<p>We have time to visit 2 schools and need to decide which ones. We have already visited Beloit and son loved the school but not the town. We need a school that may give good merit $$$ for solid B (unweighted) in mostly honors/AP, great ec's, work and volunteer, and SAT probably over 2000. Interests in anthropology and plant biology; he is a very artsy, music, reading, ultimate frisbee kind of kid. What do you think: Earlham (do they give merit $$?), Knox, Kalamazoo, Grinnell or other? Thanks!!!</p>
<p>Probably not Grinnell. Solid B students will need to look at less selective schools to obtain good merit aid. Secondly, public universities are typically the best option for this, but many less selective LACs are options. Also, you can always look into financial aid options even if your income is up to 150k or so.</p>
<p>That's what I always tell people about Beloit; it's a good little school, but the town is awful...not a place that anyone would really want to live. </p>
<p>Have your son look at DePauw. They're really good with merit aid.
Grinnell and Kalamazoo are probably too selective to expect money.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Secondly, public universities are typically the best option for this
[/quote]
Probably only the in-state ones. Publics typically don't give much love to OOS kids.</p>
<p>True, though a strong applicant in an undersized (i.e. they need students in that area) department or program might get some help. OP, what state are you in?</p>
<p>If you look at DePauw ( a good suggestion) maybe you could check out Denison, Ohio Wesleyan, or Wittenberg, which are all within easy driving distance of one another.</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses. We are from Pennsylvania but will not stay in-state for school. No one commented on our proposed visit to Earlham or Knox-- any comments on these for merit money and a good fit (honors/AP "B" student, 2000 SAT, ec's, work/vol.) alternative kid. Ohio Wes. sounded conservative and into business majors from some of the stuff I've read-- is this not true? I will look into DePauw and the other suggestions as well. I appreciate any more feedback...</p>
<p>I'm currently looking at Knox (I'm a college junior), and they seemed to have a variety of scholarship oppertunities. Check the website, but I remember seeing a very nice variety of awards for the fine arts in addition to academics, and I'm betting that there's some for the sciences as well (although I noticed the fine arts ones). I think Knox is a good place to look; artsy, music, reading seem to be pretty big there, just from the information I've gotten about it so far.</p>
<p>My two cents!</p>
<p>DD was admitted EA to Knox with Merit aid. Grades/stats appear slightly higher but i have heard of merit for students like your son that have taken a challenging course load and just haven't pulled an A in every class. Visiting in a couple weeks and looking forward to seeing the campus. Knox also has a good variety of merit awards for writing, art, music, theater, etc. You may also want to check out Illinois Wesleyan and Augustana (IL) if son prefers midwest. </p>
<p>As far as Beloit, it doesn't appear to be necessary to venture into town too much. You can walk from one end of campus to the furthest residential hall in 10 minutes. The students seem to fit the mold for what your son is looking for and if he needs to socialize in a bigger more exciting town, both Madison and Chicago are a short drive away. </p>
<p>As far as merit aid, I would echo the post the DePauw has a reputation for a very generous offer for talented students.</p>
<p>Thanks and congrats to your D at Knox. Frats don't interest son so he isn't keen on visiting schools where they are a big part of the social scene (DePauw and others). Is K-zoo really tough to get $$ from? I read somewhere that they looked at 50/50 academics and ec's. Anyone know anything about this? And back to my question about merit money at Earlham-- is it given, and if yes, how tough to get?</p>
<p>US News shows K-Zoo has 49% of the students receiving merit aid on average of $9,450. Earlham shows 16% at $6,153. K-Zoo looks like one of the best LAC deals out there.</p>
<p>I am sorry to hear your son didn't like the City of Beloit, but I would like to inform you that it truly is a great city. A diverse, progressive town that has had its hard times with the loss of great industry but is making impressive strides in the present. I hope some day you'll be able to visit Beloit again, and witness the change that has occurred.</p>
<p>I'd also look at Knox. Very high academic standards while less competitive on admissions. Much funkier than DePauw which is like a small Northwestern.</p>
<p>My son was also a strong "B" student (school didn't weight) with high ACT/SAT scores and very significant ECs, who had no interest in a "frat" school and who is also an Ultimate player. We visited and he applied to both Knox and Kalamazoo. He preferred Kalamazoo over Knox, and as it turned out Knox offered no aid while Kalamazoo offered a good scholarship. He's a freshman at Kalamazoo now and loves it. He just took the train back yesterday for the start of the winter term, in fact. The school is tough but he's thriving. He loves the fact that it's very inclusive and accepting, and that the students socialize across all classes (freshman to senior). He plays on the Ultimate team and he loves his classes. </p>
<p>I thought both Knox and Kalamazoo were terrific schools, but my son made the right choice for him. I'd strongly recommend visiting Kalamazoo. The campus really grows on you and the city is attractive and interesting. The face to face admissions interview my son had there also seemed to make a big difference in how they viewed him in the admissions process.</p>
<p>I will second Kalamazoo. They won't give you a full merit scholarship, but they are pretty generous (up to 13k a year I believe, in addition to need based aid). You will also have the opportunity to compete for a few scholarships, which are a few thousand if I remember correctly.</p>
<p>You might also want to look at Marietta College in Ohio and Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.</p>
<p>Ohio Wesleyan is not at all conservative. Traditionally about 70% of students identify themselves as very liberal. Ohio</a> Wesleyan University | News & Media | News Release</p>
<p>There is a strong presence of business majors but they are not necessarily conservative nor are they a majority among all students. I think historically somewhere 10% of all graduates.</p>
<p>collegeone, I am a transfer applicant and am looking for much the same enviorment your son is. I am also a B/B+ student and am looking at Earlham, Knox, Beloit, Grinnell, Carleton, Bryn Mawr( which your son could not go to lol).</p>
<p>Danieljlue, tell me more about town of Beloit-- we went along the Main St., & it seemed desolate and dismal. It was a Sunday so that may have been part of it. Is there another part of town that is more hopping with stores and restaurants, etc. that we missed? School was terrific though.<br>
I expect that our trip to 2 schools will be Kalamazoo and Earlham but we will continue to review Ohio Wes since many posters have been suggesting it. Defyinggravity, what are you looking for that you haven't found where you are? Bryn Mawr is in our suburbs (we live outside of Phila) and is in a nice area with shops along the main thoroughfare and a quick train ride to downtown Philly, a great city I must say!!</p>
<p>Another school worth adding to the list might be The College of Wooster, which has a reputation for strong academics and always seems to have impressive showings in assessments like the NSSE survey and number of Ph.Ds it produces. According to USNews 42% receive merit $</p>