Anonymous wrote:Reed is about as studious and intellectual as you can get.

Reed's graduation rate is only 72%. That is much lower than its peer schools and makes me think that something is wrong, either with the education or student body.

An underrated tool for examining culture: Take a look at the campus newspaper. What are they writing about? Do they present a diversity of ideas? Is it well written?

For an excellent interdisciplinary program for a student interested in the humanities, look into Kenyon for its Integrated Program in Humane Studies sequence:

https://share.google/J3qvEtjwB6e8sMYnl

As a future-looking suggestion for a student interested in ideas generally, keep the Hamilton College Summer Program in Philosophy in mind. The program is fully funded and open to students from other institutions:

https://share.google/mDqHqfXZ2IIldV4Lf

Anonymous wrote:Reed is about as studious and intellectual as you can get.

True, but I wouldn’t call Reed’s culture unassuming.

Reed is about as studious and intellectual as you can get.

Our twins were looking for schools in this same general pocket (though leaning a bit more towards medium sized schools), with Yale as their SCEA (not admitted), and then several other schools that have been mentioned in this thread already as other schools they liked a lot. They approached the search independently, with one going for science (non-premed bio), one for humanities (history). Priorities were a top tier of undergraduate teaching, a warm and friendly student body, and strong relationships with professors. At the end of the day they were both deciding between Carleton and W&M (OOS), and they'll be heading to W&M in the fall and are really excited about it.

(OP, you also asked about more likely schools; we were all pleasantly surprised by St. Olaf when we visited; their admit rate is 48%. W&M has an OOS rate of ~28% and in-state of 34% or something similar, so it's also on the more likely end compared with most of the schools mentioned so far).

Anonymous wrote:OP here: thanks so much for the suggestions! Many of these are on our radar, so it’s good to see we are on the right track. DC is a strong student and applicant, but we all know about the vagaries of the application process and the accompanying uncertainties. Are there suggestions with higher acceptance rates or methods to assess LACs for this campus culture (before visiting) notwithstanding selectivity? We would also like DC to find likely-safety schools they love. There are so many excellent schools out there!

Appreciate the thoughts and input as we navigate the process!

Both of my SLAC-loving DCs really liked Lafayette College.

Anonymous wrote:With respect to LACs with notably flexible curricula, look into Amherst, Hamilton, Smith and Grinnell.

Wesleyan also has an open curriculum.

William & Mary for mid size.

DS wanted a similar vibe. He loved Davidson, Haverford, Pomona and CMC.

Dickinson could be a good target/safety, depending on your kid’s stats.

Demonstrated interest matters at some SLACs but not all. Several of the more selective schools don’t consider it so research that detail. The best place to find out if DO is considered is the Common Data Set (CDS) for each school.

Check ED rates and strategize. Some schools offer a significant bump. And look at your high school’s scattergrams to see if acceptance rates are any higher for your school (we’re at a small private and some competitive SLACs have much higher acceptance rates for our school).

Davidson for better weather and nice kids.

To get a sense of vibe prior to visiting, some lacs have admissions blogs written by students about student life. In the fall there are also webinars with student panels. Instagram is also helpful—both the school account, but also student groups (outdoors club, club sports, board games, cheese club, whatever) sometimes have their own instagram. You can get a sense of the kids and the vibe and what happens on weekends which might help you narrow the list down for visiting.

With respect to LACs with notably flexible curricula, look into Amherst, Hamilton, Smith and Grinnell.

OP here, again: thanks so much for the additional helpful posts!

PP’s description of “pursuit of engagement in ideas” is on the mark. As we have visited, this has come through more clearly at some schools than others (not necessarily correlated with rank/selectivity).

DC is undecided (leaning humanities) because so many disciplines catch their interest. And the ideas that most fascinate them cross majors/disciplines. So we are also looking at open curricula, interdisciplinary majors, and opportunities to design one’s own major.

We will definitely be looking closer at these suggested schools and those Princeton Review lists, as well as consulting with DC’s school counselor to determine their chances within the school context.

Thanks again!