Looking for smaller LACs with an "alternative" vibe, plus have merit!

Beloit and Knox. Both in ctcl Very cool vibe. I also know what crunchy means… Lol

Earlham and Guilford, both not so reachy and with good merit although on the fringe of your geographic preference. Bard is a great choice but not so good with merit.

If Kenyon, which is more mainstream than Oberlin, appeals, perhaps Dickinson which is a bit less selective and offers merit?

Agree that Hampshire could be worth a look (but not sure about merit there.)

Definitely not in the east but Lewis and Clark in Portland OR fits.

Among LACs in the Midwest, Macalester might be worth a look.

Some rainy day you might want to look through the CTCL and ACM member school lists, cross-walking them against Kiplinger’s merit scholarship numbers.
https://ctcl.org/category/college-profiles/
https://www.acm.edu/about_us/index.html?utm_source=%2fabout&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=redirect

https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=lib_arts
(click-sort on either column showing “non-need-based aid”.)

For example, Coe, Beloit, Lawrence, Luther, and Lake Forest are ACM schools with relatively good merit grant numbers.

College of the Atlantic? Goucher? Hampshire?

Definitely Grinnell. If she is willing to consider a women’s college have her check out Mt Holyoke (big merit)) and Smith (some merit to around 10%). Both are in a consortium with Amherst, UMASS and Hampshire. Both have a social justice vibe similar to Oberlin (at least mine thought so). If you are willing to look on West Coast check out Whitman, Williamette and University of Puget Sound. Mid- west check out Macalester.

Not sure about Ursinus being crunchy. It is a good school with good aid, accepting student body but more athletes than hippies or hipsters. I second Muhlenberg being worth a look. How about the five schools in the consortium in the Pioneer Valley? Best of luck to you!

Thanks everyone for their suggestions. These are all ones we will look into.

I may have misspoken about Kenyon being crunchy/alternative. I was trying to paint a broad picture of what my daughter was looking for. In our recent visit, we definitely got the intense, intellectual vibe as well as people who are very passionate about their interests, which really appeals to her. To us, it didn’t sound like a party school at all.

They also had an amazing arts scene, including theater, which my daughter is interested in pursuing as an elective. To her, Kenyon seemed like the quintissential liberal arts school and without the preppy vibe (to our eyes). We did ask about Greek life and they said it wasn’t that big, but perhaps we need to look into it a little more. I think if money were no object, that’s where she’d apply, with Oberlin a close second behind. I’m not sure if her stats will be high enough to get merit at Kenyon.

And she’s definitely open to women’s colleges. For the most part, she wants to stay away from school’s with a majority preppy vibe and big Greek scene.

The west coast is too far for us, but Grinell could work.

I really appreciate all of these suggestions. They are very in line with what she’s looking for and we’ll start exploring then some more.

Sorry for any typos! Typing on my phone.

Based on your description above, check out Bryn Mawr as well.

So you may want to look at St Olaf. It was a tad too mid west for mine but great school, great academics, great merit.

Agree with @doschicos about Bryn Mawr – intellectual, academic, cooperative/not competitive, no greek life (unless you count the fondness for the greek goddess Athena), and not particularly sporty.

We were told on Kenyon tour that, while greek life is non-residential, housing office reserves certain parts of dorms for greek life members so that all members of a certain sorority or fraternity are on the same hall.

If you like College of the Atlantic, then look at –

Unity in Maine

Marlboro in VT

Green Mountain in VT

Somewhat crunchy and very arty, also look at Bennington in VT

If you like UVM then look at it’s more affordable alternative, U of Maine at Orono – same size, outdoorsy vibe, international airport, pretty campus, ABET accredited engineering; theater program that’s great, many other nice programs, and has matching tuition (flagship matching program – look at “scholarships” for more info on their site). Also Maine, unlike VT offers impossibly gorgeous coastal region not too far (40 miles) from the campus.

Bard is also arty and somewhat Bohemian in feel, but extremely intellectual, pretty campus, unclear about merit.

I don’t know your daughter’s stats, but Haverford College in the Philadelphia area (close to Bryn Mawr) may be of interest to you.

Warren Wilson College in North Carolina accepts about 82% of applicants & less than two thirds (65%) return for their second year. I do not recommend this school for a variety of reasons including your daughter’s preferences.

Haverford fits the desired vibe but does not give merit aid.

I agree with @tk21769–check out the Associated Colleges of the Midwest: https://www.acm.edu/index.html

All give excellent merit aid except Carleton and Colorado. St. Olaf’s merit is iffy depending on stats and auditions and timing.

Merit aid is definitely important for us.

@ZZdecision2016

I don’t know test scores for OPs daughter but her GPA as reported is prime for merit at St Olaf.

Seconding Muhlenberg, UNC Asheville, Knox, Earlham, Mount Holyoke, Bryn Mawr.
What about Agnes Scott? Eckerd? Hendrix?

@time4adventure If merit really is important to you, you should be focusing on schools where she is in the top 10% score-wise and GPA. Also concentrate on schools where she is offering them something THEY need. My D chased merit, applied to 19 schools, accepted at most of them, and a half dozen or more came in less expensive than our state flagship. Sure, most that offered large merit were “safeties” but places she could and would have done well at. As luck had it, a “match” school decided she had something to offer them and she got a fantastic package. Was it her first choice or her third choice, No. But it was on the list and she has excelled there.

This may be way out of the box for you, but take a look at New College of Florida.