Middlebury/similar schools chance me and advice please!

Chance Me / Match Me!
21

If you would like to compare LACs by selectivity, U.S. News includes “selectivity ranks” among its information. Below you will see the top 31 NLACs (of 233) by this measure:

:black_small_square:︎1. Pomona
:black_small_square:︎2. Harvey Mudd
:black_small_square:︎2. Haverford
:black_small_square:︎4. Amherst
:black_small_square:︎5. Hamilton
:black_small_square:︎5. Swarthmore
:black_small_square:︎5. Williams
:black_small_square:︎8. Barnard
:black_small_square:︎8. Bowdoin
:black_small_square:︎10. Washington & Lee
:black_small_square:︎11. Wellesley
:black_small_square:︎12. Colorado College
:black_small_square:︎12. Smith
:black_small_square:︎12. Vassar
:black_small_square:︎15. Carleton
:black_small_square:︎16. Colby
:black_small_square:︎17. Colgate
:black_small_square:︎17. Davidson
:black_small_square:︎19. Claremont McKenna
:black_small_square:︎19. Grinnell
:black_small_square:︎19. Middlebury
:black_small_square:︎19. Wesleyan
:black_small_square:︎23. Bates
:black_small_square:︎23. Bryn Mawr
:black_small_square:︎23. Macalester
:black_small_square:︎26. Franklin & Marshall
:black_small_square:︎26. Scripps
:black_small_square:︎28. Denison
:black_small_square:︎28. Kenyon
:black_small_square:︎28. Mount Holyoke
:black_small_square:︎28. URichmond

For your area of interest especially, Middlebury certainly should be considered top tier.

22

Note that the OP has expressed uncertainty as to whether lower ranked and lesser endowed colleges would provide her with sufficient financial aid. She did not make an explicit distinction between need-based aid and merit scholarships, but has hinted she would be eligible for significant need-based assistance. For this reason, schools such as Middlebury and Colby may represent her most affordable potential options, with the possible exceptions of her state universities.

23

I didn’t see that but perhaps it’s in her message.

But that’s why I suggested she have her parents fill out the Middlebury NPC - because she’d know very quickly if she will quality for need based aid or not.

If you do, the that’s a bonus and would put it in play. If she doesn’t, then the - and I hate to say it this way because they are wonderful - but the 2nd and 3rd tier LACs would come with a much better price tag.

24

Yes, I do qualify for significant need based aid which I am worried that lower tier schools would not be able to provide

25

Exactly. Have you run any net price calculators yet? Let us know the estimated COA from a meet full need school on your list, such as Middlebury. Is that number affordable?

Some of the lower tier schools which don’t meet full need will stack merit (discounts) on top of any need based aid you qualify for. NPCs often don’t show the merit/discount piece, so you won’t know your FA until you apply and are accepted which means you have to make sure you have at least one affordable safety school, more if you ultimately want a choice…what is/are your affordable safeties?

26

Again, that’s great for Mid but it’s a reach and some meets needs schools are need aware meaning if your need is too much, they might bounce you.

Here’s a list of all meets needs schools - but they are different. For example, the third list in the link will require loans but that’s a small price to pay if they give you a big grant (the loans will be limited).

So because Mid is a reach for all, you still need matches, safeties, etc. This is where schools like Franklin & Marshall, Kenyon, or Connecticut come in for a need student that can’t into the very top.

You’re getting a lot of advice…lean into it instead of push it away.

But until you tell us what your need looks like - hence run the Mid NPC - it’s difficult to help. Saying significant or a lot - doesn’t allow us to give you the best advice because words mean different things to different people…but a # doesn’t lie.

Here’s Every College That Offers 100% Financial Aid (prepscholar.com)

27

I’m curious about this statement as well. In other threads, you seem to imply that Middlebury is a step below Bowdoin, Hamilton, etc. I’m wondering where this mindset comes from? You do realize that Middlebury has been ranked among the top five LACs by USNews nine times since 2009? Compare that to Bowdoin (five times), Pomona (eight times), and Hamilton (zero times). Perhaps I’m misinterpreting your “second tier LAC” statement?

28

Well my estimated coat at Midd would be about $17,000 (including loans and work study) which is a little high but manageable.

My affordable safety schools would probably be an instate public school. Also, if I can consider it a safety Mount Holyoke seems to have decent financial aid, however they are need aware.

29

That’s helpful. So sounds like your EFC based on Midd’s formula is $24K or so? What can/will your family pay per year of college…is that $17K after the $5.5K freshman year loan and work study the very upper end? The NPCs might not be accurate if your parents are divorced, own a business, or own real estate beyond a primary home…are any of those the case for you?

Mount Holyoke is definitely not a safety academically, have you run their NPC? If so, what does that give for estimated COA?

