Please let me know your thoughts on this list of LACs to apply to

My comment about those schools being reaches (even high reaches) was just to keep the list honest. You need a good mix of reaches, matches and safeties, and if any are misclassified, it’s hard to evaluate the balance of the list. And I do think it would be wise to add a few more true matches (at least a 50-50 chance) and safeties she’s happy with. And, if that then makes the list too long, drop a few reaches. But it’s a nice list - I don’t think I saw any real ringers that didn’t make sense.

@Lindagaf has some threads on the “average excellent” student that might be helpful reading when building a list. Her daughter applied to lots of LACs (and Brown!) as well. Here’s one:

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1878059-truthful-advice-about-getting-into-top-colleges-for-your-average-excellent-student-p1.html

Good recommendation from @doschicos!

I think semantics do matter here as the list is very reach heavy. I would place every one of these schools as a reach based on the percentage of students admitted alone without even taking into consideration gpa (with Whitman a match and Lewis and Clark a likely) I agree with posters who advise rounding out the list with more matches and likely schools.

You also mention the sporty culture of cmc. My son had many of the colleges that your daughter is considering on his list. He found Bowdoin to have a very strong sports culture, and to a lesser degree Amherst and Williams as well. These might be schools to reconsider as your list is quite long.

@doschicos, yes, perhaps a school with an under 50 percent accept rate should be considered a safety. For the recored, last year, Scripps’s admit rate was closer to 30% and OP’s ACT score is way above the 75%ile.

With sufficient interest shown, Scripps is probably a low match. Bryn Mawr and Kenyon are too.

@dla26 - I’d urge your D not to discount women’s colleges – especially ones that are in a consortium. They are very supportive of their students, oftentimes easier to get into than their coed counterparts, and many of them give merit. For this and other reasons, I’d suggest Bryn Mawr over (or in addition to) Haverford, for example.

@LoveTheBard I’m guessing you might be looking at dated info for a 30% acceptance rate for Scripps? If not, could you cite a source. I drew my 24% rate from this reference: http://tsl.news/news/7540/

That said, whether 24% or 30%, I’d say both put Scripps out of the safety category for sure.

I do agree that OP’s daughter should add a few more women’s colleges and Bryn Mawr is one of my favorites. If she has Haverford on her list, Bryn Mawr should be strongly considered.

I’d just like to say how glad I am that your daughter came through a serious health scare when her shunt malfunctioned, and is now clearly thriving! The fact that she doesn’t consider it a big part of her self-concept means you must have handled it very well, letting her grow and be independent despite how scary it must have been.

I agree with not mentioning it in applications unless she feels that it would illuminate something unique about her personality or abilities. I’m sure it did affect her, possibly contributing to her compassion for others, but that doesn’t need to be stated.

I second the suggestions of Skidmore and Connecticut College for “likely’s”. Best wishes with the process—have you checked out the thread for Parents of the Class of 2019?

This year’s admit rate at Scripps was artificially low. The previous year’s was artificially high. I expect it will probably settle somewhere in the upper 20’s next year. No need to split hairs over the numbers; the more salient point is that we have been around this block already, where the “You should consider Scripps a safety” advice was given to a student with stats very much like these, and debate ensued, and the student (and several others like her) ultimately did not get in. That’s not to say that OP’s daughter will not get in; I think it’s likely that she will. But likely ≠ safety.

However, applying to 3-5 schools at this same level of competitiveness drives the odds of getting shut out of all of them down to a comfortably low level. This accompanied by a couple of true safeties makes for a solid application strategy. I also think that that Oberlin-with-legacy-bump provides some extra “insurance.”

It can also be good to have an Early Action or rolling-admissions safety. Having an acceptance in hand before the winter holidays is a great stress reliever.

One problem is that calling something a safety without visiting is risky. Conn College, for example, has s very preppy feeling. It isn’t for everyone, and might not suit your D. Also, colleges do want to protect their yield. So if she hasn’t visited or can’t write a compelling “Why College X?” essay, they still may not accept her. It takes elbow grease to find safeties that a kid really likes.

“I also think that that Oberlin-with-legacy-bump provides some extra “insurance.””

I’m not sure how Oberlin views legacies but many schools expect you to apply ED if offered for legacy status to carry real weight.

@doschicos - My numbers came from the 2017-2018 Common Data Set:

Total first-time, first-year (freshman) women who applied: 2841

Total first-time, first-year (freshman) women who were admitted: 948

Acceptance rate: 29.96

Average Non-need based merit award: $16K with 37 first year students receiving non-need based aid.

A lot of great schools here, but I see a reach-heavy list with one high match, Oberlin, one match, Whitman, and one good bet, Lewis and Clark. Otherwise, this list is comprised exclusively of reaches and high reaches. Colby has a 14% acceptance rate, it’s a reach for all, as an example. Haverford is so small and is very much looking for a particular kind of student. It is not a match for anyone.

