Yes, I agree, @rayrick. We’ve visited Whitman and also Colorado College, both good fits for her, academically and culturally. We’ll take a look at St. Lawrence while we’re out east for sure.
We will be looking at many of the same schools, and have already seem some. Dartmouth and Amherst have had a negative reputation for how some girls were treated, you can research safety on these schools. Clark is not in the best part of town in Worcester, neither is Tufts ( Medford) for that matter. If you are in Amherst, Smith is 6 miles away and Mount Holyoke is 15 miles or so, we already looked at these and my daughter loved Mount Holyoke. If for no other reason than as a safety. ALL of those schools will be about 50% private school kids,(except the all girls schools I’ll add ), and Colby the least pretentious. Everyone I know who’s kids go to Colby LOVE IT. Brown in Providence is not far from Boston, beautiful campus, and although it is in Providence, it is separated by a river and really in it’s own part of town. Wellesley like the other post said is another great option, you will be 2 to 3 miles away from Olin (Engineering) and can swing buy only adding minuets to your trip. Wesleyan in Connecticut, Hamilton in New York would fit this list.
I’m not going to evaluate your daughters chances as you can do that, but I have a friend who’s daughter had 800 math SAT and they were surprised she only got into her safety, Colby. I’ve learned about 25% of the students at the NESCAC schools will be on a sports team and were recruited, they can slightly lower their standards for those kids. There are just a lot of smart girls around here for few spots. My daughter seems comparable with your daughter, which is great, you should be very proud of her as I am of my daughter. My daughter’s list includes: Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Middlebury, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Hamilton, She may add Wesleyan and after SAT’s maybe Brown and Williams if that helps. Wellesley is to close for us. From your description I would not miss Colby or Middlebury. BTW there is virtually no snow here as of now, the recent storm missed us.
- college where students who didn't attend east coast prep schools (or whose families aren't wealthy) don't feel out of place
This really seems contradictory to many of the schools listed - but you will be able to feel it for yourself. 50% private school kids is a very large amount when you consider the percentage of kids overall that went to private schools compared to public schools
and Clark is a very different place from those others -
also see if the converted SAT score(plus a bit) is in the middle percentage of the existing students of your list,
This family is sophisticated enough to be coming from Montana to explore the NE LACs - they shouldn’t worry about feeling “out of place” if the college has a lot of NEngland prep school kids. We shouldn’t just “leave New England to the New Englanders.”
Bennington in VT might be another option
I am glad you included Clark, which does do merit and is a great school, and is pretty diverse. UVM is a good idea based on the criteria mentioned. Amherst, Williams and Dartmouth seem good choices based on the criteria too (I am thinking of outdoorsy) but are reaches for everyone, of course.
Many selective schools are pushing for socioeconomic diversity and are no longer mainly wealthy kids from prep schools, though there are still a good number of couse. Personally, I would not worry too much about fitting in that way. (My own daughter had a friend who would invite her, say, to India for winter break, a trip we could not afford. She wasn’t that bothered by it.)
We don’t know anything about your daughter in terms of extracurriculars or talents, so hard to say: be careful not to assume good scores and grades will gain entrance to some of the school on your list 
I would recommend Loren Pope’s books, “Colleges that Change Lives” and “Looking Beyond the Ivy League.” Colleges that Change Lives is also a website and a series of national fairs (In the fall, I think).
p.s. lots of school in the Midwest too, like Oberlin, Lawrence, Grinnell, Kenyon, Macalaster, Carleton…and Davidson comes to mind in the south…)
Hey, I think we just added 3 weeks to this guys trip. Not to bust anyone’s balls but New England consists of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. I know I added one in New York, but parts of New York are closer to Boston than other parts of New England. We have been to Stonehill, Wheaton and Conn College, and they are all nice. I figured you would have similar choices close to home. If your daughter likes horses visit Mount Holyoke. O.K. I’m just going to come out and say it, I really think you should add Mount Holyoke to your list. Once a year the president rings a bell, no classes for the day and they all hike up a mountain for an ice cream party.
