<p>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>University of Rochester, perhaps? And yes, I think having a sibling who attends or attended a school will help!</p>
<p>Vassar is my daughter’s first choice and we’ve had to contemplate your question about back ups in the event she is not admitted. The first we’ve considered is the University of Richmond. We were extremely impressed by the school in all facets. It has many of the same attractive qualities of Vassar; it’s a small, liberal arts college with beautiful campus, near a large city, and with a big endowment that funds all sorts of great programs and activities. The second school we liked a lot in this category was Lafayette. It also has a very beautiful campus, not too far from Philly and a great student vibe on campus. The last school we really liked in this category was Holy Cross for all the same reasons. I think if you research these schools you will find that their median SAT scores are about 100 points below the median for Vassar, based on the old SAT scoring system (i.e., 1600 is the top score). Good luck!</p>
<p>Dickinson is a wonderful school to consider.</p>
<p>Countless choices in the Northeast, which is where I assume she’s aiming. St. Lawrence, Hobart, Hartwick, Gettysburg and Connecticut College are a few that come to mind. Bucknell, Lafayette and Holy Cross also come to mind, although they are step harder to get into. Also, if money is an issue, Geneseo has the strongest reputation among the SUNY colleges, and may not seem that different from the private liberal arts colleges. Best bet these days is to apply to about 15 schools, because she will get turned down by some, and may not be happy with the financial aid offers from others. It takes numbers, becasue of the vagaries of the admissions process and the variance in financial aid offers (one neighbor kid I helped applied to nine schools, got into eight, and got the best financial aid package from Union - his cost was $5,000 a year (with no loans) there. Hobart wanted him to pay $10,000 (before loans), and RPI, Clarkson and WPI each wanted him to pay about $18,000 (before loans). His family really had no money, so he chose Union.</p>
<p>Union, by the way, is a beautiful school and strong academically, but the setting is not bucolic like Middlebury’s.</p>
<p>Did she look at Bard?</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 union (will she feel safe in the area?) 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 as things progress. Thanks so much for mentioning applying to 15 schools to manage the FA game. Used to be you were told NOT to apply Ed if you needed Fa. When we visited Colby the admissions counselor told me they give away most of their Fa early, so we should apply early. It is very confusing the rules are being made while we are in the process it seems! Our guidance dept is overwhelmed so they are not very helpful!
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>Bard is at least as hard to get into as Vassar.</p>
<p>Completely disagree. Vassar is much more selective.</p>
<p>For Vassar, 2009 female admit rate was 20%, while male was 35%, for combined admit rate of 25%, compared to Bard’s admit rate of 28%, but stats of Vassar admits are higher than Bard’s.</p>
<p>Ha! that’s the year my S got into Vassar. well I stand corrected!</p>
<p>You might want to take a look at Ursinus, just outside Philly. This was S’s back up if he didn’t get into Vassar. Beautiful campus, easy ride to Philly and an excellent science program. They have a connection to Drexel med school and many of their graduates go to med school there.</p>
<p>Oh and good FA.</p>
<p>thank you so much joesboy, that’s a great suggestion!</p>
<p>How about Trinity? It’s in a somewhat dangerous neighbourhood of Hartford, but the campus is beautiful. Trin definitely has that small New England LAC feel, but it’s not as competitive to get in to.</p>
<p>Thanks but one of her considerations was feeling safe, so I ruled out trinity and union. i appreciate the thought though.</p>
<p>Have you looked at Skidmore? Sounds like it might have quite a few of the things you are looking for, plus I think there might be merit money available in the sciences. My D likes Wesleyan and Vassar more, but would be quite happy at Skidmore too. Saratoga is also a great town.</p>
<p>Dickinson seemed like a great place to me. And maybe Allegheny?</p>
<p>Wittenberg</p>
<p>and Richmond. Nothing tops Richmond. The most beautiful campus I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. And its reputation is riiiiiiising.</p>
<p>I’ve heard great things about the University of Rochester. If my son doesn’t get into Vassar ED1, he’ll apply there.</p>