Help me find a safety for my DD - along the lines of an SLAC

[Anonymous]

Oberlin also does much better with merit aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With those numbers she will probably get a decent merit package from Grinnell and ought to consider it seriously. Grinnell is by far the best liberal arts college that is serious about merit aid - and it can afford it because its endowment dwarfs every other school that has been mentioned in this thread. Grinnell is as good as any liberal arts college on the East Coast and the quality of its student body as competitive as any outside of the top 5 liberal arts schools in the US. It has to work a little harder to assemble that class is all, given its Iowa location.

+1

Bit of a sweeping statement. Washington and Lee does better on merit aid, if skewed toward a smaller percentage getting much bigger awards.

Washington & Lee has one of the lowest percentages of lower income students of any elite LAC and Grinnell one of the highest. And Grinnell spreads its money around to many, many more of its students. Finally, Grinnell is hands down a better school and is more aligned with OP’s preferences given the info on her post.

Don't see any basis to say Grinnell is "hands down" better. Average scores seem a bit higher at W&L. Not the be all end all, of course, but clearly both good schools.

Washington & Lee is considered more of a frat boy school. The academic reputation of Grinnell is higher.

Cool. Hey don’t bother with any facts. Just say stuff and we’ll believe you.

Hey, cool gal (or guy), if people who talk like you favor Washington and Lee then I’ve made my case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With those numbers she will probably get a decent merit package from Grinnell and ought to consider it seriously. Grinnell is by far the best liberal arts college that is serious about merit aid - and it can afford it because its endowment dwarfs every other school that has been mentioned in this thread. Grinnell is as good as any liberal arts college on the East Coast and the quality of its student body as competitive as any outside of the top 5 liberal arts schools in the US. It has to work a little harder to assemble that class is all, given its Iowa location.

+1

Bit of a sweeping statement. Washington and Lee does better on merit aid, if skewed toward a smaller percentage getting much bigger awards.

Washington & Lee has one of the lowest percentages of lower income students of any elite LAC and Grinnell one of the highest. And Grinnell spreads its money around to many, many more of its students. Finally, Grinnell is hands down a better school and is more aligned with OP’s preferences given the info on her post.

Don't see any basis to say Grinnell is "hands down" better. Average scores seem a bit higher at W&L. Not the be all end all, of course, but clearly both good schools.

Washington & Lee is considered more of a frat boy school. The academic reputation of Grinnell is higher.

Cool. Hey don’t bother with any facts. Just say stuff and we’ll believe you.

Hey, cool gal (or guy), if people who talk like you favor Washington and Lee then I’ve made my case.

That makes your case that Washington and Lee doesn’t have a good academic reputation? Hey, where did you go to school?

[Anonymous]

Wooster and St. Olaf both offered my son a nice discount though I’ve no idea what constitutes a safety anymore. We’ve seen way too many kids lately getting rejected from schools that seem safe, as in at or above the 75th percentile.

[Anonymous]

I think the Grinnell dummy is the Middlebury dummy. Same dumb arguments and poor writing.

[Anonymous]

A weird perspective from the other side of this: DS did all the work of applying to schools, found reaches, targets, likelies he loved on all levels (including several discussed by OP and posters). He ended up getting into most, including what was ostensibly his first choice --a reach SLAC. But I almost think we went overboard finding schools he loved because it was GRUELING for him to decide, he ended up going for--at the last minute May 1-- the reach which was the highest ranked of the group. But now he's genuinely struggling with a kind of buyer's remorse. He loved his "likelies" and feels like he couldn't really choose one because he got a good deal at a "better" (more prestigious) school so now he's not really sure he made the decision truly on his own accord. He's wondering if he could still change is mind, if the scholarships would still be there for him if he did. It's probably just that this is the first time he's had to make a big decision and he's grieving the paths not taken, but it's a little hard for him to have worked so hard to get into a top school (that really does seem like a good fit for him) and mainly feeling kind of letdown, depleted and anxious. Hopefully this too shall pass and he'll re-appreciate his good fortune ...but I think he's also experiencing the hamster wheel of strong students seeking high-ranking schools, and this glimpse of possibly getting off of it, but then deciding not to, --it's done a bit of a number on him. We're just watching now how his mindset evolves. I initially told myself, let's give this a week and revisit. It's been a week now, now I'm thinking give it another week...But I'm wishing we played down the 'finding tons of schools he loves' thing--but then had he not gotten into good ones we'd be in a different situation...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kalamazoo
Beloit

I second Beloit. It is a fabulous SLAC and very generous with merit aid.

