Looking for high academic LAC or smallish schools under 6,000. Ideally will have club rowing or varsity rowing, but not D1. New England preferred but willing to go anywhere in US.
Demographics
US citizen
Connecticut of residency:
Small public science charter high school
Male/white
Intended Major(s)
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.89
Weighted HS GPA: 4.12
ACT/SAT Scores: 35 ACT/1520 SAT
Coursework
Five APs so far, will be seven or eight, three dual enrollment to date, BC Calc next year, double science each year (required by theme charter school) fourth year of Spanish next year.
Awards
Extracurriculars
Ok ECs, worked for caterer, volunteered at same non profit four years in a row, rowing.
Essays/LORs/Other
Medium strength essay
Cost Constraints / Budget (High school students: please get a budget from your parents and use the Net Price Calculators on the web sites of colleges of interest.)
Applying to public and private for range of merit options, will consider some schools with no merit options if they meet need.
Schools
Middlebury fits it all --size, academics, financial aid, club rowing. Reach school.
Carleton?
Bowdoin?
Colgate?
Should add, he prefers something outside of a large city, which makes it harder. Was thinking maybe Union (small city) or Hobart, any experience with those?
Colgate is D1 so Iām not sure why it is on your list if you are excluding D1 programs.
I agree that looking at Hobart, Franklin & Marshall, St Lawrence, and Union might be good options. If you are considering D1 programs after all, maybe Holy Cross.
D1 in rowing is a little different. Itās not 100% off the list, but we have plenty of those programs already. Looking for targets with mens club. Thank you!
I think these are 4 great recommendations. F&M has the best reputation of the 4 for financial aide. However, this student has very strong academics and would be a top student at Hobart & St. Lawrence. As such, heād be a strong candidate for scholarship money on top of any need based money. I love Union. It would be more competitive for scholarship money, but it would be worth a shot. Iād also add Tufts to the list. A little bit of a reach but itās great for financial aid so it is worth adding to the list. Not in the city, more suburban location. Lehigh & Clark are also good for financial aid and would be worth adding to the list although Clark might be too urban for his taste. Lehigh is in a medium size city but doesnāt have an urban feel.
My cousinās son went to Hobart, was an athlete there, and had a great 4 years. Iāve been there and I think a rower would live the beautiful lake front campus.
I do not have experience with a student at Union. Iāve been there and liked the campus. Itās unusual for a LAC in that it offers a comprehensive school of engineering. Itās also great for govāt and poli sci, consistently placing students in internships in both Albany and DC. Both are described on their website under the Poli Sci department. Their āTerm in Washingtonā is an especially attractive program. Iāve always thought of Union as a hidden gem. For someone who seems to like the outdoors, there are lots of recreational opportunities within easy reach, both on the Erie Canal and in the Adirondacks with its wonderful lakes regions in addition to the mountains.
If mid-Atlantic is in-bounds, I would look at William and Mary. It has fantastic government / poli sci departments, with a DC office that hosts semester-long and winter/summer sessions, as well as a great international relations department and a joint degree program with the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Undergrad size is just over 6,000. Williamsburg might not be close-enough-to-a-small-city for him, but it could be worth visiting to see.
In terms of rowing, they have a club team that seems to do pretty well ā their novice menās 8+ and 4+ both came in first place at the Head of the Hooch (row2k results) last fall (14:40.8 for the 8; 15:41.9 for the 4). Their team site implies your son might be able to do an overnight with one of the guys on the team and a ride-along with the coach if he visits during practice.
Menās rowing shakes out a little differently than other sports. Itās not an NCAA sport so schools that are D1 may be in a lower grouping, and D3s might be in a higher group. There are also āclubā teams that compete up for some regattas and against some lower ranked schools in others. D2 schools compete up or down, wherever they fit best.
You could look at the teams participating in some regattas and see how they are classified. You should know that sometimes club sports are self supporting and can end up costing $5k or more, depending on how far they travel. My daughter plays club hockey for her school and has to pay for it herself, but she got lucky this semester and the college gave the team a big payment so the individual players didnāt have to pay this semester.
Academically, Hamiltonās fairly uncommon public policy major (which builds off of the fields of political science, economics and philosophy) might appeal to your son. Tracks in basic government and world politics also attract many students.
