Yes. 10% is actually very high for small colleges. Some small ones have no Jewish kids or 3-5% at most. She will have no problem to find couple soulmates among 300 students.
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From the U. of Richmondās website: Peer Institutions - Institutional Effectiveness - University of Richmond
Peer Institutions
The University of Richmond does not have an official list of peer institutions. Because of our distinctiveness as a small, liberal arts university with graduate programs and a school of continuing education, it can be difficult to select an appropriate list of instituitons to use for comparison.
In 2009-10, the Information Task Force conducted an analysis to determine a list of 30 or so institutions that are comparable in terms of size, scope, and resources. This list can be used in whole or in part for the purposes of general comparisons. However, other lists may be more appropriate for specific comparisons ā such as those involving specific disciplines or academic degree levels.
Below are some of the main lists. If you have a specific request or comparison in mind, please contact Melanie Jenkins for assistance.
Information Task Force Peer List
- Babson College
- Barnard College
- Bentley University
- Brandeis University
- Bucknell University
- Clark University
- Colgate University
- College of the Holy Cross
- College of William & Mary
- Colorado College
- Davidson College
- Denison University
- Dickinson College
- Elon University
- Franklin & Marshall College
- Furman University
- Illinois Wesleyan University
- Lafayette College
- Lehigh University
- Lewis & Clark College
- Middlebury College
- Oberlin College
- Pepperdine University
- Rice University
- Skidmore College
- Smith College
- St. Olaf College
- Trinity College (CT)
- Trinity University (TX)
- Washington & Lee University
- Wesleyan University
Top 10 Undergraduate Admission Competitors
Look at the University of Tampa. She would possibly get merit there and make honors.
There is a Hillel on campus
Bigger than an LAC but still under 10,000
Beautiful campus (reported)
Tampa is a nice city (reported)
Has strong pre health advising with a ādedicated programā
Does your daughter know how much you can spend on college? It seems you donāt want to go over about $30,000 a year, which means many of your daughterās ādreamā schools are going to be too costly.
I would start visiting schools where your daughter is likely to receive merit.
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Tampa
U of Hartford
Quinnipiac (I would try to discourage listening to peers who might not be familiar)
Rochester Institute of Technology (not a safety but I put it out there)
Goucher
Gettysburg (I think itās a reach for merit)
Endicott
SUNY New Paltz (their med school acceptance rate matches the national average)
TCNJ
Elon
I think your daughter needs to be redirected given your budget and her premed intention.
You mentioned that if she attends UMd she will be a psych major and go to grad school. Would that be her preference over attending a less āprestigiousā school with a premed intention?
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Denver gives $30k. Not quite as lush as Richmond and not in your desired geographic zone. But itās just a flight. They have large cross shop with American U. Solid reputation. Many easterners.
With your employee discount maybe it can work but you have to expand your zone.
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We have S20 at Richmond, and Bucknell was his second choice. Our son also really liked Elon. Although not as academically as rigorous as Richmond, he liked the vibe there and loved the campus. The first cost at Elon is a good deal lower than Richmond and Bucknell, and we got some decent merit offered. Elon has an honors program for which your daughter should be competitive and offers additional merit. Elon also has a very strong Jewish presence.
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When my kids applied to college I read something interesting on CC- parent picks.
It seems that your daughter has dismissed many/most of the schools that have been suggested. I would tell her that she is free to apply where she wants, but the cost must not be above xx dollars per year, and there needs to be a few āparent picksā in the mix. This way you can include a few schools that are more realistic in terms of merit and affordability.
At the end of the day she may end up as a psych major at UMD, with grad school. Thereās nothing wrong with that either if it makes her happy.
I would add Elon as a parent pickā¦if she isnāt interested. This might give her some choices.
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I think you either need to increase your budget or have her look at schools with higher acceptance rates., especially for east coast colleges. My niece is at Richmond, full pay, my daughter with higher stats visited (with her cousin) but didnāt apply.
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My daughter with higher stats also looked at Richmond (and Muhlenberg) but did not apply. I feel you (your D) are underestimating the caliber of student who will be applying to your daughterās list of schools, and who are also looking for merit.
Your D should look for schools where she is at or near the top, and not at schools where she is right there in the mix (for merit).
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Didnt read the whole thread, but if OP scored 1400 on the SAT as expected, then 118k students outscored her. They too might seek merit aid at many of these schools.
