Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll admit I’ve never heard anything about Viterbo…will take a look, though I suspect it will be a tough sell with S22, as LMU was immediately drop kicked off the list as a catholic school… apparently I’ve raised a secularist. 
Don’t discount the fact that a male applicant may well see a bit of an admissions boost at several of these LACs that have student bodies tilted towards women. If you look at the Common Data Sets for schools and calculate the admission rates by gender, you may see a significant difference. Not to say any of them will be sure things, but it definitely won’t work against him!
I think you’ve got an excellent list and I bet your son will have some terrific options. I’ve got a friend with a son who sounds a bit like yours who graduated from Skidmore last year and his time there was truly transformative. Good luck!
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I don’t know why he’s ruling out Muhlenberg and Brandeis. Don’t underestimate the power of applying to LACs as a full pay student. It won’t get him into the absolute top-tier LACs, like Swarthmore, Amherst, Williams, but it will carry a lot of weight for him at the schools just a hair below that, like Wesleyan.
You haven’t said what type of music he’s into, whether he wants to continue studying instrumental performance music, whether he wants to major in that. If he does, then I think he should also look at Bard. He’d get in, they have the conservatory, too, strong liberal arts, and they have a 5 yr program combining BM and BA. Essentially, if Oberlin is a fit, then he should look at Bard, too. It’s less selective, so it’s definitely a match, more like a safety for him.
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Thanks so much for the encouragement and insight. Yes, I was guessing that being a male wouldn’t hurt at some of these places.
Kicking off Brandeis really stung (he’s a double legacy). Honestly, I think that worked against it in his mind - he seems intent on carving out his own path. And while part of me admires that, I also don’t want him to cut off his nose to spite his face. In any event I’m doing my very best (mostly) to 
He’s interested in all kinds of music (performance, theory, production, technology, etc). My guess is that he’ll be a music major, but that could change, and he wants to keep options open (hence the LAC vs. conservatory). Bard is definitely on list. My guess is that he’s in the ballpark (more than Oberlin), as his HS has a very good track record with Bard, but then again, these are strange times…
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Be careful if the colleges consider “level of applicant’s interest”. Some colleges tend to waitlist or reject “overqualified” applicants who appear to be using them as “safeties”, because they are unlikely to matriculate if admitted.
Very true. Doing our best to demonstrate genuine interest (which isn’t hard because the interest is indeed genuine) to his safer picks. He’s already done virtual info sessions with each of them, and will do on campus visits and interviews (probably virtual) at each of them as well. Any other suggestions in this regard are welcome.
I would give both St. Olaf and Kenyon a second look. My daughter is Jewish (although not religious), and she could totally see herself at St. Olaf after our visit (we also went to their famous choir’s recital in our town and it was clear that it’s a very liberal and open-minded place). She’s also very musical, although her main passion is theater. She also got into Oberlin (we only applied to Midwestern LACs with merit) but ended up at Kenyon and loves it there. She continues with her two instruments there, as well as theater, in addition to her academic interests in the humanities (and at Kenyon, her lessons are with a music professor, rather than with a conservatory student, which would be the case at Oberlin–although, to be fair, it seems that they’re expanding music options for non-conservatory students). My impression of Kenyon is that it’s exactly the kind of a tight-knit, kind, very liberal, and creative community you’ve described. This being said, I understand you already have a long list and not having financial restrictions makes it easier to pick and choose. Best of luck to your son, I’m sure he’ll do great.
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And I do understand that you’re trying not to influence his decisions, I was just sharing our experiences. He has a great list already, I think.
Open emails from the colleges, being sure to display images. Click on links to the college web sites.
But verify from the mail headers that the email is really from the college, rather than a fake email from the college sent for phishing purposes, before displaying images or clicking links.
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My D22 is looking actively at seven of the colleges on your list: Occidental, Lewis and Clark, Dickinson, University of Puget Sound, Connecticut College, Lawrence, Oberlin, and Whitman! Seems like you’ve come up with a great list 
One of the possible benefits of some of these schools is merit aid. My nephew recently got a significant scholarship to Oberlin and his scores and ECs sound very similar to your son’s. Oberlin is more highly ranked than some of the other schools your son has expressed interest in, so a place like Puget Sound or Lewis Clark might offer even more. And as someone else noted, gender is on your side for all the LACs.
My daughter has bought the whole “demonstrated interest” thing and so she opens every single email she gets from these schools. Does that matter? Who knows, but she says it couldn’t hurt and it doesn’t take much time. She’s been to online presentations at Lawrence, Dickinson, and Whitman and thought the students had nice vibes and seemed friendly. And as the parent, they all seem about the same in terms of majors and social opportunities and kind of student. I find this reassuring, but I guess it also makes the location and the campus itself more critical in parsing the difference between similar schools.
We’re visiting Dickinson and ConnColl in July and would be happy to offer a report. (Of all the Pennsylvania schools–F&M, Gettysburg, etc–Dickinson was the only one that didn’t seem to have a big frat culture). We can’t make it out to Lawrence, so I’d appreciate hearing your impressions.
My daughter’s big reach is Carleton, which seems like it’s packed with kids similar to your son, though maybe with slightly better high school grades and rigor. It might be worth a little research.
Thanks! My D22 is looking at Acting programs, and Muhlenberg is right up there. Occidental, Bennington, Oberlin, and Skidmore as well. Is Sarah Lawrence on your son’s list? I have a good friend from high school who went there…
I think he’ll have plenty of options with that list. There are some schools with pretty different vibes, but I can see the thread.
It’s easy to think of schools to add or consider but I think you are fine. He might want to check out Kalamazoo as well. They seem to have some very interesting options for musicians and it may check the other boxes as well. But I don’t see your list as one that needs revision if you are happy with it.
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They offered all accepted students a scholarship this year, and I believe my son received a second small one. It is a wonderful place.
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Have you looked at CollegeVine’s chancing calculator? They take more factors into account than Niche, and I’ve heard the results are pretty good.If you’re a numbers guy, it’s at least another data point.
Online calculators are inaccurate. There is no way they could be accurate without complete data at the macro or individual level. Calculating admission chances without using the number of core courses and course rigor, and without visibility to essays and LoRs is a fool’s errand. (unless one is talking about formula based admission system, such as U Iowa’s).
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A thought about the Jewish factor - my DD20 ended up deciding between a very small LAC with a very small Jewish population and a mid-sized school that has an extremely strong Jewish community. Her observation was that the LAC might actually make her more connected to her Judaism, as she would have to seek it out instead of just passively experiencing it. And when I pointed out that there were less than 100 kids in Hillel, she responded that a little under 100 kids can form a nice close-knit community and a group any larger than that would sub-divide itself anyway.
In the end she chose the larger school for entirely different reasons (and she has in fact been very passively connected to her Judiasm there as she predicted she would be!), but her thought process about the smaller community might be food for thought for your DS if he’s open to thinking more about it.
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I am not disagreeing, but is it genuinely considered “thin” EC to have your own podcast and pursue music heavily (plus the other things the OP’s son has done)? I hope not…
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Sounds like your daughter and my son are on a very similar page. Look forward to comparing notes along the way! 
Re: ec’s.
My sons may be seen as “thin” too as well since he has no leadership positions and hasn’t won awards. But my son plays 3 instruments, sings in 3 choirs, does the musical plus track and football. Sad that all that isn’t "enough ".