Interested in more details too! 
Ditto the suggestions to apply to Bryn Mawr and Smith if Mt. Holyoke is a top choice. I also don’t think it’s a slam dunk that it’s a reach on EA. She has a realistic shot, so why not apply to two other FANTASTIC women’s colleges that also have stunning campuses and similar vibes? BM will feel busier because it’s in the Philly Main Line area, whereas Smith is in a quaint but somewhat busy small college town and MH is in super sleepy South Hadley.
Outside of the women’s colleges, I agree with others that her GPA and what I assume to be respectable rigor relative to what has been made available to her suggests there are many other LACs (and mid-sized universities) to which she should apply. As others have said Skidmore makes sense. Great school in a fantastic mid-sized town that is beautiful, full of amazing architecture, history, restaurants, museums, art galleries, and other things to do. I’ve yet to see a better college bar scene than in SS. Albany is nearby for an airport and the state capital, but SS even blows it away for things to do (and is much nicer across the board). Conn College is another good one.
My specific mentions are based on the idea that she chose Mt. Holyoke as her #1 for a reason.
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Read this…it sounds like NEU will breathe new life into Mill.
https://www.mills.edu/news/press-releases/mills-to-merge-with-northeastern-university.php
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I feel like Connecticut College is gaining momentum. It’s already in a great division , and it just received a large donation (maybe their largest ever?). As I recall it’s like 65/35 female to male ratio? I could be wrong.
St Lawrence University at the top of NY State seems like a nice LAC too. Not too hot up there.
Thanks for the additional recommendations. We did consider Connecticut College but they only have 2 spots for all undergraduates for the Yellow Ribbon program (matching program with VA to make up the difference between cost and GI Bill max) so we left it off the list.
Here’s the current list of planned applications for anyone interested. Her SAT math increased slightly (to 570 for a composite of 1330) and she’s taking the ACT again soon. Her class rank is 14/154 - 4.0 UW GPA. As of right now going test optional for Early Decision to Mt Holyoke.
This seems like too many schools but parents will likely end up in Hawaii or Virginia so we wanted safeties in both locations. Also we can’t visit from overseas before applying (may possibly be able to visit her top 3 picks of admitted schools in the Spring) so she’s cast a wider net.
Mt Holyoke College
Skidmore College
Simmons University
Dickinson College
Bryn Mawr College
Smith College
American University
College of Wooster
UMass Amherst
William & Mary
James Madison
Agnes Scott College
University of Hawaii
I couldn’t end up talking her into any Florida schools but is willing to consider Agnes Scott.
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That’s a solid list.
The only outlier is UMass Amherst. Not a LAC, not in a state you’d move to.
Could you maybe add UMW or CNU in Virginia, in addition to James Madison and W&M? Either one is closer to a LAC and would be VA safeties.
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Good list! If you can’t visit until you have acceptances in hand, there’s nothing wrong with a little variety in the list – it will allow her to choose size and type of location, just a little later than most applicants.
Do take advantage of non-binding early applications and rolling admissions where offered-- it’ll give you an opportunity to explore some of your options earlier in the cycle and understand their merit/financial packages.
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If she’s open to women’s colleges consider Hollins in Virginia. It is in the same ballpark as Agnes Scott and she is guaranteed merit there.
Ahh, read back through the thread and see I already mentioned Hollins, but maybe she has already dismissed it.
Agree about Amherst. It’s on there because it’s in the 5 college consortium that Mt Holyoke also belongs too but has a higher acceptance rate. She is really attracted to that geographical area. GI Bill fully covers states schools so I was ok with that outlier.
Good idea about UMW and/or CNU, will explore those a bit more, we have a friend’s kid at Christopher Newport who is super happy there. Thanks!
Thanks for this, she does have EA targeted at the 1 or 2 schools who offer.
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Yes, we did research Hollins and she ultimately thought it was too small. I think a visit here would have been valuable as it was hard to picture the scale and vibe online.
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I think Dickinson is an excellent choice especially when you mentioned public policy. We did an open house there several years ago with our son and met several students in related majors. More than once we heard about the peace corps and foreign service from different students. It also checks off the other boxes you described.
If you do visit Dickinson and you haven’t already, you may want to take a look Juniata as it is fairly close by. Not as highly regarded academically and little more isolated but I also think it could be a fit. Best of luck.
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Looks like a good list to me. I think she has a solid shot at Mt. Holyoke ED so fingers crossed.
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Any thoughts on if she should submit test scores after raising math on the ACT? I’m including common data set info for Bryn Mawr and Mt Holyoke as potential ED choices.
Based on the ACT composite score of 31, she should submit her ACT scores because a 31 is above Mt Holyoke 75th% score of 30, and almost certainly above Bryn Mawr’s median ACT score.
Of course, my assumption is that both schools superscore standardized test results.
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I imagine you are concerned with the 24 and 27 and you might call and ask is the test viewed solely in its entirety or are individual sections looked at and reviewed even if they don’t end up in stats.
If it’s the latter, I’d personally go TO…24/27 definitely stand out as not good. My guess is it’s the former and then yes submit.
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Since she’s going for a major where she’ll only be taking gen ed math (ie., Art and geometry, math for citizenship…) and her scores in the relevant academic fields are very high, I would submit.
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Hi! I just wanted to follow up and say thanks for the help. My daughter was admitted to Bryn Mawr Early Decision, she did end up submitting her test scores.
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Great news, congrats to her!
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congrats to your daughter!!