I grew up on LI and went to Lehigh - a 3 hour ride. It was the perfect distance. I live near Phila. now and I would say with her stats, do NOT look at a Temple. A lot of kids here go there and like it but it is in one of the worst sections of Phila. and there is a lot of crime there. A Temple student was raped just last week. We know kids there but I would never send my child there. I have a niece who is considering it and I am really worried.
My son did a summer program at Marist College - this could be a good safety school for your D and is only 2 hours from NYC. The campus was very nice and we were impressed with the facilities and the program my DS was in. We have UCONN on our list and liked the campus a lot when we visited. Smaller schools near Lehigh include Lafayette and Muhlenberg. About 90 minutes west of that area is Dickinson, Franklin and Marshall and Gettysburg College. These are at the smaller size your D is considering but all are good schools. We visited F&M years ago for my DD (who did not end up applying) and I thought the school had a lot of potential. I think it is good that your D is giving serious thought to how far away she wants to be. My DD went to WashU, about 900 miles away. She loved it but rarely was able to come home since flights had to be scheduled far in advance. She never had any major travel issues, but it really would have been easier in many ways if she was closer. The one good thing for me is that I got stuck out there when Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast. I couldn’t get home for several days but I did miss the bad weather and lack of electricity at home. My DS, now a senior, is considering WashU, but all of the other colleges on his list are within a 6 hour drive of Phila. Brandeis is also on this list as is University of Rochester.
Thank you again for the input. We have added a few to the list, including the University of Rochester which is a little farther away than what she would like but not too bad. We also have added Lehigh and American and Tufts was already on the list. We will have some visiting to do! Here in the Northeast there is a heavy push to apply somewhere ED so that’s why it’s sort of an 11th hour thing. She has completely decided against her original ED school and feels a little panicked that she doesn’t have another. Obviously she doesn’t have to apply ED anywhere.
Students are getting a lot of pressure to apply ED. GC’s like it because they are done early if the kids get in. The colleges obviously like having a good portion of their class settled early - especially if it’s mostly with full payers and athletes. But I don’t think it’s good for most students. My younger son especially grew up so much from September to April of his senior year. I’m glad he wasn’t locked in anywhere.
U of Rochester may be a great choice, especially if merit money may come in handy. It is often overlooked because of its location, but is a good size, has serious students, and is not too hard to get to. My son went there and often took the train home (although he probably could have easily found rides to the NYC suburbs).
Tufts, Georgetown, GW and American all have good IR programs.
My older S just graduated Tufts this past May. He loved it. He also loved URochester and seriously considered that school too. I have a nephew currently at URochester, who LOVES it!
I’m a Brandeis graduate, with a son at Emory. The schools are not even comparable. Really. You may already be past considering Emory, but I’d really urge you to reconsider. It’s a wonderful school in a perfect setting – suburban, but with very easy access to downtown Atlanta. Perfect size for her. Rigorous academics, but still leaves the kids with time to do other things. Much milder winters than many of the schools that have been suggested – if the issue with being > 4hrs away is the potential to feel lonely, isolated, and depressed, nothing will precipitate that more than a long cold winter with short days and dark nights.
The biggest selling point should be the other kids at the school. Brandeis offered my son considerable merit aid, and we visited the school twice. Brandeis has a reputation for kids who are outright weird. As best we could tell, that reputation is well-deserved. And Brandeis is a minefield of trigger-warnings, microaggressions, etc. Emory represents the real world much better.
Emory has a vibrant Jewish community. But FWIW, my Jewish kid from the suburbs best friend is a kid from Ghana who went to boarding school in the South.
We live on the west coast, but it’s a 4 hour non-stop flight from SFO, and a short trip to the campus from there. Wherever you are she’ll be burning the better part of a day getting there and back. She might as well be at a good school with a reasonable winter and a lot of great kids.
My DS, now a senior, is considering WashU, but all of the other colleges on his list are within a 6 hour drive of Phila. Brandeis is also on this list as is University of Rochester.