Looking for matches in the East/Mid PA LACs (Lehigh, Gettysburg, F&M, Lafayette, Dickinson)

If you are looking for out-of-state liberal arts colleges not too far from Ohio, and if Dickinson seems like a potential match in terms of selectivity and atmosphere, then another one to consider might be Centre College in Kentucky.

Centre (#46) is ranked similarly to Dickinson (#51) in the USN&WR liberal arts college rankings. Both are located in relatively small cities, in proximity to larger cities. Both are noted for international focus and study abroad programs. Neither is known as a party school.

Unless I missed it, Juniata hasn’t been mentioned. Allegheny was mentioned, and I like to think of Juniata and Allegheny as being in my private list of really terrific schools that fly under the radar and that I’ve only heard great things about. I’d also second some others mentioned: Lycoming (truly overlooked), Ursinus, and Muhlenberg.

Yes, the OP has mentioned east/mid PA, but the best value is probably found in western PA (Juniata and Allegheny). They might offer quite a bit of merit for the OP’s child. As I’m sure the OP knows, most of the prestige schools are in eastern PA (Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, Haverford), but Juniata and Allegheny also provide superior educations; their geographic location (western PA=Appalachia, while eastern PA=east coast) shouldn’t be held against them.

You missed it (in Reply #1 above). But that’s OK, Juniata is worth reiterating.

This is a super thread. We just returned from Dickinson interview for Twin A and anticipate her going ED. Thanks to CC, we also did self tour of Muhlenberg and I loved it, but DD19 didn’t. Lafayette is where I would go if I was applying, but she is not as social as I am.

Dickinson has a wholesome element to it that is so appealing. I know all kids party a little in college, but Dickinson has an intangible down to earth feel. Did drive by of Lehigh and didn’t like. Wanted to go to Allegheny, but it was in opposite direction.

I agree with post about ED for kids (like Twin A) who are a fit. There are so many applicants now. She is 3.7 GPA W, 30 ACT and if she wants Dickinson, she’ll need to go ED and be locked in.

While Centre compares favorably to schools like Dickinson or Gettysburg by most ranking metrics, it gets far fewer applications. The discrepancy remains even after adjusting for Centre’s smaller size.

My guess is that this difference primarily reflects geography. LAC awareness and interest is disproportionately concentrated in the northeastern US, which makes the LACs in that part of the country particularly competitive.

The bottom line is that Centre had a 76% acceptance rate for Fall 2017, which is an amazingly generous level for a Top 50 National LAC.

Totally agree @Corbett regarding Centre and geography, and even with us being next to Kentucky, and have driven through it and can attest how beautiful it is, can’t get my son interested in KY. His friends’ brother got a full ride there (much higher stats).

If you are willing to consider the Eastern PA area… Ursinsus and Muhlenberg might work for you. Both compare to Gettysburg and Dickinson but two hours further east…

My D attended Lafayette. I think the tricky thing there in determining if the school is a reach or a match is that Lafayette takes about half of its students in the ED round which makes admissions in the RD round more competitive. Taking a lot of students ED is not all that unusual for small LACs so it may be something to ask about if your S develops a definite top choice. https://about.lafayette.edu/lafayette-at-a-glance/class-profile/

And in terms of Jesuit schools, my S graduated from Fordham (Rose Hill) which would likely be a solid match for your S if he wants to come that far east. The Rose Hill campus has about 7,000 students and about 3,500 live on campus so it feels smaller than the school’s total enrollment numbers might indicate (there is a second campus at Lincoln Center). My S lived in the wellness dorms at Fordham freshman and sophomore year which worked very well for him. No Greek life (that I ever heard of anyway) and great access to everything in NYC.