Other SLACs with higher acceptance rates? [CS and French]

Yes, but who is Sal?

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I was just asking someone here on campus (at Whitman) today about the additional housing and she confirmed that they are breaking ground on schedule. My son is a first year, and the timeline is such that it will be open for juniors and seniors by the time heā€™s a third year student.

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One of my favorite childrenā€™s books :wink:

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My wife and I read this book to our kids for years (complete with sound effects)! And ā€œMake Way for Ducklingsā€ as well!

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My kids both looked at lots of SLACs and had initial preferences similar to your Dā€™s (except for the majors your D is interested in).

One kid was looking at a lot of reach-for-all schools while the other was looking at schools often considered ā€œsafe,ā€ so we covered a lot of the spectrum. My kids applied, between them, to quite a few of the schools being suggested or already on your Dā€™s list, and we researched the ones they applied to (I think 28 schools between the two of them).

My S21 landed at one of the schools suggested by @AustenNut (Wheaton - the one in MA). Since I know quite a lot about that one at this point, I can confirm that it meets all the criteria youā€™ve listed and, given your D is targeting schools like the ones youā€™ve shared, Iā€™d guess Wheaton would be a safety for her.

While it meets all the criteria, Iā€™d say that with ~1800 students, there may not be as much depth in some departments as there would be at a larger school. My son hasnā€™t taken any French or CS so I canā€™t speak specifically to those departments, but I think they offer majors and minors in both and have an open curriculum which my son has really appreciated. Common knocks against it are that it doesnā€™t have a cute little college town nearby (true - there are things to go to but not a charming ā€œMain Streetā€) and that it will be less well-resourced than a school like Williams (also obviously quite true; my D ended up at a very well-resourced school, and the differences are apparent). That said, weā€™re big fans and consider it a hidden gem. Iā€™d say its worth a look if youā€™re wanting a school on the list with a 65-70% (?) acceptance rate.

Iā€™m not sure if this link will work, but this tiny mic interview posted on their insta last week is a pretty good representation of the vibe Wheaton College Massachusetts on Instagram: "Itā€™s fall yaā€™ll! We had some very pressing fall questions for this special edition of tiny mic interviews. šŸ‚šŸŽƒšŸ #WheatonMA #FallVibes Filmed and edited by Katie Pollock ā€˜24 ā­ļø: @charlotte.ged ā€˜25, @citizensato ā€˜26 and @eliasistevens ā€˜25"

Another Iā€™d suggest is Beloit in Wisconsin. Both of my kids applied and were accepted. We loved the vibe (yes, they have Greek life, but this is not a school with an overall vibe that correlates with the Greek life stereotype - its vibe is more in the Vassar/Wesleyan space). Highly recommend checking this one out. @Knowsstuff knows stuff about it. It might be a little smaller than your D is hoping for - not sure what their current enrollment is.

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More the happy to talk about Beloit. Itā€™s been a few years since my daughter transfered to and graduated from there but a great school with great kids /families. Every family from Chicago I know has been thrilled with the experience. Itā€™s a needle in the haystack. PM me anytime.

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Adding to the Juniata College recommendation, they offer a scholarship for French study, ā€œEagles Abroadā€ which includes funding for a trip to France/language intensive the summer after freshman year. They also have an exchange relationship with UniversiteĢ Catholique de Lille.

Their computer science page actually features a student who studied in France.
https://www.juniata.edu/academics/computer-science/index.php

Juniata is generally very flexible in their ā€œPrograms of Emphasisā€ aka major so you can either to a primary emphasis in CS + secondary emphasis in French or create your own combined program.

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Whitman.
It reminded us of Williams - full of smart friendly kids in a gorgeous rural setting.
There are few schools that I kind of wish my kids have attended because it felt very special, and this is one of them. Iā€™m from PNW and I donā€™t know any Whitman grads who didnā€™t love the school. I think itā€™s really a hidden gem (not really- but acceptance rate is about 50 percent and thatā€™s only because this school is not in New England).
It is not so easy to get to but itā€™s not so far from Columbia gorge natural area which is drop dead gorgeous ā€¦it is so worth a visit.

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Itā€™s also not so far from the Blue mountains, which are also drop dead gorgeous!

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