Another thing in your favor is that, while the NESCAC schools pretty much all have a national reach and there will be relatively few states that will provide a meaningful “geographic diversity” bump, I would think Montana would be one of that few.
A couple of other comments – if your kid’s got any artistic interests in addition to what you’ve told us, Skidmore might be worth a look. We did a science tour there and were quite impressed. And it definitely has a significant outdoorsy contingent, with the Adirondacks right nearby. Plus, Saratoga Springs is a well-above-average college town. On the downside, it’s probably a notch down academically from most of the NESCAC schools, and still doesn’t offer any meaningful merit aid (they give out a tiny handful of scholarships to superstar applicants).
Also, Dartmouth has been mentioned several times, but I think it’s got a pretty different vibe than most of the NESCAC schools, with a VERY big Greek presence dominating the social scene. So, if that’s not your kid’s thing, I don’t know that I’d even bother visiting, given how full the rest of your itinerary is looking. Your call, obviously.
I also heartily endorse @compmom’s CTCL rec and the midwest schools she listed. But, as another poster pointed out, you’ve clearly done your homework, having already visited Whitman and Colorado College and having compiled a very solid list of northeastern schools to check out, so you probably already know all that!
Finally, there was a mom who used to hang around during the era when my daughter was looking at schools with the username @5boys, whose mega-outdoorsy son (he soloed the Pacific Crest Trail) had C.C. and Whitman as top choices, but ended up attending St. Lawrence. She may be able to give you some inside scoop on that school, if she ever still frequents CC.
I was going to second (third or fourth) St Lawrence for the sciency-outdoorsy kid. Also has good merit aid.
NESCACs – Bowdoin, Colby, Middlebury, Bates, Conn etc., do not offer merit, only financial aid, and same with Dartmouth as an Ivy. So run the NPC if a family (like most of us) cannot write a $62,000 check each year. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention at the right times on tours, but I don’t recall being overwhelmed by science programs at either Bates or Conn. They both seemed much more artsy than science-y.
For the sciency-kid willing to look in the midwest, definitely Grinnell, very diverse and collaborative student body.
Definitely St. Lawrence. Must be able to ski was on two of my three kids lists (they both ended up out west)…so we did the Colby/Bates/Bowdoin (twice) and with one did the Dartmouth/UofVT/Middlebury and with another one St. Lawrence and Hobart and with three (engineering) we did the Pennsylvania triumvirate. 5boys and my trips were very similar in many respects as I recall. We looked east. We looked west from my fly-over country location. I’ve never been a huge fan of Clark, but probably because I have a “thing” about Wocester and it felt like a directional college (to me) and those are a dime a dozen.
We didn’t go to Mass. although I lived there so was familiar with Harvard and MIT from my college years and had close friends who went to BC and BU, but those weren’t schools on any of my kids’ radars anyway and they are the antithesis of ‘city kids’. The Hobart visit kid loved Hobart in New York State. Beautiful campus, great school, healthy looking students, fun trip and his tour guide really, really wanted him for the ski team and the sailing team. He almost, almost ended up there save a last minute change of heart. The price was good, too. A very good friend’s son just graduated from there. They would have ended up in college together which would have been a blast for me. It might be worth taking a peek before you plan your trip. The one who loved Hobart also loved Colby (better) and applied ED but was deferred back in the day so he dropped it.
We have had more posters than I can count who thought their kid’s weren’t interested in women’s colleges, but they come away raving about Mount Holyoke. It has solid academics, a beautiful campus, the rest of the consortium for social interaction and a few off campus classes, and gives good merit aid. It punches above its weight – although neither of my kids ended up attending, both loved it when visiting (and they were not sure about women’s colleges ahead of time) and were accepted. So just another plug, your D may be surprised. Solid in the sciences, too.
