<p>Consider Reed. They take a lot of chances with bright kids. Your sons 2110 SAT means he is either very bright or a good test taker or both. It’s probably why Parchment shows strong chances</p>
@eandsmom wrote in another one of my threads
“not to get off track for your D but I just read through your quirky kid list. I’ve a quirky kid (and no you can’t quite describe it) and see some overlaps in our lists. Somewhat similar stats, higher gpa, similar trend on the gpa but lower test scores in our case (ADHD kid who can’t complete in time, sigh). 6 AP’s, 3 honors, one DE. Working on that test score but…”
Liberal west coaster, more hipster than preppy, will not be studying music or theater but would like to keep both in his life (those are his peeps). Jazz, Wind Ensemble, Theater Tech, Pun Club and Sustainability type EC’s. Could care less about sports but it isn’t a deal breaker either.
Do you mind me asking where all he ended up applying/visiting? Did he stick with your original list? I see where accepted but as we work through our list I need to determine what is worth attempting to tour, or if applying and touring upon acceptance is a better route. I just checked our schools results for Oberlin and ouch…large Public HS in Seattle area (which does quite well with west coast schools) is definitely not on their short list. 0/5. LOL! It sounds lovely though. Based on your original and final, UVM may be the only overlap but a lot of schools were tossed around that we are evaluating so would love to hear a full list."
below is the list of schools, I’ve marked the schools on his apply list with an A and the schools he visited with a V.
Wheaton (MA) V - first school we visited, fell in love with the beauty of the school, hated the school by the time we left, he felt it was low on the quirky scale, high on the preppy scale
Bates - VA, liked but didn’t love it, not really quirky, fwiw, post his interview they kept calling our house imploring him to apply.
Syracuse - VA, liked it, not quirky
U Mich - VA, liked it, would have lived in residential college which is quirky, you might want to check this out eandsmom. My older S did this, loved it and they have a strong theater program (one my son’s friend’s from our town is in their bfa program and loves it).
Bard - V high on quirky hipster scale, but what he described as “packs of goth kids smoking cigarettes” and said no way.
Case Western - VA, not quirky, liked the school
UVM - VA, liked school, felt he’d find his community there but not really quirky
Tulane, A, loved the idea of new orleans, would have visited
Bennington VA, high on quirky list, one of his top schools
Knox - A, while he didn’t visit, he did have multiple conversations with adcom and other students that attended, received large merit award, I like this school and it was in his top 3.
Clark - VA, this was also high on his list, we weren’t in love w location, offered good merit.
Rhodes - A, would have visited after acceptance
Kalamazoo - VA, not quirky, we saw it as a safety, received large merit award but he wasn’t in love w school.
hampshire - V, high on quirky list, for whatever reason, hated it.
marlborough - V, ha, hated it more than hampshire. I should video his rant on hampshire, marlborough and wheaton, it’s quite something to see.
honestly, after acceptances at case and tulane, then the calls from bates, we realized we might be shooting a little low so other schools starting coming into the conversation: union, kenyon, conn college.
but then, the oberlin ed came through and he was done.
here are a few more I forgot about:
ithica - V, a lot of kids from our town go here and have a great experience, wasn’t for him
skidmore - V, felt it was too preppy, I dunno, seemed similar to oberlin
centre - A, have read wonderful things about the school, he was going to apply and visit if admitted
Thanks!
Definitely some crossovers though our is largely west coast based. Not all are quirky to be sure
Currently on the list
Safety
Linfield
Oregon State
University of Wyoming (definitely not quirky but has the programs he wants)
Western Washington
Humboldt State
**Target **
UVM
Muhlenberg
Kalamazoo
Ithaca
Gonzaga
University of Puget Sound
**High Reach **
Lewis & Clark
Reed
His chances based on Naviance are actually better at Reed of the 2 uber reaches but I still think slim to none. Way too many safeties but with his stats…though I am seeing merit at all the targets, it may well not be enough. At some he may be able to bridge the gap with music scholarships that are available for non majors.
We did look at Hampshire but I think it is “too” alternative for ADHD boy and while Evergreen could certainly be a safety, I feel the same way about it. I’d just as soon drop Humboldt but S is pretty into the idea of living in the redwoods and it does have what he wants at the right price. But…ugh. We had actually looked at SUNY - ESF as it has great programs in his area and is affiliated with Syracuse but he hates the way the school looks and feels it is too limited as more of a standalone option. He liked Syracuse though lol. Not sure where he’d stand on that one financially or program wise though. I am pretty sure he’d hate the location of Clark (as well as Knox) so we haven’t looked at it but will take a peek at Bard and Bennington. We are from the PNW so packs of goth kids smoking is fairly normal. S isn’t one of them but…
I wouldn’t expect U of M to be affordable OOS. S is pretty anti big rah rah school which is why our flagship isn’t even on his list.
