Looking for a great fit LAC

College Search & Selection
1

As you can see from my user name we had really hoped to get into Grinnell. Sadly, we were rejected. But we are moving forward and looking for input on how to tackle this very late search with success to find a school that works for my D.

She choose Grinnell because she wants a small school filled with students who love to learn, students who can engage in meaningful and intellectual conversation. She wants a challenging curriculum, diverse population, quirky, nerdy, student body. She was drawn to the non Greek aspect but that might not be a deal breaker. She doesn’t want a prentious feel, and she wants to be surrounded by people who are engaged politically and globally, she is concerned about our planet, and social justice. That’s why she wanted Grinnell. I’m sure there are other schools that will fit the bill but I am clueless. We don’t have friends or close family that attended any schools other than state schools or cc. She is an IB student and thrives in that kind of learning environment.

Here are the schools we now have applications in for and her stats. Some she isn’t to thrilled about and some are not good fits at all. But we need to quickly find the right ED2 school.

She wasn’t able to take IB or AP courses until her Jr year.

Honors Courses-7
IB Course- 6
AP-1

Senior courses: H Pre Calc, Pysch, Physics1, IB English HL2, HIB 20th century, Acappella Choir, Spanish 3- we are a week away from finals and she has all A’s- no senioritis here.

She has a cumulative GPA of 3.97 although that will go up a little with all A’s this semester
I thought she was top 10% of her class but it looks like she is actually too 12% of her class. That may also go up as many kids are suffering from senioritis and their course load have lightened and grades may dip but she is getting stronger. She will graduate as a Kansas Scholar.

She has taken the most rigorous course load available to her based on her MS placement and course availability, this year. Her school has a very small IB program and many classes conflicted with her IB English class.

She goes to a public high school in Kansas with approx 1500 students. approx 50% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. Avg ACT score is 21 ( I think, I need to confirm), I believe the avg score for our state is 22.

Last week we had 1application submitted (Grinnell) and her acceptance into KSU Honor College. But with the great advice of others on this board we began looking at other schools. We had never seen a common app before nor had our counselor. I am very ignorant about this process and most schools. But my daughter now knows she needs a LAC that is somewhat selective. She knows she will not be happy at state school, after seeing what was offered at Grinnell.

Merit aid and GREAT need aid are very important as we are considered poverty level and our FASFA EFC is 0 (hard stuff to admit publicly, please be gentle)

Here is the current list and status. Remember she and I knew nada about any schools other than Grinnell and our state schools prior to the last 10 days

Beloit-app submitted She doesn’t know how she feels about this school yet
Drake- app submitted, likely yes based on conversation with admissions
Earlham- app submitted, this school is looking like a top choice in this list
Knox- app submitted, very great response from admissions, feel like it is a yes but don’t trust my judgement anymore. This is her stand out choice on this list.
Carleton- app not submitted she doesn’t know enough
Macalester- app not submitted, it’s on here as a possible ED2 choice as it may be a reach
St. Olaf- app not submitted another possible ED2 choice if I can convince her to look at it.
Truman State University-app submitted, although I don’t think she’ll find the rigor she wants there.
Wheaton-app not submitted. She is agnostic still trying to figure out her beliefs about God and Religion. She doesn’t want to go to a faith based school. We will probably remove from our list

2

I would suggest Bates in ME and Wesleyan in CT. Both fit her requirements very well. I know that Bates is one of the relatively few colleges that guarantee to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. I think Wesleyan does as well, but I am not totally sure.

3

I am concerned about her being too far away and my ability to get her home on holidays. Even a couple hundred dollars for a round-trip plane ticket can be challenging for us. But I will definitely start looking at them. The question is do we meet their criteria? I really want to hyperfocus on schools that are matches based on her stats, and not so far of a reach that it’s almost certain rejection.

Please remember we don’t have the resources or people to look over our application to make sure that it stands out.

4

I’d recommend adding College of Wooster, Denison and Lawrence. Try to keep St. Olaf in the mix.

Macalester and Bates are probably low(?) reaches, but really good ideas. (Bates would be far, though.) I think an application is worthwhile if the distance isn’t a barrier.

Carlton and Wesleyan are wonderful schools, but definitely reaches … for pretty much anyone.