It isn’t really on your route, but Dickinson might be a good fit as well. It was my D1’s safety, and she decided to attend (good merit) and had a really great experience (has a good job post-graduation that she got through an alum, too).
These coeducational liberal arts colleges in the Northeast have supported at least one Apker Award recipient (for undergraduate research in physics):
Amherst
Bucknell
Colgate
Franklin & Marshall
Hamilton
Haverford
Middlebury
Swarthmore
Wesleyan
Williams
From the above, these schools have graduates who have won a Nobel Prize in a science field:
Amherst
Hamilton
Haverford
Swarthmore
These colleges have math listed under “most popular majors” in USNWR (with each over 5x the national average):
Bowdoin
Hamilton
Swarthmore
@momofthreeboys What do you mean by a ‘directional’ college?
Re Conn College - it does ‘show’ artsy due to the impressive performance spaces and dance program, but well regarded in science too, with research opportunities and good program in bio and botany. Similar to Muhlenberg in that way as that school known for theatre and premed at the same time, though Conn stronger academically.
@momofthreeboys, thanks for your input. I’m curious to know where your kids ended up going to school in the West, as we’re looking across all regions. @intparents, Dickinson is a good idea, though probably for another trip. Thanks for the suggestion.
Hamilton and, I believe, St. Lawrence each have weekends when their students attempt to climb all 46 Adirondack High Peaks.
(“Hamilton College Students Climb all 46 mountain peaks in the Adirondacks,” USA Today.)
@406for3, Williams certainly fulfills your daughter’s first two criteria – excellent math/sciences and outdoorsy/active student body with access to hiking, skiing, camping. As mentioned, no merit aid and highly selective.
There’s no question that you will find prep school kids and/or kids from wealthy families at Williams and ALL east coast selective colleges, but the influence of elite family connections has waned considerably in recent years. All selective schools strive to admit an inclusive class covering all types of diversity – racial, religious, economic, geographic etc.
Most of my son’s friends at Williams were solidly middle class. Some had more spending money, some less, but it wasn’t a factor in school activities. Insular rural campuses are great financial equalizers because there’s not much to spend money on.
Where it might have impact would be in what students did over the summer and at break time; however, it was pretty much considered out of bounds to flaunt money and privilege.
My son wasn’t in the sciences, but some less selectives that he considered were Hamilton, Skidmore and Conn College. I would suggest that you daughter just take a look at Smith and Holyoke, since she’ll be in the neighborhood, especially if the trip confirms that being in the Northeast is a top priority for her.
She might also look at Cornell, which although much larger, also has an active outdoorsy element (amid some stunningly beautiful scenery) and strong math/science programs.
OP, my sciency daughter (physics major) goes to Harvey Mudd on the west coast.
@wisteria100: Refers to a compass direction, such as “Western (name of state) State University.”
Smith has good science programs and awards some merit scholarships.
Dora Windes Zollman Scholarships
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Reduced loan expection
STRIDE Scholarships
The STRIDE program offers students with outstanding academic and personal qualifications a close working relationship with a faculty member during their first two years at Smith College. This scholarship of $15,000 per year (limited to $7,500 per semester of enrollment) for four years is awarded to approximately 50 students each year. In addition to the scholarship, students are also given an annual stipend of $2,400 each year for two years that is linked to research with faculty members. After the first two years, STRIDE scholars will receive the standard work study allowance as part of their financial aid awards.
@lr4550 said
Clark yes, Skidmore no.
And, for whatever it’s worth, I meant to mention that four years ago, my daughter was looking for almost exactly the collection of attributes yours seeks, and, among LACs, she ended up applying to Williams, Middlebury, Bowdoin and Carleton. Carleton was still very much in the running right down to the last weekend before the May 1st decision deadline. Kind of like @intparent’s daughter, after considering and applying to primarily LAC’s, she ended up at the more pure tech-oriented Olin.