<p>Safetes with vassarlike ambience
My D loves Middlebury, Vassar and Bowdoin. She likes a pretty campus in a bucolic setting. I think these three schools are a reach for her, so I need some fits and safeties. She loves that small New England look and feel. Her brother goes to Vassar and his happy there. She is interested in majoring in chem, possibly pre med or Chem phd. She also likes the arts in that she does slot of stage crew,lighting etc. She is an EMT and also likes the outdoors. It is impt that she feels safe at school. Any suggestions for safeties and fits for her would be appreciated. also, we will prob need FA. Additionally does having a sib give you a" leg up" at a school? Thank you. BTw she was not crazy about skidmore felt there was not enough of an academic strength in the sciences and the dorms were a mess when we visited.</p>
<p>I’d have her take a look at Bates, Colby, Hamilton, Colgate and Connecticut College. These schools a a bit less selective than Vassar, Bowdoin and Middlebury. However, they are probably not safeties. You should also take a look at Muhlenberg College and Hobart and William Smith. Depending on her stats these might qualify as safeties. Muhlenberg has a very strong theater program.
Having a sibling at Vassar should give her a bit of an edge, probably more so if she applies there ED II.</p>
<p>Good Luck.</p>
<p>If she is willing to look at public schools… looking at Plymouth State University an SUNY New Paltz as possible safeties could be a good plan. If you are not a resident of one of those states they could be cost prohibitive, however… and state schools generally tend not to be as generous with financial aid for OOS.</p>
<p>For private schools… maybe add St. Lawrence to the list of schools to look at?</p>
<p>Thanks for the good suggestions we will look at Bates,Colby ,Colgate as fits. wasnt sure about Hamilton and being a science major…Mohlenberg coulds def. be a safety.Why do you say Vassar ED2 instead of 1? honestly though we were thinking Bowdoin/Middlebury ed1 then Vassar ed2, but I was curious if there was something about vassar ED2 we didn’t know about.</p>
<p>Hampshire might be another good safety. </p>
<p>i believe tuftsalum was suggesting ed II only because the ed I deadline has passed. but i do think there would be an advantage to applying to vassar ed II since she has a sibling there… at a certain point it all becomes a game of inches. a sibling can be a few.</p>
<p>All the departments at Hamilton are strong, including sciences. I wouldn’t worry about that. The campus is really lovely but it has a Greek presences and is significantly preppier than Vassar or Bowdoin or even Middlebury IMO.</p>
<p>Yes, I said ED II because the ED I deadline has already passed.</p>
<p>Hampshire isn’t really a safety for anybody–it’s just a whole different kettle of fish, and you should be really sure that it’s the school you want before you put eggs in that basket. But for another small, wonderful liberal arts college with the feel of Bowdoin, Colby, Vassar, etc. try Kenyon–yes, it’s in Ohio, but it’s a slice of New England on the hill, and it’s a really special place, with strong sciences and strong performing arts.</p>
<p>Would she consider an all women’s school like Mount Holyoke?</p>
<p>Ditto to royal73’s post. She should definitly look at Mount Holyoke. I would encourage oyu to check out MNC website. The following is a quote… " In fact, a recent National Science Foundation study of women doctorate recipients by baccalaureate institutions ranks Mount Holyoke first among all selective liberal arts colleges in producing women who went on to receive Ph.D.s in the life and physical sciences in the period running from 1966 to 2001. "</p>
<p>ps…sorry for the typos. I obviously failed to reread before posting . sorry</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I think an all women school is out of the question. I am sorry if I didn’t make clear that she is a JR. I am not sure about Bard as she looked at it when her brother was looking and felt it a bit too counter culture. I like the idea of Colby , I heard Hamilton is very English heavy, but I will check it out for Chem majors. Not sure about going to the deep South as we live in NJ, but she did mention Univ. of Richmond, so who knows? Hopefully she gets a bit less rigid in her thinking again thanks!
I have another question, her tutor gave her an SAT from 2010 and she scored 800 M 790 W and 630 V. Is there any hope of getting that score up.What would be considered a minimal V score for M/B/V thanks so much!</p>
<p>You’re naming most of the ones my niece in NJ is looking at – with Gettysburg being the one omission from her list that’s in line with your criteria.</p>
<p>My niece is also considering bigger schools – because she likes the whole “school spirit” thing around sports programs, so she’s also looking at Providence and Villanova. I wouldn’t exactly classify those two as having a Bowdoin ambience, but considering all the other overlap I figured I’d throw those in the mix, too. I think Richmond is a great pick if that’s something that’s of interest in terms of the overall experience.</p>
<p>skidmore is very strong in theater and also has merit aid for students pursuing science.</p>
<p>those scores as a junior are phenomenal. I’m a senior and in a few months my scores jumped almost 200 points so there is definitely more than mere hope for her scores going up.
Im looking at these schools and as likelys (nobody has safeties!) I’m looking at St. Lawrence, SUNY Geneseo, Lewis and Clark, Kenyon, and Oberlin. All great small schools in beautiful locations.</p>
<p>wishing you the best of luck, let me know where you end up. are you applying to Bowdoin, ED !</p>