Anonymous wrote:Easier to get into:

UMW- have one kid there. Does have a similar feel to W&M where my other kid is applying. Gives straightforward merit aid based on grades and test scores.

CNU- very similar in size to UMW, but way fewer trees on campus if that matters to your kid as it did mine.

It is hard to find schools of this size that are in a good price range.

It’s not like CNU has no trees. Most think the campus is quite pretty.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vermont

Just anecdotal, but have heard lots of good things from the few students I know there.

I'd be interested to know more about U Vermont.

I'm guessing you'd better like snow because you'll be seeing a lot of it...

Amen. So hard to find a non-Catholic mid-size school.
I will say my DS ended up at one at it was truly the right fit.

Same for my kid. Plugged in all their likes to a college search engine and it gave us Princeton. 🤣
Also many Catholic schools which aren’t a fit either, though some great schools. You’d think there’d be more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fordham and many/most other Jesuit colleges fall into this category.
Drexel
Maybe Quinnipiac? U Hartford? I’m not as sure about these two.

This. My DD is applying to W&M, UMW + a bunch of LACs. I do worry a bit that the LACs may feel small (she doesn't think it's an issue) so would have liked her to consider more midsize schools but it seemed like most we could find in that W&M size were Jesuit and she's also adamant that she's not going to a religious-connected school (yes, I know Jesuit schools are religious in that way but she has very strong opinions!)

Most Jesuit schools are not really that religious. Most have a Theo101 and Phil 101 requirement and maybe a 2nd theology. My non-religious (as in never seen a bible before college) approached Theo101 as a history course and learned alot. Holy Week was freshman year was a learning experience as well, since that's when most "religious but not really" students do become religious. However, of my son's group of 15-20 people, only 2 regularly attended mass.

OP, what is your kid interested in studying? If you don’t need a school of engineering, check out St. Joseph’s U in Philly. They just integrated U Sciences under the SJU umbrella, and added pharmacy plus a ton of healthcare programs.

Santa Clara University is fast becoming an it school but still not crazy selective/rejective. It's a great education on par with BC and has an unmatched alum network for jobs in Northern California.

Anonymous wrote:Finding good medium size schools (5,000-15,000 undergrads) that aren't super hard to get in to feels impossible. The only school my junior is interested in so far is Lehigh and it could be a reach school depending on how this year plays out.

What does junior want to study ? Any career goals ?

College of Charleston has an honors college which awards merit scholarships.

Elon?

Easier to get into:

UMW- have one kid there. Does have a similar feel to W&M where my other kid is applying. Gives straightforward merit aid based on grades and test scores.

CNU- very similar in size to UMW, but way fewer trees on campus if that matters to your kid as it did mine.

It is hard to find schools of this size that are in a good price range.

Anonymous wrote:agree - it seems there are so many schools well below or well above that size - which is desirable for many

+1
tell me about it

Anonymous wrote:Fordham and many/most other Jesuit colleges fall into this category.
Drexel
Maybe Quinnipiac? U Hartford? I’m not as sure about these two.

This. My DD is applying to W&M, UMW + a bunch of LACs. I do worry a bit that the LACs may feel small (she doesn't think it's an issue) so would have liked her to consider more midsize schools but it seemed like most we could find in that W&M size were Jesuit and she's also adamant that she's not going to a religious-connected school (yes, I know Jesuit schools are religious in that way but she has very strong opinions!)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC wanted the same size, and on the initial list were:

Lehigh
Santa Clara
University of Denver
Worchester Polytech
Villanova
Wake Forest
University of Rochester
William and Mary

Most of these are not easy to get into. WF and Villanova have 32%/31% acceptance rates. Also, as spomeone who is from WORCESTER it pains me when people say Worchester. It is not even pronounced like there is an H in there.

and there is already a Wooster, so no help there.

Wake has grown - it was 3600 undergrad (which I absolutely loved sizewise) when I was there. And it is 4X the cost, too. It was one of the CHEAPER schools I applied to, believe it or not.

Anonymous wrote:If you don’t mind California, Check out LMU and U San Diego. Solid schools. Mid size. Great weather and locations. Easier to get into

+1

Fantastic locations and well connected locally.