Anonymous wrote:Rensselaer !

It's in a depressed part of upstate NY and there are a lot of students there, male and female, who don't appear to bathe or shower regularly.

OP - I'm sorry...with all due respect...he's in 8th grade?!? I think it's too soon for you to be posting.

Seriously. His interests/preferences are quite likely to change a LOT over the next few years.

Check back with us when he's a junior.

Rensselaer !

Bucknell?

Haven't seen Franklin and Marshall in this chain yet.

Although well meaning, many posters clearly aren't in tune with the selectivity of many schools. Colorado College and Lewis and Clark, for example, don't belong in the same category. Check the common data set at each college (usually found under the institutional research tab at most college websites) to get a sense of the credentials of the students admitted the previous year.

Niagara University in upstate NY might work. Catholic and only in the smallish city of Niagara Falls, but definitely snowy. A good friend of mine teaches there and likes it. St. John Fisher in Rochester NY is also nice and The University of Rochester is a bit bigger but has some great programs. Also second Canisius College and Ithaca College.

Washington and Lee is highly selective.

Washington and Lee?

For the record, Tufts is considered a "most selective" school. Like many other schools, its selectivity has changed a lot over the last 15 years or so.

Anonymous wrote:There are a number of smaller schools in Boston and the surrounding areas. Each has its own culture/vibe so I definitely recommend visiting to get an idea of what suits your son's personality best. Emerson; Northweastern; Clark University; even possibly Univ of Hartford in Hartford, CT.

HEY (NP here)! I went to Hartford and am thrilled to see it get a mention here! Not the greatest brain trust ever but a good an unique little place. Thanks for the shout out

Anonymous wrote:I stand corrected. However, when I was going through this, Middlebury was definitely lower down than Bowdoin and Wesleyan. Amherst and Williams were at the top of the "little Ivies," and probably still are. However, I think that the main point is that for those of us who used to consider Middlebury more of a safety, that's just not the case now.

U.S. News ranks Middlebury at #4, Bowdoin at #6 and Wesleyan at #12. Unless you went to college just a few years ago you'll be surprised at how the rankings have changed. Swarthmore and Davidson are also mentioned in this thread as less selective. They are ranked #3 and #9 respectively.

I saw an article somewhere about more Americans going over Sea England Scotland etc., the less expensive then US Schools and you get a good ed.
http://www.studyinbritain.com/
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/offers.html?url=%2Fwashingtonpost%2Faccess%2F2217075051.html%3FFMT%3DFT%26FMTS%3DABS%3AFT%26date%3DDec%2B20%252C%2B2010%26author%3DDaniel%2Bde%2BVise%26pub%3DThe%2BWashington%2BPost%26startpage%3DB.1%26desc%3DU.S.%2Bstudents%2Bcrossing%2Bthe%2Bpond%2Bfor%2Bcollege

How about thinking further west? Snow will be (significantly) less available, but some good schools in decent-sized cities (and even better ones in rural communities, but I tried not to list here) ... Colorado College, Willamette, Lewis and Clark, Reed (may be too selective), Evergreen (may be too big), Gonzaga, University of the Pacific, University of Puget Sound, Chapman University, Occidental, Santa Clara, Pepperdine, Seattle U, maybe some of the Claremont schools ....