<p>People here and on the Parent's Forum have helped my daughter* narrow down her list. Thank you! Here is how it stands now, still needs to be shortened a little.</p>
<p>(*undecided major, straight A with hardest avail. courses, athletic and arts for major ec's, mid-1400/2100 SAT)</p>
<p>In no particular order:</p>
<p>Wm. and Mary
Rice
UMich
Holy Cross
Villanova
Conn College
U Richmond
Colgate
Carleton
Kenyon
(in-state U as safety)</p>
<p>U Michigan and William & Mary are out of state, so admission and aid might be difficult.
Likes Dartmouth and Williams very much, but probably too reachy.</p>
<p>Looks like a good group with a good range of reach to safety. I'd think that Holy Cross, Villanova, Conn College, Richmond, and maybe UMich all look pretty safe - she may not need all of them. Consider a financial safety as well, if needed. UMich is an interesting anomaly among all the other smaller, more intimate, liberal arts-focused schools.</p>
<p>i agree with gadad about adding a financial safety, because it does look that the list is composed of pretty spendy schools, and i'm not sure how financial aid and merit aid will affect your future decision. i'm guessing that your in-state u is the financial safety. it's a very nice list, and it stretches to different parts of the country, notably excepting the west coast. is there a story there? :) good luck. your d looks like a strong candidate for all of these schools.</p>
<p>Dartmouth and Williams is a bit reachy, but not out of question. Good range of reach to match schools. If you want to cut, i'll suggest you cut some from the middle and add one or two more dream school.</p>
<p>Yes, you're correct that our state school is admission and financial safety.</p>
<p>No intentional west coast bias--just middle class financial constraints in travelling from the east coast! I thought she was stretching it a bit with Ohio, Texas, Michigan and Minnesota! </p>
<p>gadad, you're right about UMich. She just really likes the place... other similar schools seemed too big. Go figure. Others on this list, honestly, might be a tad small, but given the aid situation she can live with some details less than perfect. She's an adaptable person, as long as people are friendly. </p>
<p>As far as the reach schools, it is a difficult decision because some of the top schools have excellent financial aid, but I am leery of having her in a school that might be too much pressure, too difficult. She is a very happy laidback sort of person.</p>