You can look at LIU- CW Post Brookville Campus. It’s close to NYC (Nassau County) in a beautiful part of Long Island.
A few notes: there are dorms but I would ask if the campus clears out on the weekends. There are also scholarships and I know several students who received a pretty decent amount of money. Lastly, it is not a competitive acceptance (I do not understand the stats of this student).
Another idea is Pace- I have the same comments (except Pace is in the city and I know there is a Westchester campus but it might only be grad school - if it’s also undergrad my guess is there are lots of commuters).
Agreed about the risk of Purchase being a “suitcase” school with students going home on the weekends. What I have heard is that this is NOT true for the performing arts majors (theater etc) at Purchase because these students are admitted only after a competitive audition/portfolio process and come from all over the United States so can’t go home on weekends. But have heard that students in “regular majors” tend to be local, not necessarily very academically driven, and often go home on weekends. There are always exceptions, of course, but that is the reputation.
Each family makes its own decision, but in general I strongly advise against spending more than is comfortable for your family. Graduating debt free is a wonderful advantage for a student! Another wonderful advantage is not having to worry about your parents’ retirement funds lasting as they age (because they didn’t dip into them when they paid for your college.)
A word about Montclair- we went to a show there last summer and we loved the area. Great town, lots of shops and restaurants right by the school etc. We were pleasantly surprised, and it’s not too far from NYC.
Again, you would need to research costs, etc.
I mentioned Rutgers (New Brunswick) Huge school, but it won’t clear out entirely on the weekends and the surrounding area (at least the area we visited) is very nice. It’s also commutable to NYC.
Both of these (CWPost/LIU and Pace) are likely to be mostly commuters or schools where many go home weekends - unless things changed a lot (which could happen). I also think Pace is mostly known for accounting, nursing, and acting more than the traditional lliberal arts. Again, the OP needs to research the current situation.
I agree with you, but decided to mention it just in case it changed in recent years.
With a few exceptions (NYU, Columbia, Rutgers etc) it seems to me that most schools in NYC or the surrounding suburbs have a lot of commuters or clear out on the weekends.
One school that hasn’t been mentioned here yet is Drew. It’s a liberal arts college in New Jersey about a 45m train ride to New York City that offers generous merit aid. @beebee3 might be able to provide some more info on it.
If the OP goes to a more “local” or “regional” type school anywhere, there might be this issue.
Even at a Suny B, there might be this issue but I’m guessing far less so as it will have a more national “presence”. Or a Rutgers or Delaware or if they went to a school abutting another city.
OP’s daughter may not worry about this but I would as a parent…that my kid would often be left alone.
I think plenty of students stay on campus full time at schools like Rutgers, Delaware etc. But sounded like OP wanted a smaller school close to a city.
We visited Drew with S24 this past spring. Super impressive, small LAC. Contained campus, lots of green space, 10 minute walk to Madison, NJ downtown. Cute with plenty of restaurants and shops. 15 min to Short Hills Mall. Train station to downtown NYC is a 10 minutes walk from campus, train is a 45 min ride to Penn Station.
Big on internships/experiential learning. Definitely would recommend visiting to see if one likes the vibe but I think this is a hidden gem school.
Sorry - this is what I meant - they might want to find the “bigger” names whereas they’ll have a wider draw and have kids stay.
But if they want an LAC - maybe it’s a Sarah Lawrence or Bard or Marist or something with a more national type name or a private vs. a local/regional public.
But the price at Purchase is amazing and that clearly factored in.
We visited Sarah Lawrence, Bard and Marist. Sarah Lawrence definitely very much a fit school, I think it is a love or hate choice.
Bard is gorgeous, fantastic academics but too isolated in S24’s opinion. They train students as EMTs as the ambulance service takes at least 15 minutes to arrive in case of any emergency. No thank you.
Marist incredible campus, the HRV is the star. Felt very pre-professional, and while you can definitely get into NYC (picturesque Amtrak ride) - it’s only a day trip if you are willing to spend ~4-5 hrs RT traveling.
They all definitely have their pros and cons. Very much worth checking out.
There might be others - as I’m not local - but a Fairfield or Seton Hall or just throwing out names (and yes, they’re religious), some in NJ - just wondering and they may not be - but are there privates (I had mentioned Hofstra but some seem concerned it’s suitcase) - are there names accessible to NYC and perhaps OP is open to other cities - are there small schools, that aren’t competitive like a Swat or Haverford, that tend to stay residential vs. everyone going home on weekends.
FWIW Marist is close to SUNY New Paltz so they can be done in the same visit. My S applied to Marist (liked it but went elsewhere) and did get merit aid.
The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). Public, smaller size, good academics, they give merit, under 2 hours from NYC. I know students who attended and had a great experience (did not complain that it was a commuter school).
Have you thought about St. John’s (MD & NM)? It has two campuses, one in Annapolis and one in Santa Fe, and students can switch between the campuses. It’s a small school (about 900 total), and it’s definitely a fit school, but it has a really strong liberal arts mindset and is known for having great class discussions. The school punches way above its weight with respect to producing grads who go on to earn doctorates in a number of fields (not that a doctorate is necessary/important to earn, but I think it speaks to the type of student the school attracts). You can read more about it here: St. John’s College – Colleges That Change Lives
In fact, you may want to look at some of the other Colleges That Change Lives schools, too: College Profiles – Colleges That Change Lives. Ohio Wesleyan is about 35m to Columbus, College of Wooster is about 1h30m to Columbus and 1h10m to Cleveland, Hope College is in a cute little town and about 40m from Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo is about 47m from Grand Rapids and is in the same town as Western Michigan U, St. Olaf is about 40m to Minneapolis, Goucher is more in the suburban area of Baltimore, but 20m to the inner harbor, and is also part of a consortium with other Baltimore area schools like Loyola Maryland and Johns Hopkins. These are all schools that have the potential to give significant merit aid to bring the costs down to near a SUNY’s sticker price for out-of-state students.
I think it might also be worth considering the Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities. For those who are unfamiliar, the ACTC is a consortium of 5 private liberal arts colleges and small universities in Minneapolis and St. Paul. There is a range of selectivity (27% for Macalester up to 91% for St. Kate’s) but all the schools are solid academically and provide small classes with lots of discussion. All of them are within city limits, but Macalester, St. Catherine’s and St. Thomas in particular are in cute, leafy, residential neighborhoods. Lovely and tranquil but still walking distance to fun little shops and restaurants, and easy access to downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul (the state capital) for internships.
Just catching up with this thread. I am amazed by the generosity of this community. Thank you! I hadn’t thought at all about the suitcase concept and yes, I wouldn’t want her in that situation.
She is open to other cities for sure. I think she’s biased toward the northeast and DC, but would be open to midwest as well with a little help. She’s also open to bigger schools, as long as there is that solid liberal arts component.
Her GPA is 3.88 (sorry for earlier typo). She took the SAT once as a “baseline” without any study or prep and got a 1250. But she switched focus now to the ACT and is preparing for that but hasn’t tested yet.
I will check out Goucher, St Johns, College of NJ, Drew…and I have to review which others I’m forgetting from the thread.
Thanks again to all of you for your attention, I it’s so valuable to get your thoughts and the info you’ve shared.
Take a look at American- not suburban, but in a relatively peaceful part of DC… tons to do on weekends, and fantastic for Poli Sci and your D’s other interests…