Are top liberal arts colleges for my son?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to one of the schools you mentioned and think he would fit in fabulously. Tons of quirky kids and he’d likely find a group of friends quickly. I liked that there was still a college town as far as cute things and friendly locals but the small size made everything easy. Sports were equally respected and popular as other activities.

Agree wholeheartedly as another grad. Good luck to him!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Quirky. Introvert. Music more than sports. STEM.
Sounds awfully familiar. Some liberal arts colleges are top producers of science PhDs. They are great as long as you aren’t looking for engineering.

Try:
Vassar
Wesleyan
Oberlin,
Kenyon
Wooster (strong safety)
Grinnell
Macalaster
Carleton
St. Olaf (great safety for that profile)
Bowdoin ( it’s a reach. So is Williams)
Maybe Bates

Not SLAC, but also try: Case, Rochester, W&M, Pitt for rolling decision (a yes from a school in December is really nice)

Most of these schools are easier for boys to get into than girls. Because the applicant pool is skewed

You probably want to skip the sports amd prep school heavy ones like:
Hamilton
Colgate
Union
Middlebury
Colby
Williams
Union
Denison
Washington & Lee

Williams shouldn't be lumped in with these schools. A shy, quirky, music-loving kid will definitely find his people there. And if he loves, it would be hard to do better than Williams, which holds a mathematics REU every summer, where Williams students are guaranteed half the spaces.
https://math.williams.edu/small/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Quirky. Introvert. Music more than sports. STEM.
Sounds awfully familiar. Some liberal arts colleges are top producers of science PhDs. They are great as long as you aren’t looking for engineering.

Try:
Vassar
Wesleyan
Oberlin,
Kenyon
Wooster (strong safety)
Grinnell
Macalaster
Carleton
St. Olaf (great safety for that profile)
Bowdoin ( it’s a reach. So is Williams)
Maybe Bates

Not SLAC, but also try: Case, Rochester, W&M, Pitt for rolling decision (a yes from a school in December is really nice)

Most of these schools are easier for boys to get into than girls. Because the applicant pool is skewed

You probably want to skip the sports amd prep school heavy ones like:
Hamilton
Colgate
Union
Middlebury
Colby
Williams
Union
Denison
Washington & Lee

This list is super helpful - my child is similar to OP's .

Would anyone have input on how west coast schools fit into this breakdown.... for example the Claremont colleges (Pomona, Claremont-Mckenna, Harvey Mudd, Scripps, Pitzer) but others too.

Also - how would schools like Princeton, Harvard, Stanford fit for students like this?

(Note - we are very early in this process and plan to create a broad list - but DS will probably want to apply to some highly competitive as well, so it'd be good to craft those carefully)

I would just say as a quirky Midd grad, don’t pass these off too quickly!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would he go to a LA school if he wants STEM?

"The modern use of the term liberal arts consists of four areas: the natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities." (Wikipedia)

While few liberal arts colleges offer engineering degrees, most offee the full range of hard sciences and math, and have strong placement in science grad schools.

You'd be surprised at how many comp sci students there are at the listed LACs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Quirky. Introvert. Music more than sports. STEM.
Sounds awfully familiar. Some liberal arts colleges are top producers of science PhDs. They are great as long as you aren’t looking for engineering.

Try:
Vassar
Wesleyan
Oberlin,
Kenyon
Wooster (strong safety)
Grinnell
Macalaster
Carleton
St. Olaf (great safety for that profile)
Bowdoin ( it’s a reach. So is Williams)
Maybe Bates

Not SLAC, but also try: Case, Rochester, W&M, Pitt for rolling decision (a yes from a school in December is really nice)

Most of these schools are easier for boys to get into than girls. Because the applicant pool is skewed

You probably want to skip the sports amd prep school heavy ones like:
Hamilton
Colgate
Union
Middlebury
Colby
Williams
Union
Denison
Washington & Lee

Williams shouldn't be lumped in with these schools. A shy, quirky, music-loving kid will definitely find his people there. And if he loves, it would be hard to do better than Williams, which holds a mathematics REU every summer, where Williams students are guaranteed half the spaces.
https://math.williams.edu/small/

I'm a Williams alum and would agree with the immediate PP above. I'd also say the same of Hamilton and Midd, based on recent experiences of my kids' friends. Yes, all these schools will have plenty of athletes, but athletes can be shy and quirky too, you know. (I was one )

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter did well in the small setting, because it was less intimidating and required her to step up.

Having said that, you are falling into the trap of only discussing very selective schools. Remember to visit and praise some less elite schools also, or we may be hearing you lament one year from now like many who have come before you.

(Check out St Olaf’s for example)

Why do people on the board refer to St Olaf as a possessive? I went to college in the same town and never heard that. Sometimes it was referred to as Olaf and the students as Oles (pronounced Olies), but never St Olaf’s. Is this a new thing?

[Anonymous]

Face it, the Oles are literally owned be the ELCA. The sing-song Minnesota accent is literally mandated by the bishop. Don't mess with the Lutheran Church.



(I too am an alum of the college located in the Cannon River swamps. Take the previous comment with the appropriate grain of salt.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With a 1510, OP’s kid can be selective. The only reason to move down the list would be if they need merit aid

I guess you have not been paying attention to the last few months’ posts.