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OP your daughter is in 11th grade- there might be some peer pressure to apply to certain types of schools. She may hear kids talking etc. Some of the schools recommended here donāt fall into that category. Some of these schools are relatively unknownā¦yet are good schools that check all of her boxes. Thatās hard, as a 17 year old. The process takes a lot of maturity (not knocking your daughter).
Has your daughter met with her guidance counselor? Maybe the GC has some more suggestions.
In the meantime I would discuss a budget, let her choose where she wants to apply (knowing the schools need to fall within budget or they are out), and add a few parent picks to the mix in addition to UMD.
As I noted, maybe she will apply to medical school one day, and maybe she wonāt. Sheās only 17-18 years old.
As I also stated- attending UMD for psych followed by grad school is an excellent option, if it makes her happy and she has no regrets. The biggest regret, I assume, would be not attempting to be premed at UMDā¦or giving up a ālesserā school.
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D21 was accepted EA to Richmond, no merit. Her merit schools were
Furman (didnāt visit - 30K merit)
Denver (didnāt visit - 25K merit)
SCU (didnāt visit - $22K merit)
Loyola Marymount (didnāt visit - $30K merit & direct admit to Honors Prog)
Denison (WL but told she was ātop candidateā and if accepted WL would get off with $25K merit - odd but they just started doing that)
I bet your D would like Denison. We didnāt visit with D but we did with our S19 and it reminded me of Richmond in size and vibe. The layout is similar to Richmond too but even a little bit better because the town is walkable from campus unlike Richmond where you have to take an uber or drive to get to anything. Iām not sure about the Jewish population there.
D is at Colgate. They donāt give merit. Size and vibe on campus similar in some ways but a little more sporty. Had other acceptances as well but they donāt have merit or just a little to only a handful of candidates (Davidson, Lehigh, BC). She was WL at Wake which was a surprise. She applied for their dance scholarship. They only give it to one dancer and she did not get it. Plus, when we visited Richmond, we also went to Wake and she liked Richmondās campus way better. She didnāt take her Wake WL spot.
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Do NOT use acceptance rate as a proxy for how competitive/academic the student body is. As you know, a ārateā is a function of both a numerator AND a denominator. So a lower acceptance rate does NOT mean āsmarterā kids; itās often a function of geography, how āpopularā a college is at a particular time, with no real relevance to the student body.
And you need to encourage your D to stop talking to AND listening to her friends when it comes time to discuss different colleges. You guys have some unusual financial constraints which her friends are not likely to understand (heck, it took us all months to figure it out and weāre prosā¦) AND her friends are going to repeat ad nauseum what some other uninformed HS kid has told them.
I have no idea about the financials at Franklin and Marshall for example. But its acceptance rate- under 40% give or take- reflects its location (Lancaster PA) and the fact that a lot of college kids donāt want to be āstuckā in the middle of Amish country for four years. If it were in a larger metro area, I think the acceptance rate would be 20%-- it attracts very strong students, has a gorgeous (but small) campus, and has tremendous resources devoted to undergrads.
Just an example. I am not advocating it as a choice for OPās D- just an example of how geography has impacted the āacceptance rateā which does not really reflect the academic quality of the institution. Which is stronger than many of the other schools on some of the lists folks have provided hereā¦
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Good note. And note to OP. F&M = no merit aid. Need only. But the point is very valid.
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Gosh ā I love Lancaster!!
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I canāt rememberā¦but why isnāt College of Charleston on the list? This school really has a LAC feel to it. Charleston has a very active Jewish population, wonderful Judaic center, and the town itself has a good Jewish presence.
And it very well could be affordable.
Lots to do in Charleston also.
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Actually we visited Denison in summer an vibe was it is OK not it is great. Denison is also a bit strict with foreign language and lacks the one DD needs. So it is on the backup list as of now for us.
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Have you visited College of Charleston?
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OP, it seems that your daughter, and you have strict parameters for school selection. Thatās great, except you have financial constraints, geographical constraints, as well as ranking and class size constraints. You are missing out on a lot of great schools that have been recommended here. Also, if your daughter continues through UG for her desire for med school, IF she gets an acceptance, it will most likely be just one. No choosing and being picky there. Being flexible may be something that your daughter, and you should consider.
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I agree College of Charleston should be on the list. Given the financial constraints, I recommend that you/your daughter be open to more schoolsā¦some flexibility would allow for great schools to be added.
Have you looked at Elon?
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