I agree with the poster above about doing the IDP at Bard. My daughter did and it was so nice for her to have that acceptance in her pocket in November!
My D’s list included many on yours. She was an artsy, intellectual, quirky student. When you’re in the Amherst area visiting Hampshire I recommend you visit Mount Holyoke and Smith. My D was not initially interested in women’s colleges, but during our college trips she came to love them: she felt a sense of engagement and passion there that was often missing or subdued at the other schools…
I know many of these have been mentioned, but here are colleges we considered:
Bard
Skidmore
Bates
Connecticut College
Sarah Lawrence
Bennington
Bradeis
Wellesley
Mount Holyoke
Brym Mawr
Barnard
Vassar
Kenyon
Hampshire
Wesleyan
Her final list was Hampshire, Bard, Skidmore, Wellesley, Smith, Mount Holyoke, and she is a first year at MHC and LOVES it…
Be sure to check out Wheaton (MA).
I also agree with the posters above who suggested Goucher and Drew. I would disagree that Drew is not academically challenging. I know some highly qualified students who selected Drew because of their solid poly sci/government programs, as well as for the excellent non-audition theater program.
Goucher is one of the top schools for study abroad.
More comments on Drew. I should have originally replied about the academics at Drew. Drew has top notch academics. It’s acceptance rate is high but that might be a self selecting pool of applicants and acceptance rates should not be confused with the quality of the academics. I understand they also have a good program in some of the physical sciences. My son’s friend got a 35 on his ACT and finds the classes challenging . As to theater, note that the permanent home of the NJ Shakespeare theater is on campus. My son goes to Vassar and it’s a wonderful school though I think Madison is a prettier town then Reymond and Vassar is a prettier campus then Drew. Of course Vassar should never be turned down but investigate Drew at least as a safety school.
I suspect a place like Drew draws the best professors because of it location in beautiful suburban NJ a stones throw from NY city
I realize that his old thread but wanted to weigh in nonetheless. Bard Vassar Wesleyen typically draw an abundance of arty theater applications. She may face some stiff competetion. She may want include some Solid Liberal Arts Colleges where she would stand out. Mount Holyoke has a great theater department, a world class well rounded eduction and access to all the 5-college offerings.
Where did she wind up. Our daughter is SLU Class of 2019 and is loving it there. She has already visited Montreal!! She can’t wait to visit Ottawa. There is so much to do on campus. She is very close to her First Year Program dorm friends. 40% of the First years in her dorm have single rooms !! She has not missed a hockey game. She is challenged by the courses and loves the food at Dana. And the other choices around campus.
actually, she added SLU back on. With Bard, I think once she started visiting some of the other colleges, she saw things she liked about them a bit better. She said after rethinking Bard, it just fell further down the list.
