If your kids loved Williams and Bowdoin what where their safeties/matches

[Anonymous]

I had a kid attend Grinnell. Most students there consider it the anti-Bowdoin and the anti-Williams. Obviously it's somewhat less selective, but students at Grinnell are more likely to be Swarthmore or Wesleyan types.

Kenyon is a good back-up suggestion. If your kid is in the zone for Bowdoin and Williams and is full pay, Kenyon is close to a guarantee. It's the quintessential back up to these and similar schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HS Junior will major in Econ, may ED one of these two but knows chances aren't great, has GPA, EC, APs and test scores to be a good candidate. Also, looking at Hamilton and Grinnell. Needs to visit Vasaar to get a feel for the school. So what less selective LACs did your child how loved these schools apply to?

Oberlin or Kenyon college? Don't know that could be considered safeties.

Perhaps more likely safety/targets than Grinnell or Hamilton.

One comment that sticks in my mind is the college counselor telling one of my DCs that certain schools will not necessarily admit if they think you may end up elsewhere - don't think he wanted to use term "yield protect," but that's what it sounded like to me. Could see that with Grinnell, possibly Hamilton. Grinnell seems to take kids who ED from our DCs' school, but rarely in RD.

On Vassar, know two kids who applied there this year and both rejected. Seemed like strong students to me - know one of the families. One of the kids was recruited for a sport, so kind of a shock when rejected. Coach didn't even give a heads up.

Grinnell is one of many schools where it's far easier to get in ED. This is not unusual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gettysburg, Dickinson, Lehigh, Lafayette

+1 to these schools.

[Anonymous]

Big difference between safeties and matches in the SLAC world, mostly because the numbers are SO small and the ED factor is so big. Real safeties for a kid who is competitive at Williams or Bowdoin would be schools like Gettysburg, Dickinson, Conn College, Trinity in the east. Also Whitman, Lawrence, Lewis & Clark, and other LACS outside the East Coast.

Next group would be matches (which you shouldn't confuse for safeties!) - look at schools like Denison, Kenyon, Macalester, Oberlin, Occidental, Reed, Skidmore with overall admissions rates in the 20-40% range.

Then there are a bunch of LACs that are not *quite* as competitive as Williams and Bowdoin but still very competitive (under 20% acceptance rate but higher than 5%): Bates, Carleton, Grinnell, Hamilton, Haverford, Middlebury, Vassar, Wesleyan among others.

To state the obvious there are big differences within these groups in terms of GPA and test scores as well as admissions and yield rates. Look at all this data carefully. Just because a school admits 30% of applicants doesn't necessarily mean your kid's stats match up. And watch for all these schools to have become more competitive this year because applications are up everywhere.

Your DC should have at least one safety that they're happy to attend. And they should apply to a couple of matches as well. And be really sure that your kid is truly within range - not just based on overall stats but on the latest Naviance data which won't be complete for a few more months at least - before you or your DC get attached to any school with sub-10% admissions rates. And if you can go ED, you should. BTW a few of these schools have EA too.

[Anonymous]

Also a reach but look at Carleton

[Anonymous]

My kid attended Bowdoin but, because financial aid was important, she really didn’t have any lac safeties. The safety was UMd. I realize St Mary’s could have been a liberal arts safety but we thought UMd offered more as far as rigor.

Other schools on the list: Hamilton, Vassar, Wesleyan, Colby, Bates

Really loved Vassar and Wesleyan.

[Anonymous]

Reed has the serious intellectuals and also great hiking nearby. Portland is a great city that's had some struggles recently, so he'll need to be aware of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HS Junior will major in Econ, may ED one of these two but knows chances aren't great, has GPA, EC, APs and test scores to be a good candidate. Also, looking at Hamilton and Grinnell. Needs to visit Vasaar to get a feel for the school. So what less selective LACs did your child how loved these schools apply to?

Oberlin or Kenyon college? Don't know that could be considered safeties.

Perhaps more likely safety/targets than Grinnell or Hamilton.

One comment that sticks in my mind is the college counselor telling one of my DCs that certain schools will not necessarily admit if they think you may end up elsewhere - don't think he wanted to use term "yield protect," but that's what it sounded like to me. Could see that with Grinnell, possibly Hamilton. Grinnell seems to take kids who ED from our DCs' school, but rarely in RD.

On Vassar, know two kids who applied there this year and both rejected. Seemed like strong students to me - know one of the families. One of the kids was recruited for a sport, so kind of a shock when rejected. Coach didn't even give a heads up.

Grinnell is one of many schools where it's far easier to get in ED. This is not unusual.

Makes sense - they probably want kids who believe they want a rural setting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid attended Bowdoin but, because financial aid was important, she really didn’t have any lac safeties. The safety was UMd. I realize St Mary’s could have been a liberal arts safety but we thought UMd offered more as far as rigor.

Other schools on the list: Hamilton, Vassar, Wesleyan, Colby, Bates

Really loved Vassar and Wesleyan.

Did your DC EA to any LACs known for providing merit?

[Anonymous]

Maybe cmc and tufts?

[Anonymous]

Franklin and Marshall too.

[Anonymous]

My DC felt Brandeis had a similar academic vibe (srudents seemed academically serious but more collaborative and not as intense as Swat). Yes it is city-adjacent but there is nice hiking, etc not far away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reed has the serious intellectuals and also great hiking nearby. Portland is a great city that's had some struggles recently, so he'll need to be aware of that.

DCs knew DH frowned on west coast schools, but one DC did throw an EA into Reed. Would say, however, that DC was a little hesitant b/c of stories on drug use @ Reed, including heroin. DC is not a teetotaler, but those stories, even though they may be unfounded, did give pause.

I do love Portland and now need to come up with another reason to visit.

[Anonymous]

For a safety, my DC liked St. Olaf the best.

But if your DC doesn’t get into one of the schools ED, he should plan to apply ED2 to another. Some of them have a significant bump for ED1 and ED2 so that gives him a second shot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe cmc and tufts?

Does CMC = Claremont McKenna? If so, that is also a reach.

Do know a Bowdoin legacy gambled for Tufts as wasn't confident they would be admitted to Bowdoin - great grades, GPA - but the odds are not good.