^William & Mary is not a safety, though. Nor is Franklin & Marshall. Agree with a lot of the CTCL for safeties & merit aid.
Be careful when schools offer a lot of aid just because you are out-of-state. Check with student retention rate, graduate rate, etc…It can be a very depressing place if all your peers are dropping out or transferring out. Just some quick numbers-
New College of Florida has 82.5% freshmen retention and 57% 4-year graduation rates compared to 92.3% freshmen retention and 80% 4-year graduation rates at Pitzer. Occidental has very similar numbers- 92.5% freshmen retention and 80% 4-year grad rates.
Something is definitely going on at the New College of Florida. They might be offering $ but people aren’t staying for some reason.
Let us know what you decided for your last safety! In my opinion, Kenyon and Oberlin are fantastic schools and should not be considered safeties. College of Wooster was a great suggestion and I’m still plugging for St. John’s -which is not a religious institution; look at the fascinating curriculum.
That’s good. The NPC should give you a more reliable estimate than the College Scorecard average for your income bracket. However, you cannot count on most private safety schools to give you as much need-based aid as more selective, richer schools such as Wesleyan and Smith. Did you run the Lewis & Clark NPC, too?
Marist doesnt have the earthy feel youre looking for but is a gorgeous small college in NY with some pretty good programs that would be a saftey
@bsalum New College is a public U. They have the same issue as just about all public Us - having students afford the full degree. That’s one reason all colleges report a six year graduation rate. Colleges that meet full need (Pitzer and Oxy) don’t tend to have that problem.
Higher admission selectivity also tends to correlate with higher graduation rates, since students with stronger high school academic credentials are more likely to be able to handle college work.
@bsalum, New College of Florida isn’t quite the traditional college. Instead of having grades, they provide students with written evaluations for each class. Also students develop their own course of study, within a minimal amount of basic structure. Many students may not realize what this all means before matriculating so it isn’t uncommon for students to transfer out after their freshman year. For the right student, NCF is a great place.