So with my son really quite clueless about his steps after high school, we have been trying to present some flowchart questions to get some orientation. “How far away from home do you want/need to go?” or “How important are traditional college experiences like athletics going to be?” or “Do you see yourself in a huge campus with tons of kids and options or a smaller place where you might be more well known but have fewer options.”
As we have looked through CC more and more, we read stories of families similar to ours financially with students with similar stats (4.0 unweighted and 32 ACT and some good but not outstanding extracurrics) finding good experiences at what they are calling mid level liberal arts colleges. Apparently there can be a benefit to being a male according to some posters’ experiences.
Is this “mid level LAC” thing unique to the northeast and midwest? Are there mid level liberal arts colleges on the west coast, that might fit the bill?
As a person who myself attended a “big name” high price school for undergrad, we are pushing our son to find a nice niche for himself regardless of a school’s name and looking to avoid crushing undergraduate debt.
If you have ideas about west coast LACs that typically provide decent merit awards I’d be very interested to know your experiences.
The ones doschicos mentioned are what come to my mind too. Maybe add Reed though it’s a bit more competitive. There are some small west coast universities to consider too: Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara (both Jesuit).The 5-Cs in Claremont are not really mid-tier but Pitzer is test-optional anyway. If Texas is of interest: Trinity University, Southwestern University.
Merit aid: I know Whitman, LMU, L&C and Trinity are pretty generous but not sure what stats are required.
Best of luck getting your son to engage in the process-- my 2 daughters are all over this college search stuff and my son, who is their academic equal, is just not!
Also Willamette in Salem, OR. Not Reed -they don’t have merit aid. University of Portland is another small Jesuit university. Mills in Oakland, CA for women won’t work for you but if others are following the thread they could take a look.
Oh another one to consider is Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, CA. My oldest got a good merit award there a few years ago (she ended up at Willamette instead). She also got merit at Lewis and Clark (less than at Willamette and Cal Lu). She was accepted at Oxy but didn’t get any money, although they do have it.
Thanks guys. As I read these posts I wonder if schools closer to us might in fact work against him to an extent. Lewis and Clark, for example, has a reputation as not being particularly generous with merit aid for students in the Portland area (which we are). I must admit I have no evidence to back that up… just parent chatter.
There are also public LACs like those listed at http://coplac.org/members/ . Some, like Truman State and University of Minnesota - Morris, are relatively inexpensive even for out-of-state students. But you may have one in your state of residency.
@JD7777, I would actually add Reed if he likes the school. While it is true Reed does not offer merit aid, the school does offer excellent financial aid and guarantees to meet the financial needs of admitted students. Ironically, being from Oregon may be to has advantantage. Reed gets more applications from California and from the East Coast than from Oregon. As is true with other selective liberal arts colleges, being male may also give him a slight competitive edge
You didn’t say how your son reacted to the flowchart, but it reminds me of this (very simple) online quiz that I had my DS take when we were starting to think about types of colleges: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maxinejoselow/2015/07/29/college-matchmaker-quiz-find-your-perfect-fit/#1a9a6a583e3d
Also the Colleges That Change Lives book is broken down geographically, I believe, and is (I think I recall) made up of mostly smaller schools, some of which I know give great merit aid.
Applying 400+ miles away from home means you boost the college’s geographical diversity (important for ‘national’ colleges) and thus often results in a boost in admission and ‘preferential packaging’ wrt financial aid.
Run the NPC/look at merit awards from St Olaf, Concordia Moorhead, Luther, Butler, Bradley, St Thomas (twin cities), St John’s/DT Benedict, Beloit, Lawrence, DePauw, Carthage, Creighton.
Note that a smaller college doesn’t just have the benefit of being well-known as a student, but also offers interactive classes v. large lectures.
I agree. Plus the prices on some of those schools ^ start out lower because of lower cost of living; room and board can be a lot less expensive than on the coasts.
