<p>My d just got her junior year PSAT scores back, she did dismally on the writing section (much worse than last year), but her Math/CR combined for a 130 (1300 equivalent on the SAT). She has an unweighted avg of 94. Her main EC's are theater and Odyssey of the Mind (was third in NYS last year!).
She wants to go to a LAC, but we can only swing that if she can get merit aid to bring it down to within reason ( approx 25 k ish or less)
Here are schools we are considering:
Juniata, Hiram, Wittenberg, Wooster, Beloit, Allegheny, possibly Lawrence and Ursinus. In addition she will definitely apply to SUNY Oneonta, New Paltz and Potsdam.
She has already looked at and rejected for various reasons: Muhlenberg, Susquehanna, Geneseo, Plattsburg, and Fredonia.</p>
<p>Does anyone else have any suggestions for schools we should be looking at that would be competitive for her to apply to and possibly get merit aid. I should add that she prefers a rural/small town/suburb and that she refuses to look at Catholic schools! Her educational and career goal is to get her Phd in Psychology.</p>
<p>Would she consider any women’s colleges? If so, I suggest Smith College. I don’t know about merit aid there, but it is in a great town. As to her area of interest – I was a psychology major there (many years ago!) and loved it.</p>
<p>Clark University in Worcester MA has a longstanding and distinguished reputation in Psychology and is probably within reach. I don’t know what the merit situation is there.</p>
<p>My son transferred to SUNY New Paltz, so if you have any questions about that school I could help there. One of his housemates is a psych major. Since he’s been there he has really blossomed in terms of his passion for his major. He has been working really hard and finds that the other kids in his major are also very passionate and creative. The environment is very down to earth and the kids are into helping each other and supporting each other. Much more so than at his other school.
Good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>Does she absolutely want to stay in the Northeast? I would suggest that she take a look at the schools listed in 40 Colleges that Change Lives. 3 of the schools that DD looked at were on the list (Centre in KY (rural); Birmingham Southern (suburban and Southwest flies there); and Rhodes (urban.) Hendrix is a great school also (Arkansas.)</p>
<p>I know Birmingham Southern has a good theatre program as I know a couple of graduates from there. Actually, I know about 5 graduates from there and I’ve never heard so many people say great things about their alma mater.</p>
<p>thanks for all your suggestions. I will explore them.
And RobD, coincidentally I just met, an hour ago, a young man who just finished his first semester at Centre and love it!</p>
<p>Unfortunately she is not really wanting to go south…she’ll go west or north, but really HATES the heat (she is a very fair red head and kind of wilts if the temperature rises!)</p>
<p>Lilymoon- does your son think New Paltz is too big? Also,it used to have a rep as a “party” school. How does he find it? My D really liked it when we visited last summer.</p>
<p>FYI, HollieSue, I don’t know if I’d classify Kentucky as the “South.” They have much more of a winter than we do here in TN, but it doesn’t compare to Central NY, that’s for sure They had a wicked ice storm last January that never came near us. B/S & Rhodes definitely have Southern weather. Not sure about Hendrix as it’s close to the Ozarks and may be near some ski resorts. Don’t quote me on that. </p>
<p>Centre was too rural for my DD, but she sat in on a class there and said it was the best lecture she’d ever attended. Her GT consultant has a son there who is a freshman and he is really enjoying his time there. </p>
<p>Take a look at the CTCL website to see what other schools may geographically fit your DD’s bill: [Colleges</a> That Change Lives](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/)</p>
<p>holliesue - at about 6,000 undergrads, he doesn’t feel it’s too big at all. It’s large enough to have diversity of it’s students and allow kids to continually meet new people yet have small class sizes and lots of attention from the staff. It has a small, close knit feeling with the town within walking distance and off-campus student housing right in the village. BTW, New Paltz has one of the best freshman student orientations we’ve heard about and the students really make connections right off the bat.</p>
<p>As for the “party” reputation…the few bars in town are pretty popular, but are strict about students being 21 to drink. The students enjoy movies, concerts, the malls, coffee houses, museums, outdoor recreation, and get togethers at each others houses. As an art major, my son has enjoyed free trips to the NYC museums. The Wellness Center offers hiking, overnight camping and horseback riding trips. There are so many different things to get involved in. He has come across a few kids that are into drugs but he steers clear of them and the majority of kids he’s met are not much into partying and are more serious students. I think the trend is moving this way at New Paltz. It’s getting much more competitive to get in. I just read on another forum that someone got deferred from New Paltz but accepted at NYU. Compared to the school my son transferred from, New Paltz is very laid back and the students are much more likely to make their own fun.</p>
<p>2 CTCL schools in MD–Goucher and McDaniel. Washington College in MD also has fans</p>
<p>Alfred and Hartwick in NY get some positive comments and Manhattanville has loads of international students and easy NYC access.</p>
<p>Clark is in a gritty part of Worcester, but is a very good school (also CTCL).</p>
<p>Holyoke, Smith, Wellesley and Sara Lawrence are not as reachy as they used to be. Conn College and Brandeis are good schools with money to give.</p>
<p>Earlham in IND and Roanoke in VA draw praise, as do Kenyon, Carleton, Kalamazoo and Macalester in the Midwest. </p>
<p>There may be lists online of schools which disregard the writing section.</p>
<p>With her grades, your daughter could get good merit aid at University of Denver, a relatively small school. True, it’s in the middle of the city – but it’s a small city – and the school has a nice compact campus in a pleasant residential neighborhood. Denver gets hot in the summer… but it’s a DRY heat - very different from NY or the south. (Still hot though… my heat-averse son loves escaping to the mountains during the summer.)</p>
<p>Also, check out University of San Francisco. In SF it gets hot only for one week a year the school is small, compact with an LAC feel. And tell D that it’s possibly the least Catholic Catholic school on earth. (It’s in San Francisco, duh!)</p>
<p>I was also going to suggest Hartwick in New York and Moravian in Bethlehem. Too bad you didn’t visit the latter when you saw Muhlenberg - they’re about 15 minutes apart. Another good PA school in SE Pennsylvania that we’ve looked at is Arcadia in Glenside PA. They have an awesome study abroad program.</p>
They had a wicked ice storm last January that never came near us. B/S & Rhodes definitely have Southern weather. Not sure about Hendrix as it’s close to the Ozarks and may be near some ski resorts. Don’t quote me on that. </p>
the school is small, compact with an LAC feel. And tell D that it’s possibly the least Catholic Catholic school on earth. (It’s in San Francisco, duh!)</p>