Strategy for creating a balanced college list?

College Search & Selection
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<p>@redfeather‌ Wonderful! I’m glad I was able to add something to your radar that might help. I have Donald Asher’s book Cool Colleges to thank for introducing me to that one. Truly a hidden gem.</p>

<p>Also, out of curiosity, has she done a comparison of Hampshire to Amherst? Amherst is a prettier and more conventional campus, but Hampshire has more of the peace-justice-environment culture and is still in Amherst town. Plus, significantly less selective, but still with good post-grad outcomes. The community there seems to be very self-selecting - more intellectual than the acceptance rate and lack of letter grades might cause one to expect. </p>

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<p>In the small town/rural category, Hamilton seems like a possible add-on. Seems to have a lot of overlaps with Kenyon. Also Smith, which to me is the women’s college that is most like Brown and Swarthmore.</p>

<p>As for the disconnect between environment and culture (i.e., she likes the personality of Brown/Swarthmore/Haverford but isn’t wild about the setting) there’s still time to re-evaluate priorities after the acceptances come in, and she can re-visit her shortlist. </p>

<p>Had my son not gone the ED route he would have applied to several urban/suburban school even though the rural campuses were more a compelling draw for him. As it turned out the immediate access to nature and outdoorsy activities was the most positive aspect of his college experience (plus the academics of course) but it was difficult to judge the impact of the environment going into the process.</p>

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Smart decision, and your reason is precisely why. ED is only good for people who know they can afford it.</p>

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<p>Just adding, both Kenyon and Dickinson say demonstrated interest is a factor in admissions decision --I believe it is ranked as Very Important for admissions at both of them, but you can double check on their Common Data Set. </p>

<p>Word on our Kenyon visit was apps jumped because they dropped their Why Kenyon essay; admissions staff said that there were enough other variables to use to determine interest that they chose to drop that essay. </p>

<p>Another match with merit aid could be College of Wooster in Ohio, in between Kenyon and Oberlin. Smallish town, all students are required to complete an independent research project, seemed to be a lot of work in sustainability, but as non-science people, not sure would rely on our observations on that one. I was impressed, as a parent. Seems like a slightly more mainstream student population – akin to Kenyon, Dickinson, but not as quirky as Oberlin etc. Nice facilities, friendly campus. And bagpipes! (school colors are a yellow and black tartan). </p>

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<p>@DreamSchlDropout‌, we looked into Hampshire early on in the search process, but D didn’t feel she fit in with the student body there. Though very idealistic and motivated to “change the world”, she is uncomfortable with an atmosphere that is strongly counter culture/hipster/edgy, which is the vibe we both got from Hampshire. </p>

<p>I sense that what she’s looking for is a place with strong values and a committment to service, but in an environment that is more insular and introspective if that makes sense. She is easily overwhelmed by a “loud” social environment. She chose to homeschool in 9th grade as the prospect of attending our huge public HS in suburban Texas was completely overwhelming to her. It wasn’t until we moved to small town NH in her 10th grade year that she felt like she had found her “people” and her place. A completely different kid in this new setting - emerged from her shell and totally discovered her passions and leadership potential.</p>

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<p>@momrath‌, we visited Hamilton last spring. I loved it and could definitely see D there. She, however, found it too “cookie cutter” (her description). I think the apparent divide on campus between the “light” side (athletes/fraternities/econ majors) and the “dark” side (artistic/activist/humanities majors) was a bit unsettling. Not sure how accurate that characterization is, but it was a turn off to her at the time.</p>

<p>We have driven through the Smith campus - gorgeous! And Northampton is a great town. But the vibe she gets is that Smith students are too “in your face” activist. Personally, I feel the same vibe from Swarthmore and don’t really see her fitting in there either. For some reason, though, she continues to be enamoured with it (and Brown). Perhaps at some level she wants to push herself out of her comfort zone? </p>

<p>I suspect that, like your son, D will very likely be compelled to choose a campus that allows her stay connected with outdoor activities/nature. It is definitely her way of de-stressing and staying grounded. In fact, she is going on a hike/camping trip next week-end instead of a college visit. Now I’m the one who needs to de-stress!</p>

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<p>@Midwestmomofboys‌, yes I agree that showing interest at Kenyon and Dickinson is going to be very important. She has met with a representative of Kenyon at a college fair and has been in communication with Dickinson by email. Headed out on a road trip mid November to visit/interview at both as well. </p>

<p>Wow, Ohio seems to have quite a few potential match schools for D. Kenyon for sure, have considered Denison, possibly Ohio Wesleyan, and now Wooster. From a quick review, it seems to have lots of happy students and a reputation for solid academics. Tartan and bagpipes are a nice bonus for my Irish Dancing girl too! Not sure about the FA though. Looks like they max out at $30K per year (need and merit combined), which is awesome, but would still leave us over budget.</p>

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<p>@redfeather – I shouldn’t have assumed Wooster had high merit – looks like they have up to $27k merit annually for a student, for competitive scholarships, though all students considered for up to $23k in merit. If they don’t stack merit and financial aid, but simply replace financial aid with merit, then you would still have a gap. If you head to Kenyon this fall, perhaps you can add a stop at Wooster, maybe an hour or 90 minutes north of Kenyon – we did a Kenyon visit in the morning and afternoon Wooster visit. Admissions office at Wooster is friendly and low key, individual tours for each student/family group rather than a horde of folks, and rather than set info sessions, they suggest you talk one-one- with an admissions rep. Could be worth even a phone call or email to find out about how their merit and financial aid works together. </p>

