<p>er, thumper1, not to put too fine a line on it but the OP’s daughter has an ACT score of 27. But I agree. Love the kid on the couch. When D had the 27 ACT score, we found great schools she absolutely wanted to attend (heck, I wanted to go as well). Like I said, she didn’t change her list when her score went up. It was a great list then, and it’s still a great list.</p>
<p>She is in Key Club, chairmen of fundraising for relay for life, she volunteers at the Butler Museum of American Art, HS Television and Radio Station, news writer and yearbook staff writer. </p>
<p>D jumped 4 points on her ACT without much prep (a couple of practice tests), from spring soph year to January junior year, so basically 6 months. It happens. </p>
<p>PS: I’ll add Connecticut College - test optional too. When we were looking for a Conn LAC to visit that’s the one we chose based on (lack of) Greek life, location, vibe. </p>
<p>Conn College isn’t very “hipster”, though… pretty preppy.</p>
<p>What are her career goals? Asking because if she is interested in political internships then proximity to DC might be something to consider (MD, Va)</p>
<p>Btw, if she identifies as Asian she will be compared to the pool of Asian applicants which has higher median test scores than other demographic groups. She should consider not answering the Race question on the app. </p>
<p>@scholarme, probably not so much of a problem at the types of schools the OP’s D is looking at (mostly LACs). That is an issue at Ivies and top research universities (name recognition is huge in Asian countries and with first generation Asian parents), but shouldn’t hurt her at the schools on her list.</p>
<p>Are there hipster LACs in Conn? We considered Trinity, Wesleyan, Conn.</p>
<p>(My kid is OK with preppy though she’s also OK with crunchy, she’s Prunchy? Creppy?)</p>
<p>From reading this thread, I am thinking Bard, Oberlin, Dickinson, Muehlenberg or Kenyon. A couple of those might be tough with a 27 ACT, but worth a shot.</p>
<p>What about Earlham, Clark and College of Wooster? Is Hobart and William Smith extremely preppy?</p>
<p>OK what are some less competitive colleges that are not too conformist? </p>
<p>How about Cornell IA? Anything in NYState? Skidmore? </p>
<p>Most less rigorous colleges have a more conservative or centrist feeling. She really does not want to go to a career oriented college - like a Simmons. She has too many friends here in Ohio who want to be nurses and teachers.
She has many friends,but most of them are not readers and are rather a-political.</p>
<p>As for the future, she wants to be an attorney. </p>
<p>Of course she self identifies as Asian. When she is interviewed, they will know that she is Asian. By her first and last name, I think that they will figure out easily that she is adopted.</p>
<p>I agree with the poster who said that Asian people are less common in the Midwest and at non Ivy colleges.<br>
If Oberlin was that much of a long shot, I doubt that they’d be paying for her to visit. They want to meet her.</p>
<p>Okay… so something to think about is the high cost of law school. Unlike some graduate majors were grad programs are funded, she will be paying the whole bill. So finding an undergraduate school where she can come out with minimal debt is very important. If you intend to help with law school, then not spending all you have on her undergrad also becomes key. She may be accepted to Oberlin, but merit aid is unlikely given her stats, for example. </p>
<p>Since you are instate for Ohio, what about Miami? I know you are going to say it’s too preppy and your daughter knows preppy students who goes there. I will say…there are preppy kids at most any school and there are also more liberal students at most schools. Your daughter will find “her people” wherever she lands. </p>
<p>I’m assuming from your posts and college choices that money is no object, and you can be full pay regardless of your daughter’s college choice. Is that correct?</p>
<p>Oberlin might be interested in meeting her, but with a 27 ACT, I seriously doubt she would be in contention for merit money there,</p>
<p>I don’t think OP is instate for Ohio, though I guess Oberlin could be paying for gas to drive there?</p>
<p>Skidmore is popular with grads of my own Quaker high school in NYC, for what that’s worth.</p>
<p>My D2 selected a LAC and is a freshman there this year. She was accepted to all but one of the colleges (waitlisted at the one) to which she applied. When we compared financial aid offers in April, we were looking at anywhere from an out-of-pocket total cost of attendance of about $7K to over $25K annually. For my family, that’s a big spread.</p>
<p>It makes sense to calculate the 4-year cost for your daughter’s bachelor’s degree. For example, if your son is still in college next fall, then it’s likely your daughter’s freshman year COA will be lower than the follow-on years based on her FAFSA EFC. My D1 and D2 overlap this year only so next year, D2’s FAFSA will show about an $8K increase in the EFC for her sophomore year for an additional $24K. The exception was her chosen LAC b/c her aid there is 100% merit based so it doesn’t vary with our income or her sister’s upcoming graduation. The ability to pay over 4 years is crucial to most families. That said, in most cases it’s important to include financial limits at this stage. </p>
<p>As a political science major she’ll likely attend graduate school so a lower COA for her bachelor’s makes financial sense unless your family is upper middle/wealthy or has significant college savings. </p>
<p>In my short time on CC, I’ve read some sobering threads where the student and parents fell in love with a college, applied, and was accepted. Then the financial aid package arrived in April and it was a no go. Or worse, the kid attends for the first year (‘we’ll bite the bullet’) and then the family income changes causing the student to have to switch colleges or stop altogether or the family takes out huge student loans. Any of these events would be hugely emotional and are completely avoidable. No one here cares what your income is, they simply want to give you decent advice based on YOUR kid’s scores, interests, and your family’s contribution to the cause. </p>
<p>My D2’s LAC was not her first choice but it was amazing to see her weigh the factors, get the big picture, and make a seriously smart decision. Life is full of trade-offs and yes, she’s in love with her college.</p>
<p>She is instate for Ohio. Miami University is not just preppy, it’s conservative. In a very aggressive way.
