After a recent ED rejection I feel like I need to add another one or two safety schools to my RD application list. I am looking for liberal arts schools in the Northeast area of around 2,000-7,000 undergrads. Hereâs a bit of information about myself:
-SAT I: 1520
-SAT II: 720 (Bio M), 760 (Math 2)
-GPA: 96/100 uw
-Intended major: neuroscience
-Will take 8 AP classes by graduation
-Extracurriculars: softball, fencing, founded a school club, three other school clubs, work with wearable tech company, volunteered at hospital, violin, community service, science program, some other stuff
You would have a fair to good chance at some NESCACs, particularly a somewhat less selective one such as Connecticut College. For truly safer admits, look into Wheaton and St. Lawrence. Outside of the Northeast, consider URichmond.
It would be polite to put more information in this post, so that we donât need to search through your old posts in order to answer your question.
I see in another thread that you are a Massachusetts resident, with a family income of $60,000. To me the hardest part of âsafetyâ for you will be finding schools that will give you significant financial aid.
What if any safeties have you already applied to? How much can you afford to pay for university, in terms of the total cost of attendance per year?
Your state of residency may have a public LAC that is not super selective, such as SUNY Geneseo, MCLA, ECSU, etc. Some may be inexpensive even for out of state students.
This is not really a safety, but a fairly likely match, as long as you try to demonstrate interest in some way: Brandeis. Neuroscience, fencing, volunteering⊠seems like a good fit.
I agree that Connecticut College is a nice choice and a low match for you. Definitely demonstrate interest.
Muhlenberg is a safety level college for you with a neuroscience major.
Itâs not a small LAC, but with your stats you could try Pitt as they are very good with neuro and, if the deadline hasnât passed, often offer decent merit money for good stats.
U Rochester could be worth trying to if their NPC works for your income.
Does Union have a neuroscience major? They tend to be good with aid and are an LAC. Ditto Franklin & Marshall and Dickinson. Check to see if they have the major.
I agree with a pp, if your family income is 60K, you need to be looking for good finances as a top consideration. Your stats are competitive for many schools, but not all offer good aid.
Dickinson would be a low match, and they meet 99% need. But they care about interest, so get on their mailing list right away, do a good job on the supplemental essay, donât wait until the last day to apply, and check your portal regularly and read their emails.
Thank you all so much, these suggestions are super helpful!
@justpassingthru I was rejected from Brown ED haha. My current list (without the added safeties) is Colgate, Vassar, Brandeis, Pomona, Stanford, UPENN, Yale, Williams, Skidmore, and Muhlenberg. I have visited all but Colgate and Pomona.
@DadTwoGirls I apologize for not including more information, I was trying to keep my post concise as to not deter readers from large blocks of information. Ideally, I am looking for schools that meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, because as you pointed out (thank you by the way ) that is an issue for my family. For less selective schools, if they donât meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, it isnât always a problem because I might qualify for merit aid if it is a school where my stats are above average or something.
@merc81@ucbalumnus@TheGreyKing@Creekland@intparent Thank you for all of your great advice! After looking into your ideas, I have decided to add Connecticut College and Dickinson. Do you think Clark or Bates could be considered safety/low match schools for me?
Have you run the net price calculator on each schoolâs web site?
Claims to âmeet needâ are not reliable, because each school can have a different definition of âneedâ. The net price calculator can show you what the school thinks your âneedâ is and if it will meet it.
Yes, Bates is a good match level college for you. And a great college!
And Clark is a wonderful safety- I would have named it as a safety for you, but I looked up its list of Majors before sending my first response to you and did not see neuroscience. They probably will give you great merit aid, too!
If youâre applying to Pomona, you might consider Scripps as a low-match almost-a-safety. It meets full need too (although not with no-loan packages like Pomonaâs) and would give you access to many/most of the same course offerings, programs, activities, etc. Likewise, the East Coast womenâs colleges that are in larger consortia - Smith, Mt. Holyoke, and Bryn Mawr - would also be in the match-to-safety range and have excellent sciences.
Conn College definitely fits the pattern with Vassar and Skidmore. Clark would be a safety, I think, but doesnât meet full need - Holy Cross does, though, and could be worth a look .