5

This is great thread on some LAC’s that are less commonly considered: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1671635-southern-lacs-p1.html

Also, I sense you embarrassment about your financial resources, but I would argue that you should consider it a strength from an application point of view. Schools have strong desire to admit a diverse class. Diversity INCLUDES financial diversity. Many LAC’s attract primarily affluent, suburban, coastal (or large midwestern city) applicants. If your D would be considered first generation college student that would be an additional advantage.

6

@porcupine98 I was actually going to add Denison, College of Wooster and Lawerence to the common app today, probably taking out Wheaton and possibly Carleton.

However, I don’t know which one should be ED2, and of these schools which ones will give enough merit and financial aid.

I won’t even have 2000-3000 to contribute. I have about 100 in my savings account.

And I’m hoping that she can keep her loans under $5000 a year.

7

I’m also wondering if we wait to apply to the ones we haven’t already applied to until after today’s ACT scores are released? For,some reason the schools we applied to,this week have her current scores even though we did not submit them. I think they are on her transcript which must be loaded into the common app?

8

This is NOT my area of expertise, but I believe traditional wisdom is to avoid ED if you need to compare financial aid offers. Given your very difficult circumstances, I’d be cautious with ED and also recommend a separate financially-targeted post in the Financial Aid forum that may provide you with vital information on navigating this piece. I think your kid is a great catch for a lot of schools (and geography may help – schools may be looking for that strong kid from Kansas over the dime-a-dozen overachievers from the northeast), but some schools have deeper pockets than others, and there are people on this forum who are savvier about that than others.

9

Has DS worked with her guidance counselor to compile an appropriate list of target, reach and safety schools as a 21-22 ACT isn’t an achievable acceptance to Grinnell as the bottom 25% is a 30 ACT and they aren’t test optional.

I fear almost every other highly selective school listed, unless they are test optional, will end with the same result. For those highly selective schools that are test optional, a strong GPA AND a compelling story of EC’s / purposeful “mission driven” focuses will likely be required.

10

@Chembiodad her score the first and only time she took it was 26, not 21 or 22. So, her school felt like she did a great job,lol. She is retaking it today with her time and a half accommodation, she will probably go beyond a 30 this time. I predict 32 or 33, but on the conservative side let’s call it 30 until her score is released.

Also, as stated her school does not send kids to schools other than State School or CC. They aren’t even familiar with these schools. Her GC is supportive for sure but can’t research schools with her.
He had never seen a common app before he filled out my D’s

11

@Chembiodad if you’re interested you could read my thread Grinnell ED…we do have very unusual circumstances. Tragic, actually. Although, she won’t make it the focus of anything because she does not want to be defined by it.
I did get her to briefly mention it in the personal statement on the common app.

12

I was a post behind (missed #10), @Grinnellhopeful.

With a higher ACT score this time around, Kenyon could be a reach option.

(Programmed editing options expire after 15 minutes.)

13

@merc81 I was just trying to edit my original post but can’t seem to do it.
Her 1st and only ACT score was 26.she was granted accommodations and is taking it right now.
If you want to know more about our story feel free to read my 1st thread Grinnell ED.

14

Your updated list looks terrific, and Beloit, Wooster, Earlham and Knox are schools we know well, and they are very much Grinnell-type schools and students. The only other schools I might add are Kalamazoo College in Michigan, and Lawrence University in Appleton, WI (north of Milwaukee), but I am guessing they would be outside your geographic preferences. I think it is wise to keep the travel and distance reasonable, both financially and in terms of adjustment for the whole family. Schools generally include travel costs in their estimated expenses that the financial aid award addresses, but she still may not want to be a flight or 12 hour drive away from family.

A couple of additional thoughts – your family’s loss and challenges over the past several years are part of her story and experience, making her academic achievements even more impressive. I understand your GC doesn’t have experience with the small liberal arts school applications, but perhaps they could still reach out to Admissions at a couple of her preferred schools on that list to ask how to handle that in the materials? Perhaps an updated GC recommendation that tells more of her story? The general advice for addressing these kinds of challenges is often to have the GC bring it up, rather than have the student try to tackle it in their essay. Or, if the teacher recs can address it, that works too. Similarly, I think it is reasonable to contact your Admissions officer at Grinnell to ask for feedback, particularly as they encouraged ED1 rather than waiting for Dec scores.

You and your daughter are showing incredible grace through this process, and I am confident she will have some wonderful options when it all comes to rest.

