Yes, but most of them are called UNC-something so I just wanted to clarify that NC State and App State are both part of the UNC system even though they are not named liked UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Pembroke, etc.
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I was going to suggest St Olaf as well. The campus is beautiful! It’s rural with a nice small town nearby, but less than an hour from MSP airport. They give excellent merit aid.
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St Olaf is going to have a “brainier” vibe (for lack of a better work) than some of the other places suggested here. So if you can give us a sense of what she’s looking for besides not country-club types, that would really help! If the numbers work for you, St. Olaf is a fantastic suggestion…and definitely the “diamond in the rough” you asked for, for a kid from NJ!
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Thank you for your suggestion. St. Olaf is perhaps too remote but probably in her wheelhouse…brainy is ok. She is a “pretty down-to-earth” kid, smart but not nerdy, not pretentious, well rounded, maybe a touch on the introverted side. Looking for a genuinely friendly environment.
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I hear you and totally agree! Thank you.
Probably too small for her. Appreciate the suggestion.
I’m sorry if I missed it, but has UMaine been mentioned?
We haven’t done a really deep dive but a bit of research into them and wasn’t bowled over academically by VT, Maine, URI, frankly speaking. All seem like NE party schools with moderate student selectivity. Doubt she would fit in culturally or get a top notch education/career training there.
Here are a few more possibilities to think about.
U. of Mary Washington, Virginia’s public liberal arts college, has a bit over 3600 undergrads and is located in Fredericksburg, so definitely within civilization. OOS tuition is $30k and she would likely get some, but not huge amounts, as Virginia doesn’t tend to do a lot of merit aid for OOS students. But if you think it’s otherwise a possibility, I’d take a good luck at what kind of merit aid options are available, particularly if there are competitive scholarships that she could apply for.
UNC - Asheville, North Carolina’s public liberal arts college, has about 3200 undergrads. Asheville is also a city and it’s in one of the country’s prettiest locations, IMO. OOS tuition is about $25k, and there’s also the chance of getting some additional money shaved off of it, but like Virginia, NC tends to be stingy for OOS merit awards.
Going slightly smaller (between 2-3k students), you may want to consider these. It would probably be tough for several, but maybe doable, to get these under $30k for tuition:
- Clark (MA): 2300 undergrads
- Denison (OH): 2300 undergrads
- Gettysburg (PA ): 2400 undergrads
- Lafayette (PA ): 2700 undergrads
- Macalester (MN): 2300 undergrads
- Mount Holyoke (MA): 2200 undergrads, women’s college
- Muhlenberg (PA ): 2k undergrads
- Smith (MA): 2500 undergrads, women’s college
- Trinity (CT): 2100 undergrads…seems as though merit aid will be very hard to get, but if it’s received, probably full tuition
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OP- you are grappling with a conundrum- is it worth trading down academically to go out of state in order to avoid Rutgers which is superior to many of the public U’s being suggested here?
Something for a family discussion for sure.
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Our daughters sound very similar. Even though it’s not in my daughters top 3 schools anymore, we both agree that St Olaf had the friendliest, warmest people and students of any of the many schools we visited!
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Not to mention much less expensive.
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Ouch. New England Mom here. I rank our state schools UMASS–>UCONN–>UVM–>UNH–>UMAINE–>URI
I think all present an opportunity for an excellent education depending on major and honors colleges. Greek life varies, but I agree URI has a reputation for partying.
S23 is considering Bio/Marine Bio/Pre-Vet. UNH has one of the highest vet school acceptance rates-over 90%, UVM also quite strong. I believe UMAINE is in USNWR for Marine Bio and URI also has a strong Marine Bio program. UMASS is well ranked and part of the Five College Consortium. None may be your cup of tea, but depending on the major a deeper dive may surprise you.
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Sorry, didn’t mean to offend. UMass is a possibility but not much different than the larger schools already under consideration. Ditto for UConn (who I don’t think gives much merit aid). Others seem less competitively ranked.
I took VT as Va Tech. Was scratching my head :). UVM. ahhhhh
One difference is that UMass students can take a few courses at the other schools in Amherst. Would the student like to take a class at Smith or Amherst?
UCONN gave my daughters enough money to bring the tuition down to about the same as UMASS (although even with a 34 act my daughter didn’t get into honors at UMASS). My daughter was told by friends her stats were too high for UDel, but she wanted OOS. Honors programs help (she was in the honors dorm and met her tribe, her friend who was 2nd in her class with a 35 act was there as well). I was extremely impressed with the honors college graduation and where these graduates were heading next, either jobs or universities, especially the medical schools. My daughter was accepted into every DPT program she applied to, got merit from BU, and was totally prepared for the rigor (lab sciences at public universities can be brutal). Find the best fit, starting with cost. There are many Ivy stat students at these schools.
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The reality is - there’s no discernible overall difference (maybe in majors) between Delaware, UMASS, and UCONN and name 40 other state flagships so telling someone she’s too good for there is wrong. I promise you at all three schools there are students that got into Ivies and other top schools. Even my daughter’s best guy friend at Charleston chose it over Penn, Rice, and Vandy due to finances and less than two hours to mom. If it’s right for the student, that’s all that matters. Congrats to your child for being above the fray and choosing what was right for them.
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Mary Washington is considered a commuter school here in VA. Also, Christopher Newport is considered our public liberal arts college and is more popular. I think the OPs daughter could do better elsewhere though with her stats.
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I was thinking CNUbut didn’t mention as its population is hugely local. However their campus, dorms and food all rate highly and for some kids dorm and food matter a lot. They already have Va Tech on the list and they and UMASS are always rated at the top for food. If food isn’t great and kids don’t eat, they get low blood sugar and do poorly or eat out and cost you a ton so it’s important but Va Tech is HUMONGOUS and unlikely to reward you merit wise as I noted upstream.
In this sense, CNU might be a good compromise but won’t have strong Jewish life or a geographically diverse student body.
W&M is the perfect school actually but short of the home run scholarship won’t work. FWIW, we thought Miami….campus wise, etc was a larger W&M with a rep not quite as elite but still solid.
Might I throw out Salisbury if it hasn’t been thrown out already ?