Do you have a SUNY and/or CUNY for safeties?

You might also run CB’s FAFSA EFC estimator here: Expected Family Contribution (EFC) – BigFuture | College Board

It’s great that you are doing this budget work your junior year, so there are no surprises senior year.

30

Would be helpful if you had an actual SAT or ACT score.

Any interest in Bates College or in Kenyon College ?

31

You might run it for the SUNY schools too - with room and board - because it may not be much less. I’m not sure how SUNY is for aid.

So I’d still suggest - because Mid and Mt. Holyoke are not givens, that you add other meets need schools to your list that might be a tinge easier to get in like a Bryn Mawr, Denison, Franklin & Marshall, Skidmore, Trinity, Lafayette, etc. These are targets/likely - especially if your SAT comes in 1400+. For a hail Mary, you might throw on Davidson…to add another top tier (no loans used there).

Good luck.

32

Some good news:

-You have 2 years left in HS to prove rigor, work on standardized testing, and possibly gain some accolades for your writing.

-You are interested in environmental studies and have a unique and interesting hobby that ties into that major. I would be thinking about crafting a personal statement that speaks to this hobby.

Some bad news:

You have not YET demonstrated a strong EC story. But you have time. My D20 did not get involved in a club at school until her junior year. It ended up being very important to her and she ended up as president of the club. It played a role in her personal statement. You still have time to focus in on what you really love and make your mark. Maybe your school has an outdoors club, ski club, hiking club, recycle club, (you get the idea) where you appreciation for nature would make you a natural leader. Maybe you could start such a club.

-Midd (and all top LAC’s) are a reach for all students, even the 4.0, 1600, amazing EC students. So reach for the stars - apply away, but also make sure you find safety and target schools that are affordable and you can really get excited about.

Good Luck!!

33

Parentologist just wrote that the OP can get into a “second tier LAC” with her ECs.

Where is this list from? USNews has selectivity as SAT scores (5%) and percent in the top 10% of their class (2%). This list, for example, ranks Vassar and Colorado College as 12, Carleton as 15, and Middlebury as 19. However, according to the 2019-2020 CDS (since colleges have been test optional since then), the students from each college’s SAT scores for mid 50% were:

Carleton:
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 670-750
C9 SAT Math: 690-790
C9 ACT Composite: 31-34
% in top 10%: 70%

Middlebury:
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 670-750
SAT Math 690-780
ACT Composite: 32-34
% in top 10%: doesn’t post

Vassar:
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 680-750
SAT Math: 690-780
ACT Composite: 31-34
% in top 10%: 65%

Colorado College:
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 650-730
SAT Math: 650-750
ACT Composite: 29-33
% in top 10%: 82%

Middlebury does not post how many kids it has in the top 10%, Carleton has the ranks of 26%, and CC has the ranks of only 23% of their students, and Vassar has the ranks of 56% of their students.

However, even if they are, Middlebury and Carleton students have substantially higher SAT and ACT scores than Colorado College, so how exactly did Colorado score 7 rankings higher for “selectivity”? SAT scores count for 2.5X as much as class rank. Furthermore, SATs of Vassar and Carleton are the same, but Carleton has high percent of student sin the top 10%, so why does Vassar rank higher in “slectivity” than Carleton?

Admission rates for Carleton that year were 19%, for Vassar it was 23.4%, for Middlebury it was 15.4%, and for Colorado College it was 13.5%.

I see no manner in which Vassar is more selective than Carleton, yet the list claims that it is.

34

No, my EFC is about 10k

17k is without loans/work study

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35

Thanks for the advice!

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36

[quote=“xyz123a, post:32, topic:3566530”]
I would be thinking about crafting a personal statement that speaks to this hobby.

I was thinking of writing my personal statement about my experience of growing up with a sibling who has autism (e.g. the extra responsibility that comes with that and how it has given me a different perspective on the world)

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37

I think that could be a strong topic, especially if you focus on the positives. So rather than focus on the extra responsibility, focus on positives. Don’t get caught up in the temptation to write “how this difficult time helped me grow as a person”, but really think about what your sibling did for you.

For example, imagine a sighted person who is going on a hike with a blind person. They could talk about how this made them more aware of the limitations of the blind person, helped them become more responsible, etc.

Now think about an essay about the same experience, in which the person who can see writes about how they learned that each area had its own smells, how the sound echoed off the trees and other features in different ways, how they discovered that there are so many other things going on, of which they were not aware, since they were focused only on what they could see.

Which of these two descriptions do you like better? On the technical side, which of these lends itself more to “show, don’t tell”?

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38

The current print edition of the U.S. News college guide.

39

<And please, does anyone else consider Middlebury top tier or just me?<

Don’t let the adults on this board confuse you. Middlebury is one of the most popular colleges in the United States.

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40

Thank you for the advice!