I can’t speak for the art history offerings (my kid’s a science/humanities kid), but from the sounds of your post, I think Reed would love you. They are very forgiving of a low test score or a so-so GPA if an applicant has other qualities that dovetail with Reed’s, and if that student has shown interest. Their need-based aid is good, but no merit aid.
Duke has an east campus and a west campus with a shuttle in between. I’m not sure how it is as a student getting around between classes. It might be West Campus has most classes and stuff and East is Residences, a library and Frats but it’s been a while. So I wouldn’t call it compact.
Is cold weather a problem because of the temperature or the snow? If only the latter, then i would agree with the poster who suggested talking to schools themselves about this to see how quickly they clear sidewalks, and just generally talk to them about your needs to see if it would be a comfortable environment for you. Just on the lists of colder weather campuses you listed as fits otherwise, i know Grinnell and Williams quite well (parent of the former, alum of the latter). Grinnell’s campus is more compact, flat and easier to navigate. Williams is hillier and the campus is bisected by Route 2. The weather difference principally isn’t temperature, but Grinnell will be a little windier, but not colder per se (sometimes even warmer…).
Another good public LAC, similar in some respects to New College of Florida, is St. Mary’s College of Md.
~$41K full sticker OOS. It has a nice campus and is a bit less selective than New College. However, I don’t think you’d prefer it to New College (and you probably would be admitted to both).
What you’re really after now is a mild weather, ~flat terrain, mid-priced/merit match that you’d prefer to any less selective alternatives. William & Mary comes close, but its sticker price is ~$50K and it doesn’t give too much merit aid. However, you might prefer it to UVa.
American University might work.
http://www.american.edu/cas/art-history/
Can I just say this is one of the most well thought-out plans I’ve seen from an upcoming freshman?
Someone mentioned using American as a safety but that they want demonstrated interest. I can 't imagine that a large part of your reason being mobility-related would not be a big plus (is that a double negative lol ?). Best of luck to you in your search.
@bkreedie
I think Reed would actually be a good fit, and I’m planning to apply to their multicultural fly-in program this fall. I know two former professors who spoke very highly of Reed and of the caliber of its students.
I am worried, as I said, about the offerings in my prospective fields, but also about the stress and drug culture. I’m guessing by your username that you’re a student? Does the rigor of the curriculum cross the line from challenging to out-of-control stressful? As for the drugs, I’m not really worried about peer pressure or that I’ll start using, but I just don’t want my friends and peers to be constantly under the influence. How pervasive is the drug culture?
@SDonCC
I’m not sure about the cold weather. I’m from SoCal, so I haven’t experienced enough cold to know how I’d react to it. I know I’ll get used to the temperature eventually no matter where I go, though it might be hard at first. So I think that wind and snow are more of a problem for me than temperature, given my lack of mobility.
@tk21769
I’ll look into St. Mary’s of Maryland. That’s not the one with the horrible, “bunny-drowning” president, is it?
As for W+M vs UVA, I actually visited both with my school. W+M just didn’t click with me like UVA did, even though I’m looking for a smaller, more intimate place. I also found the very old, chipped cobblestone at W+M to be quite hard to navigate both in a wheelchair and walking. As for UVA, I know it’s on the bigger end, but there was something about the long tradition of scholarship that made me feel at home. I know it’s a little thing, but I just adored the fact that they have a full-scale copy of the School of Athens. I have heard, however, that it’s pretty preprofessional.
@NEPatsGirl
Yeah, I’ve been thinking about the college thing for a while now. My high school experience hasn’t exactly been the best, partially because of personal circumstances, but also because my school just isn’t a good fit for me. I want to make sure my experience in college is better.
Oh, I have one more question.
Davidson is quite high on my list, and the more I read about Duke, the more I like it. I’m concerned, however, about the new anti-LGBTQ law in North Carolina (I’m a lesbian.) Since both schools are privates, they don’t have to adhere to that law in the way that public colleges do, so I’m not worried about being discriminated against in school as much as off-campus. Posters in various threads here have different opinions about the impact of the law on LGBTQ students in private colleges. Should this law in NC be an important consideration for me, a tie-breaker type of consideration, or not a consideration at all? I know Durham is a liberal area; is Charlotte?
I’d recommend checking out Willamette in Oregon. You’d be pretty much a shoe-in to get in, and they’d give you some very good merit aid. It’s west coast, pretty easy to get to from CA (it’s an hour from the Portland airport and the school runs airport shuttles during breaks); LGBT-friendly; kids are pretty into their studies, although I think on a 1-10 scale with Reed being a 10 on the intellectual scale, it might be more like a 7. In any case, might make a good ‘safety’ for you (plus they have EA so you can get one in the bag by early December).
@ChasingMerit Actually, Charlotte is very liberal and was the city that started the whole situation by passing an ordinance to ban discrimination against LGBTQ people. The state legislators then voted to overrule that ordinance. So Charlotte and that area, like Durham/Raleigh, is very welcoming towards everyone. You would feel welcome not only on Davidson’s campus but also in the surrounding communities.
@ChasingMerit No, just a parent, and of a new admit at that! So no good advice on the drug culture. However, check out the Reed Forum on CC - there are some very thoughtful posts there from students about the Reed culture, including drug use. From what students there say, you can find them if you want them, but there’s no peer pressure/in-crowd stuff going on. As far as the academic stress, a friend of mine who has a sophomore at Reed says there is a lot of work, a lot of reading, but the kids get used to it after freshman year. Someone on the Reed board will be sure to give better firsthand info.
Hey y’all. Just wanted to update this thread.
Firstly, I got into TASP! The seminar I’m in relates perfectly to my academic interests. I’m absolutely thrilled and a little nervous. I think that the experience of being away from home in an intellectually stimulating environment will be fantastic for me both in the long and short term.
Secondly, I just wanted to get more feedback on my list thus far (a few posts upthread). I’m having a hard time cutting it down and making sure it stays balanced in terms of my chances for admission and possibly getting merit or financial aid.
I’m planning on starting my common app when school gets out in late May, and will be applying to multicultural fly-in programs so I can visit a couple schools before applying. I’m also looking into applying for outside scholarships – a few of the uber-competitive, major ones (Coca Cola, etc), and a few minority ones (for Puerto Ricans/Cubans/Latinos, for the disabled, for Jews, and for LGBT students) where I’ll be more likely to stand out among a smaller pool. I was a semifinalist (top 2% of 2300) for the Coolidge scholarship; hopefully that augurs well for the future. If you know of any outside scholarships that I’d be in the running for, please let me know!