OP here - I'd read that Beloit had been having some financial difficulties so we took it off our list. Do you have any first hand experience with Beloit?

https://www.beloitdailynews.com/news/20180824/beloit_college_grappling_with_financial_issues

Yes my DC recently graduated (had the presidential scholarship as well as a departmental one) and still has friends there. It is true that the college, like many small colleges, has experienced financial issues in the last couple years. However the administration has taken several actions to address and I have confidence that Beloit will be fine. I seriously cannot say enough good things about the academics, the professors and the opportunities DC had. Even the alum network despite how small the college is - or maybe bc of that - is fabulous. Happy to answer any more questions, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kalamazoo
Beloit

I second Beloit. It is a fabulous SLAC and very generous with merit aid.

OP here - I'd read that Beloit had been having some financial difficulties so we took it off our list. Do you have any first hand experience with Beloit?

https://www.beloitdailynews.com/news/20180824/beloit_college_grappling_with_financial_issues

Yes my DC recently graduated (had the presidential scholarship as well as a departmental one) and still has friends there. It is true that the college, like many small colleges, has experienced financial issues in the last couple years. However the administration has taken several actions to address and I have confidence that Beloit will be fine. I seriously cannot say enough good things about the academics, the professors and the opportunities DC had. Even the alum network despite how small the college is - or maybe bc of that - is fabulous. Happy to answer any more questions, OP.

NP. what was his/her major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A weird perspective from the other side of this: DS did all the work of applying to schools, found reaches, targets, likelies he loved on all levels (including several discussed by OP and posters). He ended up getting into most, including what was ostensibly his first choice --a reach SLAC. But I almost think we went overboard finding schools he loved because it was GRUELING for him to decide, he ended up going for--at the last minute May 1-- the reach which was the highest ranked of the group. But now he's genuinely struggling with a kind of buyer's remorse. He loved his "likelies" and feels like he couldn't really choose one because he got a good deal at a "better" (more prestigious) school so now he's not really sure he made the decision truly on his own accord. He's wondering if he could still change is mind, if the scholarships would still be there for him if he did. It's probably just that this is the first time he's had to make a big decision and he's grieving the paths not taken, but it's a little hard for him to have worked so hard to get into a top school (that really does seem like a good fit for him) and mainly feeling kind of letdown, depleted and anxious. Hopefully this too shall pass and he'll re-appreciate his good fortune ...but I think he's also experiencing the hamster wheel of strong students seeking high-ranking schools, and this glimpse of possibly getting off of it, but then deciding not to, --it's done a bit of a number on him. We're just watching now how his mindset evolves. I initially told myself, let's give this a week and revisit. It's been a week now, now I'm thinking give it another week...But I'm wishing we played down the 'finding tons of schools he loves' thing--but then had he not gotten into good ones we'd be in a different situation...

My DC was similarly down to the wire, and actually one school let us know the offer still stands.

[Anonymous]

My child picked the lowest ranked school she got into (which made me nervous) and she is thriving there.

I was proud that she could put the rankings aside and recognize a fit that would work for her.

I think she wanted off of the hamster wheel also. Don't get me wrong, she still has to work and is learning a ton. But she is happy, and has achieved a healthier balance than she had in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child picked the lowest ranked school she got into (which made me nervous) and she is thriving there.

I was proud that she could put the rankings aside and recognize a fit that would work for her.

I think she wanted off of the hamster wheel also. Don't get me wrong, she still has to work and is learning a ton. But she is happy, and has achieved a healthier balance than she had in high school.

Is she being challenged? Is the work difficult?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kalamazoo
Beloit

I second Beloit. It is a fabulous SLAC and very generous with merit aid.

OP here - I'd read that Beloit had been having some financial difficulties so we took it off our list. Do you have any first hand experience with Beloit?

https://www.beloitdailynews.com/news/20180824/beloit_college_grappling_with_financial_issues

Yes my DC recently graduated (had the presidential scholarship as well as a departmental one) and still has friends there. It is true that the college, like many small colleges, has experienced financial issues in the last couple years. However the administration has taken several actions to address and I have confidence that Beloit will be fine. I seriously cannot say enough good things about the academics, the professors and the opportunities DC had. Even the alum network despite how small the college is - or maybe bc of that - is fabulous. Happy to answer any more questions, OP.

NP. what was his/her major?

Geology and Physics