Dickinson
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Is Bryn Mawr test optional? Because it sounds like it’s a good fit- small, liberal, collaborative, and absolutely beautiful. My daughters- we are also a military family- felt much the same in regards to seeking out something different from what they grew up with. One is at Haverford and the other is using yellow ribbon to dance at LMU.
ETA: Bryn Mawr is test optional.
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One problem is that this describes a very long list of LACs and small universities. A 4.0 unweighted GPA opens up a lot of options. Getting the list down to 20 might be tough.
I agree with another post that UVM seems like something to consider. It is not a LAC, but it does otherwise fit your description and Burlington is a beautiful small city.
An even wilder thought is the small universities in Eastern Canada. “Liberal, collaborative, beautiful campus, not hot” certainly describes them. Mount Allison (in New Brunswick) and Acadia (in Nova Scotia) both fit your description. I think of New Brunswick as the most attractive place in North America that we have all forgotten even exists. Nova Scotia can match it on “beautiful” (Acadia overlooks the Bay of Fundy) but not on the “forgotten” part.
I wonder as a reach somewhere like Bowdoin or Williams. I am not sure how well these fit the “collaborative” part. Williams or Amherst College might get the edge over Bowdoin in terms of having a beautiful campus.
I would second the suggestions of Whitman and University of Puget Sound in Washington
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Sorry meant to say because of test optional u can apply anywhere. If you applied to Bowdoin you would not submit the score etc.
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Here is a list of test optional schools FairTest | The National Center for Fair and Open Testing
I second the Colleges that Change Lives website. We loved Clark U. in Worcester and that school might meet some of her needs.
Smith? Sarah Lawrence, Vassar?
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Agree with the suggestions of Smith College, Sarah Lawrence, & Vassar by @compmom.
Connecticut College & Skidmore College also seem like great recommendations.
Surprised, after reading OP’s posts, that others are suggesting Rollins College in Florida which is the opposite of what OP’s daughter is seeking regarding location & campus culture.
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Seconding Bryn Mawr! I think they’d value her background. Sarah Lawrence is a good suggestion. If you’re in the area, perhaps Bard? Skidmore, Conn College. Oberlin, Kenyon, Denison, and Earlham could all be worth a little research.
One that hasn’t been mentioned that might be a safety is Mills. Not sure how,we’ll the academic offerings match with interests, but vibe wise, it might be good.
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Look at Agnes Scott College, someone mentioned earlier.
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Rollins is gorgeous and easy to get to from almost anywhere in the world (to Atlanta and then Orlando). We’re also suggesting it because, as Florida residents, she’d get a lot of funding. Many of the schools are Yellow Ribbon plus have extra scholarship opportunities for children of military members. Yes, it’s hot but also close to the beach.
I think OP is going to find getting to a lot of these schools very difficult (or expensive) for an 18 year old. She may be willing to get to Bates or UVM in the fall, but getting out for any holidays, flying to Japan? Hawaii? Grandma’s house? will be difficult. Her brother is at UF, so travel may be less complicated to Rollins, U of Tampa, Eckhart, Flagler…
The OP’s daughter thinks she wants very liberal, but I think it will be a little culture shock to go from a military base to Smith or Reed. There are a lot of levels of liberalness between. Most colleges are liberal compared to a military base, but some of the LACs are at the extremes.
OP’s daughter does not want Florida, the South, or hot weather and is seeking a liberal environment (attracted to all women’s colleges) which is the opposite of the country club atmosphere found at Rollins College.
P.S. From the Fiske Guide: “Rollins attracts many conservative and affluent students…strong Greek system.” “The high octane Greek scene…”
Students who apply to Rollins College also tend to apply to Furman University which is Rollins College’s most common overlap school.
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Mills is unfortunately closing down.
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I agree that almost all LACs are liberal, even Rollins. If OP hasn’t been back in a few years, I do think the extreme social-justice orientation of some of the NE lacs will be rather a shock (and I grew up in NY), and with such small class sizes, it would be especially important to make sure she is comfortable in that environment, which one of my kids would not have been. The women’s schools are particularly good for gender non-conforming, trans, gay, and non-binary students and thus those students self-select to attend at much higher rates than at other colleges. All good options for the right student, but fit is really important in small schools, hence my suggestion to visit/read the campus paper.
One of my kids attended a medium size school, and I knew it was the right one for her when the campus newspaper featured editorials from the student president and editor talking about the importance of the very civil and polite discourse on campus and how much they valued that everyone was respectful and friendly with each other, even those with whom they disagreed. That is rare these days.
You should consider the ratings of colleges on the various websites as well-MHC is currently considered the 7th most liberal college in the country (far above Berkeley, for example). That may be great, or not, depending upon your preference.
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@milgymfam , didn’t know that!! Have only known one person there recently but she had a great experience. Thanks for the update!
Thanks for these thoughts, I love talking about math and it’s my own personal mission to encourage moms to be math-positive, especially around their daughters.
My daughter’s main issue with math standardized testing is the time constraint. Her reasoning process is atypical and rushing just makes her more nervous. She did take the test with zero review just for the experience so I think after a summer review it’s realistic for her to raise 100 points. Even then, I imagine we will still have to decide whether to report the scores. She has been taking math in a virtual, self-paced format for the past 2 years and has been successful - but it didn’t set her up for SAT success. She actually hates Khan Academy but we are using a different review program that she is positive about. Unfortunately we don’t have access to local quality tutoring.
Thanks for sharing your background, I’m glad you found that professor. I’ve found the math instruction and curriculum in overseas military schools to be very lacking, they use an outdated curriculum that is not appropriate for transient students. My own kids have moved every 2 years for their entire lives and it creates a special challenge.
I agree with you on the ACT but she likes the SAT format better. If she doesn’t get a score she likes in August she’ll try the ACT again. As a family of engineers, we like to be provide all the data so it’s helpful to get all of this feedback on whether to submit or not. Also, she’s got some low confidence issues so being on the low end of the test scale would make her anxious about her success.
Thanks for the thoughts about her chances at MHC. We learned this year that nothing is really a target. My son was waitlisted for Virginia Tech Engineering which was a wake up call that these things can’t be predicted.
I believe the high school says they offer 12 APs, which I feel is misleading as many of those are virtual. How does that compare to a typical high school?
I was confusing in my post, she doesn’t want to go to school in Florida but we will require her to consider and apply to UF and maybe one other since my husband is a resident and the Bright Futures scholarship is a great benefit.
Thanks for the ideas!
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My older daughter was below the bottom 25th percentage for haverford test scores, and she has confidence issues sometimes, but she’s thriving. It helps to be in an environment where grades just are not discussed. She has a 4.0, but that’s not expected (the average is around a 3.3 I believe), and it’s never come up in discussions with anyone at school anyway outside of her application to study abroad and her request for a double major. My younger daughter has scores that are off the bottom of the chart for LMU but she chooses to not care a lick- I do think she’d be worried if she were doing a more academic major though, so I understand.
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Law school admission is a pretty straight calculation of gpa and LSAT score, if that is a consideration. High GPA is needed.
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She’d love Canada but I think outside the US might be one factor too many for us to navigate. I think if we lived closer and she was more independent she would have gotten serious about Canadian options.