<p>My Junior daughter has (for now) decided that W&M is her top school. While she has a solid chance of being accepted, we are having a hard time finding similar schools to expand her list. Certainly there are many, many fine schools that we have looked at and she will apply but none seem to have the same "atmosphere" as W&M. The qualities that really made her love the school were the students themselves (she says they are "smart/witty and quirky") and the very accepting feel of the school. The academics, size and campus all get high marks - but those are qualities that are at many other schools.
So...are there other schools out there (maybe not QUITE as competitive as W&M - especially if they are private since we'll be hoping for merit aid) that have that similar quality she is looking for?<br>
her stats.. Mostly A's, some B+'s (in AP classes), plenty EC's - mostly in arts,4 honor societies, some leadership,very part time job. Hasn't taken SAT's yet but mid 60's on PSAT. We are Virginia residents.
Thanks!</p>
<p>My DD2 also looked at smart/witty quirky schools (where nerds are happy). Her schools included Carleton (very little merit aid and more competitive than W&M), Lewis and Clark, and Oberlin.</p>
<p>Look at University of Mary Washington.</p>
<p>Seconding Hunt’s suggestion of UMW. My d3, who is a junior at W & M, thought that Dickinson had a similar feel when she was looking at colleges.</p>
<p>Thanks for suggestions - I guess I should add that west coast schools are out - basically any school that she would have to fly to and from home to attend. Lewis and Clark does look like an amazing place though! I’ll have her take a look at Oberlin’s and Dickenson’s website. </p>
<p>University of Mary Washington was an early option…but she’s not a fan - she wasn’t thrilled with their academic offerings and felt the campus to be “low energy” - not a lot of social interaction going on.</p>
<p>Any other suggestions? Larger schools? Preferably on or close to East Coast? We could consider private if merit money is a real possibility.</p>
<p>When I asked this same question, I was told St. Mary’s of Maryland. I didn’t do that much checking into it, but it does sound like a neat place. It’s a public school in Maryland, that started out as their honors college, if I remember correctly (but don’t quote me on this!!)</p>
<p>TCNJ? New Jersey public LAC, about 6000 students.</p>
<p>I like St. Mary’s a lot (it is, indeed, a public “honors college”), but I’m not sure it’s high energy, either. What about Pitt?</p>
<p>Casting the “similar schools” net can bring in quite a variety, because different posters focus on different features (size, geography, selectivity, the “public honors college” thing, etc.)</p>
<p>With that caveat, I suggest you look at the “Colleges That Change Lives” and the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) lists. Most of these are private LACs. Many offer merit aid and many are somewhat less selective than W&M.</p>
<p>Patriot League schools-Holy Cross(don’t have to be religious), Bucknell, and Lafayette. Holy Cross has nice campus 1 hour from Boston and is need blind for admissions.</p>
<p>Lafayette offers nice merit scholarships:
[Lafayette</a> Scholarships Tuition & Aid Lafayette College](<a href=“http://finaid.lafayette.edu/financing-your-education/types-of-financial-aid/scholarships/]Lafayette”>http://finaid.lafayette.edu/financing-your-education/types-of-financial-aid/scholarships/)</p>
<p>Look at Wake Forest and Guildford. Once your D takes either the SAT or ACT, you can narrow your choices a bit helping determine the schools where she’d be eligible for significant merit aid.</p>
<p>Best of luck in your search.</p>
<p>Have you thought of Goucher?</p>
<p>Davidson, Holy Cross, Bucknell</p>
<p>Thanks for so many suggestions! I have looked into several of them already. Any thoughts on Haverford and Tufts? Also - Elon and College of Charleston? (these were already on the list - but since you are all so helpful… 
)
And by “thoughts” I mean anything I couldn’t learn from a brochure or website. Opinions good and bad welcome!</p>
<p>Miami Univerity, Oxford Ohio. Many of the buildings and campus were designed after William and Mary. Replaced W & M this year for one of the top schools for undergraduate education with Princeton and Dartmouth in the mix.</p>
<p>Husband and I are both Miami grads. The campus does have a similar feel to W& M. It’s really beautiful with lots of character. I don’t think the kids in general are quite as ‘quirky’— maybe a bit more preppy. It is a large enough campus, however, that you find all kinds of kids. It’s a great school, in our opinion.</p>
<p>Neither Haverford nor Tufts will meet your “maybe not QUITE as competitive as W&M” wish, but that’s no reason not to pursue them.</p>
<p>I hear (from a friend whose son plays a sport at Haverford) that Haverford is very sporty.</p>
<p>Good to know that Miami-Ohio is similar to W & M in this key aspect, since the question asked by the OP comes up fairly often. I’ve never visited Miami, so it’s also good to know the campuses are similar.</p>
<p>Because I’m such a W & M fan, I just wanted to say that, though Miami was ranked second in the 2010 US News peer assessment poll for “commitment to undergraduate teaching,” I don’t quite agree that it “replaced W & M this year for one of the top schools for undergraduate education” (post #16). In that particular ranking, W & M was fifth. (The others in the top 5 were Dartmouth, Princeton, and Notre Dame). Think it’s also important to note that the rankings were for “faculty with an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.” This is a key aspect of the undergrad experience, but not necessarily the same as being “a top school for undergraduate education.” Those polled were university presidents, provosts, and admissions deans.</p>
<p>From the US News website:
</p>
<p>Thanks again for all the responses. Not sure if we have added any to the list (daughter has told me no schools in Ohio or Pennsylvania…I know, I know…but she’s not budging). We still hope to add more but for now we have W&M, Univ. of Richmond (merit $ would have to be offered), UVA, Christopher Newport (her “safety” plus they have the leadership program she’s interested in), Elon and College of Charleston. These last two we will look at this spring - we’ll see if they stay on the list!</p>