@cafe9999 Richmond is also one of those rare colleges which is need blind for US students and meets 100% of demonstrated need. My UR students are high stats and found the UR academics to be excellent and challenging. Accepted student profile:
http://admissions.richmond.edu/studentprofile/index.html
If she’s Questbridge, she stands to get an automatic full ride to a number of top colleges, more than a dozen of which are in warmer climes – and that’s not even considering PA schools among the possibilities. You’ve got: Caltech USC, CMC, Scripps, Pomona, Rice, Vandy, Emory, Stanford, Davidson, Duke, UVA, Washington and Lee. If you add in PA schools, you’ve got a bunch more.
@cafe9999 - D should apply for Q-Bridge’s College Prep Scholar program for juniors when applications become available – in addition to making it highly likely that she would be a Q-Bridge finalist in her senior year and able to participate in the match program, the Prep Scholar program includes (emphasis mine):
Full scholarships to college summer programs at Stanford, Yale, Emory, Penn, and more that cover travel, tuition, and room & board
Quest for Excellence Awards, such as laptops, *college visits, personalized essay review, and more
All-expense-paid campus visits to our college partners
If you’re looking at DC schools, I’d be careful with American and GWU - I understand they sometimes front-load their financial and/or aid and you don’t get the same in subsequent years as you get in your freshman year. Georgetown is another DC option.
Looking upthread, I see very few commenters that say that the places you asked about are “not too bad” and those that might have given you the impression that a campus may be “doable” do so by giving stating that the campuses are small and, in the case of MHC, buildings are interconnected so your kid can be indoors most of the time. This translates, to me, as “Yes, they’re too cold!” I can tell you that it was below 30 degrees in April when D visited U.Chicago and I know someone that got snowed in up at WIlliams during spring break.
Count me strongly among what sounds to me to me like a resounding “chorus of no, go south or west.” That said, I’m from the east coast and moved out west for reasons of health and general well-being, so I might not be the most objective person to ask.
A quick comment about the Claremonts – freshmen don’t have cars, there are trains to LA and plenty of ride shares to be had, so the “car culture” is not as much of an issue as you might expect it to be. Can’t do anything about proximity to family, but if you’re in the SW, you’re gonna be way closer to her than if she were in the NE. And it can take as long to get from Wash DC to Boston as it does to get from either of those places to CA.
We put no geographic restrictions on our daughter (even though she, too, has some health and mobility issues that are best served in a nicer climate). She applied – and was accepted – to schools all over the country. At the end of the day, she’s very, very glad to have stayed in CA.
There’s always the option of going to grad school on the east coast…
I think some colleges named are not as close to “city” - or an easy day trip for a little culture -
as some asume. What their towns do offer might not feel like many choices, after 6 months. Eg, W&L. Just saying, because there are multiple wants here.
I’m from the East Coast and have kids attending schools in New England. I know that if you dress properly for the cold it’s not too bad. For the most part you can stay comfortable and warm by being prepared, and I think there are some wonderful schools in the Northeast. That said, I’m among the chorus of those saying “No, go south or west.”
Unless this health issue is very minor I wouldn’t want my child somewhere where her health would be in jeopardy if she were in a car that broke down, missed a bus, or went out in the evening with clueless friends who didn’t understand that this was a medical issue, not just a question of comfort. There are wonderful schools all over the country.
At the very least, if she’s interested in schools in cold climates I’d visit them in January or February to see what it really feels like to her to be on the campuses she’s targeting when it’s cold and snowy outside.
If you can afford a trip that covers DC and NY with your daughter by possibly staying with friends and family so just airfare, you should consider a trip during a mid-winter break if your school has it, typically in February. That will really give you a good idea of the weather. Or maybe a three-day weekend, MLK, Presidents day, something like that. Then you can visit JHU, Columbia, NYU and if you can Georgetown, walk around the campuses and see if you can quickly find a building or dorm if she gets too cold. DC area is the most moderate of the ones you’re considering.
Many helpful suggestions here, thank you. My daughter read the thread and was touched by people’s concern and helpfulness. She wants to do some more thinking about everything, and see how she does in the cold this winter. We have probably crossed off Chicago and Williams and the Boston colleges (none of those were as desirable as the ones mentioned in the post heading anyway) and will research all of the other suggestions. Being near family in CT/NY area is important to our family, and our daughter lived outside NYC until she was eight so has lots of old friends who she has stayed in touch with and will be in colleges on the east coast. Staying with family over breaks and making it easier for us to visit is also a plus. I understand that is less important for others; maybe money is a factor here (I wouldn’t care as much if we could just fly out for a weekend whenever we wanted). She may still consider a couple of select choices in California or elsewhere without family. We will post again after she gets her PSAT results and/or if she is a College Prep Scholar as both those will influence where we visit in March. Another important factor to some of the colleges mentioned is whether there is a city or vibrant town nearby or with easy public transportation to get there as @lookingforward mentioned. We will look into the fly-ins, as well. Thank you!
