list help asap!!! f/anthropology middle range kid

Parents Forum
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<p>Getting down to the wire and we are not firm on a list for DD, child #3. I am freaking out-she needs small classes, interactive teachers, prefers not yuppie Abercrombie models. Major-anthropology and/or archeology. minor-biology. take medieval history courses if available.
help on current list, schools to add that would be better...super welcome!
I thought putting question here is better since so many kids are high scoring kids.
Has late diagnosed ADD (the slow daydream kind) and a mild neuro problem that I think caused low sat W score (hand control issues with writing)
SAT 680v, 610m, 520w. SAT II bio 660. AP Bio 4. GPA 3.7 weighted.
rank 86/459. EC - Orchestra youth orchestra age 5 till h.s. in H.S. is chamber orchestra 1st cello, Small chamber group (top group, they do lots of volunteer performances etc) 1st. cello. Marching band 4 yrs. senior year - Pit Captain. (played percussion-marimba etc. not marching cello)
Volunteer foster caretaker with local animal shelter. has cared for infant kittens and puppies-tough job. Waitress all through school.
here is the semi fluid and very confused list - money a big issue. Just found out NJ, our home state, is not giving need based aid to most students with family income over 45k or so. This means a private school using CSS profile could be cheaper IF aid stays the same. (#1 child frontloaded at American years ago, had to move to Rutgers due to $. worried about all that)</p>

<p>Saftey Schools?
Montclair State
Rutgers
Douglass-Rutgers
William Patterson
Monmouth (she might get $$ from them)</p>

<p>Likely Schools (targets)
Saint Mary's College
Eckerd
Catholic University of America
Fordham (MAYBE a reach. her #1 favorite-loved the place)</p>

<p>Reach
Rochester eligible to apply for a scholarship-she is a Kodak Scholar)
Holy Cross
Skidmore
William and Mary</p>

<p>recent suggestion - College of Wooster
also The College of New Jersey - no true anthro major though.</p>

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<p>If you are looking at small classes- interactive teachers etc. I suggest you check out this website- <a href="http://www.collegesofdistinction.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.collegesofdistinction.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br>
Can't help you too much on info re: anthro major - though of course most schools have an anthro. Dept. But my d sounds similar to your kid. Though she applied to a # of schools in the NE which are more geared to the "average type student" (Temple-Towson-GMU), she decided to stay in NY and is now attending SUNY Cortland. She has adjusted extremely well to the smaller environment school. Most of the Suny Colleges have enrollment in the 5,000-8,000 range and do not have many large lecture classes.<br>
OOS tuition at SUNY is also extremely reasonable- (I think about $11,000.)</p>

<p>I hope the above website is helpful- it does have a bunch of colleges in the NE area as well as the entire country that might have the environment that you are looking for.</p>

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<p>She might get a little money (merit) at Fordham, but I would say none at Holy Cross, Skidmore, or W&M. If it's merit money you seek, I would scrap those schools for sure.</p>

<p>I second Wooster and would add Denison.</p>

<p>I think you'd do well to spend $15 and subscribe to the US News America's Best Colleges Premium online site. They have a new table on there that shows ALL the aid (need and merit) given out. Look for it right on the first page - it's called "Brand New Ranking - Where the Aid Is." There are some surprising schools on that list. Concentrate on schools in the midwest or near south. They are giving out the best money by far.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Just a note about Monmouth. We looked into this school and we were fairly sure that our son would qualify for merit aid. The problem is that they don't have guaranteed housing after freshman year. This would have required off campus housing for S, and a car. That would wipe out the merit award IMO. Additionally, one of my friend's children attended for a semester, for reasons that I won't go into here. She found classes to be less than challenging, but this is just the opinion of one person. My son ended up at another school that does not guarantee on campus housing after freshman year (although he was just offered on campus housing for next year, as a sophomore). At this school off campus housing is reasonable, and there is very good public bus transportation to campus.</p>

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<p>My niece goes to Evansville and is majoring in archeology. I don't know to much about it other than she loves it there and she did get some merit aid as an OOS.</p>

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<p>A reach would be Pitzer (VERY strong in anthropology). I've heard very good things about Ohio Wesleyan for kids with LDs.</p>

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<p>Just a quick note. Sociology and Anthropology are pretty much the same major. My daughter will graduate with a double major in education and Sociology-Anthropology. So, if you are doing a search for just Anthropology, you might be missing out on some colleges.</p>

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<p>You might look at Elon. As Kathiep said this school links their anthro/soc. dept. She could major in soc. and minor in anthro. Their biology dept is strong--this I've been told by people in the industry in the research triangle area and by high school biology teachers.</p>

<p>My oldest attended Elon with ADD diagnosed late (senior year in HS). Elon was very good about accommodations (if he requested). Classes are very small, no TA's, easy to speak with administrative people as a parent calling. Price at Elon is very reasonable when compared to other privates. Son had several friends from NJ, so I believe your geographic area is well represented.</p>

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<p>Colleges That Change Lives <a href="http://www.ctcl.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.ctcl.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>College of Wooster
<a href="http://www.wooster.edu/archaeology/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.wooster.edu/archaeology/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Beloit
<a href="http://www.beloit.edu/%7Eacademic/fields/majors/anthropology_overview.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.beloit.edu/~academic/fields/majors/anthropology_overview.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Bard
<a href="http://www.bard.edu/academics/programs/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bard.edu/academics/programs/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Lycoming (hidden gem for archaeology)
<a href="http://www.lycoming.edu/archaeology/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lycoming.edu/archaeology/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>George Washington
<a href="http://www.gwu.edu/%7Eanth/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.gwu.edu/~anth/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>The two schools that come to mind that nobody's mentioned yet are Lawrence University in Appleton, MN and Drew University in New Jersey outside NYC. Both are smaller, student-centered schools, and I have heard fantastic things from students at each. They both have creative sides, too; Lawrence has a Conservatory with a well-known Jazz program and Drew has a good number of artsy kids and a good theater program. Everyone I know at Drew was supremely happy with the financial aid, which included scholarships. I don't know much about Lawrence's cost or aid, but it's worth looking into.</p>