15

That changes everything (assuming 30+). You should be looking at schools where her story is compelling (lower income, midwestern, public school) AND schools that guarantee 100% of need aid. The problem is that you are quite late at this point, as many elite schools with strong need aid programs fill much of their class from ED. With such a low EFC, you could certainly consider trying to get to some schools like Amherst, Kenyon, Swarthmore and maybe even Brown. If your finances allow you to waive application fees, I would look at all the top LAC’s and maybe even some Ivies that have strong need aid programs. Remember, these schools WANT students like your D.

16

“I believe traditional wisdom is to avoid ED if you need to compare financial aid offers”

This was true but is no more. In past years financial aid was based on the most recent tax year - that is, for entering fall 2018 would be tax year 2017. This meant that financial aid decisions were not possible until late February at the earliest.

Now financial aid is based on the previous tax year - for entering fall 2018 it’s tax year 2016. Most LACs will give you an estimate of your financial aid prior to applying early decision as long as you have the FAFSA and/or CSS in on time.

Given your personal situation I strongly suggest drafting a letter to the college financial aid offices 1) asking for an early estimate and tell them it’s because you are going to apply ED2, and 2) a narrative covering relevant info about your financial situation that doesn’t show up in the standard forms. We did this this year before applying ED1 and it increased our financial aid estimate significantly from multiple schools. In practice the “estimate” will match the actual award unless something changes.

Note that this practice isn’t widely discussed on forums, which surprises me. But I attended a parent Q&A forum at one school and asked if there was any way we could get a more precise estimate than the financial aid calculators and this is what they told me to do. I then asked other schools and they agreed to do the same, and furthermore it sounded like standard practice everywhere.

17

Here is a list that supposedly covers all schools that guarantee to meet 100% of need. Remember though, that you also would want to see schools that do that without loans if possible.

http://blog.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/blog/colleges-that-meet-100-of-student-financial-need/

For example, Brown says this: Brown University
Brown University meets the full demonstrated financial need of every admitted student. Students with a combined family income profile under $100,000 are not required to take out student loans as part of their financial aid awards.

But sometimes you will see this: Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr meets the full demonstrated financial need of every admitted student. Students may be required to take out federal student loans as part of their financial aid awards.

Note the difference in comments on loans

18

I’m going to plug Carleton–it is a reach, but it is an absolutely amazing school. If her ACT score goes up, even to a 30 or 31, her chances there would increase. Carleton does consider test scores, but they are also good about looking at the applicant as a whole person.
You say she wants a small school with quirky, nerdy students who love to learn and a challenging curriculum. This describes Carleton perfectly. The students are known for being quirky and intellectual.
I have spent lots of time on campus and every time the students have been incredibly nice and seem very motivated to learn. From what you have described, your daughter seems like a good fit.
I’m applying to schools right now too, and my top four choices are Carleton, Grinnell, Whitman, and Bates. There is a lot of overlap between Grinnell and Carleton applicants. Carleton is good with financial aid.
Take a look at Whitman and Bates, too–the schools you mentioned often have similar applicants.
Good luck!
Also, if you want to get a better idea of schools and their feel, what I like to do is read their student blogs online or look at the college’s Facebook groups, social media pages, YouTube videos, etc. to get an overall idea of the school and if it would be a good fit.

19

@dadinga- I know it’s late in the game, I beat myself up everyday for it. I just didn’t know. Nobody advised us to look beyond KSU. This whole process is very new. It’s very typical that kids granted this accommodation see a score increase of 5-6 points. However, we still didn’t have any professional test prep. But ACT of 26 without accommodations and just her own test prep, is pretty darn good. I think a 30+ score is realistic.

Yes, all of our app fees are waived because we qualify for ACT waiver and free and reduced lunch.

20

Your concerns about travel costs make sense. Most students who are very financially strapped are given some extra accommodations for travel costs by the financial aid department if they are farther from home … but what if you have to make an unexpected visit either way for some reason? It just makes it harder.

It’s probably good to target schools with an average ACT from 23 to 30 for now, and if she hits 30+ super score on the ACT aim for the higher schools. In other other thread I mentioned Coe, Augustana, and Cornell (block system) which are close by and similar, and Wooster which is long day’s drive. Colorado College (block system) is also a long day’s drive, and I’d add Knox to the mix.