<p>My D is applying ED to Haverford. It is a reach. She has 1350, 3.87 weighted, about top 15% of class, and excellent ECs in vocal music & varsity tennis (manager of choir, captain of team). She is a very good candidate for D III college tennis and has had some coach interest, but I sense this is only a help and not a guarantee at a D III school. School as a whole is more impt than tennis team. Music also very important (a capella groups, etc.)</p>
<p>What she liked about Haverford was small LAC, low key friendly social scene, not a "party school," honor code, and students she met there seemed really content and happy. She doesn't drink or smoke, though she is open minded & certainly has friends who do. (And who knows, later she might.) But for now, she wants not to be oddball if she doesn't drink. </p>
<p>She likes Vassar too. Again, a reach.</p>
<p>Thinking about Wesleyan (too druggy?), Oberlin, Lawrence, Beloit...? </p>
<p>Any advice or other ideas? I'm thinking we need to find out about regionally well known places that are outside our area & might want a Calif. applicant who can play on the tennis team... Particularly happy & friendly schools that would be good safetys or strong matches. Moderate drinking okay so long as one is not pressured and there are social options outside beer.</p>
<p>WEsleyan is not particularly druggie, unless she's looking for that. Also, it's generally got a lower acceptance rate than Haverford, so if one's reach, so would be the other. My D did not drink at all when she first went there, and was very comfortable there not drinking, and then choosing to when she wanted to. No pressure at all. I think overall, though, that the schools Collegeparent listed are probably more like Haverford in feel then is Wes.</p>
<p>Your D's profile shows her to be a little bit light for Haverford, but ED could make the difference. It is an excellent school. To Collegeparent's list I would add Carleton (reach), Lawrence (solid match - excellent music), St. Olaf (solid match - probably best school in the country for choral music)and Earlham (safety - Quaker-influenced school, like Haverford).</p>
<p>Keeping her interest in Haverford, vocal music and friendly kids in mind, but without knowing anything about her main academic or career interests, I would definitely investigate Lawrence, St. Olaf and Kenyon (a capella groups are big there). Carleton would be good too, but a boost from the tennis coach would be necessary for admission. </p>
<p>Assuming she is interested in playing D3 tennis, there would be several midwest or northeast LACs where coaches would be able to boost her application. The level of HS tennis play in California is much higher than the rest of the country, except for Florida and a very few scattered suburban areas. I'm guessing that her captain status indicates she is a strong player. If by any chance she is a ranked player in the Northern or Southern California USTA section or has beaten ranked players just about any school mentioned here should fall all over her. And neither would be necessary for her to get attention at the right school.</p>
<p>I am assuming she has had direct contact with the Haverford coach. If not, she should do so Monday. That coach should be able to calibrate her chances at Haverford if he/she hasn't done so already.</p>
<p>Thanks for your ideas. We have talked to several coaches who are quite encouraging. My good friend is a D I Volleyball coach who made it clear to me she got definite "picks" each year at the admission office. I get the impression in D III they tell the admission office which players they'd like to have but then its up to the other factors; your coach alone won't do the trick.</p>
<p>I will look up Grinnell, Furman & St Olaf; the others we have noticed too... Hamilton a little too boozy I think.</p>
<p>Definitely check out Denison in Ohio. Its ranked among the top 50 liberal arts colleges in the country by USNWR; has one of the most beautiful campuses in the Midwest, let alone the nation; and is very generous with financial aid and merit aid. Its women's tennis team is the defending conference champion, was ranked #6 in the final Division III poll last year, and its coach was named the ITA National Women's Coach of the Year last season. Based on your daughter's stats, Denison would be a match for her.</p>
<p>Would suggest Holy Cross-very good LAC with Div111 tennis program, that might seek Cal. players. In addition, HC has a good mixture of serious academics and social life with no frats scene. As a Jesuit school it like Georgetown seeks diverse student body of all faiths. Location is good -1 hour from Boston. Trinity would be another option.</p>
<p>St. Joseph's University in philly. Very good LAC. beau campus. give a lot of merit aid. Excellent academics. oh the tennis program is outstanding</p>
<p>To answer the question about ranking, she used to be ranked but in order to have other activities (music, performances) she stopped playing so many tournaments so lost ranking. Our HS tennis team sends kids to D 1 schools routinely, but my daughter is a rung lower than that. When we visited schools, she hit with several host players and D3 is the right level. However, the very top ranked D3 schools (Williams, Amherst, Emory-- and maybe also Denison?) might be unrealistic, or she'd warm the bench on those teams.</p>
<p>Putting aside D3 Tennis-- any other ideas for happy, mellow schools where stats make a match?</p>
<p>For what it's worth my daughter is enjoying Oberlin. She doesn't drink or smoke either. I think most of your criteria seems to fit. The place isn't known for the prowess of their intercollegiate sports teams, but who knows maybe your daughter can be a star there then.</p>
<p>That is good to hear about your daughter & Oberlin, because we had liked the sound of Oberlin. On a site called studentsreview.com there were several critical posts from current Oberlin students. Hard to know, may not be an accurate reflection... Anyway thanks for the info.</p>
<p>You also might want to check out Allegheny College. Very strong choral program, has a women's tennis team, and also has the honor code system. The school would be a safety for your daughter but don't let that fool you. They have a very strong academic program and there is a place for the non drinkers.</p>
<p>My d. is a music major at Smith. There is a huge amount of choral music. Three campus choirs, 9 a capella groups. And they are now forming a 5-college opera consortium (my d. is the research assistant attached to it.) She also sings in an "early music" groups that meets at Mount Holyoke, with students from MH, Amherst, Smith, and Hampshire. (Performed at Amherst last night.) You will find much more music there than you would at Haverford (we looked.) Also, good Div. III tennis. Less alcohol/drugs than at most (even Haverford.)</p>
<p>Earlham is also a good choice, though I don't know how the tennis is. It is officially "dry". (You'll find a little, but not much.)</p>
<p>Connecticut College has the honor code, but I'm not sure about tennis. My daughter, also interested in Haverford, Vassar, and Wesleyan, liked Connecticut College, too. It's less competitive than the above mentionned 3, but still academically strong.</p>
<p>Mini & Mom 55: Good ideas, thank you. I am nudging her to apply to at least womens college. I will tell her about all the music; sounds wonderful. Conn College is a good match too, and the tennis there is great.</p>
<p>Both Lawrence and Beloit are solid matches. Beloit is a probably more like Haverford, politically speaking (a little more liberal than Lawrence), though both schools provide their students an excellent education. I know that the women's tennis coach at Beloit has been there forever and they are consistently pretty good.</p>
<p>Colorado College is another school that comes to mind and would be a match for your daughter. Their unique academic calendar really suits a good number of students. Intensely concentrating on one class at a time makes a good deal of sense to me. They are one of a handful of schools that use the one-class-at-a-time approach. </p>
<p>To me , actually the studentsreview site comments seem mostly positive. Mostly "thumbs up" though a few people clearly didn't do enough upfront research and got themselves into a poor fit. I guess people can be impacted differently by various comments. In any event,this is a very small. self-selected sample of opinions. If it seems close, best to visit and draw your own conclusions. It was only after an overnight there that my daughter decided it was the best place for her. She liked Haverford much less, but to each their own.</p>
<p>My D & I went & looked everything up... A few were too religious, others seemed slightly too alcohol or frat heavy, but most of them looked great. </p>
<p>Very helpful comments from all, thank you!! It feels better to go forward with a larger list and especially with a couple of solid matches & safetys she can feel good about attending.</p>