<p>I'm the mom of a junior who's starting to look more specifically at certain schools. From everything she and I have read, Wes looks very attractive but for one thing. Although she's taking the most rigorous APs and the honors courses (and all solids, no fluff), she's pulling some Bs with those As and she's not the greatest standardized test-taker. Loves science, independent thinking, no frat dominated party scene, super comfortable with diversity and activism, wants suburban, mid-size, thoughtful student body and accessible professors. If not Wes, than what other choices might the experienced posters recommend we consider? Any, any input would be muchly appreciated!!</p>
<p>These arent necessarily easier to get into than Wes...but she should look into</p>
<p>Oberlin, Grinnell, and Vassar... all of a similar caliber as wes.</p>
<p>Safety/good match schools...
Earlham, Bard</p>
<p>Check out Reed (in Oregon).</p>
<p>Yes, my first thought was Oberlin as well; a bit easier to get into than Wesleyan. Vassar, too; though at best only a slight admission boost over Wes. Grinnell (though an interesting place) doesn't quite fit the profile: it is far more rural than suburban and only has around 1,600, which is perhaps smaller than midsize. Another thought is Reed -- good location outside Portland, but it is also small (1400-1500 or so).</p>
<p>connecticut college and vassar are typically the schools most often mentioned as similar yet slightly easier to get into.</p>
<p>I was considering Wesleyan last year before I decided on Vassar. They have the same middle 50% SAT scores, acceptance rate, U.S. News ranking and selectivity rating on the Princeton review. I know many Vassar Students who were rejected from Wesleyan as well as many Wesleyan students who were rejected from Vassar, which only goes to emphasize the blind luck inherent in the college process. I reccomend Skidmore and Bard. Special emphasis on Skidmore, where many of my friends go. It's a great school. Conn College is generally much preppier than these places, but still seems pretty cool.</p>
<p>BTW I've only recently heard about these boards, and I've been hopping around to get a good perspective on some other LACs for a transferring friend. I've found some sound advice. Best of luck.</p>
<p>Might want to check out Barnard... yes, it's in NYC, but otherwise it might be a good fit. Intimate environment despite the city location. Not a ton easier to get into, but worth looking. Actually, basically all of the women's colleges are easier to get into for obvious reasons, but are just as good schools. Some are smaller, but still, check them out.</p>
<p>Also, check out Pitzer in California. It's a really small school but it's part of the Claremont Colleges, which means that all together, they make up a mid-size school!</p>
<p>Though it's never a good idea to get your hopes too high, you shouldn't keep them too low, either - it's certainly alright to get Bs (according to statistics, I believe only about 70% of students graduated in the top 10% of their class, and though there are some competitive schools out there, this shows that you don't have to get perfect grades to get in) and being a female interested in science helps. :) It sounds like it might be a great fit for her!! I also had grades that weren't stellar at ALL in high school, and was quite worried about that - I applied early decision, got in, and all wound up well and I'm loving it.</p>
<p>I looked at Bard, Vassar, Oberlin, Pomona, Reed, Grinnell, Carleton, U. Chicago (which certainly isn't less competitive), Swarthmore (again, not less competitive), maybe Wake Forest, Skidmore, Union (these last two may have a little more of a preppy reputation). Hampshire has that awesome no-grades-and-learning-for-learning's-sake deal going on, and also a similar atmosphere. Also, if you're looking for someplace cheaper, someplace like The College of New Jersey is a "liberal arts" "state school" with a relatively small size, low cost, and a small tight-knit collegey sort of atmosphere. Its reputation has also come up a LOT in recent years.</p>
<p>Really, look at Bard, though. I hear they're offering some major financial benefits for people interested in science (though perhaps because their departments aren't as well known), and I also hear the professors are VERY accessible and there's just a great general atmosphere.</p>
<p>Agree with Bard, Skidmore as matches</p>
<p>Perhaps Goucher would be a safety in the Wesleyan mold. Beloit might work too. </p>
<p>Smith, Macalester, and Whitman are other match ideas.</p>