<p>Good luck, and have fun on those college visits!</p>

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<p>It sounds like you have a wonderful kid and a wonderful list. I just want to add one more that may not have been mentioned- Guilford. If she likes the Quaker aspect of Haverford and Swarthmore, it is also a Quaker school. A bit less expensive than most LACs and does offer merit. Has a bit of a hippy vibe but not overwhelming. No Greek life, emphasis on service, equality, etc. It is in North Carolina but is not a traditional Southern school. It is in Greensboro which is not a small town or rural but it backs onto a nature preserve.</p>

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<p>I didn’t want to go back through all the pages, but have you looked at Goucher?</p>

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<p>I was also going to mention Brandeis as soon as I saw that she doesn’t want a party scene and she wants a school committed to social justice.</p>

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<p>I second Wooster and Guilford, and add Earlham as a socially conscious school with excellent graduate school outcomes. :)</p>

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<p>My son’s impression of Hamilton was quite different. He liked that equal emphasis was given to the arts and outdoorsy activities (which is also one of the characteristics he liked about Williams). I do think that as Hamilton has risen in the ratings, it has also become more academically rigorous. But nevermind, if the chemistry wasn’t right I’d let it go. </p>

<p>Obviously, we didn’t look at Smith, but I believe that it’s not as over the top radically activist as its reputation implies (though there are certainly extremists on campus). I’d pursue that one a little further, especially if Swarthmore didn’t seem so daunting after a visit.</p>

<p>I was also wondering what happened to Grinnell and Carlton? Will they be on your daughter’s midwestern visit list. Grinnell seems just right, even more so than Kenyon.</p>

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<p>@momrath, I had the same impression of Hamilton as your son. Personally, I see it as a much better fit than Bates, but we’ll see… We had the misfortune of having a tour guide who was a rather laid back athlete and fraternity member - hard to get her to see beyond that impression now.</p>

<p>Agree that Grinnell is a great fit as well, in just about every respect (other than being in Iowa). In fact, I just brought it back up to her a couple of days ago. I sense that she’s hit her saturation point and the thought of considering more schools is overwhelming. Perhaps once she’s made some more progress on applications and gotten a few visits/interviews out of the way…</p>

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<p>Really appreciate all of the suggestions - thank you everyone! There are so many hidden gems out there. </p>

<p>Sat down with D yesterday and reviewed our list and looked over some of the new suggestions. As I mentioned in the previous post, I think she’s hit a brick wall. Of course, my timing was not optimal - she was preparing for today’s SAT (2nd round trying to bring her Math score up). She’s definitely at the point where she just needs to start seeing progress. So, she’s kicking it into full gear this upcoming week and we’re headed to Dickinson on Monday for their open house. Then leaving Friday for a Saturday visit to Kenyon. Will swing by Ohio Wesleyan after that - she likes it better as a safety than Morris (though she’ll apply to Morris as well as a back up plan). She’s also got an interview scheduled with Bowdoin the following week. I think that checking a few things off of her formidable to-do list is the necessary next step at this point. </p>

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<p>FWIW, my son applied to Grinnell without visiting it. He started out the college process not even wanting to apply to any schools he had to fly to…. But changed his mind after I convinced him to take a tour of some midwest schools during spring break of junior year.</p>

<p>After his decisions came in, i was the one who suggested that maybe he not bother, but he wanted to see it through, so we went to an Admitted Students visit… and that was what sold him. I was happily pleased at his intuition about what would be the best fit for him, entirely based on student body, because that is really what solidified his decision. </p>

<p>I don’t think Grinnell has a supplementary essay, so the only reason not to throw one out there and see what happens when the decisions come in is application fees, i would think. Not saying that Grinnell is a better choice than the others on the list, but certainly worth keeping in the pile if you can convince your daughter to apply.</p>

<p>Grinnell won’t offer the same outdoor experience as some of those schools near the mountains, but how active the hikers and campers are there, i don’t have firsthand knowledge of, but i’d imagine there’s always a core of enthusiasts. </p>

<p>But, look at how the school even orients its Career planning services:
<a href=“Center for Careers, Life, and Service | Grinnell College”>http://www.grinnell.edu/cls&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>They call it a Center for Careers, LIfe and Purpose
Empowering students and alumni to live, learn, and work with meaning and purpose </p>

<p>All schools offer a range of post-grad opportunities, many oriented to social justice. But, i wager that few schools out there recognize this as part of their overall mission as Grinnell does. </p>

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<p>And judging by the Grinnell grads I know, they foster a real entrepreneurial spirit alongside the passion for justice. For example, a good friend who spent her time there doing sustainability projects on summer trips to Africa now owns and operates a multi-location health and wellness business. </p>

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<p>I agree, I’d definitely encourage your daughter to apply to Grinnell (and to Smith). </p>

<p>They both have so much to offer on her wish-list and their financial generosity – both need and merit – can be excellent.</p>

<p>Even without financial pressures, the college process is full of anxiety for kids and their parents. You just have to take it one task at a time. </p>