<p>Vassar always wants boys, so with a good application, I think it’s definitely in the running.</p>
<p>I don’t think the same kid who would be happy at Vassar would be happy at Connecticut College. It’s much preppier than some thing. Social life involves formals and dressing up more often than most kids who would choose Vassar would like.</p>
<p>Hampshire is a good safety. We were impressed with their info sessions and their approach, though of course, it’s not for everyone.</p>
<p>Did I miss ruling out large (like NYU?) Although BU also lacks the traditional campus lots of kids love it.</p>
<p>One kid chose Binghamton as financial safety, but the other kid chose Stony Brook. The campus has received a total overall under Shirley Kenny’s administration and is no longer the ugly pool of mud it once was. Its proximity to NYC attracts a strong arts faculty. The drawback for our family was no classics major.</p>
<p>New Paltz is worth a look as a safety. Much close than Bingamton.</p>
<p>Second the suggestions of Wheaton and Clark.</p>
<p>I know it has already been mentioned upthread, but TCNJ seems to meet most of the criteria, and would work as a low match/safety.</p>
<p>If he was willing to look outside the 4-hr driving radius, WashU in St. Louis would meet the other criteria, although it is another reach (one of the schools that is a reach for everyone, although not as reachy as an Ivy.) Air travel time is only 3 hours to the New York area, and campus is easily accessible to the airport.</p>
<p>My son had a lot of similar criteria, and we visited a lot of the schools that you mention. WashU is the only school outside of the VA-DC-PA-NJ-NY-MA-VT mid-atlantic/northeast corridor that we visited, thrown in as an afterthought long after the others. In the end he applied ED there and was accepted, and just finished a happy freshman year.</p>
<p>Mutti, I’m wondering if your son has a misconception about American. It’s not at all like George Washington or Georgetown - it’s actually more like Tufts in the sense that it has strong history / poli sci depts, and it’s in a suburban area rather than an urban area. You’d think that was crazy unless you’ve actually been there. Unlike GWU, GT or even Catholic, American is not walking distance to the government areas, and is surrounded by nice residential housing. It is a 4 hour drive to NY. None of my kids went to American, but we did look at it, and it is very nice. It’s not a match or reach school, definitely a safety for your son. (When some of the people here talk about gpa being his soft point, I’m wondering if they missed the fact that you gave us an unweighted gpa?)</p>
<p>Anyway, his views on schools and locations may change if he actually sees and “tries on” more schools this spring/summer. It might help him hone his preferences, and depend less on anecdotal comments. This is so critical, because while he appears to be a Tufts/JHU person, he does need some nice safeties. It’s a shame the gas prices are so high, because I foresee a lot of driving for your family.</p>
<p>Just want to comment again on how much I appreciate everyone (anyone!) answering my plea; the CC parent community is just great.</p>
<p>Interesting that it seems somehow trickiest to find safety schools that work. This is where I would love to nudge him towards a state schools honors program (Del, MD) or a school that might offer merit $$ (American, Clark, others).</p>
<p>Hanaviolet, hes definitely intrigued by the St Johns curriculum. In many ways, hes a kid who wouldnt at all mind having less curriculum choice. The issue there is the school size of some 450 kids. Just too small.</p>
<p>1012mom, I believe F&M is a super-Greek school so that wouldnt work for DS.</p>
<p>Hearing a lot of love from many of you for JHU. Im glad its not just for the science types.</p>
<p>Fendrock, thanks for the terrific Clark trip report. We toured there with my DD four years ago IN THE SUMMER. Big mistake; you could see tumbleweeds rolling down the campus . But seriously, chairs up on the tables in the dining hall, mattresses stacked in the dorm halls. This time Im taking great care with where we visit in the summer.</p>
<p>NYU, Fordham, Stony Brook: probably all a wee bit TOO close to home. Yes, of course, Columbia is too but thats a special case. Hes something of a triple legacy there; not sure the relationships are a close enough to count with the school, but its made the place something of a legend for DS.)</p>
<p>Sacchi, I cant tell you how many times Ive heard your Ss story about the pull of WUSTL. Kids LOVE it there; what are they doing so right?</p>
<p>Hayden, were going to find a way to get him to see American (maybe a Nationals-Mets game ) because I agree that the setting will be much more appealing to him. Re: his GPA, the school doesnt give weight to honors; I assume the colleges figure it out by looking at the transcript. Its quite a world where a 3.7 GPA is considered on the weak side.</p>
<p>Road trips, indeed! Cheaper than flying, anyway. And you know what? I really enjoy them. That time with DS is really special and will only come around like this once.</p>
<p>UCONN Honors Program [University</a> of Connecticut - Honors Program](<a href=“http://www.honors.uconn.edu/]University”>http://www.honors.uconn.edu/)</p>
<p>Sounds like it could be a day trip for you & your son.</p>
<p>Maybe Fairfield (in Fairfield CT) as a safety?
D applied there RD and they emailed her March 12 so she knew a little ahead of her other schools, which took the edge off anxiety.</p>
<p>Your S sounds like my D (not an exact match with stats, but in personality). Very specific about what places and schools they will consider, and the reasoning wasn’t always consistent. D had 13 schools on her list which we spent months putting together and it had GC’s stamp of approval. She was accepted at 2 (Fairfield and Oxy); WL at 4 (Emory, Wm & Mary, Conn Clg, Trinity); rejected everywhere else. The WL came through for her (Emory) but in the beginning, she was diammetrically opposed to going to school in the South.</p>
<p>My suggestion: lots of people have posted great ideas here. Pick some schools you think he could be happy at and tell him he must apply to them as a back up. Because once those application deadlines have passed, you can’t turn back the clock and apply. I mean, some schools you can, but not all.</p>
<p>Mutti, this geography bias may not hold up, sometimes they change their mind.
My S kept telling me he would not go to school in Massachusetts.
Where does he go to school? In Massachusetts. :)</p>
<p>I have read the post…and know that these two suggestions don’t meet all of the key criteria. However, if you get him to look at U of Chicago, perhaps he will also look at Macalester in St. Paul and McGill in Montreal.</p>
<p>Muhlenberg and Clark are likely to be safties…just make sure to show some love if they are realistic options and you really want them to be safeties. (Must visit. Contact a prof or two or someone in a leadership position at a campus EC…and talk about it somewhere on the application, if possible.)</p>