Clark is diverse. And has merit aid. We love Clark. I was sitting in admissions at Dartmouth a few years back and everyone was talking about Clark…
This is not necessary but you should be aware that some of the schools mentioned (Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr, Bates, Bard, Brandeis in the B’s alone- also Bennington) no longer require test scores. Here is a list of schools that are test optional or deemphasize scores: http://fairtest.org/university/optional
Though scores are needed for merit.
In the context of your daughter’s scores, this is not necessary, but I wanted to make the point that test scores are often not key to admission and focusing too much on getting them up can be counterproductive. By all means try again but don’t stress or try multiple times.
Speaking of Bennington…it is excellent for writing (Sarah Lawrence has that reputation too), artsy, small and personal, gorgeous Vermont campus but students spend a term each year doing “field work” meaning internships and so on in the real world. I know some amazing writers who attended.
Many of the best LACs are rural or in small towns. As we learned a couple of years ago, something has to give. That something may well be location if your daughter is set on attending a LAC. As it is, with your daughter’s current stats, many of the colleges suggested that she has a realistic chance of getting into are NOT in urban locations. The few that are located in or very close to cities are just not viable, IMO.
If you have your Fiske guide, have a look at where many of these colleges are located. You will find that the vast majority are not near urban areas. My D initally was dead set against rural. (For those of you who remember my “cool kids” thread, I think I posted early on that she didn’t want rural, haha!) She wanted easy access to a city, etc… But more importantly, she wanted the LAC environment. Geographical considerations were the first thing to go. She deposited at Kenyon in Ohio, a great school and about as rural as it gets, then ended up at Bates in Maine, which is in a large town/small city.
My kid is, of course, not your kid, and holistic admissions dicate so much of who gets in and who doesn’t. We are full pay, and my D was a straight A student with the equivalent of 1530. She didn’t get into Brown or Tufts, which have below 20% acceptance rates. She was waitlisted at Carleton. If your D gets above 1500 on the SAT, that will certianly give her a boost at those colleges. But they are still going to be reaches. I am saying that she needs to broaden her range of what she is willing to sacrifice in order to get into a great school.
All the colleges menitioned here are wonderful and she could be happy at many of them. I recommend the website Niche which has student reviews. She can get an idea of what kids like or dislike about their schools. She needs to prioritize what she must have and what she can live without. All of the LACs will have lots of campus activities. We visited Swarthmore, on the edges of Philadelphia. I remember being struck with the realization that most of the time, even at colleges where kids have easy access to city life, they still stay on campus. After all, that is where their home is, their friends, and their food. These colleges have so much good stuff to offer that kids do spend most of their time on campus.
ETA: Diversity is often an issue at all but the most selective LACs. The Amherst’s and Pomona’s can afford to be super selective. Clark Uni is less selective but very diverse.
Bennington we hadn’t looked at. Will look at Clark afresh. Yes, we use the niche site for reference but it’s great to get your perspective. Will recalibrate expectations once her SAT results come in. She will definitely not do it a third time, would rather focus on her grades and other activities. I believe there is a great college for every child… just have to get that fit.
I don’t know whether Bryn Mawr, Reed, or especially Oberlin would necessarily suit type B students.
Reed’s academic culture may be collaborative, but the workload/rigor and the level of vigorous debate I’ve observed/heard about from Reed alums is as high as schools like Swat, UChicago, etc.
No Bryn Mawr alum I’ve known from HS/worked with as colleagues could be described as type B IME. All the ones I’ve met tend to be very much type A, intense, and willing to debate you into the ground if they feel the need.
And Oberlin,heck no.
While Oberlin has mellowed somewhat, even younger Obie alums tend to be very intense, vocal, and happy to debate you into the ground if they feel the need. And back when I was an undergrad, the intensity/seemingly viciousness of discussions in and out of class tended to cause visitors unfamiliar with our campus culture to liken them to “vicious slugfests”.
What’s more ironic is when I later sat in on some undergrad classes at behest of TA friends and took some grad classes at an Ivy which is often stereotyped as one populated by intensive type A personalities, most of the undergrads I observed there were shrinking violets compared with the undergrad classmates and yours truly in our classroom discussions/level of participation.
Worse, a few of those Ivy undergrads asked me to intercede on their behalf because they were so intimidated by a domineering classmate that they were intimidated into silence*. That would have never happened at Oberlin, especially during my time there in the mid-late '90s.
One thing for OP to consider regarding Oberlin is: would the D enjoy being around students who are very open and passionate about discussing/debating/being active in progressive politics? While it’d be great for someone interested in IR/Politics/history, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
I did intercede on their behalf by notifying my TA friend and Prof and the domineering classmate was told to make more room for others to participate and to not act in such a domineering manner.
I think there is a very competitive element at Wellesley, but not everyone. There are some variations. I think Bryn Mawr is more edgy than competitive (our experience on visiting). Mount Holyoke might be the best fit of the three, AND they give some pretty good merit aid.
My S is at Skidmore, and it sounds like it might be a good fit for your daughter. He’s an introvert, and the school has surprised us with how warm and inviting it is. It’s bringing out the best in my son. Highly recommended.
I’d recommend Carleton or Grinnell. Grinnell may be an especially strong fit. Friendly, unpretentious, accepting students. 20% international. Good merit aid. Need based aid for international students. Try their virtual tour online.
@Reva66 Which ever schools your daughter ends up considering, be sure to find out the housing options available if this is an important factor to your family. When I started the college search for my son I was shocked to learn that four years of housing is not guaranteed at every university. There are pros and cons to this that each family has to weigh which can be impacted by the school’s location.
Many of the LACs(Liberal Arts Colleges) not only guarantee housing for all 4 years, some like Oberlin mandate students stay on campus for all 4 years unless they’re locals from the town/area, non-traditional(older than early '20s), or have a medical note or other rare case exception to justify not living on campus.
Each college/university is different so it’s good to check on the housing policies of each one to be sure.
My D is a senior at Wellesley. Yes, it’s very intense, but there’s also a lot of support. And while people are competitive, it’s usually with themselves, not with other students. On campus housing is guaranteed all four years, and the setting is suburban, with a frequent slow bus to Boston and Cambridge. My D also has a Zipcar account when she needs a car for a few hours. Your daughter will not be isolated at Wellesley.
@Reva66 Like @intparent I was also going to recommend Macalester if your D wants a more urban environment. The airport is also within a short distance of campus. The campus culture emphasizes global citizenship and a significant number of students are international. It also offers scholarships specifically for international applicants. Winters will be very cold, though.
@Reva66 be sure to also consider location and weather. The northeast United States where many of these colleges are located is cold and dark in the winter time. My daughter’s freshmen roommate at Brown was from Mumbai and it a was tough adjustment for her. She found the short, cold days to be depressing - and something she had not anticipated.
I don’t know what sort of creative writing she’s interested in, but many colleges creative writing programs are not at all open to non-realist fiction. (My son ran into this at Tufts which has pretty limited creative writing options, he liked his first class very much, his second one much less.)