It would be possibly the worst choice for her - next to Hillsdale or Grove City.</p>
<p>In terms of her law education, she has a trust fund that will be available when she turns 21. </p>
<p>I am not at all embarrassed about my income. I just find it strange that I come to a forum and ask specific questions pertaining to a type of college, and I am being bombarded with advice and questions about how I intend to finance my second child’s education.</p>
<p>We have one at Marlboro College. I’ve done this before.</p>
<p>I am still trying to find some decent safety schools that will not depress her. </p>
<p>If you know of any that are generous AND a good fit, who would appreciate a student such as my daughter, by all means pass that on! However, all of the colleges that seem generous, are also colleges that are too competitive, due to her first two years of HS. </p>
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In terms of her law education, she has a trust fund that will be available when she turns 21.
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<p>Just be aware that even tho that money isn’t available til she is 21, schools will still consider it NOW. They will assume that you can borrow and then pay back with that trust fund. </p>
<p>Have you looked at Skidmore?</p>
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<p>What do you define as generous? Getting $10k per year? $20k per year? </p>
<p>It is hard for us to say which would be generous to YOU, because even the super-generous schools are NOT generous if you don’t qualify. And again, that trust money will count…even if it can’t yet be accessed.</p>
<p>Hobart and William Smith is very preppy and has a rep for a heavy drinking culture and it is not diverse. </p>
<p>You might want to take a look at some of the threads for kids in the 3.6 range. Yes, she is above that but there is the ACT v. GPA balance.</p>
<p>The reality is that without stellar credentials (and hey, my kid doesn’t have them either) kids have to figure out what they are willing to compromise on (location, gender balance, etc) and what is non-negotiable.</p>
<p>And BTW, if she is full-pay that will give her an advantage at any school that is “need aware” and more are than they admit to. Kenyon is very open about it. Kenyon is a GREAT school that I think would fit many of her requirements. But its applications went up 60, that’s right, 60 percent last year. Making it more challenging. Sigh.</p>
<p>Wooster and Guilford are my D’s safeties and they do not depress her. 
Both are generous with merit aid. Lawrence is also a wonderful school in Wisconsin that is generous with merit aid. And with the music conservatory, I think it attracts an eclectic student body. Beloit is another Wisconsin LAC with happy hipsters. She does have solid options but there are always trade-offs.</p>
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<p>I absolutely do not want to know your finances. But I think you are going about this backwards. What happens if you find a few colleges your daughter likes and they are all unaffordable? What will you do? You don’t have to tell me or anyone else on this forum…or anywhere else for that matter. But having your kid fall I love with several $60,000 a year schools IF they are unaffordable, doesn’t male sense to me. </p>
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<p>Again I say…there are all types at most every college. Is your daughter looking at any of the public universities in Ohio? At larger schools (Ohio State, for example), there are going to be kids of every possible intellectual and political climate. And that will give the opportunity for some fine dialogue and debate.</p>
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<p>Absolutely, and this is a very good thing. Schools like to see this. Remember too, that those courses later in HS tend to be upper level courses. Upward trend is a good thing.</p>
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<p>Not all schools look at it that way. My kids have testamentary trusts not available until they are 25 (although far too small to pay for law school!). But one of their colleges did not consider the trust once they knew the rules for withdrawing (upped kid’s aid once they understood the constraints). But 25 is not 21… and at a minimum, they would assume the trust could be used for senior year for sure.</p>
<p>OP, you have to understand that probably 95% of the students & parents out here can’t pay full freight for college. And many that can’t still start out saying they are not going to worry about money until later. Then they waste their (and honestly, our) time discussing schools that are not affordable. So you can understand why the question comes up. No one wants to spend time identifying schools that are not possibly financially – that is hard stop issue for many, many families, and might as well be discussed up front. I interpret your comments to mean that you can afford any of the options on the table even without any FA.</p>
<p>Regarding her being “depressed” by her safeties – you need to do more visiting and hunting for safeties than any other type of college, IMHO. Reaches are easy to find (everyone wants to go to them). Matches aren’t as hard – but finding a school you are almost certain to get into and is definitely affordable takes more work. But one of my kids attended her safety – she liked it as much as the matches she got into (no luck on her reaches, did not get in). And ended up having a fantastic experience at her safety, is happy she picked it. Some of this has to come from you and your wife – you have to help her find colleges that may be a strong fit even if they don’t have the cache that she may think is important. Don’t talk down the choices that are lower ranked, and encourage her to look at the strengths of each school. Encourage her to look outside her comfort zone, as discussed in some posts above.</p>
<p>Since both of my children have trust funds, I am well aware of that. </p>
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<p>Many trans-racial adoptees do not identify with their birth country/continent. In either case, for colleges that do have diversity goals or quotas, the college has to go by what is on the app - legally they are not allowed to “guess” the student’s race.
But as was pointed out upthread, it’s not really an issue for the LACs you are looking into.</p>