<p>limabeans, your son’s credentials look pretty strong. So unless he has a criminal record, he should at least have a shot at just about any LAC. I’d suggest ruling out some of the less selective schools on IB’s list unless you’ve discovered some unique must-have quality in any of them (unlikely). </p>
<p>Is cost an issue? You only need one real academic and financial safety. For many people that’s likely to be an in-state public university. Conceivably it would be a private LAC that offers large merit aid packages, but you can’t really begin to count on that until you go pretty far down in the level of competition. Earlham College is a very good school that offers good merit aid, has some strong science programs, and is much less selective than Carleton/Wesleyan or Macalester/Whitman. Guilford is another small, historically Quaker college (like Haverford and Swarthmore); it has an exceptional geology program. Or check out some of the less selective ones on IB’s list (Allegheny, Juniata, Wittenberg) – but only (IMHO) if you are really unexcited about your in-state public options.</p>
<p>We looked at many LACs with my youngest (who is interested in environmental science). He settled on Colorado College, which is less selective than schools like Middlebury but still attracts strong applicants with high scores and interesting backgrounds. It has a very good geology program that takes advantage of its Rocky Mountain setting. It has a fine new science building. It gives merit scholarships. Someone like your son might qualify for about $10K (over and above any need-based aid). Unless he can play ice hockey convincingly ($$$!!!)</p>
<p>One nice thing about CC is that you can apply non-binding EA. Your son probably would get early notification by mid-late December (including a merit aid offer.) Then you could re-calibrate your application strategy and either focus on more selective reach schools, or add a couple less selective or less costly colleges. Or breathe a sigh of relief and pick Colorado College, as long as you are o.k. with its unique “block plan”, designed to focus intensively on one course at a time and to foster field work opportunities (especially nice for life sciences, envi sci, geology, or foreign travel/immersion).</p>
<p>Other posters might be able to suggest other good “match” or safety colleges with non-binding EA and merit aid. I believe these include Kalamazoo, Beloit, Centre College (match/low-match); Wittenberg, Earlham, Guilford (low match/ safety). </p>
<p>I think good reach schools with non-binding EA and merit aid include Rice and the University of Chicago, among smaller national universities. Chicago offers some full tuition scholarships for academic merit (heavy competition for these). It’s a world-class research university, strong in sciences, with small average class sizes. Between these two, you get either Houston’s heat and humidity (with dinosaur-size cockroaches) or Chicago’s snot-freezing cold winters. So much to think about!</p>