<p>So happy curmudgeon showed up. He is the merit guru for the southern (well, not just southern) schools, im-never to be so-ho. I think curmudge would agree with this thought - merit chances (or $$ amounts) might increase if you do include the geography card. Schools will like his stats, his EC's, his URM status (let's assume) but they will also seek out geographic diversity. Some (many?) LACs also need the gender balancing boost that a male will provide. So look at the %M/%F of schools he likes and consider that factor.</p>
<p>Since he will consider beyond the South, I was going to suggest some of the Catholic schools as they have been traditionally strong in philosphy. Holy Cross and Villanova would top my list. I can't resist throwing in Santa Clara U in this category altho it is in California because they gave S decent merit $ LY due (by my guess) to his stats, gender and geography. Hey, your S would get to keep warm weather :). These latter two are unis but with a LAC feel. I second the Lafayette and Trinity mentions. Bates and Holy Cross (as SAT optional schools) might fall into his match (instead of reach) categories if he doesn't send his scores. Nothing wrong with his scores of course, but I think he is even stronger without them by not having to compete with any of the 1450+ kids out there. That top 10%, NHScholar and his EC's are a pretty impressive package.</p>
<p>I don't know a lot about any of these schools wrt merit $ (except SCU) but your S has a lot going for him. Does your EFC rule out need-based aid? If not, you'll want to pay as much attention to the schools' handling of need-based as well as merit $.</p>