<p>Lark, I would definitely look at Williams. It’s like Pomona’s Eastcoast mirror but with snow. The Hispanic card would be a strong positive as would her music involvement. There are lots of music performance opportunities, even for non-majors.</p>
<p>In any event, your daughter should plan to submit a music performance tape as a supplement to her application, even if she doesn’t intend to major in music. Small LACs value multi-faceted kids. </p>
<p>My prediction: your daughter and her parents are going to be pleased by her acceptances. It sounds like she has a very strong sense of “self” and that will communicate clearly in her application. </p>
<p>Again, in my opinion relatively weak scores will not be an obstacle. A bag-pipe playing, Japanese speaking, half Hispanic scholar. She’s in!</p>
<p>^Yes, as soon as I saw the word “bagpipes,” I wanted to jump in and recommend CMU - alas, if intensity in the sciences is a concern, the fit will probably not be all that great. CMU is very strong in the sciences, and we do have Japanese (though, given my experience with the Chinese program, I’m not sure it’s particularly strong here), but it’s a very different feel from a place like Pomona. More of a nerdy-tech vibe, with a side of arts, and certainly intense all around.</p>
<p>It is funny a couple of you mentioned CMU. We (D included) actually thought she would really match w/ it (given the bagpipes and science combo), so over spring break, we toured there as part of a trip to the East Coast. Unfortunately, as D said, she <em>wanted</em> to fall in love w/ it, but didn’t. I knew exactly what she meant… It just didn’t seem like a fit for her - sort of hard to explain.</p>
<p>Yes, we are planning to have her submit a tape of her playing her bagpipes (she does still play clarinet for concert band, but somehow that probably wouldn’t make the same unique impression as the bagpipes). Again - thanks so much for all of the suggestions. I told D that you all have been providing great input for her… I will either compile a list or have her review the thread, so she can narrow it down a bit.</p>
<p>Everyone has already mentioned most of the schools that came to mind for me. I would add Lewis and Clark in OR for the West Coast. </p>
<p>You could focus on schools that are SAT optional, if scores don’t go up, but overall, I think other posters are right in saying that she could shoot high.</p>
<p>There are lots of East Coast schools to suggest, and most of them have already come up. Maybe also Clark University in MA? Bennington in VT? Bates in ME? Goucher in MD?</p>
<p>Twomules - thanks so much for sending the links on the pipebands. I actually did not know about Macalester having a pipeband - and what is eery is my dad returned from a Reed alumni event a week or so ago & mentioned that school as one that might be one D should consider in general (I don’t think he knows about their pipeband as he heard about it in more general terms from one or two of the Reed recruiters).</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all the wonderful suggestions (D and I will have a lot of schools to research - but in a good way…). I really appreciate everyone’s input - and welcome any additional comments you have.</p>
<p>I would like to second Mount Holyoke. It’s such a great school, and there is SO much access to classes through the 5 college consortium. And, from what I’ve heard from friends who go there, it’s a very chill and nurturing environment. Additionally, if she’s okay with a woman’s college, she should check out Scripps, Mills, and Bryn Mawr (Smith can get a little intense, but that’s just my observation).</p>
<p>I would also suggest the women’s colleges including Wellesley which hasn’t been mentioned. Your D’s stats coupled with her hook as a URM should give her lots of options (as others have suggested). For smaller schools that are very reputable but not academically cutthroat or “intense”, I might add: Wake Forest, Tufts (maybe too intense but sounds like a possible fit especially with her interest in Japanese), Carleton, Davidson, Trinity (both college and university – Trinity U is VERY generous with merit awards), and Pomona. If she wants to stay in CA, I might suggest she also look at Pepperdine. I know Reed and Pepperdine are polar opposites; however, I read somewhere that Pepperdine has the #1 study abroad program in the nation. It’s also small, and they give large merit awards for high stat students. (Our daughter received $26K/yr. but ultimately elected to go elsewhere.) In your case, the $ saved in travel expenses and tuition could be put toward grad school – just something to think about. Again, though, Pepperdine is definitely not a good fit for everyone and typically appeals to conservative kids. </p>
<p>I guess it must have been Questbridge. I didn’t know you had to be low income, I thought it was to increase access for minorities.</p>
<p>I have to second the suggestion for Whitman, I was very impressed, but Greek life is very strong so your D has to consider if that’s what she likes.</p>
<p>If she is open to going to a women’s college, why not apply to Scripps in addition to Pomona? It is a wonderful school. I’ve heard great things about Bryn Mawr and Mt Holyoke. Wellesley may be the most competitive women’s college, both to get into and to attend, but a big plus is the cross-registration with MIT if your daughter is interested in sciences (MIT students come to Wellesley for humanities classes etc)</p>
<p>There are so many excellent schools if she looks east or Northeast. I don’t know about Japanese programs, but here are a few my D’s friends (outstanding students) will be attending or seriously considered: Haverford, Carleton College, Macalester, Middlebury, Bowdoin.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t have her consider Clark, just because I think she has a lot of other options and it wouldn’t be worth coming cross-country for it. Also I think she would prefer Bowdoin or even Colby to Bates if she’s going to look at Maine.</p>
<p>"She has strong extracurriculars and is 1/2 Hispanic (Mexican). "</p>
<p>Lark123 - for the purposes of college applications, there is no such thing as “1/2 Hispanic.” If the students affiliates with her Hispanic heritage, then she IS Hispanic for the purposes of the United States Census and college applications. It is a personal decision, no one can make it for you. Just check the box. Don’t look back.</p>
<p>Just a quick aside about Whitman Greek life, it’s present but not the dominant social scene. There are tons of things to do on campus for everybody. My S loves his fraternity but has many independent friends. The school does a wonderful job of creating close-knit communities in the freshman dorms, and it seems his ties to his dorm section mates are just as strong as to his fraternity brothers. The Greeks have many community service projects and their parties are open to all. I actually found this to be preferable to some of the LAC’s without sororities and fraternities, where parties were tiny and took place in dorm rooms, the Whitman social scene is more open and inclusive.</p>
<p>University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign is known to have a very strong program in engineering. Along with that, I think University of Minnesota - Twin Cities has a strong program in chemistry. As for liberal arts school, NYU has a very strong program in humanitarian subjects such as psychology and sociology and good theatrical programs.</p>
<p>OK - Serious response now. Check the Less Commonly Taught Languages search page [The</a> Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) : Less Commonly Taught Languages](<a href=“http://www.carla.umn.edu/LCTL/db/index.php]The”>The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA): Less Commonly Taught Languages) for colleges with Japanese programs. For some schools, it even shows you how many years of Japanese are offered. (Select Language=Japanese and type of course=Post Secondary.) I think she’ll have great success with admissions.</p>
<p>I just was thinking how helpful the CC parents who responded to my original post last summer were… I wanted to give you an update on my D’s college application process. She applied to 7 schools and was admitted to all 7! She is currently deciding between three (Whitman, Macalester & Pomona - in fact, she is at Pomona right now for their extended weekend program and will do the same at Mac in a couple of weeks; she visited and loved Whitman this fall). I would like to also say that of those three schools, two came onto our radar directly from the responses I received in this thread! By the way, she is turning down (or has turned down) Occidental, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz & William & Mary… CC parents, you were right - the colleges did look past her standardized test scores when looking at my D as an applicant! I really appreciate the advice you gave us! Thanks!!!</p>
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