The northernmost part of California is the border with Oregon at latitude 42, which is considerably north of what most people think of as “northern California” (e.g. San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, etc. – most people do not immediately think of Chico, Redding, Arcata, Eureka, etc.). The southernmost universities in Canada are in Windsor, which is just north of latitude 42. There is a small island in Canada that is just south of latitude 42, but there are no universities there.
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I think I missed this earlier. Thank you!
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Some info that applies to your daughter’s interests is below. My son really enjoyed our visit to Nova Southeastern and liked the rigor and vibe. Very diverse and the premier programs offer unique honors programs. They offered a generous initial merit award and he can compete for more. My son was invited to interview for the full tuition scholarship at Shark’s Preview weekend (his is Feb 9-11) and he applied to interview for the B.S. Psychology/PhD Clinical Psychology direct entry program (non-binding but guarantees a spot in their PhD program directly after undergrad is complete.) NSU definitely has potential for my son and might be worth looking at for your daughter. Good luck!
Neuroscience degree
Studio Art minor (they have other art-related minors)
Premier Programs (my son applied for the research one as top choice and global as 2nd choice)
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My go-to has been niche for finding basic stats about colleges but it isn’t always detailed enough (as in this case when it lists SMU as #1 Christian college, where the college website states non-sectarian, as you noted).
Daughter also thinks Texas is too hot, which is hilarious coming from North Carolina, which is pretty darn hot (and humid).
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Yes, it was Windsor. University of Windsor is at 42.3043° N. That rounds to 42 and northern cali weather is the same as LA, right?? 
/s
The weather info was on the international student page, they probably get questions about their weather all the time.
D seemed fine with northern Ohio weather and it was only tiny Great Lake separating them, how bad could it be ha!
Thanks for sharing these links, @AmyIzzy! I wasn’t familiar with the school until I started hearing you mention it, but in exploring the links you included show that there are some very interesting things going on there. The programs your son’s interested in (neuropsychology, research scholars, global scholars) all seem as though they have great experiential learning included. Frankly, I am quite impressed at your son’s research skills that he was able to hone in on an under-the-radar school that seems like such a great fit for him!
@bronzerfish , I totally understand the desire to focus in on a residential campus. But should your family change its mind, Nova Southeastern has a dual enrollment option with its Physician Assistant program, should that be of interest to your D. I have heard that acceptance to PA school is becoming increasingly competitive. This one would require students to maintain a 3.2 GPA to remain eligible. Just some food for thought.
I’ve also seen Duke listed as a religious school!
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Some schools have religious affiliations and where it is very nominal, and others where it seriously permeates much of academic and campus life. But then there are individuals who don’t want any religious affiliation, even if it’s name-only. It sounds as though that is the case for OP’s D.
He is a kid that definitely seems to know what he wants and doesn’t want. He seems to gravitate to the medium-sized schools (although open to bigger ones if the honors programs make them feel smaller.) He liked the idea of going to school near Miami because almost everyone speaks Spanish and he loves to practice his conversational skills (spent 2 summers in Mexico doing upper level gymnastics all in Spanish) so we looked into several in the area before we planned a trip. Thought maybe he’d like University of Miami but he said he doesn’t want a big party school. So he said he wanted to look at Barry University & NSU. I added Florida Atlantic but he couldn’t picture himself there, felt it was a “jock vibe” and too large. Didn’t help that it was 1000 degrees in August and we had to do a lot of walking on the tour. Lol. He considered the FAU honors college (a whole different campus with only 1000 students I think) but felt that was too small. He really liked both Barry & NSU. Was offered a nice package from Rollins in Orlando too (another great medium-sized school.) Lots of good choices closer to home too (Buffalo) so he’s keeping an open mind. He’s actually pursuing a BS in psychology with end goal PhD in clinical psych, but he’d like to take some neuropsychology classes for sure. Glad I could offer some input on NSU. I’ll try to report on his experience at Shark Premier Weekend on the Class of 2023 thread or anyone can message me.
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Thank you @AmyIzzy for all the information. NSU really seems like a promising option with a lot of what D is looking for (I talked to her about it and she likes the sound of it, and somehow Florida’s 1000 degrees isn’t as bothersome in her mind as Texas’s, who knows why)
Thank you also @AustenNut for the additional information about PA there!
@Sweetgum Duke does have a really pretty chapel!
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Washington college in Maryland. My child’s roommate is pre-med there. They have a great committee that helps pre-med students with interviews, etc. If she wants to change major, WAC is strong in all sciences, neuroscience, psychology, English, and up and coming with business. Students can apply to be part of Cater Society and get funding to do their own research (even pays for travel!). Because there are no grad students, undergrads get picked to work with professors on research and to be TAs. They have a very strong arts program (museum on campus, theater groups, orchestra, etc) and a lot of clubs. Socially, the clubs host events for the whole school during the week and weekend is mix of smaller parties (Greek exists but does not dominate). Professors really shine at this school, and classes are small so you get to know them well. School is on a river, and has a very cute “Eastern Shore” town attached to walk to. Probably smaller than what you child wants (was smaller than my child thought they wanted to, but loved the community). Nearly no one pays sticker price. They have a day trippers club that invites the whole school on their trips—DC, Philly, NYC, Annapolis. I do think it is a free application, so worth applying, even if just a back up.
