<p>As the title asks what are the top small, non-ivy, private universities out there? As of right now, S is really liking the idea of a challenging small university with about 5,000 to 10,000 students. Must be private for financial aid reasons. Hopes to major in business but that could change. Prefer those that aren't too fratty. Prefer urban but will consider others.</p>
<p>Here's what we're looking at so far:</p>
<p>Georgetown (reach)
Tulane (match)
Santa Clara (safety?)
Marquette (safety?)
University of Denver (safety)
Wake Forest (match - but might be too fratty)
Bucknell (match - but might be too fratty)</p>
<p>We don't want to leave any stone unturned. Are there others that we should add to this list which offer similar academic rigor and good financial aid?</p>
<p>Use the US News listing of national universities. Enrollments are listed. Pull off those that are private and within enrollment range. Write them down. Go to Barnes and Noble and get the Fiske guide or some such publication. Read about those institutions on your list, remove those too fratty or not interested in. </p>
<p>You should then go to Kiplingers list of schools and see what their need and non-need based aid data picture looks like.</p>
<p>Tufts has about 5,000 undergrads I believe. Vanderbilt is a little bit bigger, it’s about 12,000 including graduate, but I wouldn’t suggest it if you’re not into too fratty (I wouldn’t suggest Tulane in that case either).</p>
<p>I think Tulane is probably more of a safety if you apply early. They’ll probably give you 20-25k/year scholarship + honors program if you’re Ivy level or slightly below. If you don’t, I would call. I know someone who originally got deferred and then called and he got in. He got into Dartmouth ED later, so it was obviously a mistake that he didn’t get into Tulane.</p>
<p>Does he definitely want undergrad business or would he do Economics or something else? Tufts is the right size and location and has serious students, but it doesn’t have business.</p>
<p>I’m assuming this means you require need based aid. If that is the case, you should be looking for schools that either meet full need OR offer guaranteed merit aid based on your child’s stats. You should also know that some public universities also give guaranteed merit aid (and good aid) based on student stats…not just privates.</p>
<p>If your child applies to schools that do not meet full need and also do not offer large merit awards, you may find that the finances don’t work. I would suggest you cast a wide net, including schools that are perhaps a rung down from “top” where your student would garner significant merit aid.</p>
<p>Some of the schools you listed do not meet full need…actually the only one that does is Georgetown. The others don’t.</p>
<p>And now a plug…Santa Clara University has a great business program and the feel of a LAC. There are about 4200 undergrads…a great size. The school is simply terrific. I’m a bit biased as my daughter graduated from there (in engineering). SCU does have some generous merit awards for very high achieving admits…but these are NOT guaranteed awards.</p>
<p>Have you considered any of the schools in the greater Philly area? There must be one that has business.</p>
<p>Mathmom - I don’t think the lack of a biz program is a complete deal breaker at this point. Like you said he could do economics, math or computer science. He recently brought up Carleton and didn’t seem too off put by the lack of a biz program there.</p>
<p>Thumper1 - Yes we would need need-based aid. And, because he has good stats, all of the schools on the list will either meet 100% need (Georgetown) or are known for providing a generous combo of merit and need. As far as your suggestion about casting a wide net, how many schools would you recommend adding?</p>
<p>Also I am glad to hear about your familiarity with Santa Clara. I take it your daughter had a good experience? Do you mind if I PM you with more questions about it?</p>
<p>Have you considered DePauw? Strong management fellows program, 2000+ students (so may feel too small) and generous merit and need based aid. They are also desparate to recruit people outside of the Midwest.</p>
<p>Might want to consider Notre Dame, maybe a reach since you said Georgetown is. 8,000 undergrads, meet 100% of need, Mendoza School of Business has been ranked #1 the last two years. Mizzbee is correct about DePauw and their generous aid. They are within an hour of Indianapolis and have developed some substantial relationships (and resulting internships) with major corporations in Indy.</p>
<p>Don’t assume that because a school is private, it gives good FA. This is a common misperception on CC. Most private colleges and universities do not meet full need for all their students. In fact, among “national universities” as defined by US News, only about 2 dozen meet 100% of financial need for all students—and they tend to be the most difficult to get into.</p>
<p>Among the colleges you specifically mention, Georgetown is the only one that meets full need for 100% of its students. Tulane meets full need for only 69% of its students, and on average meets 92% of need. Marquette meets full need for only 27% of its students, and on average meets 78% of need. Wake Forest meets full need for 92% of its students, but it also has an unusually low percentage of students receiving need-based FA, at 29%, which makes me suspicious about how they define “need.” Santa Clara meets full need for only 41% of its students, and on average meets 74% of need. The University of Denver meets full need for only 30% of its students, and on average meets 83% of need.</p>
<p>Sorry to be the bearer of such dismal stats, but I think it’s important for people to be realistic. Just because a college is private doesn’t mean it’s wealthy, or that it provides adequate FA. Of course, individual results vary, and you won’t know what kind of FA you’ll get until you apply, are accepted, and get the actual FA offer. It’s also the case that some of these schools provide merit aid. In general, the schools that provide the best merit aid are schools that don’t meet 100% of need; they concentrate their FA resources on getting the top students they want, even to the detriment of students with greater need. That’s just the harsh reality of our higher education system.</p>
<p>^ another thing to add is, your actual needs and school’s assessment of parents’ needs are not necessarily the same. They meet the needs they define.</p>
<p>bclintonk – I’m very aware of the financial aid that the schools on our list are known to provide. And I’m under no misconception that “just because they are private they give good aid.” But based on the fact that S has great stats AND financial need, as of right now these are the schools we see as best fits and most likely to deliver the best packages. Please note that, while I didn’t list it here, we do have our state flagship on the list as a good safety. I think we are being very realistic with this list. What would you suggest as the alternative anyway – just play it safe and apply only to community colleges and the in state flagship? In fact, I’ve been through this once already with S1. He is now at a private school with a full tuition scholarship. The point of my post was just to make sure that we weren’t over looking other schools.</p>
<p>I would add more of the schools that meet 100% need such as Macalester, Northwestern, Emory, Wesleyan. Since you are going for a few reaches anyway, why not go for the big financial reaches?</p>
<p>I second post #5 suggesting US News and World Reports et al. Here you will get a random list, there you will have a comprehensive list of ALL schools to sort through. You will also find some how to search info from US News… and other college search books. Check out your public library’s collection as well.</p>