@coffeeat3
We have had a slightly different experience with our S18 at UCLA (also OOS). He has now finished his first two years there, taking a Major and a minor, and is actually taking Fall quarter off, since he only needs 8 more classes to graduate. Yes, he did take classes in the summers (so much more affordable for OOS) and therefore can graduate in 3 years. He is in STEM and was taking 4 classes each quarter, whereas most of his friends were just taking 2 or 3. So it can be done, and more affordably!
@Tororos - that is wonderful for your son. I am just going off the stats from the last 4 years of kids attending from our private school and posted because it was news to us. Our school does not offer APs - so kids are not coming in with lots of credits either. My kids know we will support 4 years of tuition and then the well runs dry - with 3 kids in college over a 5 year period.
We had never even thought of them going longer - so I am glad our college counselor threw the stat out there and it is something we are looking at for all the colleges on their list (most are LACs). Since we are also in the Western part of the US - kids dream of the UCs and California living 
UCLA and UC Berkeley have 4 year graduation rates around 75%. I think the motivated student will be able to graduate in 4 years, especially if they have AP credits from HS.
I would add University of Utah as a substitute for mid-tier UCs. SLC is a great city and itās a great school! Great quality of life there and itās not too hard to get in.
@marshmallo, in case itās helpful, some of the schools on your list are currently offering tours or other activities on campus. I just looked at the websites for the Ohio schools the other day and both Denison and Wooster are offering tours - one family per tour guide - and Kenyon is offering coffee chats and info sessions. I only looked at these schools, so I am not sure about any of the others on your list.
@amsunshine we felt the same about UCSD when we visited last summer. Meh. DS21 is not applying.
@havenoidea actually, MIT is recruiting DS21 for football so I am of the (biased) opinion that they do want more than math nerds with no other interests. I think CalTech would probably more closely fit that description?
U of Utah is also a great substitute for CU Boulder for kids that arenāt looking for the partying. It has the Wasatch range right there.
We had an AO at Caltech tell us specifically they want more than just a math nerd.
ETA: both schools expect students to be very good at math and like it.
@AlwaysMoving ā Yep, and the U of U is about 45 minutes from the slopes which is closer than Boulder, right? Amazing hiking even closer.
I havenāt been to the campus in years so I donāt know much about the facilities these days, but I have the impression itās still nice and thereās been a lot of investment. My Mom grew up in the neighborhood right by the university ā itās lovely and historic.
I know the medical complex is top notch; a friend is a prof in the med school. Iāve also heard their arts and dance programs are really good. Not sure what other strengths are.
I think they have auto merit that is worth checking into.
SLC is a big airport too with easy flights everywhere.
But whatās the social life like at U of Utah? Anyone know?
thanks, @tkoparent. Ah, I think Ohio is no longer on NYās quarantine list, so going there would be a possibility. I still wonder if itās worth it to head all the way out there when the visits are so limited. And Iām concerned that we would make our plans and then something would happen, like thereās an outbreak and visits are suspended. We did just decide to drive up to St. Lawrence this weekend, just to do a self-guided tour. I would still like to hear anyone elseās experience. I think I saw that @Midwestmomofboys had a child at Denison. My daughter was just saying (possibly based on something she saw on CC), that sheās concerned about the social scene at Grinnell and may not want to apply there.
My S19 is a Denison sophomore. He fell in love with the school instantly when we visited and has been very happy there. We also looked at a couple of the New England LACs, particularly the Maine LACs, and I think Denison has a somewhat similar feel in that the student body is pretty diverse and thereās a good balance between academics and sports (my son runs track) - it also helps that Granville, Ohio was founded by a group from Massachusetts and is a dead ringer for a small New England town. As you mention, Denison does offer merit scholarships and my son is receiving substantial support. I was a little unsure how he would deal with living in a very small Midwest town, as we live in a very large city, but he loves Granville and it is only a half an hour to Columbus. From a parentās perspective, weāve been very pleased with the quality of the academics and also with how the school has dealt with the pandemic. The students were sent home in March, but Denison did a great job finishing that semester virtually and then pulled together a menu of interesting classes and internships to keep students occupied over the summer. My son took one of the free classes and did two really productive internships supervised by an alumni mentor. Iāve also been very impressed with how quickly my son has been drawn into the school community and made to feel that heās making a contribution - heās become a docent (tour guide), heās doing peer mentoring, heās working on websites, all sorts of things. Denison is somehow fostering an environment that encourages him to reach out and take advantage of all these opportunities.
@homerdog ā I donāt know about the social life at Utah. @Twoin18 has a student there now, so she could perhaps share some insights.
@tkoparent, thank you! That is really helpful. Looking at how a school has responded to the pandemic situation is probably the most important thing right now.
@Twoin18 will know a lot more than me. From what Iāve heard there is partying/fun things to do, but itās nothing like CU Boulder. I think we parents would look at the level of partying and think itās fine.
Only just over 1/3 of students at the U are Mormon, FWIW.
Quick Google search indicates just over a quarter of students are OOS.
Wellā¦just over 1/3 identify as Mormon but 54% were raised Mormonā¦and these are just college students who have left home in the fairly recent past. My understanding is that non-Mormons feel like they are in the minority at Utah, but that is based on a small sample size.
Yes, the drop in identifying as Mormon vs. being raised Mormon at Utah fits with my understanding from family in the state that āseriousā Mormons go to BYU. Generally, less serious and non-Mormons favor Utah. 
Writ large, at least. Iām sure there are some serious Mormons at Utah too.
I still have family there and many went to the U, but it was many decades ago so I donāt have current info on how āMormonā the culture is or isnāt on campus today. Donāt know any students there now so your info is more recent on that front.
Interestingly, Salt Lake City is no longer majority Mormon, but of course thereās still more Mormons than any other religion. Big craft beer scene and bustling downtown, light rail, strong economy with a lot of tech jobs.
My (non-Mormon) friend got recruited there from the East Coast to teach at the med school and they have loved raising their family there.
I looked into U of Utah as a more sober alternative to CU Boulder. The main thing that gave me pause was reports that itās still largely a commuter school and the campus clears out quite a bit on weekends. That might not be so bad during COVID, but still. Campus is right up against the mountains. Traffic in and out of the city can be dense, but certainly no worse than Denver.