Looking for smallish LAC/University in an urban area

College Search & Selection
1

High school senior loves Reed College in Portland (she is there now for a visit). Trying to find some similar schools in the Northeast. She would like a LAC or a smaller university in or very close to a large city. Anticipated major is chemistry or biochem or possible environmental science (focus on ecology or botany)
Stats: GPA 4.0
Class Rank 1/57 (small rural public high school)
ACT 34
SAT 1410
Taking 2 AP courses this year (Microecon and Government/Politics) and has 12-15 college credits from dual enrollment (our high school focuses more on dual enrollment than AP)

Other schools she is looking at:
Drew University
Vassar
SUNY New Paltz
University of Rochester
Trinity College (Hartford CT)
Clark University (Worcester MA)
Brandeis
Tufts
Denison (her dad’s alma mater)
Dickinson
Union
Univ Rhode Island
Williams

Dropped off the list due to rural location
Hamilton
Colgate
Colby

We have a high EFC (42K) so I would like to find some state schools (outside New York) that might offer merit aid/tuition discounts for OOS students.

Any suggestions of schools to add to her list?
Thanks so much!
Jennifer

2

Williams is extremely isolated. I can’t understand why it’s on the list. Have you been there? It’s a one-block town miles and miles away from anything remotely urban.

3

Take a look at Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN… they offer decent merit aid. Also consider Colorado College in Colorado Springs. While they do offer some merit it isn’t as high as a school like Macalester.

4

Not in the northeast, but Macalester.

Williams is about as rural as you get (I don’t think anybody ever accused Williamstown as being a large city. Also no merit. No merit at Vassar, Reed, or Tufts either.

How about one of the Women’s Colleges? Bryn Mawr comes to mind.

5

If Hamilton, Colgate and Colby were too rural, Williams will be too rural, too. (It is my personal favorite college, but its mountain setting is not the right fit for some.)

Interesting mix of schools. On the liberal-social justicy-artsy end of the spectrum, you have Reed, Vassar, New Paltz, and Clark (and Clark has the generous merit aid you seek). On the fraternity-heavy end of the spectrum, you have Trinity and Union. Dickinson, Brandeis, Tufts and Rochester inhabit a middle ground, with Brandeis leaning a bit more towards Vassar et al. It will be interesting to see if your daughter swims comfortably in both the Vassar and Union types of environment, or ends up liking one kind and disliking the other.

Denison has the dual benefits of legacy and merit aid, so that’s cool.

Other ideas:
Outside the northeast (two of the few small liberal arts colleges located within major cities):
Macalester
Occidental

In the northeast:
Swarthmore- similar intellectualism to Reed, and a train station on the edge of campus is a short ride to Philly. This would be a “reach” school she would probably love.
Haverford
Muhlenberg
Skidmore (not near a big city, but Saratoga Springs is lively, and it is a hop/skip/jump from Union, which is on your list, and from Albany)

You asked about state schools. I am not sure what University of Vermont offers in aid to OOS kids, but it has a “feel” she might like. It is in a great town, though not at all like NYC or Philly!

Bard would feel a lot like Reed in intellectual atmosphere, but is definitely rural.

I think Sarah Lawrence and Goucher have the right feel and locations, but may or may not offer enough in the sciences for her.

6

I agree with everything that @GreyKnight says. Adding only that if she’s looking at Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr, she should also include haverford. BMC and Haverford have an historic relationship, are 1 mile apart, are on the train line into Philly (less than 20 minute ride) and are in the same consortium as Swarthmore and UPenn. It checks all of her boxes./// Correction: oh wait, Greyknight included haverford.

Also she should consider Muhlenberg as Greyknight also said-- happy arty school that would probably offer her merit.
If she doesn’t mind fratty Greek culture (judging from the Union on her list) then she may want to consider Lehigh.
Wesleyan University might be in a town large enough for her.
Smith is in the town of Northampton which is not a city but lively enough to be almost a city
Connecticut College is in New London
If she likes UVM then she might also consider Uof Maine at Orono – currently offers a tuition-matching program, is i a city that’s smallish like UVMs, is about the same size as UVM and has a wide variety of arts and sciences. I think of it as the cheaper UVM. Also there’s an airport servicing the Bangor/Orono area.

7

Eckerd in St. Petersburg. Very oriented towards social justice. Honors school, Phi Beta Kappa Chapter, strong mentor/professor program, freshman research grant available as well as ability to begin research with a professor in freshman year. Well regarding in the environmental/ecology areas, offers an ACS recognized degree in biochem, on the water marine science lab, new James Center for molecular and life sciences building, new greenhouse. With her stats, she would be eligible for at least $21,000 per year merit aid.