And as long as we’re listing great, potentially affordable, LACs in and near Minnesota, I’d like to add Gustavus Adolphus!
Others have named the west coast LACs (Whitman seems like an ideal academic fit for the OP’s son, as Whitman is more selective than people think and attracts very high-performing students, as well as Willamette, Lewis & Clark, Occidental (not an easy admit), U o Puget Sound, and Reed (also not an easy admit).
But if the OP wants to discover even more “mid-tier” colleges (note that such schools are not mid-tier academically), she/he should purchase or borrow the book Colleges that Change Lives by Loren Pope; the book profiles forty LACs (nearly all private) that are hidden gems; the schools also tend to be generous with merit; for instance, at some of the schools, the OP’s son might be in line for a half-tuition scholarship.
@JD7777: What does your son want to study ? Any career goals ?
Is your son opposed to studying on the East Coast ?
With respect to another poster’s suggestion of Hendrix in Arkansas, I would encourage you to thoroughly research the current environment there before applying.
Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida is very reasonably priced & a beautiful school in a spectacular location. Negative is the first year attrition rate. Interesting school. Should be an exciting change of environment for your son.
I suspect that the first year attrition rate of about 28% may be due in significant part to the imbalance of female students (65%) to male students (35%).
My concern for your son, however, is that he is well qualified for a most selective school based on his numbers and I encourage motivated students to challenge themselves. Nevertheless, for a very low cost option with very attractive & active students, Flagler College is worth a look.
If you’d be willing to go a bit outside the box, Thomas Aquinas College (California) might be worth a look. Great Books curriculum. Sticker prices much lower than at some peer LACs, and the FA statistics look good too. #35 LAC in this year’s USNWR hit parade.
My son is a quirky one. He is somewhat oriented towards math but is not a prodigy but more of a “grinder” student. He works very hard and it doesn’t come easy and he typically ends up with like a 91 or 92%. He got a 4 on AP exam and a few classmates earned a 5. He seems to enjoy statistics and is taking the AP version of that course at his school.
On the other hand, he is part of the broadcasting club at his school and has a sports podcast that has done well (won a cool regional award) and when I talk with him this kind of work seems to excite him more.
I don’t think he is opposed to the East Coast. I did so when I was 18 and it turned out being a great adventure after I got over some homesickness. He is a bit of a homebody, through and we, like so many, probably helicoptered too much and didn’t let him figure out enough stuff on his own.
I don’t think we are hung up on the prestigious name. I went to a big name, high cost school for undergrad 25 years ago and I don’t think it pencils out (the amount of debt one has to take on to make it happen).
Just remembered that the recent press about Hendrix College in Arkansas highlighted dorm issues with mold & mildew. Also, the social scene revolves around drinking. A quick google search should provide more detailed information from those who have recently attended or visited the school.
Statistics is an interesting field. The study of data science is a very sought after major by employers and may match your son’s interest in math, statistics & computer data skills. (Many employers treasure those with advanced skills in Excel modeling.)
Math oriented, hard working (grinders) type students do quite well at Big 4 accounting firms. At least one Big 4 will even pay for a masters degree in Data Science & reserve a fairly high paying position at multiple locations throughout the country. The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) is arguably the leading player in this field, although there are at least 7 other major universities which offer similiar programs.
In order to achieve LAC like intimacy at a large public university, one should enroll in the Honors College at these large schools. Separate honors dorms, special small honors classes, priority registration & special mentoring. Great job placement. And, most importantly, generous scholarships. If I recall correctly, both the University of Mississippi & the University of Alabama have very large percentages of non-resident students.
P.S. Consider Univ. of Missouri, Univ. of Mississippi Honors College, Villanova University, Baylor University, Ohio State, University of Georgia, USC, Virginia Tech & Arizona State University Honors College.
Pay for grads in Data & Analytics programs start at a minimum of $85,000 to $90,000 and command high pay increases after a year or two of work experience (roughly $120,000).