U of M (if it is U of Mich) is very expensive OOS. My D. did not even apply there although we are only 1 hr away. They are not famous for their Merit scholarships either. One of my co-worker’s D. attended at U of M for pre-law. The kid and the mom were both disappointed, they expected more for the money. Co-worker said that she learned her lesson with the oldest one and sent the other 4 to the local college where they were offerred the Merit scholarships and could live at home. The pre-law student ended up going to the Law school at in-state public, she could not afford more expensive option after paying for U of Mich undergraduate program.
@MiamiDAP I’ve seen you post this story before (actually in my other thread) and I wonder what lesson your co-worked learned? surely it’s not that one can attend local schools, earn merit scholarships, stay at home and save money.
OP, what is your D’s intended major?
Re quirky Pacific NW kid with not tremendously high stats: My D16 is all about drama (more writing and tech than acting - lots of experience) and currently wants to write (book/lyrics) for musical theater. She was looking for a liberal arts college with strong student run theater where she could get some experience with non-profit management. Her ACT was 28 (with comparable SAT score), UnW GPA of 3.7 with a full IB diploma. She preferred small town over urban for college. She applied to twelve schools (most test optional). Ended up accepted at: Western WA (Rolling), Beloit (EA), Clark (EA), Lewis&Clark, Mount Holyoke, Muhlenberg, Whitman. Was wait listed at: Kenyon, Skidmore, Smith. Rejected at Grinnell and Wesleyan. A male student would have a better chance at many of those schools (though not Mount Holyoke and Smith 
). She is headed to Mt Holyoke this week and couldn’t be happier.
‘Bard - V high on quirky hipster scale, but what he described as “packs of goth kids smoking cigarettes” and said no way.’
@quietdesperation Just catching up on this thread and your comment above is the EXACT same reaction my daughter and I had about Bard. It sounded great to her on paper but immediately came off the list of schools under consideration. However, some seriously talented fine arts students.
@PNWedwonk great info! And congrats on a lovely lovely school choice for your D! My S does have lower stats but definitely some overlap with your list. He has somehow zeroed in on the Mid Atlantic as a target so much of the PNW options have fallen aside, plus we are chasing what little merit he can get.
We had Muhlenberg on the list but I can’t see it as being affordable and Beloit was vetoed on location but financially I want it back on!
Currently the list stands at
Will apply
Western Washington University
Goucher
Still evaluating
Allegheny
Ursinus
McDaniel
Juniata
University of Puget Sound
Ithaca
Temple
Rowan
Bradley
University of Vermont
Oregon State
I would love it if Lewis and Clark seemed a financial and admissions option but it really doesn’t. According to our naviance he’s a better chance at Reed
@eandesmom we live in a town where a lot of parents work in the arts, great programs for kids (our teen theater has had kids that appeared on broadway), quite a few have been accepted to top bfa programs. The reason I mention this is that we must have 10-15 kids at Ithica at any time from our high school, everyone I’ve spoken to loves the school. Not sure how they are for merit.
Congrats, @PNWedwonk ! Mt H is a great school.
@quietdesperation thanks. Ithaca’s NPC puts it as the most expensive on the list at the moment, once merit is factored in. They will offer some but it may not be enough. It’s doable but it would have to be his dream school for every reason compared to what others may offer.
What we really love about Ithaca is the size. 5-7K seems just about perfect for my S and it’s ridiculously hard to find, or at least for me to find at a school that might be remotely affordable at his stats. I am not sure though if it will stay on the list though I do think it’s a good fit. The music and drama may be “too” strong, in the sense that he’d have competition there as a non major to do what he wants. If it stays and he is admitted we would visit and go from there. I’ve struggled to find reaches that are affordable and at the moment, there isn’t one on the list but I’d rather know going into it what is doable versus not.
@eandesmom I’d encourage you to keep Ithaca on the list. A family friend’s son attends and loves it! Very outdoorsy kid and has done a lot of environmental-science related internships over the summer. He is studying journalism and environmental studies of some kind. The family got a financial/merit package that worked for them. It sounds like a really nice school.
@mamaedefamilia thanks! that is really helpful feedback. I am really really hoping to narrow down the list this week. I would really like to have the EA schools defined before school starts on 9/7 for LOR purposes.
My S attends Bard, I have to say that it is an extremely innovative school. It does have outstanding arts. Bard has a very impressive faculty list as well. It’s a beautiful school architecturally as well as its grounds. Bard is rigorous don’t be fooled by a higher admissions rate…
@Olympia2 Bard looks great, we did look at it and I can’t recall why it fell off (likely financial) but I remember liking a lot about it.
Currently our list looks like this. Not super quirky but not exactly traditional either.
Will apply; Western Washington University, University of Puget Sound, Goucher, Ursinus, University of Vermont.
Still in play: Ithaca, Allegheny, Bradley, McDaniel, Temple, Oregon State.
My personal leaning at the moment is to keep the first 3 of those still in play but we will see! I’m not the one applying