<p>Some of you folks out there must have some decent "sleeper" colleges you discovered this past spring in and around New England on those whirlwind campus tours. Any place jump out at you or your "S" or "D" based on appearance, academics, staff, merit offered .. anything? Maybe a school that surprised you... I don't want to be dismissive of any college that might be worth considering but obviously there is a limited amount of time for visits.</p>
<p>Sleepers in NY & NJ: Hobart & William Smith, St Lawrence, Union</p>
<p>Sleeper in Massachusetts if it offers fields of interest to you: Bentley (outside Boston) Especially known for entrepreneurship and other business majors (but not solely that). Lovely, rolling hill campus, primarily Georgian architecture. Offered S' hs friend a good financial package, attractive enough to bump WPI as his original first choice.</p>
<p>Not really a sleeper but not often discussed here on cc: Trinity in Hartford, Ct. Architecture reminds me of Oxbridge or some of the Ivies. Strong in a broad range of fields. Nice medium-small sized university.</p>
<p>Delaware, TCNJ</p>
<p>When you are at HWS take a look at Wells College. Incredible bargain for a top 100 LAC and there is some chance for courses at Cornell or Ithaca to supplement the course offerings.</p>
<p>I also liked Skidmore's location in tony Saratoga Springs.</p>
<p>Wheaton and Clark.</p>
<p>Bryn Mawr and Mt. Holyoke for women! Fabulous places with a great deal to offer.</p>
<p>my sister reluctantly looked at u hartford and wound up loving it. also quinnipiac and bryant</p>
<p>Private
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Connecticut College
Assumption College
Rensalaer Polytechnic Institute
Emmanuel College</p>
<p>Public
U of New Hamphire
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Worcester State College
SUNY Plattsburg
SUNY Oswego</p>
<p>LakeWashington, do you have personal experience with Mass College of Liberal Arts?</p>
<p>I'd like to hear more about why you added this school to the list.</p>
<p>Some great suggestions so far. I'm looking into all these places. St. Lawrence, Union, and Trinity (Hartford) are supposedly stingy with "merit" aid. Regrettably the 40K plus price tag puts these places out of this working slob's league. Also regrettably, my "DD" has the stats and extracurriculars activities to get in. Mount Holyoke I love! Good merit aid, beautiful campus, good rep. but "DD" wants co-ed. RPI and WPI I agree... and being female is a hook in these male dominated engineering schools.. correct me if I'm wrong. Hobart.. I like.. but again would need some merit. I'm researching every suggestion. Throw some more out there. Please!</p>
<p>If you are thinking along the lines of RPI and WPI, the consider U of Rochester. Medium U with a LAC feel (sort of). Lovely campus and has been pretty generous with merit aid. SUNY Binghamton and Geneseo is considered more competitive than most of the other SUNY's.</p>
<p>Nightingale, we loved HWS despite the shocking COA. It was number one on my daughter's list for a very long time, and she received significant merit aid that would have made it doable. Be sure to check out the scholarships they have available, as their largest scholarships require a separate application. They also fully met our need with a combination of grants, loans and work study. </p>
<p>The only reason my daughter chose not to attend is that our EFC was low enough that she would have had significant loans over her four years at HWS, and she opted instead to attend a school where no loans are necessary (at least for now).</p>
<p>SUNY Binghamton and SUNY Buffalo for engineering/sciences. Fairfield for merit aid. Depending on stats and interest, merit aid money available at places like Marist, Niagara, Seton Hall.</p>
<p>Actually the comparable school to RPI and Worcester is not U of Rochester, but Rochester Institute of Technology.</p>
<p>I would add Holy Cross as a sleeper for Massachusetts. Probably not great on merit aid though.</p>
<p>If she's willing to look at Ohio, definitely look at Denison and some of the other LACs there. Denison has a gorgeous campus, very personal approach, friendly kids, and great merit aid.</p>
<p>Wells has low COA for a private, and has great aid too...</p>
<p>PM luliztee for NY/CT schools that give merit aid. I believe her D got merit aid at Trinity CT and also at Salve Regina in RI. If you do a search for threads under her name there will be good info on other NE merit aid schools.</p>
<p>Holy Cross is just completing a $200 million capital campaign on top of a top 25 endowment and is expanding merit aid. Also school had a 41% increase in applications.</p>
<p>Fendrock, I've investigated MCLA and had an opportunity to speak to recent graduates and an admissions official. I am impressed by the school's core cirriculum (actually, the core may be a bit too demanding) and the variety of courses at this small college. It may not be the place for an aspiring engineer or chemist as I believe these are offered only as minors. Aethetically, it's a gorgeous location in the Berkeshire Mountains. And they may offer tuition breaks to non-residents.</p>
<p>NE public schools are often overlooked. I've known only very satisfied students at UVM & UNH. If you love the outdoors, these schools are great matches or safeties.</p>
<p>With regard to the SUNY, that's why I included Oswego and Plattsburg. Both have good programs, including the natural sciences (and Earth/Environmental Sciences). Plattsburg's natural surroundings are quite pleasant (Lake Champlain). Like most of upstate New York, both places get a lot of snow. I think they fit the definition of sleeper colleges; good but not widely known, under-appreciated quality.</p>