<p>@sakacar I am out of region (Connecticut), but I thought that NY, CT, and MA didn’t really have the geographic diversity benefit because of the sheer number of applicants that come out of these states?</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids I was looking back at Goucher (the college that happy1 recommended), and now I really want to visit it. Do you guys think that would be a full-ride safety for me?</p>
<p>@BeanTownGirl Whew, this is really what I was hoping. Thanks :)</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids I was looking back at Goucher (the college that happy1 recommended), and now I really want to visit it. Do you guys think that would be a full-ride safety for me?</p>
<p>Only if you’re certain of admission and you’re certain that they would expect nothing from your family and provide full need.</p>
<p>Even if the school meets “full need” with a 0 parent expectation, very likely there will be full loans in the FA pkg and work study and a “student contribution” of about $2,000. I don’t know if I would call that a “free ride”. </p>
<p>Does Goucher meet need? Does is use CSS Profile? Do you have a non-custodial parent?</p>
<p>Are you certain of admission?</p>
<p>edited to add…</p>
<p>Just looked at Goucher’s FA stats. Only a 13% had need met. That suggests to me that only those with HIGH EFCs have their need met.</p>
<p>If you can afford Mount Holyoke its very nice and it sounds like you’d prefer an all-women’s school. If so why are you leaving off Smith? Certainly not a safety but I think within your reach and has a lot to offer. Take a look at Simmons in Boston. Nice women’s school right in Boston with a well protected campus centrally located. Otherwise, Clark might work as a safety since you’d be at the higher end of applicants and get decent merit aid.</p>
<p>@collegedadnh I really liked Smith when I visited, but it would be quite a reach for me - although not OUT of reach I suppose. Simmons looks actually really cool, and they have a full-ride scholarship program that I would definitely qualify for. As for Clark, I just could not get over the awful part of Worcester it’s in.</p>
<p>I’ll second the suggestion of Smith. If you look at your stats compared to the latest Smith common data set, you’ll see that it’s not a far reach. If you’ve maintained a 4.0 your sophomore and junior years after a poor freshman year, they’ll certainly take that into account.</p>
<p>Smith has a strong science program and is unusual for a LAC in having an engineering program. That gives you another STEM option. It also gives their computer science program more breadth as it allows you take some electrical engineering courses as part of your CS degree (common at schools with engineering, but less so at others). And as with MHC, you can take additional courses at UMass.</p>