Anonymous wrote:ED at W&M is a good choice. Continue to take top rigor in all 5 core subjects. Hard to see what GPA means as it is the context of your school and meaningless otherwise. What did he like about W&M and UVA? Mine was in a similar spot and ED at w&m worked out. He also explored Dickinson (similar vibe but smaller and good merit), Furman, Elon (similar size, high admit rate), VT (actually really like the tour), JMU. You might lookat teh Jesuit schools if willing to look further afield (good merit, size, and involved kids). Fordham, Univ San Diego, Loyola MD, Santa Clara, Fairfield, Loyola Marymount, Chapman are all good choices in the mid size, nice kids, good merit type of school.

Oh yes, forgot about Furman and Elon. Excellent suggestions

Anonymous wrote:It might be too much of a safety school, UMW is a good one for a student like him.

They give really great merit and he could apply for honors college.

Anonymous wrote:Publics: Wisconsin, UIUC, Michigan, UGA
Privates: Wake Forest
LAC: Davidson, Colby, Hamilton

If he can't get into UVA, what makes you think he can get Mich, Davidson, Colby, Hamilton? No, needs to look a rung or two lower.

Grinnell also gives generous merit.

Shenandoah University. They give merit and as a Virginia resident he will qualify for the $5,000 VTAG grant.

It might be too much of a safety school, UMW is a good one for a student like him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Other state's flagships & assorted SLAC like Dennison, one of the many MANY that in PA (lower tier ones probably giving massive merit), etc.

More info needed for actual, relevant recommendation as your student's stats are higher than the vast majority of college-attending kids so that are many options

Denison has a lower admit rate than UVA and W&M.

Denison has a lower admit rate, but doesn't necessarily only take super high-stat students. They also admit many "standard-strong" students. Denison is very intentional about building diverse classes and recognizing students' potential. I think it's unique in that way. I say this as a parent who has a DC attending Denison and another most likely heading to UVA in the fall.

ED at W&M is a good choice. Continue to take top rigor in all 5 core subjects. Hard to see what GPA means as it is the context of your school and meaningless otherwise. What did he like about W&M and UVA? Mine was in a similar spot and ED at w&m worked out. He also explored Dickinson (similar vibe but smaller and good merit), Furman, Elon (similar size, high admit rate), VT (actually really like the tour), JMU. You might lookat teh Jesuit schools if willing to look further afield (good merit, size, and involved kids). Fordham, Univ San Diego, Loyola MD, Santa Clara, Fairfield, Loyola Marymount, Chapman are all good choices in the mid size, nice kids, good merit type of school.

Anonymous wrote:Other state's flagships & assorted SLAC like Dennison, one of the many MANY that in PA (lower tier ones probably giving massive merit), etc.

More info needed for actual, relevant recommendation as your student's stats are higher than the vast majority of college-attending kids so that are many options

Denison has a lower admit rate than UVA and W&M.

When you are in Naviance, are you keeping in mind that you are comparing your son's junior year GPA to senior year GPAs? In theory, his GPA should be higher next year.

I encourage you to check out Denison. It checks a lot of boxes:

"He is used to being around grinders but is not really a grinder himself." - Denison's environment is very collaborative

"He is fine with cold, loves skiing." - There are several small ski resorts 1-2 hours from Denison

"involved advising and with easier to access to internships" - Ranked #2 for Career Service by Princeton Review.

"well-defined college campuses, dislikes the super urban schools." - beautiful campus in a small picturesque town, but only 30 minutes from Columbus for (more) restaurants, professional and college (OSU) sports, museums, an airport, etc.

"He also plays golf" - Denison owns a golf course right next to campus

"anywhere within 8-10 hours from DMV" - 6.5 hour drive from DMV

"He is a sporty, super social, nice kid, lots of friends" - sounds like a lot of Denison students

STEM - Denison blends strong STEM skills with the broader perspective of a liberal arts education. The idea is that students learn the technical side (data and science) while also developing the communication, critical thinking, and ethical judgment needed in the real world.

Sports - 1 in 3 students at Denison are varsity athletes, so it's pretty sporty but it's not siloed. Students have a lot of opportunities for club sports and the facilities are really nice.

Merit Aid - Denison has a $1B endowment and gives out quite a bit of merit for such a competitive school. His GPA and SAT would set him up well.

https://denison.edu/fast-facts

Other smaller schools to consider that haven't been mentioned and might offer merit aid are Bucknell, Lafayette, and Richmond.

Dickinson, F&M, Temple, Denison, Case, Lafayette - all schools where he could get decent merit $$

Good chance he would get merit at Fordham.

Anonymous wrote:He'd likely need to get his SAT up, but UGA honors could be what you both want. It's very structured/supportive.

He won't get honors with those stats, even with a little SAT bump. However, honors is not needed at UGA.

St Lawrence, Hobart & Wm Smith