The list makes me nervous. I suspect she’ll get into at least a couple of the schools on the list, but if she wants choices she should revise it. As a rough guide, your daughter should ideally apply to a couple of schools which have acceptance rates above 50% (good bet), a few schools that have acceptance rates lower than 50% to about 30% (matches), and a few reaches, with one or two being a high reach, if desired. IMO, a high reach is almost every college with an acceptance rate below 20%. And remember that for most LACs, even safeties are not really safeties if a student doesn’t express interest.

Not that we did things perfectly, but in the thread posted by @doschicos , my daughter applied to some of the same schools in your daughter’s list. Her stats, activities, etc…were very similar to your daughter’s. I wrote the “average excellent” thread with my daughter in mind. My D was accepted to 2 safeties and 4 matches. At 1 match, Oberlin, she was initially WL’ed, and then later admitted. She was accepted to 1 reach, WL’ed at 2 others, (later admitted to one), and denied at 2 high reaches, Brown and Tufts. My concern is that your D will likely end up with a lot of WL or denials with her current list.

I agree with others that she’ll most likely get into some of these. Another LAC you might look at is Dickinson. It’s a strong match and is excellent for her interests. She’d also most likely get merit money. It also has semester in DC programs that might appeal. One word of caution. Your list is pretty much ALL small LACs. My D (14) thought she wanted a small LAC, too - but then in the fall of senior year wasn’t so sure. We added some midsize schools to the list and, of course, also had state safety schools. You might consider adding a George Washington or American or even something like a UVA just to have a larger school or two on the list. Also, there are (obviously) more available seats at the bigger schools. Good luck and keep us posted.

i think her list sounds perfect; however, i encourage her to heavily research each school’s environment. colby is veeerrry different from grinnell. the more i researched it when i applied, the less i felt like i would belong. ymmv.

has she looked at other LACs like washington and lee, kenyon, middlebury, swarthmore, bryn mawr, conncoll, davidson, carleton, and pomona? her being half japanese will benefit her more at LACs like colby, hamilton, davidson, kenyon, conncoll, and washington and lee specifically.

honestly, she’s a very competitive candidate. i can see her getting into most of the schools on her list already.

@kalons care to elaborate on why you think Grinnell and Colby are so different?

@kalons there’s a difference between a list of great schools and a well-balanced list. Yes, she is qualified to get into every school on her current list, but I think it’s overly optimistic to say that she will probably get into most of them. LACs, as you know, are pretty notorious for holistic admissions. I acknowledge that being Asian might be a mild boost at some of those schools.

@homerdog , I will take the liberty of responding. I think many people would agree that Grinnell is very liberal and creative, and Colby is preppy and outdoorsy. Those things aren’t mutually exclusive, but it is hard to imagine a kid who likes Colby fitting in at Grinnell, and vice-versa. In fact, I would say both Grinnell and Oberlin are outliers on the OPs list. But, as is common at many LACs, there will be a mix of kids at most of these schools.

When looking to see if a list is balanced, I think US News rankings can give an idea if there are any gaps. Setting aside Brown, the OP’s list has #1, 2, 3, then eight between #12 and 26, then 41 and 76. So it’s eleven from the first 26 on US News, and then only one of the next 50.

It could make sense to look at the four high reaches and the eight probable reaches and cut one from the first list and two from the second, based on fit and likelihood of getting in (this could be done in November). Then add one or two less selective ones like those suggested.

@Lindagaf thanks. S19 loved Grinnell and hated Oberlin. Like really really did not like the vibe. We saw a panel of students, took the tour, and went to the info session. The vibe is way more liberal than Grinnell. We found Grinnell very middle of the road and met all kinds of kids. That wasn’t the case at Oberlin. Grinnell felt more like Carleton than anyplace else. We are visiting Colby and Bowdoin in a few weeks. Very curious to see if we pick up the sporty vibe even in the summer time.

I would say Colby, Bowdoin, Williams, and Amherst are known as more sporty. After re-reading the opening post, I think those may not be the best fits.

Reread the OP’s original post, and the comment about her student probably would not be happy if she wound up at a safety. To me, that says, she hasn’t found the right safeties yet, because a “true” safety is a school a student would be happy to attend (and will get in, and can afford). I’m a big fan of building the list from the “bottom” up – first, find the safeties and matches, as anyone can fall in love with a reach.

If I am reading the OP correctly, the goal is schools that are not too intense an environment but still intellectual, not too sports dominated, Poli Sci/Psych/Theater and, implicitly a community where gender fluid is embraced. I know east coast and midwest LACs best, we never looked west coast so cannot speak about west coast schools, but a list built from the bottom might include:

Kalamazoo, Lawrence, Beloit, Knox, maybe Muhlenberg (theater, but not sure how it fits the other preferences)
Bard, Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke
Bates, Kenyon, Oberlin, Macalester, Grinnell, Vassar, Wesleyan.

Oberlin hits a lot of the preferences, so consider a conversation with her admissions rep in to understand Oberlin’s approach to legacy in admissions and whether there is an expectation of ED etc.

Many LACs have a gender imbalance, with more women applying and attending. Being an upper middle class female makes admission slightly tougher at some LACs, including, as I recall, Vassar, Wes and schools like Conn Coll and Skidmore.