My daughter is finishing her JR year and I was hoping for some suggestions on smaller-midsize LAC’s that may be a good fit for her. She would need to receive some merit aid for affordability over a public college. My EFC is high and she won’t receive any need based aid. She got a 30 on her ACT and her unweighted GPA is 3.5, weighted will be between 3.8-4.0 so I’m not sure she will qualify. For EC’s she is in an Art Magnet, recently won an award from the state of Florida. Her art was chosen and sold as part of a fundraiser and she has been in the Nat’l Art Honor Society and Art club. She is also a cancer survivor and has done some limited speaking at events to generate funding for childhood cancer as well as 100+ volunteer hours. She is very talented and may qualify for an art scholarship. I feel she may be a better fit for a smaller school with smaller class sizes but am concerned with the cost and her chance of admissions. We are currently looking at Eckerd, UCF, FSU, UF, USF. I don’t think New College is a good fit for her. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
This is a great place to start looking at LACs:
http://ctcl.org/
Thank you for your response. I notice Eckerd is listed and they also offer significant scholarships for merit and Florida residency.
Have her take a look at Knox College, another CTCL school. They are a small LAC that gives generous merit aid. My daughter is a theatre major and has found the students to be very welcoming and the faculty to be involved and supportive. As a freshman, she found several professors who were willing to talk with her about her future work/grad school options. They are also building a beautiful new visual arts building and have just added a design minor, so I think filling that space will be a priority. Volunteerism is also very important at Knox.
Thank you for the information on Knox. I’ve heard great things about that school and will definitely take a look!
Just adding a note that my youngest will be a junior next year at Eckerd and loves it there, so if you have any questions…
We loved Knox, and second that suggestion. Another possible school with strong merit aid is Denison in Ohio, which has gorgeous art facility – an early 1900s gym building has been converted into a 3 story art building, with great 2d and 3d facilities. Denison gives good merit aid, and works to attract a diverse student body. Take a look, in addition to Knox!