Amherst College. My DS is a junior. It’s small, but because it’s part of the five college consortium, it does not feel like it’s isolated. Easy trip back to NYC by bus.
Lehigh?
If she thinks that Middlebury is small, then Amherst probably is not an option.
Totally agree with this. My D goes to a school that’s a 1.5-hour flight from our nearest airport, which is about 20 minutes from our home. Sounds easy. But with parking, security, delays, airport shuttle to car-rental or campus shuttle, plus the 40-minute ride to campus . . . it’s a pain in the neck, When there’s more than one of us traveling, we actually found it’s easier (and cheaper) to drive 9 hours. Throw everything in the car. A one-seat ride.
Brandeis and Tufts fit all her criteria. Brandeis will be a match, Tufts a reach. If she’s interested in Tufts she should strongly consider ED or ED2.
Thank you again for the suggestions! Very much appreciated.
Two more to look at: Drexel and Penn
@laralei - Ain’t it the truth!
Driving is also a heck of a lot cheaper than flying and can be done at a moment’s notice. I lived four hours from my husband last year (in State College) and I would drive to his city (New York) for the weekends. It cost me around $40 - the cost of a tank and a half of gas. I could also decide on Thursday if I wanted to drive there for the weekend. I do think four hours is a good magic number because that’s pretty much the limit at which I could drive alone without feeling really antsy and exhausted while still driving.
A four hour radius of New York is a pretty big regional area and can include a LOT of schools. Other people have already suggested most of the places I was thinking of. If public universities are in play (I saw UMD and others mentioned) then UConn is also an option (there’s a Megabus that goes from Storrs to NYC) - slightly bigger than she wants, though, with 18,000 undergrads. Towson is also around 18,000 undergrads. University of Vermont could be another safety. Not sure if someone mentioned Ithaca College already.
Endorsing previous suggestions: Brandeis, Tufts, JHU, Northeastern, and Vassar (about 3,000 students, smaller than 4K minimum but has direct train access to NYC) Lots of possible options in the Philadelphia area but I’m not sure about size of student body.
“A four hour radius of New York is a pretty big regional area and can include a LOT of schools.”
It can also be getting from one side of NYC to the other.
Johns Hopkins, which has gotten a few mentions here but not a lot of attention, has great IR and languages. It’s a little reachy, but not ridiculous. (Also agree with Tufts and Brandeis.)
Villanova is a potential safety. Suburban, preppy campus with easy train access to the city. Catholic college, but plenty of Jews (and really plenty of Jews in the surrounding community).
I’ve also been told that Johns Hopkins’s atmosphere in the non-sciences is quite different than if you are stuck in the pre-med pool. I know that JH’s graduate program in IR is house in DC, not on the main campus. I don’t know how that affects the undergrads. Something to look into, or perhaps someone else can address it. We thought it was too reachy for my youngest who was an IR major and already had a very reach heavy list.
Thanks - I think it’s too reachy also but don’t really know that much about it - D was in CTY but didn’t actually do it at JHU.
October of the senior year, and you think this is the 11th hour?!? You are in for one roller-coaster of a ride over the next 10 months or so I’m afraid. Between deciding on what schools to apply to, what to study, where to go, then thinking about backing out or switching after accepting, then thinking about backing out on the way there in August, then thinking about backing out 2 days after you drop then off, you are VERY early in the game. Despite years of hounding, many many high school seniors haven’t even seriously thought about what they really want to do or where they want to go at this point. When I first read OP’s post, I thought it was a college freshman THIS YEAR waffling, that would have been the 11th hour. Yes as parent we want them to be all decided, essays written, i’s dotted and t’s crossed by summer before 12th grade, but I’ve yet to hear of that happening.
^yes! for what it’s worth, my son who is also a senior is still school shopping a bit, and no, he has not finalized his essays. For my older son, the final choice was not decided until May after he got off a waitlist. Talk about rollercoaster!!
University of Delaware.
Saw that some people are suggesting flying. I’m guessing that the 4 hours is more psychological then actual distance. And if there were any emergencies or issues, that 4 hour drive could be reduced further by flying. Schools in Boston are great because the access to mass transit makes the commute much easier.
If she wants to be near an urban area but not actually in it–what about Swarthmore, Haverford and Bryn Mawr–all on the outskirts of Philadelphia. All part of the same consortium–students can easily take courses at all three.
Outside of DC–American University, which has a good IR program.
If merit is of interest she should qualify for full tuition at Temple and honors college.