<p>Can Whitman be considered a safe school for my D? There aren't many other small LAC in the Pacific NW that seem at the same academic level as Whitman and Reed is out of the question (it didn't appeal at all). Aside from the little ivy's, she's applied to Oberlin (not conservatory) and Bard (both obviously not local - but possible good matches). Willamette was included as the "last resort" school, but only if rejected from everything else. Where else could she apply for safety with high quality academic standards and a good music program? Thanks for your perspective.</p>
<p>SAT I: 2290 (m/w/cr) 750/750/790 (superscore)
SAT II :math II 770 US history 680
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.32
Rank: 3/233
AP: US Hist (5), English Composition (4), French (4)
Senior Year Course Load: 4 APs (Eng Lit, Calc, Government, Music Theory)
Awards: None
Extracurriculars: Violin - Orchestra (she's at a "B" level conservatory and will submit a recording), Swim Team
Majors: Double Major in Music (performance) + Undetermined Academic subject</p>
<p>Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community Service: 100 hours
Teacher Recommendations: Excellent
Interviews: none
State: Idaho
School Type: public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F</p>
<p>My son went to Whitman with stats a bit lower that your daughter’s.
SAT I: 2210
SAT II History 750 Spanish 730
GPA 3.89
6 APs with 4s and 5s on the tests
Some music, lots of leadership
School didn’t rank but gave awards for being in top 4%</p>
<p>Whitman was one of his match/safety schools. He applied to 13 colleges and was accepted to 13 colleges, some very selective places (UC Berkeley, Bowdoin, Tufts, Boston College Honors Program and a few others). We own a small business, so his financial aid was calculated differently than if we had income from employers, much to our surprise and horror. Our son’s first choice was Bowdoin, but we couldn’t afford to send him there because they offered very little need based aid and our financial appeal fell on deaf ears. He re-visited the others and picked Whitman based of the merit aid he received, the academic reputation, and the social fit. He loved Whitman, and was challenged by the academic rigor and the keen intelligence of his classmates.</p>
<p>Last year Whitman’s acceptance rate jumped from 48% to 37% so it’s getting more of the attention it deserves, but I do think with your daughter’s stats and interests, Whitman would be a match/safety and your daughter would very likely receive merit aid. However, I’m wondering about the fit, if she likes the atmospheres at Oberlin and Bard, she might find Whitman a little too mainstream. We never visited either Oberlin or Bard, S wasn’t interested because of their reputations for being counterculture, so I’m speculating based on nothing more than stereotypes. Whitman is by no means conservative, but the vibe isn’t really very hipster-ish either.</p>
<p>I know this is a stressful time for you and your daughter, so I’m wishing you both smooth sailing!</p>
<p>The counterculture issue we’ll worry about when we see what choices there are. </p>
<p>Thank you for the envouraging story. 13 for 13 is great.D finished her apps yesterday. Now for interviews and scholarship apps. I had no idea how much enetgy this would take. </p>
<p>Pacific Lutheran University is a little known school outside of Washington, but it has a strong music program along with good academics. PLU is not small (3,500 students) although the students say its the right size. The alumni that I know love their school. </p>