8

New College of Florida – also in a city, on the beach, and is offering freshmen OOS students automatic scholarships.

9

A few small northeast urban/suburban schools to consider:

Barnard (NYC - womens college – part of Columbia) as well as Haverford and Bryn Mawr (suburbs of Phila) could be good additions. Goucher (MD) could be a good safety and she should get merit aid.

An out of the box idea might be Fordham - Lincoln Center campus (NYC) – a small campus (about 2,200 undergrads) of a Jesuit school (the larger campus is Rose Hill in the Bronx may also be an option) which has a more liberal vibe than one might expect as it houses the theater and dance programs.

10

Not an LAC but it really does feel like one, WPI in Worcester. Would work with her major(s). They have a decent amount of humanities classes for a techy school. My LAC loving daughter really liked it. As a female she could potentially receive some great merit.

11

URI is not in a city, and have you visited Trinity?

12

You do know that you’ll pay at least your EFC at Reed? The only merit aid they offer is NMF. Have her stop by Lewis and Clark while she’s in Portland. Good merit opportunities and great school.

13

Smith…Northampton is a bustling eclectic town. Its in the consortium with Amherst, UMASS, Mt Holyoke and Hampshire. Bus runs between campuses. They have limited merit up to 25K.

14

Have you checked out Philly area LACs? Swat, Haverford & Bryn Mawr might be worth a look.

15

@JSchaaf: With a class rank of #1 (valedictorian), a perfect uwGPA of 4.0 & an ACT score of 34, your daughter should aim higher if merit aid is not a necessity.

Will she be applying to graduate or medical school ? Any career plans or goals ?

With a 34 ACT score, you need to discard the 1410 SAT score.

Would she consider large state university honors colleges ?

Although not in your preferred geographical area & not LACs, Vanderbilt University & Rice University are in cities & offer merit aid.

16

Another vote for Macalester even though it’s not in the Northeast. Great location, public transportation, pretty campus, interesting and engaged student body. No Greek life. Lots of social activism. Immediate neighborhood around the school is mixed residential/commercial, tons of restaurants, coffee shops, cool stores. Entertainment venues for concerts, sporting events, theater all accessible from campus. College student heaven.

17

Rice is definitely worth investigating. Although the last decade or so has seen its undergraduate enrollment expand from around 2,900 to around 3,900, it retains the feel of a slightly overgrown LAC, and it remains the smallest of the comprehensive elite research universities. The campus is beautiful, the students are friendly and open-minded, and Houston is an incredibly diverse city with a lively cultural scene. Besides offering some merit aid, Rice has just announced a generous new financial aid policy that well make it easier for middle-class students to attend.

The main downside is the heat at the beginning of the school year, but mid-fall through spring (i.e., most of the academic year), the weather is lovely.

18

Thank you so much! Please keep the ideas coming. I thought I could reply to individual posts but it looks like I can’t.
Next week is a huge 10 day college visit trip:
Clark (will try to add WPI)
Tufts
Brandeis
URI
Trinity
UMass Amherst
Williams (although we may drop this visit)
Vassar
SUNY New Paltz
Drew
Union

After our visit to Drew we were headed up to see Hamilton and Colgate but now have an extra day. May try to get down to see Haverford and Swarthmore. Or maybe to Fordham.

My eldest daughter didn’t really need any guidance with this process so I feel like a complete beginner.
My next post will be regarding the number of colleges to apply to-how to narrow down the list of so many great choices??

19

Rhodes is another small LAC in a really interesting city.
Lewis and Clark in Portland
Mills in the Bay Area
the Claremont consortium – may be close enough to LA to draw OP’s interest

She should look at Barnard if it’s not already on her list.

20

As a Swarthmore alum and mother of a recent Swat grad, I will say that while it is true that Swat has a train station right on campus with a ride into Phllly of about 20-30 minutes, it would never be called “in a city.” The train is very convenient for getting to Amtrak for trips home along the Northeast Corridor, and Swat is a comfortable Uber ride to a large airport for longer trips. However the city is not really something students use for “just going to for some fun” on a regular basis. If she really wants to be in a city, this isn’t it. But maybe she’ll change her mind. BM and Haverford would be similar in that sense.

(and the Claremont consortium would in no way be considered “close to LA.” There you need a car and it’s a significant distance - roughly an hour drive.)