@cafe9999 Putting in yet another shameless plug for URichmond:) The campus is in the suburbs, about 10 mins. from downtown Richmond, with lots of great restaurants, shopping, museums, parks and outdoor activities close at hand. It is a real “foodie” city with an artsy vibe. UR has shuttle service to downtown as well as several suburban shopping centers/malls. There is also Uber service in the area and zip cars on campus. Many of the students do have cars. We did not provide a car for my Ds, but a lot of their friends had cars, so getting off campus via shuttles or friends has never been a problem.
The airport is about 20 minutes from campus, and there are shuttles to the airport during breaks. There is also an Amtrak station just a few miles from campus, and there is shuttle service there during breaks also, but my Ds have generally been able to get a lift there from a friend with a car. Travel along the northeast corridor via Amtrak to DC, Philly, NYC, etc. is very doable (NYC is 6-7 hours via Amtrak). The campus has a small health center for minor illnesses, vaccinations, etc. Additionally there are good medical centers/hospitals in the local area for any off campus healthcare your D may need. My Ds have been able to use Uber or get a lift from a friend for medical appointments.
@mamag2855 @lookingforward @Sue22 @LoveTheBard @OHMomof2 @theloniusmonk and everyone else, thank you for your thoughts and suggestions!
@cafe9999 - Do keep us posted on your thought processes and, ultimately, your decision.
It sounds like you’ve got a pretty amazing kid that will do really well wherever she goes!
@LoveTheBard That is such a nice comment, thank you. I will post updates. I did speak to my daughter’s cousin who who has the same genetic condition. She is going to college in the DC area and struggles with cool humidity and air conditioning, so we definitely have to spend some time out east this winter.
@cafe9999,
I think that’s a good idea. My concern would be less that she would run into major problems and more that she (and by extension you) would have to spend energy worrying about running into major problems. It wouldn’t be fun to be the kids who always has to say, “I’d love to go with you, but only if…”
I live in Mass, and went to school at UMaine Orono and lived in Maine for a time as well. The cold and your exposure to it will really depend a lot on the size of the campus and location. UMaine Orono is a huge campus in the layout and long distances between classes. Colby is a much smaller campus and could walk 10-15 minutes between most places on campus and never feel too isolated.
Would she have a car or be taking public transit to and from airports for breaks? If driving I would avoid complete middle of no where places like Williams. I grew up with this weather and am a pretty good winter driver and still have found myself spun out and stuck in a snow ditch a handful of times up here. Some more remote than others and when your muffler is 2 feet under the snow you can’t idle your car waiting on aaa to come pull you out.
Have you looked at Brandeis? We are touring that in a few weeks, nice distance from Boston but still a suburb area. You can take the commuter train to the city and get right to the airport.
@skateguy50 Thank you. We were originally going to look at Brandeis but I think it’s best, based on other feedback and reflection, that we avoid Mass., and any points north. The colder it is the more severely and quickly she is affected. Based on comments here we have decided to visit Rice which is a huge turnabout from our original thinking.
@cafe9999 - Rice has a couple of fly-in programs for under-represented minorities and ethnically diverse students. SOAR is offered in the fall (I think it’s ending today, in fact). There is another one called VISION that I believe is in the spring. It says that it’s invitation only. This was what last year’s announcement said:
VISION 2017 is an invitation-only* program in which applicants who are academically talented and ethnically diverse explore the opportunities available at Rice. During the program, you will have the opportunity to meet current students, attend class, experience campus life by staying in one of our 11 residential colleges, and interact with faculty and alumni.
*Participation in VISION 2017 is limited to those select applicants who were directly invited by the Office of Admission. Invitees should refer to the email invitation for instructions on how to register for the program.
There is an email address:
If you have any additional questions, email us at vision@rice.edu.
My D really, really liked Rice when she visited (she was flown in for SOAR). The campus is stunning and it’s a great size (under 4,000 undergrads) – not as small as a LAC but not huge either – with lots of research possibilities. The kids were bright and the faculty supportive. Their residential college system with its system of self-governance was a big draw for her as well. Her main concern was that the humanities programs were smaller than she liked.
@LoveTheBard My daughter is low income but not an URM or ethnically diverse. Thank you for the info., and I hope it’s helpful to someone else.
@cafe9999 - Sorry, I thought you had said that your D was URM.
The rest of what I said about Rice still holds true – and, to the best of my knowledge, they do meet full need. Many schools – and I’d bet Rice is one of them – will pay be travel for accepted students with financial need.
If she gets close to New England she should definitely try to do some road trips in the warmer months. It is probably best to plan further south as your are. I had a coworker move up from Florida that had similar health issues with the cold and after one year he had to move back south.
Good luck in your search and applications!
I think this may have been posted but if not -
http://getmetocollege.org/what-colleges-look-for/2017-fall-diversity-visit-programs
Also google college name + fly in and see what pops up.
Many do target low income or first gen kids of any race/ethnicity.
Boston is very, very windy (more so than Chicago, whose nickname comes from long-winded politicians.) It can be utterly wretched, especially on those clear, arctic days that come right after a snowfall.
I went to MHC, about 90 min west of Boston, from CA and was shocked by the frigid air. It’s true that you don’t have to spend much time outdoors, but you will spend some. If cold air is a health risk, I’d avoid New England.