Thanks for the responses. She likes schools with at least 4,000 students. I like all of the ones mentioned but the price tag might be a bit steep? We will see. I guess you never know.
Also, I would avoid any school where kids go home on weekends. Friend’s D is at one and is looking to transfer. Really taking away from her college experience. It is a small local state school in another state.
Yes, there’s a huge difference in atmosphere, resources, and “norm” between Slippery Rock and St Lawrence. Resources simply aren’t comparable and everything that comes from that follows. That’s a biggie.
Add to this the level of preparation and participation in class, the facilities and equipment for science, the motivation, the availability of the professors (they don’t have the same schedule, so that St Lawrence professors have a lot more time to dedicate to personal help for students as well as research, in which they’re encouraged to involve students. Due to the way their schedule is done, Slippery Rock professors may well be willing to help when asked but may not have enough time or have to “make time” which is hit-and-miss, and they have zero time for research during the year.)
There’s a difference in “feel” for a college with 2,000 students and a high school with 2,000 students. High schools are very compact, concentrated, with students present at the same place at the same moment for a short duration. Colleges are all-day deals if they are residential (and those providing the best experience and the most growth are residential.) Colleges have to maintain entire deparments with labs and equipment, fields, lots of different buildings, dorms, etc. In my totally personal and unscientific estimation, you can triple the “feel” of a college compared to a high school in terms of size, ie., a high school with 3,000 students would feel like a college that has 1,000 - due to campus size, number of professors, etc. This is less true with “vertical” campuses and more true if there is a 200-acre campus. You may want to visit a college with about 1,500-2,000 students without telling her how many students there are. In addition, cutting all colleges under 4,000 cuts almost all the best LACs, all the most affordable colleges, and a lot of options.
All good points. Really excellent. It will likely come down to money and what level of swimming she wants.
MYOS1634- any thoughts on Penn State Erie? A little expensive for a branch but seems like a potential fit.
I don’t know if she could swim, but Erie is considered the best branch, very strong in the sciences, and more residential than the others. It’s better funded than the PASSHE schools. Another advantage is that you have a choice - stay at Erie for your degree, or transition to University Park for the last two years.
Thanks MYOS1634. She could swim there. Not a great swim school but she could make the best of it. Price similar to Gannon University.
Look at St Michael’s, Susquehanna,UScranton, and Simmons. Good swimming, nice campuses, good academics. Run the NPCs just in case.
Great suggestions. Just a bit more expensive. Thank you!!
My daughter has been turned on to Niagara University. Seems to be a good education, decent price and DI swimming. I think she has a shot.
bester1, We are in a similar boat with the PASSHE schools. There are limited affordable options in PA with folks in our situation; decent income but difficult to afford private with little merit and no-need aid. I would love to hear your thoughts on the PASSHE schools you have seen. We are visiting York next week.
you know, since she’s shooting for a 30 ACT and someone will inevitably mention this … I will go ahead and be THAT GUY
University of Alabama
32-36 ACT, 3.5 GPA – automatic full-tuition scholarship ($26K / yr
30-31 ACT, 3.5 GPA – automatic 2/3-tuition scholarship ($17,300 / yr)
29 ACT, 3.5 GPA – automatic half-tuition scholarship ($13K / yr)
28 ACT, 3.5 GPA – automatic $4K / yr
scholarships are automatic regardless of your income. 29 ACT or higher should fit UA in your budget. they have a swim team. and quite a bit more than 4000 students.
Hi Portercat. We visited York College of Pa last week. Excellent experience for my daughter. Little bit of an odd campus but seemed energized. We also visited Shippensburg, Bloomsburg and Millersville. Shippensburg’s campus was really nice. I was impressed with the staff and willingness to help the students. We enjoyed bloomsburg. Same kind of experience. Millersville was all over the place, under construction and appeared less organized. I rated the experience as Bloomsburg # 1, Shippensburg #2, York #3, Millersville #4. My daughter rated them as follows…York #1, Shippensburg #2, Bloomsburg #3 and Millersville #4.
We live in PA and lots of my kids’ friends have gone to the PASSHE schools and are currently doing well. West Chester is the most popular, but many have gone to Millersville, Ship, Kutztown and IUP. I think West Chester is so popular because it is in a great town and not out in the middle of nowhere like most of the other PASSHE schools.
Thank you Blue Hen. We will tour West Chester eventually. We also visited Clarion in the fall. It was really nice, not too big but I am concerned that PASSHE and the state will soon be closing Cal U of Pa, Edinboro and Clarion.
Check out the PASSHE Financial Dashboard…specifically slide # 35…it is worrisome.
http://www.passhe.edu/PACT/Documents/PPT_Financial%20Dashboard.pdf
IUP finding ways to increase tuition at our already expensive state schools.
http://triblive.com/news/regional/10206609-74/students-iup-tuition
Tomorrow is a new chance at the ACT. We will see. Not much interest on here regarding the PASSHE schools.
Run the NPCs on Lycoming, Lebanon Valley, Washington&Jefferson, Davis&Elkins, Keystone, Geneva.
Not sure about “affordable”, since they don’t meet need.
Thank you for the response