The OP seems interested in a net cost in the $40 thousand range, and would not appear to anticipate a scholarship for that amount.
Union, Gettysburg, Dickinson, Wooster might work. All offer good merit.
It seems that, with the exception of Richmond, there is a slightly quirky vibe to those schools. Bard would be a contender but tends not to be too generous.
You might want to consider college abroad. Some bright students in my area choose to go to McGill (or other Canadian schools) because it is cheaper than staying in state. Of course, McGill is not LAC-like. Another option with a smaller student body is University of St. Andrews.
Regarding those expensive LACs where there is merit scholarship possibilities, most large competitive merit scholarships should be considered reaches, not safeties (those which are automatic for stats that the student has can be considered safeties).
Building upon @ucbalumnus’s point above, a benefit of St. Andrews besides the lower full pay cost is that admissions is much more stats driven than in the USA. Given your son’s stats, he’d be almost certain of admittance making it a safety for him. One of my kids used it as such. If one applies early, they respond pretty quickly, too.
I am seeing a lot of merit money in the $20k range at LACs. Full tuition and especially full ride is tough to get but with a budget of $40k it is possible to find a private college
Case is often pigeonholed as an engineering school, but everyone forgets the Western Reserve half of the merger. It’s a well rounded smaller school. My son netted $35k per year after merit (he was awarded $100k) with similar stats.
One of my kids got $25,000+ merit aid at Denison, Hobart and Lewis and Clark. He did not have to make a separate application. He got less merit at Skidmore. If the student has higher stats than most in the applicant pool the schools give out merit aid with no extra effort on the student’s part.
SUNY Geneseo is a nice school, although it is rural (there is a cute town). SUNY New Paltz is another one to look into…not an LAC but still small and very nice. Both are within your price range.
What about Muhlenberg or Clark? Clark is on the national university, not LAC, list, but at about 2000 students, it is like a LAC. Your kid would be a good candidate for the Traina or even the Presidential LEEP scholarship at Clark. Both Muhlenberg and Clark give good merit aid and attract brainy types.
Lafayette and Brandeis are more competitive choices that do give out some merit scholarships. Check out the Marquis scholarship at Lafayette. Like Clark, Brandeis is ranked with universities but is relatively small.
The best strategy with matches and safeties is to demonstrate a lot of interest.
Safeties w/ merit potential Furman in SC. Centre in Kentucky. Wooster in OH
We looked at Clark and liked the college a lot. My daughter will study social sciences and hopes to get merit. We had a great, informative tour, and info session. Seems like kids enjoy the classes and have high esteem for their professors. The neighborhood, however, leaves a lot to be desired. Also, dining hall is mediocre. We will visit Muhlenberg soon. If you were to compare those two colleges, is one considered more prestigious? I presume we will like the Muhlenberg neighborhood more.
Generally, if his scores fall in the top 25% of the college’s admits (top 15% for sure), he is very likely to be offered substantial merit aid from any leading LAC. My guess is that a college like Olaf would offer at least 20 to 30k in aid, making that 60k comprehensive fee doable.
I’ve got one who just graduated and one sophomore at Olaf, so a bit biased, but they had / are having an extraordinary experience. And the college leads the pack in global experience… my son spent a semester on Global (Tanzania, Argentina, Beijing, plus Egypt, India, etc), and an Interim in Argentina working on an Economics analysis that he and prof are working on to publish… Daughter is in Norway now on an orchestra and choir tour…(both experiences supported by financial assistance from the college.)
Olaf has some 3,000 students so the range of options is larger than smaller schools, and the community is unusually strong — even across a diverse student body.
Bottom line though, those college visits are everything - your son will know where he “fits” after an on campus visit / overnight… good luck and success!
All have been mentioned, but I strongly concur with Dickinson, Union, and Fordham. You should get merit $$$ and could be a candidate for Honors College at Fordham which comes with a lot of perks.
What about Farleigh Dickinson in NJ? Florham Park campus has under 3,000 students, a true safety and he would have a good shot are $32k a year merit, bringing cost under $30k.
@Eeyore123 Based on our search for D17 (currently at Oberlin), merit topped out at 20K at Dickinson and Mac, which would not get you to your target. Whitman topped out at 15K, maybe 20. Things may have changed since then, so confirm.
Most generous at time of her application: Wooster and St Olaf offered maximum merit of 50% of total COA. To get to this level, a separate application was required (Presidential and Buntrock respectively).
Pretty sure that Muhlenberg (PA) has a few full tuition awards as does Hendrix and Centre.
Other schools that may get you in the ballpark: Beloit (WI), Ohio Wesleyan (near Columbus), Clark U (Worcester, MA), U of Puget Sound (Tacoma, WA), Willamette (Salem, OR) and Lewis & Clark (Portland, OR)
Max merit at Oberlin these days is around 30-32K. This will get you to 40K or low 40s. Living in a co-op can reduce total costs by quite a lot as compared to traditional dorm/meal plan, if your kid is interested in that option.
My daughter received a $25,000 merit scholarship in her package from Whitman this year, so I think the high end has increased.
Many of the Colleges That Change Lives would be admission safeties or low matches.
https://ctcl.org/category/college-profiles/
However, you may get a lower net price from a public LAC such as St. Mary’s College of Maryland or New College of Florida.
So my daughter was at Illinois Wesleyan (around 2,000 students) and transfered to Beloit and got $30,000 merit to boot. Even with less students Beloit feels bigger. She loves the academic curiosity that both the students and professors have. She is so happy and thriving there. She applied and received a grant through Beloit to go back to Indonesia this summer(yes back) for a project that they are paying for.
With his stats he might be a full ride candidate. The culture is more academic then people realize with professors that truly care. There is also a Stat somewhere about they are ranked very high with students going on for their PHDs like in the top 20 schools.
This isn’t current but has a nice list of colleges for you. Also see what was said about Beloit ?.
Nice article but a bit dated. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-my-son-chose-beloit-college/