<p>My son, a junior, has a 3.9 unweighted GPA, takes all the AP and/or honors classes available at his school (he will take 8 APs by graduation), has a 2200 SAT (first try - he will take it again to try to get his math score, 650, up.). He has been a committed member of an active campus service club since 7th grade and always holds a board position. He is a varsity and year-round club swimmer, and did two successful years of debate. He is first generation college, and from a rural area in California. We are middle class, and he will need quite a bit of financial or merit aid, He has been focusing on LACs, although he is also interested in Rice. His dream school is Bowdoin, which seems to be a crap shoot admission-wise. Macalester is also on his list. We need some suggestions for safety schools. To make it more difficult, he has the following caveats: urban/or close to urban environment, he prefers a small to medium size school, and he is gay, so no super conservative schools. Thanks for any suggestions!</p>
<p>Where does he think Bowdoin is?</p>
<p>Bowdoin is neither urban nor close to an urban environment :)</p>
<p>If he likes small LACs, he should check out some of the ones a bit further down in the rankings. Some low matches for him might be Pitzer, Occidental, Trinity (CT), Bard, Furman, St. Olaf, Rhodes. Safeties could be Muhlenberg, Lawrence, Lewis & Clark, Berea (rural, but being a work college, they offer significant aid), Berry, University of Puget Sound, Ursinus, Hampshire, Stonehill, St. John’s (in Annapolis).</p>
<p>25 miles from Portland. Fits the bill.</p>
<p>Rhodes could be excellent-- one of the few LACs in an urban setting. I would call it a safe match rather than safety though. You could also look into Lewis and Clark, Whittier, and the University of Puget Sound.</p>
<p>Sonoma State University in California claims to be LACish (as a member of COPLAC; see <a href=“http://www.coplac.org”>http://www.coplac.org</a> for it and other possibilities, although you need to look for merit scholarships at the out-of-state ones since out-of-state need-based aid won’t be good). It is more residential than most CSUs, with 90% of frosh living in the dorms, and has about 8,500 students. It is in suburban Rohnert Park. CSU financial aid may be decent for California residents; check the net price calculator.</p>
<p>However, the relatively low selectivity, which should make it an admissions safety, may result in being surrounded by classmates with substantially lower academic ability and motivation, if his choice of major happens to be one of the “easier” ones on that particular campus.</p>
<p>Perhaps also consider Wesleyan, Vassar, and Reed as matches. For more of a safety perhaps Bard, Skidmore or Goucher.</p>
<p>Have him take a look at NYU. Not a LAC but fits all his other requirements. It has more recognition globally than at least 2 of the Ivy’s and he might find New York a very welcoming environment.</p>
<p>Lots of good suggestions here, but juillet I somehow couldn’t see Poughkeepsie from Bard’s campus, let alone NYC. It’s really rural. And there’s probably a CSU somewhere that would accept this student readily, don’t you think? are there any UCs that might? UCSF?</p>
<p>With his stats, if he applies to several of the “mid-level” UCs (i.e. the ones other than UCB, UCLA, and UCSD), the odds of being rejected by all are infinitesmal unless there is a glaring defect in his application (like not having the full set of a-g requirements), although the holistic admissions processes mean that none is a true 100% sure thing. UC financial aid is generally good for California residents; check the net price calculators.</p>
<p>None, however, can really be seen as a LAC. Merced is the smallest, but is in a rural area. If he is willing to relax the “LAC” and size limitations, he may be able to find some that fit.</p>
<p>UCSF is a medical school, not an undergraduate school.</p>
<p>If your son can express interest (filling out the “join the mailing list” questionnaire, visiting campus, asking for an interview…), Occidental and Pitzer could be considered matches close to safeties.
Look at LACs ranked 50-75 (+), those would definitely be safeties for him and many would likely have merit aid for him. If you’re “true” middle class (not “cc middle class :p”) look at the “Meet 100% need” colleges, too.
<a href=“Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students”>Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students;
Depending on how important the “urban” criterion is, St Olaf, Lewis&Clark, Rhodes, Earlham, Hendrix, would be colleges worth looking into.</p>
<p>Berea only works for families with very low incomes. NYU is an awful recommendation for a family who needs FA.
OP, If your son is NMF then there is a good list of schools that offer significant merit in the FA forum. </p>
<p>^^ I second everything above.
NYU is so notorious for bad financial aid they’ve started a campaign to raise funds specifically for that purpose.
Berea could be a good choice if you make 45k and less - applications aren’t accepted if students’ parents make more.
The Financial Aid Thread should help you locate competitive and automatic full tuition/full ride scholarships. Some students have awesome choices (Northeastern, Barrett…) if NMF so among all the possibilities there should be some that appeal to your son.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far. Lots of schools we had not considered and are looking into now. He is willing to relax all his requirements (except we will continue to stay clear of conservative environments.). Lewis & Clark definitely on his list, but don’t think their FA is great. He probably isn’t NMF - 204 PSAT. He wants to explore outside of California, but maybe we should give our public schools a harder look. Keep the suggestions coming! Anyone have an opinion as to whether Macalseter is a match or a reach? </p>
<p>If Bowdoin is his dream school he might want to look further down the NESCAC food chain for matches. Bates (in Lewiston ME but also not too far from Portland), Tufts in Medford MA (on the edge of Boston), Trinity in Hartford CT, or Connecticut College in New London CT might fit the bill. None would be considered safety schools but they all have higher acceptance rates than Bowdoin and fit your other criteria.</p>
<p>OP, this is off topic, but you write extraordinarily well for a person who hasn’t attended college. I’m curious to know about the life experiences that developed your gift of expression to such a high level without the benefit of higher ed. But of course wouldn’t want to intrude on your privacy if you don’t care to answer.</p>
<p>Thanks, celesteroberts! I’m just an anomaly. I read a LOT. My friends are all college educated. I was always a good student. Just discouraged from attending college by my parents. I am excited about helping my kids pursue their college dreams, so they don’t have a lot of the same challenges that other first generations have.</p>
<p>I live between Bowdoin and Portland. It’s really a pretty easy drive, and Portland is an EXCELLENT small city. Very liberal (LBGT-friendly) with a thriving art & music scene and more restaurants per capita than any other city.</p>
<p>Bates might be a match/high safety. It’s about the same distance from Portland, but Lewiston itself is nowhere near as nice as Brunswick, where Bowdoin is. Lewiston feels a lot like the city Wesleyan’s in. Kinda grim.</p>
<p>How about Sarah Lawrence, right next door to NYC? Or someplace in/near Boston… what’s he interested in studying?</p>
<p>Vassar wouldn’t be a safety, but it’s an easy ride to NYC.
Not sure what Marist’s climate is but it’d be a safety.
Sarah Lawrence doesn’t meet need but they may for his stats.
Have you run the Net Price Calculators on any of these?
I’d say Macalester is a match (perhaps a high match due to selectivity, but a match for stats).</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence’s emphasis is on visual and performing arts, some humanities, and psychology; other subjects appear to have relatively few offerings (suitable for students looking for breadth). It might be either a very good fit for someone looking for a small school and wanting to study those subjects, or a poor fit for someone looking to study something else, or is undecided but with a good chance of wanting to study something else.
<a href=“Disciplines and Programs of Study | Sarah Lawrence College”>http://www.slc.edu/catalogue/</a></p>