<p>My senior S is more interested in the arts than science (despite a 780 Biology SAT II) and Wes is his "reach" school. His "match" schools were Bard (admitted), Kenyon & Macalester and his safeties were Beloit (admitted), Sarah Lawrence and Bennington. When we play the "what if" game with him he continues to rank Beloit and Wesleyan as his top schools with Macalester and Bennington in the next tier. For liberal arts (as oppossed to fine and performing arts) you cannot meet Wesleyan, Macalester, Bard, Kenyon & Beloit.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for some confirmation of certain schools and new schools not even known. D's college advisor just met her this week for their first sitdown and thinks she's much more impressive in person than on paper. Would this be a consideration in some of these colleges' process? Would any of them give serious weight to interviews, because I would encourage her to do them at a couple of her favorites if they were of consequence. Would appreciate feedback, especially if anyone has experience with this. Any experience with Lawrence? Also, Lantern5, did you mean "beat" or "meet" in your last sentence. I'm sorry I'm not quite following you.</p>
<p>I know that Hampshire and Bennington both give a lot of weight to the interview during the admissions process. They believe there is more to a person than what they look like on paper. There are also no tests at either of these schools, a great relief to kids who are strong students but not good test takers.</p>
<p>We looked at Lawrence too; it is more on the level of selectivity of Beloit, and a little "straighter" seeming (to me.). There is a wonderful music conservatory with decent cross pollination between conservatory and non-conservatory kids.</p>
<p>My D completely nixed Hampshire and Bennington, within minutes of our stepping on those campuses. Both too small, too alternative for her. I had a dear friend who adored Bennington though.</p>
<p>I do not know about the relative interview weight at the different schools. I would suspect an interview with an admission officer on campus would usually be more weighty than an alumni interview though it must vary a great deal place to place.</p>
<p>If she's great in person, then by all means she should interview. Also, these qualities can come out in essays and in GC/teacher recs. Maybe if there is an appropriate reason to speak to a faculty member at her school of choice, her in-person abilities would get another chance to shine.</p>
<p>I've had Vassar mentioned as closest in culture, ambiance & academics to Wesleyan, and a bit easier to get into (but by no means anybody's match). For what it's worth, a former Vassar adcom told me there was a lot of overlap in applicants and that applicants accepted at both places tended to choose Wesleyan.</p>
<p>investorscooter, we need a bit more specific information about your D than the general that you gave to provide you with reach/match/safety suggestions. What is her UW/W GPA? What are her SAT/ACT? If she hasn't taken the SAT or ACT yet, what are her PSAT scores? What are her AP scores on which tests? Any major earth-shattering things we would need to know (e.g., youngest Nobel prize winner in literature)?</p>
<p>I understand the importance of specifics - this forum is great for feedback based on real info, so I'll produce more stats later, quiltguru. Promise. This may sound a bit strange, but I don't have them - yet. We're in Miami, and she's at Culver, IN, and we've pretty much been handsoff because she's an internally driven student who wanted to go away to boarding school to see what challenges that would bring. Our local public hs is highly rated but she wanted more focused kids around her. So, that's why I'm somewhat out of the loop. She took SAT once and scored 1880 (680/650/550). Stinky writing score. Hasn't taken any prep for SAT and will take ACT soon., I would ballpark her gpa at 3.5, uw. My understanding is that Culver doesn't give points for AP or honors. They also are somewhat restrictive of the AP offerings the kids can take (like limiting them until junior yr.). They're on block system so she's in middle of her first AP course - US History. So I don't have a score on that one yet. All her other courses have been honors courses and she's slated to take AP Bio and AP US Gov't next year. She'll take German 4 over the summer, and her 4th year of math will be Honors Calc. That gives her 4 English/4 math/4 science/4 foreign language. 2 art classes. She's in the leadership program, was the founding editor of a science digest her sophomore year, is a varsity fencer (foil). Community service currently involves a trip to S. Africa (she's in leadership committee for Africa). She's the type who looks for challenges and works very, very hard for decent but not stellar grades. She's in it for the learning and accomplishing I'd hate to be the wet blanket, in her search for self-improvement.</p>