Looking for more matches to add to son’s list and would like more input on these. Son has 3.6 UW GPA, 3.9W, 29 ACT (retaking in Sept but already has had 2 29s…but very inconsistent among the sections). NOT a partier and not interested in Greek so I suspect a couple of these will fall off of the list. Mostly looking for admissions matches at this point, in general he likes small to mid LACs and the general area works. Finances not really a factor, would love the possibility of some merit aid, but it won’t be a huge factor in the final decision.
Lehigh seems like an outlier here, for multiple reasons. Lehigh is really a small university, not a LAC; it is larger than any two of the others put together. Also noted for Greek life and partying. Finally, a 29 ACT would be on the low end of its range, so it might be more of a reach than a match.
Bucknell is smaller than Lehigh and is typically regarded as a LAC, but would be similar in terms of party scene and selectivity.
Lafayette, Dickinson, F&M, and Gettysburg seem like better fits. Lafayette is comparable in selectivity to Lehigh and Bucknell, so might be more of a reach. Other good LACs in east/mid PA would include Muhlenberg, Ursinus, Juniata, Elizabethtown, and Susquehanna; however these tend to be slightly less selective than the schools on your list, so might be “safeties” rather than matches. Allegheny could be a good option if you were willing to consider northwest PA.
My daughter (3.7W, 31 ACT) applied to Gettysburg, Dickinson, Lafayette and F&M. Outside of your list she also applied to Allegheny and Susquehanna. She got into all except for F&M & Laf – was waitlisted at both of those. The vibe we got was that Gettysburg was a Greek and party heavy school. Laf too, but it seemed if you weren’t interested you’d find like minded people. Dickinson stayed on until the very end. It’s beautiful, had strong academics in dd’s major, the students we met were down to earth, nice, and smart. They were the least generous financially however. Allegheny & Susquehanna would be safeties vs matches, but we were very impressed with both schools. DD was invited into the honors program at both and received a lot of merit as well. Susquehanna is a beautiful campus with students that came across as very passionate about their academics and very nice. Allegheny in the middle of nowhere but awesome administration, faculty, and students. I think if it were in a more desirable location it would be more popular and selective. Hope this helps. Happy to answer any specific questions you might have.
Agree with the suggestions. Muhlenberg seems like a particularly good match where merit aid is possible.
FWIW my D graduated from Lafayette a couple of years ago – there is Greek Life but it isn’t dominant – one can have a very full and happy social life without it. F&M and Dickinson were also on the top of her list.
I loved Lycoming. It would be a safety and nice merit. Lebanon Valley is another right by Elizabethtown that is a nice school. Another vote for Muhlenberg as well.
F&M, Laf, and Lehigh are probably the most selective schools on the OP’s list. One thing to be aware of at schools like these is the growing reliance on Early Decision in admissions. It’s not unusual now to fill roughly half of the freshman class by ED. So if you apply RD, assume that half of the available slots will already be gone by the time they start reviewing your application.
For example, the latest Common Data Sets (for Fall 2017) show the following numbers:
Lafayette: 680 entering freshmen, 335 ED admits
Lehigh: 1,234 entering freshmen, 669 ED admits
F&M: 645 entering freshmen, 346 ED admits
It’s likely that a small number (<5%) of ED admits reneged on the ED commitments, but even so, it’s clear that the ED admits represent approximately half of the entering class.
At F&M, the ED acceptance rate was 61.9%. By subtracting the ED numbers from the totals, we can infer that the RD acceptance rate was only 31.6%. Clearly the system is strongly biased in favor of ED applicants, who now comprise the majority of the class, as per the numbers above. Not saying that this is a good thing, but it’s something to be aware of.
If you’ll consider NY state, take a look at Hobart & William Smith. Also, slightly larger but maybe worth a look SUNY Geneseo. FWIW, when we were looking (2014), Dickinson was one our favorites for my D. Made the short list.
U Scranton has fewer than 4,000 students, no Greek life, and would be a match for him. It’s a Catholic school so don’t know if that’s OK. Females make up nearly 60% so males are desirable and some merit (maybe $10,000/year, possibly more) is likely with his stats. Don’t be put off by The Office making fun of the city of Scranton; it’s a pretty campus and the kids who go there seem quite happy.
Agree with @corbett. Washington and Jefferson is a great little school. Head of the American society of plastic surgery mike klaska and roger goddell the attorney, now nfl commissioner, are noted grads of late. It has a Greek system but it is embedded into the dorms. No Greek row or any of that.
