Huh? The inflation rate between 2005 and 2016 is 1.90% IOW, $1 in the year 2005 is worth $1.23 in 2016.
http://www.in2013dollars.com/2005-dollars-in-2016?amount=1
Hamiton’s science center cost ~$53, 000,000 ten years a ago. The science center would cost ~$65,000,000 to construct today. Vassar spent double that. I consider that ‘creating value’.
Regardless, students can get an excellent science education at many LACs
@CrewDad, I am in real estate development and no the inflation index hasn’t been applicable to this industry. Use a 3-5% per year index and then add in the impact of higher labor rates closer to NYC and the costs are comparable on an adjusted basis, as expected.
Still off topic…
LOL…Off topic? It was you who brought inflation, building costs and added value. I never said or insinuated that the very high cost of Vassar’s science center created added value and that is superior to another LACs science facilities. This is easy, don’t post about issues that you don’t want to discuss.
Let’s get back to OP’s post #1 - Where Should I Apply?
Middletown CT (Wesleyan) is about three-quarters the size of Utica and is unusual in its proximity to a campus with so many features consistent with a rural LAC. Offhand, I can only think of Union in Schenectady NY and Vassar in Poughkeepsie with similar contrasts. Do I consider it a dangerous place? No, I don’t. Would I lock my door and shut my windows before I leave anywhere. You’re darned right I would. No one but the most blissed out hippie wierdo would do otherwise so close to a populated downtown. OTOH, for every ounce of caution one has to take there are definite benefits. Middletown has more restaurants within walking distance of campus than any of its NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic League) competitors with the possible exception of Tufts, coffee shops, a four-star hotel and a nifty R. J. Julia bookstore less than three blocks from College Row:
http://www.courant.com/community/middletown/hc-middletown-main-street-bookstore-wesleyan-0524-20170523-story.html
My main objections to Middletown can best be described as the unintended consequences of well-meaning civic and institutional policies undertaken over the years among which I would include, 1) a plethora of urban renewal projects dating from the 1950s which dispersed entire neighborhoods further away from the town center, 2) the raising of the drinking age which effectively prevented most undergrads from mingling with townspeople in the most informal imaginable of settings, and lastly, 3) attempts to close the compensation gap between academia and corporate America which encouraged faculty - particularly junior faculty - to join the rush to the suburbs. All of this has contributed IMO to a conspicuous lack of visible, after-hours, adult stakeholders where I would most like to see them: on the sidewalks, walking their dogs, pushing baby strollers, or just sitting quietly on their stoops watching campus life go by.
There are signs that Middletown may be rounding a corner. The RJ Julia bookstore is one. A brand new apartment building, the first new downtown construction in decades, is about to be completed in September (maybe some of them will own a dog or two.) And, the resurgence of Main Street is genuine. Thirty years ago, there was talk of it becoming “the next Poughkeepsie”. Now, the more apt comparison would be to a smaller version of Providence. I would not be at all surprised if Wesleyan had its own little version of Thayer Street, a bustling boutique and restaurant row on its doorstep, by the end of the decade. That would give a completely different meaning to the phrase, “walking in groups.” 
Bates is very safe. I wish people would stop assuming that Lewiston is dangerous because it’s working class. It is not dangerous in the slightest. My kid is at Bates and is out on campus in the wee hours of the morning several days a week. I don’t necessarily love that she does that, but not because of Lewiston. Bates has no higher incidence of crime than any other college mentioned here.
As I happen to know a lot about Bates, I will mention that there is a very lively music scene at the college, and that Portland is pretty hip and only 40 minutes away. Boston is two hours and doable. Bates is very Eco-conscious and big on sustainability (doing away with paper cups in the dining hall, composting, local produce, only sand for winter paths, etc…) but I wouldn’t describe Bates as having the kind of soclal activist scene that you might be looking for. It is very inclusive and friendly. It’s probably best described as a good mix of outdoorsy, urban, preppy, with a good sprinkling of nerdy and arty types.
As for OP, if you do end up with a 33 on the ACT I think Wesleyan sounds right up your street, as does Brown, but those are both high reaches and if you are an unhooked white female, it will be tough to get in. I immediately thought of Macalester, Lewis and Clark, Reed, Oberlin, Clark U, Skidmore and Grinnell. Kenyon might be a good fit too. Similar to Bates I would say, with a more creative edge. Lewis and Clark and Clark U would be safeties, but none of the rest are really matches. More like a bunch of low reaches. The acceptance rates are all over the place this year, so it makes things a little harder to predict. Last year some of those schools might have been high matches, others, low-reaches. This year, things seem to have switched, especially if Skidmore is at 22% acceptance rate. Next year might be equally interesting.
@circuitrider I think Lafayette in Easton and Holy Cross in Worcester can join your list of traditional LACs with beautiful campus settings, adjacent to small cities. Both have strength in the sciences too. Not sure if Holy Cross has had an Apker winner but they do have several Goldwater scholars including one this year.
This is all so helpful! I just got my SAT scores back and I got 1480! 720 in math, 760 in reading. I’ve added all of the colleges mentioned to my list. I’m starting to consider women’s colleges more, because many are better located than coed LACs. Particularly, Scripps, Agnes Scott (probably as a safety, but it seems like a super cool place), Barnard, Smith and Bryn Mawr. The Pacific Northwest school seem amazing, and from what I’ve read, they’re generally easier to get into than east coast LACs. I’m interested in Evergreen State too. My family is very hesitant to let me consider any schools off of the east coast, but I’m starting to become more open to it. I have the next two weeks off before my internship starts, so I’m thinking I might visit a few schools close to home like Bryn Mawr.
What should my current list look like? Does a 1480 lead me to more selective schools or not?
Colleges that may previously have been reaches for you should now be realistically attainable. You can compare your new score to that of the ranges for specific schools with this resource:
Wrt Smith College https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/best-small-towns-in-america