Here are my matches and reaches. Help me find another safety! (LACs)

College Search & Selection
1

I’m applying to Pitzer, Scripps, Oberlin, Occidental, Whitman, Smith, and Wesleyan. In addition to Lewis & Clark, I want to add another safety to my list. Are there any other liberal arts schools (outside of NY/NJ/PA!!) with a similiar “feel” (liberal, environmentally consious, intellectually curious) that would be considered safeties for me? (Places where I would most likely get in and get merit/financial aid).

Also, I’d like to avoid places that get exceptionally cold in the winter and I want to major in Bio.

Stats:
3.85UW/4.45W
2100 SAT
Top 5% of class
No “hooks”

2

A few random choices, Richmond, William and Mary, American U, Kenyon, Sewanee, Colorado College. Would any of those work?

3

Hampshire & Bennington come to mind, although it gets pretty cold in the winter at both schools. Warren Wilson? It may be too far south for you.

4

Have you run the online net price calculators for those schools?
Can your family cover its Expected Family Contribution?
If not, how big a gap needs to be covered by merit aid?

Cost considerations aside, Earlham College would be a good admission safety (or low match) for a prospective bio major.
http://www.earlham.edu/biology/

5

Willamette would be very close to a safety.

6

My families EFC is about $8k, which we can afford. I’m looking for schools that would end up costing under $10k a year after financial and merit aid.

7

Ohio Wesleyan University, Beloit College are 2 that come to my mind.

I think you will get into every LA Colleges that is ranked below #60 in the US News Ranking, so explore and choose whichever catches your interest.

8

Sorry for the double post… please ignore this

9

Forgot about Knox in Illinois, another good choice for a safety.

10

Kenyon

11

How about Rhodes (TN), Hendrix (AR), or Eckard (FL)?

12

Puget Sound in WA; Washington College in MD

13

These all seem like great suggestions! Thanks guys! How does Kenyon compare to Oberlin? And are the southern schools significantly more conservative?

14

I toured most of the Southern LACs with my D last year (she attends Rollins). Family is not Southern in roots; D wanted a warm weather LAC, and we wanted merit aid.

I also recommend Hendrix. In AR, but a quirky student body, no greek life (and don’t want it), and intellectually curious.

Eckerd has lots of kids from the northeast, liberal student body, and is on the water (although I don’t personally care for the campus architecture).

Rhodes is another excellent college. Very greek. In an interesting part of Memphis.

Rollins students are not conservative, great college, beautiful campus, in Orlando. D loves the student/professor interactions… small class sizes even for intro classes.

Sewanee is a super LAC. Very isolated but also a superb choice for an outdoors person. Campus is gorgeous. Greek life is prominent.

You would receive significant merit aid at all of these. For example: http://www.rollins.edu/financial-aid/as-cps-financial-aid/scholarships/index.html

One more piece of advice about LACs, make sure you are in touch with them in some way to show your interest in the college.

Look at Univ of Richmond too, though is more a match than a safety.

15

we looked at oberlin and kenyon for both our sons, our sense was that oberllin was more liberal, the kids are more policatally active. The kids are just as smart at kenyon but a little more conservative, understated. I’m pretty sure kenyon is a match rather than a safety for you.

My son is home for his first fall break and feels he made the right choice with oberlin. It seems we underestimated the positive influence of the oberlin conservatory, there is incredible access to music and concerts.

I don’t think anyone mentioned centre college or clark as possible safeties. We also really liked knox and rhodes as safeties for my son.

16

Be careful with “safeties”, since many of the schools now consider “level of applicant’s interest”, meaning that if they think you are applying to them as a low choice safety, they may reject or waitlist you.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1626043-ways-to-show-a-high-level-of-applicants-interest-p1.html

17

Kenyon is almost as selective as Oberlin (and significantly more so than Centre and Sewanee, in terms of both admission rates and average scores.)

18

I think you’d get in to Kenyon but the merit aid may or may not come through there as it is a match rather than a safety.

19

Eckerd is a good safety with nice merit aid for your stats as well as financial aid. Fantastic new labs, wonderful mentor relationships, lots of research opportunities as freshman, (mentors/professors engage their students in research and they present along with faculty at seminars and symposiums around the world, many publish their research, opportunity to present a senior thesis, honors program and a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, freshman research grants, liberal, service oriented, study abroad programs. PM me if you would like more specific info.

20

If you consider Eckerd and you want an even more liberal campus, look at New College of Florida. Not conservative at all. I also endorse Hendrix.