<p>Just an aside… My daughter will be a junior at LMU in the fall. She only applied to LACs. She got into every one she applied to and wasn’t able to visit any but LMU… :-)</p>
<p>“I do think you ought to visit, though, or at least try to get an alumni interview in your area. I think most LACs – especially those that are not confident that they would be a student’s first choice – do track applicants’ interest.” JHS</p>
<p>I do agree with JHS, my daughter was waitlisted at a few LAC matches where she did not visit or interview. they were not high on her list, and apparently, they knew that. Later was offered off the waitlist at 2 of them, but she declined. The fact that she was “that close” shows me that if she had shown interest by visiting or interviewing (she didn’t even do the alumni interviews), she would have gotten in.</p>
<p>I agree w/JHS but think that since you’re from the Midwest he might not be as desirable to Midwestern colleges. They want geographic diversity, too. Look Northeast and South.</p>
<p>And remember the cc mantra: A safety is only a safety is you want to go there. Or the other one: A safety is only a safety if you can afford it. Or the third one: The safety is the most important college on your list.</p>
<p>I’m not sure the west coast colleges would be as eager to get Asian applicants as the east coast or midwest colleges. California has no shortage of high stat Asian students.
I believe that the more rural areas of the country do have a need for Asian applicants. Dartmouth might be an attractive possibility even though it’s not an LAC and , of course, not a safety.</p>
<p>"Will LACs know that they are safety schools if my child does not visit them? "</p>
<p>If your child doesn’t visit them, some of the schools that have been listed on this thread will certainly know they are safeties – and will, at best, offer a wait list slot.</p>
<p>Check the schools’ websites and common data set. If school interest is a criteria for consideration – you should try to visit. In that same vein, if everything you see about the school indicates the essay is important, your student should spend time on the essay and not just submit something quickly because “it’s just a safety school.”</p>
<p>Although a school appears to be a “safety” based on test scores and grades, if there are other criteria they consider, you want to make sure your child hasn’t overlooked those criteria. These other criteria are often important to LAC’s . But, they may be less important to many of the public schools that are “safeties” for top students.</p>
<p>For my oldest with similar stats - safeties were RPI and WPI, but I don’t think you have a techie kid here. My younger son with less stellar stats had American and (originally) Syracuse as safeties. He actually had the best kind of safety though, he applied to U of Chicago early action and got in. He ended up turning it down, but it was the highest ranked college that accepted him. I do think former women’s college offer exceptionally good value for young men. My younger son also got into Vassar, which I think would have been much more iffy if he’d been female. I also think looking outside your geographic region is a very good idea - so if you are from the NE look at the midwest or the south.</p>
<p>Hmmmm. Well I guess my daughter got lucky then because we didn’t visit and we didn’t know we had to visit. :-)</p>
<p>My son is into techie schools. But on tours I have myself liked Pomona and Tufts and Amerherst (but probably not safety schools). Also American - great if the kid would like to do internships in DC. </p>
<p>I’ve heard good things about Knox. And Ithaca College</p>
<p>I have another question.</p>
<p>My child gets tons of emails and letters from southern universities and LACs.
But, we are reluctant to look at them because, over the past 5 years, only 1 went to semi-southern schools from my child’s HS. Kids just do not go to southern schools. Is it same for your kid’s HS? Do you know why?</p>
<p>Country setting, midwest, LAC, safeties … I would suggest DePauw, Earlham and Hanover in Indiana plus Centre in Kentucky. Earlham and Centre are CTCL schools I believe.</p>
<p>One poster mentioned the West Coast not needing diversity, but I would say while California has many minorities compared to other parts of the country, liberal arts colleges in the Pacific Northwest are often considered as lacking diversity.</p>
<p>On that note, while the PNW was not mentioned by the OP, there are many schools there that fit the stated criteria (LAC/LAC-esque, rural/suburban, safety). Willamette, Lewis & Clark, Linfield, Whitworth, and University of Puget Sound all come to mind. Also, Reed and Whitman, though they are a notch higher in selectivity IMO.</p>
<p>Also, tk probably knows more than I do, but Colorado College is another LAC to consider. Colorado isn’t exactly the Midwest, but CC is close to the outdoors and shares many cross-applicants with Whitman.</p>
<p>Colorado College is in fact a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, which also includes schools in states such as Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The school is set in a mid-sized city (Colorado Springs) at the foot of Pikes Peak, where Colorado’s eastern plains meet the Rockies. Yes, it might be another good “match” candidate for the OP’s kid.</p>
<p>Many a selective LAC could be an excellent “contrarian” choice for an Asian male. Keilexandra is an Asian American poster, Swarthmore-bound, who has observed that even some of the most selective LACs give significant admission advantage to Asian applicants. I have no hard data on admission and aid rates for Asian American applicants to these schools. However, data on Internationals may be suggestive. According to the Colorado College Common Data Set, 56 out of 69 degree-seeking non-resident aliens (“Internationals”) received need-based or merit aid last year. The average aid package was $44,966, nearly the full cost of attendance. This suggests to me that the school is very eager to diversify its student body. I doubt that Colorado College is unique in this or that their diversification efforts are limited to International students.</p>
<p>What about University of Rochester?</p>