Earlham has been running operating deficits since the great recession (2007-08). Part of the problem is demographic trends affecting many small colleges (not just Earlham). Many of these schools are offering more/bigger merit discounts to compete for students in a shrinking market. (https://www.chronicle.com/article/Questions-Swirl-as-Earlham/243821). The US college-age population peaked a couple years ago.
Still, Earlham’s endowment per student (at least according to C*llege Raptor for 2018) is slightly larger than Harvey Mudd’s, Macalester’s, Middlebury’s, or Brown’s. It appears to be more than 40% bigger than Wesleyan’s. So if they can turn their problems around (or at least slow the bleeding) then I would think they’d be in better shape than many other LACs that might be among your match/safety possibilities.
Heck, I’d add Cornell to the mix; it’s acceptance rate and endowment per student are not much different than Wesleyan’s and assuming things like economic diversity, a mix of young and old and proximity to an Amtrak station, are among the things you miss about the mid-Hudson Valley, Ithaca (NY) checks all the boxes.
As someone said upstream, if you don’t get into Vassar ED1, your ED2 options get complicated because from a demographics POV, Vassar really is your best shot at a T10 LAC (really T20 counting ties). But, Bates certainly comes to mind (Lewiston shares some characteristics with Poughkeepsie.) Trinity’s Hartford location may be a bit more urban than you are looking for, but, the physical resemblance to Vassar is actually kind of striking. Someone else mentioned Conn College - it was founded by Wesleyan women angered at being banned from there in the early 1900s and like Vassar, the demographics favor male applicants.
TBH, if you can’t get into one of those schools with your stats, you might as well stay in-state.
Vassar definitely favors men in admissions, by a lot. But Conn doesn’t seem to care much about its gender balance, appears to admit the most qualified applicants, period, even though that means a lot more women.
As a woman it’s a LOT harder to get into Vassar. For men, about the same.
@elena13 should I place Vassar at reach, low reach/high match or match? I have a friend at Laf and will check it out. @circuitrider Cornell is way too selective for my stats and I want to be near transportation. Middletown and Poughkeepsie work out because of MTN and nearby Amtrak. I have family in Hartford and near Worcester so it kinda works out. I’m super concerned about admissions tho, my stats are really not good. @wisteria100 I just hope and pray that God is on my side, I’ll def showcase my interest and passion for Vassar in my app. @OHMomof2 hopefully it would help me get in
Being a male from Texas and applying ED, I would think Vassar would be a high match for you. However, your ECs, essays, recommendations will all play a role, so hopefully those are great. Best of luck!
Maybe. But keep in mind that Vassar gets almost 2.5X as many applications from women than from men. At Connecticut College, the gender gap on the application side is narrower (with about 40% more from women than from men).
The CDS does not show gender break-downs for the stats of admitted students, nor any stats at all for applicants. So it’s not clear to me (from the available numbers) that the Vassar adcoms significantly favor men, per se. Maybe they are getting relatively more applications from less-qualified women, who are being rejected in favor of better-qualified applicants from both genders. Vassar still admits (and enrolls) more women than men.
We have found many here that have good financial aid and scholarships. Nice review of schools. Most are smaller schools with strong student body and great curriculums.
@tk21769 they do break down #s but do not say who had what qualifications. But yes, Vassar gets more apps overall and from women, yield is also higher.
I just observed that Conn seems less concerned about its gender ratio - it appears not to take less qualified men. Conn is 63% women and 37% men, Vassar is 59/41. Not a massive difference, but one is under the “magic 60/40” and one isn’t, and acceptance %s suggest to me they aren’t concerned about staying under.
Conn
TOTAL MALE FEMALE
Number of applicants 5,434 2,292 3,142
Percent admitted 38% 34% 41%
Percent admitted who enrolled 22% 22% 22%
Vassar
TOTAL MALE FEMALE
Number of applicants 7,746 2,220 5,526
Percent admitted 24% 35% 19%
Percent admitted who enrolled 34% 31% 36%
If you want to consider a safety outside of your geographic area, look into Eckerd College. You would be eligible for a nice merit package. There is a diplomat in residence, a spring into summer program at The Hague, a model UN club, winter session at the UN, a Peace Corps Prep program, honors program, Phi Beta Kappa. Study abroad programs are semester, winter term, summer and spring break service trips. It is a very service/social justice centered school.
@privatebanker
Of all the schools he applied to, and got accepted at… it was a little surprising to be waitlisted at Tufts, which had a higher acceptance rate than the others he did get in to
But, realistically, with all of those schools, you just never know where you will get in. Or not.
@elena13 Not OP, but I have a question. Vassar is my top choice. My SAT is a bit low, though. 1400. Would I still have a good chance at ED? I am a male. I have a 3.9xxx UW from a well regarded school program (top 2 percent), plenty APs, extracurricular, etc.
According to Vassar’s 2017-18 CDS, about 28% of entering freshmen scored < 700 on the SAT reading and about 36% scored < 700 on the math. With your other qualifications and a small ED boost, I’d say your chances are roughly average (maybe a bit better).
Thanks for all of the advice!! The college process was very stressful and had many ups and downs. I actually fell in love with Davidson after my visit and elected to do ED1 there, and I am proud to say that I have gotten admitted and will be a Wildcat! So if the next semester goes smoothly, I will head to NC to be a part of the Wildcat Class of 2023.
Thanks you so much for coming back to give us this update, and congrats to you!! My D is currently a first-year there and loves it! Welcome to the Wildcat family!!