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I think you have to check out the actual religious component of every college which might be appropriate before dismissing. Brown is Baptist- home of the first Baptist church in America in 1638. Anyone who has spent time on campus in the last 50 years finds that either a historical oddity or hilarious. There are religious groups on campus for a wide range of beliefs and faiths- but NOBODY considers Brown religious (and many on the right consider it the epitome of anti-religious woke liberalism, which is also not true but I digress).
There are colleges with religious origins that are totally secular, and then there are places like Liberty or Oral Roberts or BYU which are religious, and then places in the middle. It is worth researching this for any college that looks otherwise interesting, because the stereotype and reality may be very different.
I did not know a single Baptist at Brown…
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Funny you mention this. We are pretty liberal Baptists, and D22 in particular is a theology nerd, so the Baptist heritage was one of the main things she loved about Brown. In fact, I think she was more excited about First Baptist Church in America right down the hill than the university itself…and they may have figured that out, as she was not admitted. 
I definitely did not get the feeling that the Baptist thing mattered at all when we toured.
Agree with Dramamama. My daughter goes to SMU and it is really name-only, way less religious than, for example, Baylor which doesn’t sound religious at all.
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This sounds great and really does seem to have almost everything D is looking for. I think I need to get her on campus when school is in session, because I still feel like she could thrive in the environment of a smaller LAC, as long as she could also get in a lab for research, which seems quite possible. Trips to places like DC, NYC, etc…she would love that.
Thanks so much for the recommendation, adding to the considering list.
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If your daughter becomes open to some smaller schools, then these are some additional possibilities your family may want to consider:
Connecticut College: Getting sufficient merit aid would be a bit of a reach, but not an impossibility. I imagine quick train trips to Boston or New York City are quite possible as well. About 1800 undergrads. And this school is near the Thames River and about 5 miles from Ocean Beach Park, giving you a clue as to its location. New London is also where the U.S. Coast Guard Academy is, so water is definitely present.
Lake Forest (IL): After merit this should be far under budget. Located in a suburb of Chicago by Lake Michigan, this school of about 1700 undergrads actually had more neuroscience grads than biology grads in the most recent dataset shown in College Navigator (can’t think of any other colleges where that was true). She can take public transportation into the city not just for entertainment, but shadowing, internships, etc.
College of Wooster (OH): This school with about 2k undergrads is known for being a great place for undergrad research. It’s just over an hour from Cleveland with its own big-city amusements.
Wheaton (MA): Do not confuse this Wheaton with the one in Illinois, which is religious. This school with about 1700 undergrads had nearly as many neuroscience majors as bio majors. And it’s about an hour from Boston, so close enough for fun day trips.
A school I probably should have mentioned earlier is Mercer (GA). There are about 4900 undergrads here and a strong health-fields focus at the school as well. Some lakes are nearby, but the water possibilities would not be the primary draw.
All of these schools are classified as residential campuses.
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What a great list! I had looked at some of those colleges previously but eliminated because of college vine net price calculator. However, when I went to the college transitions merit dataverse just now I am seeing a much different picture (if, say, a college gives 90% of students merit scholarships and D’s stats line up it should be worth a shot if the college is otherwise in consideration). Adding all of those for consideration (except College of Wooster because I don’t like their campus safety stats).
Now I’m going to have to go through and look at the $$$ rejects on my big spreadsheet again in more detail.
Thank you so much, this is really helpful on a specific level, and also from a reminder to look at information from multiple sources.
I am trying to get some kind of list together for a spring break college tour road trip. Thankfully D’s spring break will be when many colleges are in session so she can get a better look at how places are during a regular term (sit in on a class, eat at a dining hall, etc).
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Ignore the “percent getting scholarships” statistic. It is HIGHLY misleading.
Over the last ten years, many colleges have shifted to a “modest merit” strategy. That means your ultra special, incredible kid gets a 5K discount and bragging rights (for you) that “They wanted little Susie so much they PAID her to attend!”
It is a strategy designed to attract folks who can afford to be full pay, and to move away from assisting needy kids (who need a LOT more than 5K). Makes their budget go MUCH further. And they still fill their seats.
It is not relevant for you that 90% get aid. What’s relevant is what will YOU get.
Stick to the Net Price Calculators, use as accurate information as you can to get the most accurate estimate possible. And understand that the “Hail Mary” type of merit scholarships (Two given out of a class of 1,000) are very, very rare albeit incredibly generous if it’s your kid who wins one of them. Those awards have a very different purpose than the token 5K awards. They are either designed to get the tippy top kid in a desirable category to attend (Physics Olympiad winner, for example; Presidential Scholar finalist) OR just to be a contender when the kid is deciding “University of chocolate cupcake with a full scholarship vs. Duke at full pay”.
With Virginia Tech, Elon, and Christopher Newport on the potential list you may want to also look at James Madison University, and University of Richmond. These may also all work on a college visit trip.
As an example, the net price calculator for Connecticut College only asked financial questions. Nothing about GPA, SAT, EC that might be used to calculate merit awards.
Yet 89% of freshmen without need get an average of $24,817 according to the “merit aid by institution” listing from college transitions. Who are those people?
Assuming D is in that 89% and would get the average amount, it would be affordable, also nowhere near as much as what the net price calculator said.
I don’t want to waste our time applying to places she would not go due to finances, but I also don’t want to unnecessarily limit her choices if the net price calculator is not reflecting merit aid that, in some cases, seems to be more than a token amount and for more than a token few.
Ah, or does this turn into one of those things where 1/x people get a full ride and the rest get the token and the average still comes out like that. I see what you are saying.
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