Check out Yeshiva University. As long as you get one school that you like, that is affordable, and that your parents agree to support, in the bag, preferably early, you are set to give any other school a shot.
@cptofthehouse YU is TERRIBLE for LGBT students and English majors so I’ll pass
Sorry, didn’t see the strong LGBT community support req. Just wanting a strong Jewish community. Doesn’t get stronger than Yeshiva and I’ve seen impressive grads from there.
@cptofthehouse I think YU is V strong in STEM and law but lacks in creative fields and journalism. I know a lot of people who found the school a very good fit, I just don’t think it’s for me.
Can you come live at my house?
No explanation needed. Some schools just don’t strike the right chord.
Are you in state or OOS for the UCs?
I think that based on some of your previous posts, WashU might be better for you than USC.
@wistfulwords With all due respect to your parents, I would revisit the idea that you could apply to Wash U or USC but not both. Here’s why. First they are somewhat different in vibe and size: USC is much larger (roughly 20K undergrads vs. Wash U’s 7K). USC’s Jewish population is around 10% vs. 20% at Wash U. At either, you’d have a critical mass of around 1,750-2,000 fellow Jewish undergrads.
Both of these schools are reaches for all but also offer the potential of some very nice merit awards, albeit highly competitive ones. At USC national merit finalists are eligible for consideration for half and full tuition scholarships. Wash U offers competitive half and full tuition merit-based scholarships available through separate application. Among Wash U’s merit scholarships is a named writing scholarship. Why not try for both?
As for the rest of your list, if you’re a California resident, the Cal States and lower ranked UCs will provide plenty of safeties, assuming that you genuinely like them. If you’re from NJ or MD, you’re light on safeties at present. For match/low reach I see Brandeis, Emory, Kenyon, Drexel and Rutgers/UMD-CP, if you are out of state for the last two. The rest are reaches.
As for LACs, there are many good options that have Jewish populations of about 25% or higher of the total student population. Some are represented in your current reach heavy list. There are others that would be more safety/match like Muhlenberg, Oberlin, and Sarah Lawrence. These offer merit scholarships as well. While I can see why Kenyon is on your list for its writing program, it is a small school in an extremely small town and Jewish student presence there is relatively light comparatively.
If you haven’t seen this already, it may be helpful for you and/or your parents.