Iâll also add another vote for URochester. It has some of the same curricular flexibility as Brown, and itâs a great place for musicians and a terrific place to study neuroscience. Active fencing club too.
@ucbalumnus No, I didnât realize that. I know my mom has run it for a few (I donât know enough of the information to run it for myself), but weâll definitely look into that now. Thanks!
@TheGreyKing I did realize that Clark doesnât have neuroscience, but it does have creative writing as a minor (which is fairly rare in terms of the colleges Iâve looked at) which was very appealing! Iâve come to accept that it is very unlikely a college is going to have every single thing I want it to unfortunately
@aquapt My only worry about URochester is that no one from my school was accepted last year. There were only 5 applicants (according to Naviance) which isnât many, but it just makes me worried if Iâm adding it as a safety/match school. Clark doesnât meet 100% of need, but it has a merit scholarship program that I could apply for that is a full ride.
I know itâs not a small liberal arts college, but my daughter really loved UVM for neuroscience. The honors college would make it seem smaller. She ended up at Brown, but UVM was her second choice.
@worldofwonder14 , I think Rochester cares a lot about demonstrated interest. My daughter got in in '17 with an $18K/year merit award, with a similar GPA to yours and scores one notch lower. (1480/32) But we visited, and she interviewed, and I wrote the parent recommendation (I couldnât believe they were serious at first, but on the second request I went ahead and did it, lol), and she took the time to identify the aspects of the UR experience that interested her (vocal ensembles and a few other pursuits in addition to academic interests). They send personalized acceptance letters (although Iâm sure they must be produced in batches by student attributes), and hers talked about how they saw fit because of her interest in music, etc. I think itâs true that if they smell a throwaway safety-school app, they wonât accept just based on qualifications. It could be a genuinely good fit though, from the interests and priorities youâre describing. Itâs not a true safety but certainly a match/low-match, especially if you can make an Upstate NY trip to see both UR and Colgate before they get down to making decisions. (Although a winter visit to these schools might sell you on the merits of the Claremonts )
(P.S. @SE1619 - I thought about UVM too, but for an OOS student with significant financial need, itâs not likely to give enough merit and wonât give need-based aid, so probably not affordable.)
@aquapt Wow, thatâs really cool that they personalize their acceptance letters. I donât know if my mom is willing to drive me all the way up to URochester to visit (as she wasnât willing to drive me to Colgate). Would this have a big impact on the application? On the slight chance I could convince her, we might be able to go out during February break, but wouldnât that be too late, because arenât you also supposed to indicate that you visited in the Common App? I really like the size of the school and their academics, but this whole demonstrated interest thing stresses me out haha
Well, sometimes the âcritical massâ of a route with more than one visit on it can be a more compelling idea for a parent - you can float the idea and see. You can also show interest in other ways (making specific inquiries, going to info sessions that are local to you, requesting a local interview, etc.) and express that you really want to visit but that itâs not financially realistic for you unless/until youâve been accepted. Schools understand those realities. (My d got into Scripps with a surprise merit award, without visiting or interviewing even though she really could have⊠so you just never know. Sometimes an essay just resonates with the right person or who knows.)
My lad got into U Rochester without visiting. We scheduled a visit after his acceptance and he fell in love. We went again on an Accepted Students Day and he made his official decision then. Two years post (college) graduation he still loves the school. He did a phone interview back in the day.
My one concern for the OP about them is to run the NPC to see if theyâre affordable. Some students do very well with aid (like my lad). Others, not so much. I havenât quite pinpointed what the difference is. Be sure it looks affordable. Otherwise, it never hurts to try. If they say no, they do, shake it off and move on. Youâll never know what could have happened if you donât try (assuming it looks affordable).
Dickinson is also a loved school among students I know, so Iâm glad to see the OP adding it.
I feel like I need to add another one or two safety schools to my RD application list. I am looking for liberal arts schools in the Northeast area of around 2,000-7,000 undergrads. Hereâs a bit of information about myself:
) that is an issue for my family. For less selective schools, if they donât meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, it isnât always a problem because I might qualify for merit aid if it is a school where my stats are above average or something.
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