<p>I have a friend in another part of the country whose oldest D is a rising senior, making some visits this summer to colleges she's interested in. My friend read me her "short list" and my first reaction was, "She needs some safeties in there." My friend had thought there were some on this list, but I don't think so. Any suggestions of "likely" schools you might recommend she look into? Financial aid isn't a deal-breaker, but her family is going to need some aid to avoid being broke when younger siblings get to college age in just a couple more years.</p>
<p>Stats:
GPA: 4.0 UW (school does not weight), tough schedule
Rank: "top few" in a public school class of ~300 in NY state
SAT: CR 800, M 690, W 800 (well above school means)
SAT IIs: "some good scores, but her Math II was only 700-ish"
5 APs (scoring all 5s but for 3 in Physics)</p>
<p>ECs: (my friend admits she's light in the EC department)
Dance (14 years experience in ballet, some jazz; in associated local dance troupe)
Viola (string quartets, perform for weddings etc.; pit orchestra for local musical theatre company)
Guitar
Participation in some clubs, but no leadership roles.</p>
<p>Programs of interest: Writing, dance
School criteria: small, LAC, prefers Northeast, not single-sex. Urban location is fine as long as the school has a campus (e.g. Columbia) and not city-integrated (e.g. BU, NYU)
Schools currently on her short list: Swarthmore, Oberlin, Middlebury, Bard, Columbia, Bowdoin</p>
<p>To my eye, she's got a couple matches, a couple slight reaches, and a couple far reaches. Where else would you recommend she consider, given that everyone should have some likelies on their list? (Thanks!)</p>
<p>Add Barnard, Sarah Lawrence, Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke. She may not like single sex, but as far as safeties/matches are concerned they are some of the best institutions (Sarah Lawrence is now coed and Barnard is across the street from Columbia so while she would live with girls she would not be isolated from girls). Going coed means stepping down a few tiers.</p>
<p>If she likes Bard and Bowdoin, odds are she'll like Bates.</p>
<p>Other safety options include College of the Atlantic, Connecticut College, UConn, Rutgers, Syracuse, etc.</p>
<p>My main concern is that her math score may hold her back.</p>
<p>Skidmore pops to mind. It's a LAC that's got an artsy side that reminds me of Swarthmore/Oberlin/Bard, and I believe it has decent dance program as well (no idea about writing, though). </p>
<p>Goucher is another one that could work—not the Northeast (it's located outside of Baltimore, MD), but once again it's a LAC with an artsy streak and good dance (and I believe it also decent writing, though I might be pulling that out of nowhere). </p>
<p>I'm not sure if Kenyon would quite qualify as "likely" (though it's at the very least a low match), but it's known for its writing a program (not sure about dance—it seemed like enough for me, but dance was not a focus of mine), and a beautiful location, and as long as they're in Ohio to visit Oberlin, I think it would be worth a visit to see if she liked it. </p>
<p>I also agree about Sarah Lawrence—I believe they have a fantastic writing program there.</p>
<p>I second Dickinson and Connecticut. Both were solid matches for my D (she picked Dickinson but really liked a lot about Conn). This girl has higher stats; I think she could safely consider both schools safeties, and they are both great places. Merit would be a possibility at Dickinson, not offered at Conn.</p>
<p>It is single-gender, but my d's school - Smith - has a stronger dance program than any of her reaches or matches. Writing is strong too (though not as nearly strong as Bard, which is by far the best of the bunch.</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence would likely be the best overall pick, and is likely as strong or stronger in her areas of interest than most of her reaches or matches.</p>