Totally different feels! One urban / suburban and compact, the other large and spread out in a tiny town near a lake and beautiful scenery! I loved Clemson but both my boys looked at urban schools. (Hazard of growing up somewhere with public transportation, I guess!)
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She a city lover and has been taking the bus/train into NYC since she was a young teen (and goes a lot when home, 10 miles away), I think with Covid and lack of college tours had her all over the place. Her sister is in Boston for grad school (only applied to urban schools).
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This is a fantastic list, @KatMT - you found some new (to me) schools.
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If you loved Smith you should definitely check out Bryn Mawr. My daughter was very interested in HWCs and really liked Smith too. Initially she thought Bryn Mawr would be too small - but the easy access to Haverford and the city of Philadelphia changed her mind. She received a substantial merit scholarship, and I would think you have a great shot of also receiving merit with your stats.
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With the interest in French along with interest in small schools - I would highly recommend doing a deep dive into each school’s French or French/Francophone Studies programs and course offerings.
Smaller schools will have fewer offerings in upper level foreign language courses. Depending on the school and the professors teaching, the focus of those upper level courses may be geared towards: 15th century French poetry, France in the Caribbean, French influenced Canada, French feminism, Immigration and Racism in Contemporary France, etc.
If you are completely uninterested in 15th century French poetry, going to a school whose department head makes sure to teach that as one of the required upper level course yearly might not be the best choice. Just something to think about when looking at small schools with foreign language departments.
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Conn College offered my DS more than 20K+ in merit in 2022. You have similar stats to him. If you want a NE LAC, they may be your best bet. He didn’t end up attending, but I remember how attractive their merit award was.
Maybe consider a LAC in Quebec?
Bishop’s University,
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My daughter is a sophomore at Smith and she received a STRIDE scholarship, which is a merit award program. Smith does have a limited number of merit award options, so I wouldn’t rule it out entirely: Merit Aid | Smith College
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How did your daughter qualify for the STRIDE scholarship? I’d love to earn it, but am a little unclear on the criteria so I’m a little hesitant!
I agree in hoping you don’t give up on Smith prematurely. It’s worth a shot.
My D was offered the Zollman at Smith last year.
https://www.smith.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/first-year/merit
It’s half tuition plus the STRIDE research opportunity. I’d say it was probably a combination of stats, ECs, demonstrated interest, recommendations, and fit…but they don’t give exact criteria for how to get it. Seems like a holistic process for both the STRIDE and the Zollman.
Bryn Mawr also offered her significant merit as did Dickinson (where she applied for and got the Presidential). Beloit really went the extra mile with some perks/offers and was difficult to turn down. Good luck!
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With those stats you could probably get merit scholarships to get your net price down to between 30K and 40K at some really good LACs in the Midwest or near-Northeast. My S23 had offers in that range from Kalamazoo, Wooster, Allegheny, Hobart and William Smith, Dickinson, and Ohio Wesleyan. He was a valedictorian with a 1500 SAT. Save some extra money for grad school!
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Unfortunately the criteria for STRIDE is not spelled out anywhere–but nichols51 did a good job of listing the likely criteria used to determine award recipients
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