<p>Lawrence
<a href="http://www.lawrence.edu/index.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lawrence.edu/index.shtml&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.lawrence.edu/academics/anth/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lawrence.edu/academics/anth/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Drew
<a href="http://www.drew.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.drew.edu/&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.drew.edu/cla/depts/display.php?dept=anth%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.drew.edu/cla/depts/display.php?dept=anth&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Here are some stats on the schools mentioned so far:</p>

<p>Avg. merit award (% awarded aid)</p>

<p>Elon $4544 22%
Lawrence $9251 31%
Drew $11368 28%
Beloit $14025 12%
Bard $9708 6%
Pitzer $5000 6%
Ohio Weslyan $11747 40%
Wooster $12591 37%
Denison $12213 (US News reports 20%, their common data set reports 56%)</p>

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<p>Lawrence is in Appleton WI, not MN and you should ABSOLUTELY look at Beloit. Tops in Anthropolgy, extremely nurturing and they give good merit aid. It was the only school that offered our S merit aid during his Jr. year interview (he's a great student). They looked wonderful to me. They are a top feeder to graduate programs in Anthropology.</p>

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<p>Oh, yes, thank you Bethievt. I must have been half asleep typing that!</p>

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<p>Look at Lawrence! They can offer excellent financial aid and merit awards, have conservatory that is accessible to students who are studying in other fields, interesting small city, pretty campus on the fox river, airport is within 15-20 minutes of campus. Lots of opportunities afforded to students to explore many avenues of learning, activities, and service.</p>

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<p>wow. thanks for all the wonderful help!
We will qualify for financial aid-much more using the CSS Profile. I have not run the numbers yet but last year we paid $20,000 in out-of-pocket medical expenses, and have 10k average since 1995. I have a fill in the blank " letter of extraordinary expenses" template - just kidding, but only barely.
I need to figure not only what schools will accept her, which will try to meet need, and also which will continue to meet need if nothing changes.</p>

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<p>I'll second the recommendation of Beloit, although ALL of the LAC's schools mentioned and your other thread so far are wonderful little gems. You really couldn't go wrong with any of them.</p>

<p>The reason I'd recommend Beloit, however, is that Beloit's anthropology department is superb, and they have wonderful research opportunities for archeology as well, including one of the top archeology museums at an LAC in the country. It really is as nuturing as described -- my daughter, as a first semester freshmen is almost overwhelmed with the attention and opportunities she's getting from her teachers. The student body is best described as quirky, down-to-earth and free spirited. Unlike some midwestern schools, Beloit also truly pulls a national (and international) student base, which I think is a huge plus. My daughter says just about anyone could find a home at Beloit if they have an open-mind and tolerance for differences in others. She is very, very happy, and, as long time readers of this board know, we visited 25+ schools in her college search. My daughter looked at the UC's, but quickly decided that she really wanted a small school - for her, it was absolutely the right decision.</p>

<p>Your daughter's stats are similar to my daughter's, so I would be comfortable calling it a match for her. </p>

<p>However, some possible downsides if your daughter has learning issues: the curriculum is very writing-intensive, the teachers have high expectations (although they are more than willing to help struggling students), and the anthropology major is NOT for slackers - very intense program, which is one of the reasons why it is highly regarded by graduate schools. The town of Beloit is nothing to write home about, but Chicago and Madison are within shouting distance for weekend trips, and there is an amazing amount going on on campus every weekend.</p>

<p>Financially, Beloit is one of a handful of schools in the country that guarantees to meet 100% of demonstrated need, and they will work with you on appeals if you can show special circumstances such as heavy expenses not typically included in the FAFSA. They are indeed generous with merit money, but the cut-off for the merit scholarships is 3.5 UNweighted, and they look closely at leadership/EC's for the top scholarships (require an on campus interview for those as well).</p>

<p>At the risk of sounding like "one of those parents" who are blinded once their child goes to a particular school, I can't say enough good things about my daughter's experiences at Beloit so far. However, as I said, many of the other schools mentioned here are also excellent IF your daughter is open to smaller schools.</p>

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<p>Meant to add: If your daughter is hoping for merit money, she must apply by Beloit's Early Action deadline, which I believe is December 15.</p>

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<p>i have the daydreamy adhd...lol its lots of fun..ive blanked out in chemistry for atleast a minute daydreaming at least 2-3 times a class...having small..classes is good i have 12 in a class at my school...15 in a grade..only grl in grd. yeah so also look at good schools w/ good accomidations stuff..thats whats needed..i went to a seminar on post hs stuff for kids w/ LD and ADHD check out accomidation centers b4 u accept at college</p>

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<p>Carolyn, do you know if Lawrence and Beloit have a hard and fast cut off of 3.5 for merit aid? In my experience some schools do stick to hard and fast #s, and others seem to have a gray area. In other words, someone with a 3.3 from a competitive school, lots of volunteer work, or other very nice ECs, and/or better than minimal SAT/ACTs will get some merit award.</p>