Once you're kid has a 1500 SAT and 3.8 GPA, all bets are off. S/he can apply to any top school s/he wants and has a chance of getting in.

The numbers no longer matter at the top schools, as long as your kid has decent stats. The top colleges can fill their freshman class several times over with top stats kids. So a kid with a 1510 and 4.0 is not a shoe-in at any top college. They pick and choose, and it's anybody's guess why one kid gets in and another doesn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have 250k set aside for college? If so, the yes. If not, the no

T10 SLACs may be need-based FA only. Go lower, he can get merit aid. I've heard Oberlin merit aid in upwards of $30,000 per year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have 250k set aside for college? If so, the yes. If not, the no

T10 SLACs may be need-based FA only. Go lower, he can get merit aid. I've heard Oberlin merit aid in upwards of $30,000 per year.

Grinnell and Macalaster give merit aid. Also Kenyon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With a 1510, OP’s kid can be selective. The only reason to move down the list would be if they need merit aid

My nephew had a perfect SAT score and an unweighted 4.0 in an MCPS magnet and was rejected at Bowdoin, Williams, Swarthmore, Amherst, and a few others. He is at a comparable school, the only one that admitted him.

No one is a slam dunk at these schools.

Those particular schools have very string alumni network. It can be hard to break in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at Pomona, and both Pomona and Harvey Mudd would be good options The consortium provides great opportunities for collaboration and socialization.

But OP and her son should know that pre-Covid, the acceptance rate was 7%. This year, they accepted 15 students total from Maryland, and fewer from DC and Virginia. (https://www.pomona.edu/news/2021/03/25-pomona-college-announces-new-class-2025)

I toured Pomona several years ago. They had students from 49 states. All but W. Virginia. In case the OP is from W. Virginia, give Pomona a shot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Quirky. Introvert. Music more than sports. STEM.
Sounds awfully familiar. Some liberal arts colleges are top producers of science PhDs. They are great as long as you aren’t looking for engineering.

Try:
Vassar
Wesleyan
Oberlin,
Kenyon
Wooster (strong safety)
Grinnell
Macalaster
Carleton
St. Olaf (great safety for that profile)
Bowdoin ( it’s a reach. So is Williams)
Maybe Bates

Not SLAC, but also try: Case, Rochester, W&M, Pitt for rolling decision (a yes from a school in December is really nice)

Most of these schools are easier for boys to get into than girls. Because the applicant pool is skewed

You probably want to skip the sports amd prep school heavy ones like:
Hamilton
Colgate
Union
Middlebury
Colby
Williams
Union
Denison
Washington & Lee

This list is super helpful - my child is similar to OP's .

Would anyone have input on how west coast schools fit into this breakdown.... for example the Claremont colleges (Pomona, Claremont-Mckenna, Harvey Mudd, Scripps, Pitzer) but others too.

Also - how would schools like Princeton, Harvard, Stanford fit for students like this?

(Note - we are very early in this process and plan to create a broad list - but DS will probably want to apply to some highly competitive as well, so it'd be good to craft those carefully)

I would just say as a quirky Midd grad, don’t pass these off too quickly!

Sorry, can you explain what you mean? Are you saying, be sure to consider the Claremont Colleges in the search? Or something else....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have 250k set aside for college? If so, the yes. If not, the no

T10 SLACs may be need-based FA only. Go lower, he can get merit aid. I've heard Oberlin merit aid in upwards of $30,000 per year.

Grinnell and Macalaster give merit aid. Also Kenyon.

And W&L.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Quirky. Introvert. Music more than sports. STEM.
Sounds awfully familiar. Some liberal arts colleges are top producers of science PhDs. They are great as long as you aren’t looking for engineering.

Try:
Vassar
Wesleyan
Oberlin,
Kenyon
Wooster (strong safety)
Grinnell
Macalaster
Carleton
St. Olaf (great safety for that profile)
Bowdoin ( it’s a reach. So is Williams)
Maybe Bates

Not SLAC, but also try: Case, Rochester, W&M, Pitt for rolling decision (a yes from a school in December is really nice)

Most of these schools are easier for boys to get into than girls. Because the applicant pool is skewed

You probably want to skip the sports amd prep school heavy ones like:
Hamilton
Colgate
Union
Middlebury
Colby
Williams
Union
Denison
Washington & Lee

This list is super helpful - my child is similar to OP's .

Would anyone have input on how west coast schools fit into this breakdown.... for example the Claremont colleges (Pomona, Claremont-Mckenna, Harvey Mudd, Scripps, Pitzer) but others too.

Also - how would schools like Princeton, Harvard, Stanford fit for students like this?

(Note - we are very early in this process and plan to create a broad list - but DS will probably want to apply to some highly competitive as well, so it'd be good to craft those carefully)

I would just say as a quirky Midd grad, don’t pass these off too quickly!

Sorry, can you explain what you mean? Are you saying, be sure to consider the Claremont Colleges in the search? Or something else....

DP but I am pretty sure they were responding to the bolded part saying “you probably want to skip the sports and prep heavy schools like…. [list including Middlebury and Hamilton].” They were saying there is room for the quirky not athletic or preppy kid even at those schools.