Colleges for the Jewish "B" student

[jaynebe]

Thanks for all your informative responses!

We're from RI, I wonder if being out of state helps at all for Penn State? Does anyone know if they have to take a certain amount from Pa?

She's applying to about 9 schools . James Madison, Syracuse, UVM, Delaware, (both her siblings are juniors there) Maryland, Penn State, Northeastern, Drexel & UNH. I'm not sure which of those are safeties or matches. Like I said, I'm MUCH more confused now than I was before I talked to the GC.

I'll keep you all posted on how we make out and if we decide to have her take the SAT again.

[Chardo]

^ no love for Bryant?

[jaynebe]

Bryant is a GREAT school but she really wants to leave RI and is looking for a larger school experience.

[rodney]

Jaynebe: you have a great mix of reaches, matches and safeties........some use holistic methods, others only stats, but I think she will be fine with that list...

[kathiep]

Penn State and Delaware have no preference for in-state or out of state students other then the fact that they will be more familiar with their in-state or nearby High Schools. Personally, my kids got zip on any aid from any State U, so the out of state ones went off the list immediately. UVM does sometimes give aid for OOS students sometimes, but with a sticker price of about $49,000 they should be offering something! Tuition and Fees : Student Financial Services : University of Vermont If you are looking for merit aid janebe, you might want to add a couple of more privates to your list.

[northeastmom]

my kids got zip on any aid from any State U

Ditto here! My kids did not apply to that many state schools, but out of the 4 (if my memory is correct) that they applied to, they did not get a dime.

[mint15]

Down to these schools. Any thoughts?

Bentley
Bryant
Hofstra
Binghamton
UDEL
Geneseo
Northeastern
Lehigh

[Chardo]

^ for what?

What are you looking for? Major, size, stats, budget, Jewish life, etc.

[jaynebe]

kathiep, wondering if you have any suggestions for privates for a school with my kid's stats? Her preference is for a large school and it's been a struggle to find any larger privates that she likes.
mint15, what kind of info are you looking for? 2 of my kids are at Delaware so I have lots of thoughts to share and we just visited Northeastern so let me know what you want to know.

[EmmyBet]

jaynebe - My D is at Adelphi on LI and with comparable stats got considerable merit money. I don't know what your D's interests are, but Adelphi, with over 5000 students, is worth a look. My D is there for a BFA in Theatre, but I know there are sports, Greek life, good programs in a variety of areas. If she's interested in business, the B-school just got a huge donation that will really ramp things up. The Honors College (which my D is in) provides an excellent challenge. It's a 40-minute train ride to Penn Station, with the station 4 blocks from campus, and there are lots of suburban amenities in the area.

Hofstra is nearby, with some similarities. The downside of both schools is a significant commuter/suitcase population, but that isn't always a bad thing. I hope you can visit. We never saw LI/CW Post University, but I think it also is a similar school that might appeal to your D.

[kathiep]

I think finding a big private college for B students is very challenging, especially if you are looking for any kind of financial aid. For those of us in states like Pennsylvania, New York or North Carolina the answer is to simply look at the colleges that get more support from the State. I grew up in Delaware and there really isn't a fall back affordable college except for the CC's and I think Rhode Island has the same problem.

Reading some of your other posts, your daughter's list kind of confuses me. For instance I see that you posted in April that she had decided against a city college, yet Northeastern and Drexel are both on her list - both smack dab in the middle of large cities. I'm guessing the co-op program appeals? If you are looking for a rah-rah school though, I would take Drexel off the list.

What are her real priorities? Major? school vibe? Location? Cost? Size? You've been through this before and I know you're both aware that it's really hard to get it all. I've found that prioritizing is very helpful.

[jaynebe]

thanks for your thoughtful reply kathiep!


We visited Northeastern on a whim since we live about an hour away and surprisingly we both loved it. It is a city school but it has a very definite campus to it. Love the Co-op program which led us to Drexel. Haven't visited but will although she is still pretty adamant that she doesnt want a school without a campus. If there isn't *any school spirit at Drexel, we'll probably take that off our list then.
So what are her priorities? I'd have to say she wants a school first and foremost that has a campus, with a lot of school spirit. She does not have a particular career path mapped out so a larger school with many options also appeals to her.
I do realize we are all over the map but my thinking is that it's better to spread a wide net than only focusing on a few schools.

[EmmyBet]

When my kids were looking, what I realized was that they each had 2-3 really strong preferences (each in very different ways), and that drove their list - but they didn't find those preferences until they had done some campus visits, including schools they did NOT like. My D2 wanted a certain major (because she was that kind of person), and a certain location and campus type - but even with that, she had a spectrum that appealed to her. Her list was "all over the map" and it wasn't until she looked at her acceptances in the spring that she could decide what was most important.

Everyone has their own image of what "college" is supposed to be like. My D wanted specific curriculum, and chose based on that; she also wanted to be right in a "city" - with a campus of some kind, if possible. Yet she did not want to look at schools in Manhattan or the Chicago Loop, because that kind of urban environment was too intense for her. She ended up not able to have everything she wanted (the schools that at least seemed to have it rejected her), so she's now outside of NYC, although she spends pretty much all of her free time there. I think she only realized once she was in college how important other factors are - things like campus activities and atmosphere, career opportunities, etc. It's hard to know when you are so inexperienced.

Visiting schools - even ones on a whim, or simply because they are nearby - will help your D understand what she wants better than anything. Seeing college in real life helps so much in making their lists. It also helps with the potential disillusionment when they get to college and it isn't "everything" they'd hoped it would be. The application process helps them understand that there are trade-offs and compromises in everything, and hopefully leads them to an approach where they learn to make the best of what they can have (notice I say "hopefully"!).

[mint15]

Looking to go to school for undergraduate business with a focus in Accounting/International Business/Marketing. I am a New York state resident.

Down to these schools. Any thoughts?

Bentley
Bryant
Hofstra
Binghamton
UDEL
Geneseo
Northeastern
Lehigh

SAT- math= 640
writing= 670
reading= 610
total= 1250/1600
1920/2400

H.S.
- Weighted average is over a 4.0
- Took all honors classes and college level classes throughout high school
- Taking two a.p. courses and the rest college level courses in senior year

Extra
- Tennis, basketball, badminton, track
- vice president of business club
- national honor society
- foreign language honor society
- french club

Intended major= business (accounting, finance, marketing, etc.) or international business

Please chance me!
Please comment if you know anything about these colleges! Or if you attend them! Opinions are welcome.

If you want to suggest any other colleges, please let me know also!

Thank you

[mint15]

Jaynebe,
What did you think of Northeastern? What major are you considering? What did you think of the COOP program? How do you think it compares to Delaware? Do you think either of the schools can provide much in the way of merit scholarships?