Not sure where in PA you are, but if you are in the Western part, adding Ohio to the mix could really open things up for you. If not interested in partying, Dickinson is probably the best choice from your list. Muhlenberg and Ursinus are two less selective schools that are popular and Allegheny, mentioned above, is certainly worth a look.
Lehigh, Bucknell, and Gettysburg all Greek life and strong party cultures. At Lafayette and F&M, it may be easier to build a life without that although it is certainly there.
Thanks all for the great replies. Interesting that Dickinson keeps coming up in the thread. And got some good info about admissions for F&M and Laf, I was thinking they were more of a match than they really may be.
We are in Ohio actually and yes, lots of great schools here. Son wants to go out of state and we are supportive of that. Western PA not out of the question (or other states) and I’ve heard of Washington and Jefferson. We are Catholic and not against any kind of religious affiliated school, it could be a plus but is not a must.
@LuckyCharms913, son watches The Office and I’m not sure I could get him past the Scranton stereotype! We’re getting a little burnt out on visits so for now, looking for matches to add to the list that are good enough on paper to research more and consider applying. But thanks!
have updated my list with a bunch of notes, thanks all!
If the idea of Jesuit schools is appealing you may want to take a look at this link and read up on some that may be good geographic and academic fits. http://www.ajcunet.edu/ I don’t think Jesuit schools have Greek Life (although I would check each school’s website) so that may be a plus. Many are a bit larger than you might want – more mid sized universities - but they tend to have fairly small class sizes.
Some Jesuit schools do have Greek life, some don’t. Georgetown does, BC doesn’t.
Gettysburg is a small town (touristy stuff aside). The students have to make their own entertainment and it’s a couple of hours to Baltimore or Philly. The Greek and sports give them structure to do that.
I asked my daughter and her boyfriend if they ever had ‘school envy’ when they traveled to other schools to play their sport if they wished they’d gone to another school either for the sports or academics. Their school was in a small city but close enough to Orlando or Miami to go to concerts or events, and of course they had the beach. Her boyfriend made it clear that many of the towns they went to had nothing for students, not even a pizza place that stayed open past 7 on a Saturday night.
It’s possible that these schools could represent both “matches” and “reaches”. More like matches if applying ED, but more like reaches if applying RD. Keep in mind that the ED and RD processes are now of roughly equal importance at these schools.
At Lafayette, for example, the accepted students for the Class of 2021 had 25-75% ACT range of 30-33. Based on those numbers, Laf might seem like a “reach” for an applicant with 29 ACT.
But for ED admits specifically, the ACT range was significantly lower, at 27-31. Based on the ED numbers, a 29 ACT seems more like a potential “match”.
Thanks @happy1, I myself am a HUGE fan of Jesuit schools, and medium size enrollments as well; my daughter attends LMU in LA and FWIW there is nonresidential, small Greek presence there…the kind of presence that would be fine for my son and he likes LMU but it’s too far. Georgetown is my son’s dream school but it’s the dream reach and we are not planning on an acceptance there. We are also looking into College of the Holy Cross (again, probably a reach), Loyola MD, and University of St. Louis, the latter two seem a little underwhelming though to others on the list.
@twoinanddone I appreciate the info on Greek and sports adding to the social scene in an area where there isn’t much. Then again, as I mention below, son has a social life, but mostly prefers evenings in at home or quiet gatherings with friends. But it’s something to consider, we’ve been to some schools with teeny towns and he likes the feel of Georgetown, with DC there and the vibrant neighborhood, better.
If he could get that ACT up to a 32 I’d feel more comfortable with all of the reaches on the list, but who knows; and many of our reaches only superscore SAT. We threw around the idea of trying the SAT, but he’s burning out on tests (ACT 3 times already…one mandatory at school that he didn’t prep for long story), and his SAT subject tests did not go well (putting Georgetown even further out of reach…he won’t submit those anywhere else).
So anyway the new suggestions in PA and NY of more likely matches is helpful. I don’t think he will apply ED anywhere. BTW since we are now talking about admissions, he’s white and non hooked and no standout ECs or athletics. Great kid but a little of the “introvert bias” I’ve read about, and also just not an overachiever or competitive guy. So being at the bottom or middle of a schools’ ACT range still makes it a reach, to me.