We are looking at Tier 2-3 clear match schools based on D20’s current stats but we were wondering which Tier 2 would be considered best. She is interested in Early Childhood Education but not necessarily for teaching…she is also thinking about Marketing.
In VA (our home state) we are looking into Longwood, Radford, UMW and CNU - although CNU is upper Tier 2 and might be more of a reach. We are also considering privates (but not all girls) such as Roanoke College. Any thoughts on Roanoke College or Lynchburg?
We are willing to consider OOS schools, but also wondering…better to attend private in-state or public OOS at similar cost?
In WV - we were looking into WVU. She is a match based on her stats…should we consider WVU? Whould you choose WVU over Radford or Longwood?
What are some good Tier 2 schools in PA, NC, SC??
Where does the Tier 2/Tier 3 classification come from – is there a specific document or website that uses this terminology?
In Virginia, perhaps look at James Madison University or Old Dominion University (both in-state for you); in North Carolina, perhaps look at UNC-Wilmington; in South Carolina, Presbyterian College and Wingate University; in Maryland, Salisbury University.
@gandalf78 – when I say Tier 2-3…I refer to those schools with higher acceptance rates or those schools that would admit a student with lower stats such as 3.0 - 3.5 GPA.
St. Mary’s of MD is a lovely public LAC
Washington College
Goucher
McDaniel
Susquehanna
Juniata
Sweet Briar
Ursinus
Muhlenberg
Hollins University – strong school
In NC, App State, East Carolina, or UNC-Wilmington are worth a look.
@AlmostThere2018 – of the 3 you list (App State, East Carolina or UNC-Wilmington)…which order would you put them in - or are they more or less equal?
Cost is the critical element.
Across all the schools that have been listed above, imo the #1 metric is finances: can she graduate debt-free from any of them? If so, that is the list to start with. The difference that not having college loan payments makes to somebody just starting out- esp. in teaching OR marketing, neither of which is famous for high starting salaries- is huge- and I think bigger than any of the differences in rankings from this list of schools. I know students from a fair few of those schools who got good internships while in school, and have done very well in those fields after graduation.
I think it depends on what you’re looking for b/c the culture of each is different. These are my takes:
App State – lovely mountain town, pretty large (16k) students with a lot of different social scenes, overall grounded students with somewhat of an earthy/crunchy vibe though plenty of Greeks students too. Again - a bit of everything. Strong programs in education, enviro science
ECU - more conservative, traditional campus. Strong programs include health sciences and applied engineering. Greenville itself is not a great town, but getting better. Pretty big party scene. This probably has the fewest OOS kids from these three, I’d guess.
UNC-W - Preppy, fun, some kids even live at the beach. Fairly conservative study body I think. Wilmington is great small city. Strong education, business, marketing type programs.
I’d replace ECU with UNC Asheville on @AlmostThere2018’s list. It’s one of the handful of public liberal arts colleges and much smaller than App or UNCW. Asheville is a really fun, artsy town.
Elon is worth a look among the NC private colleges.
Kutztown in PA has great Early Childhood. What does she want to do with it if not teach?
Plenty of PASSHE schools have great teaching and are affordable.
I’m a graduate of a CTCL and my daughter is likely attending a CTCL next year. I do NOT recommend those for you as most do not have any elemantry ed.
If she is considering Early Childhood Education, look.at Towson. They have a large program.located in a nice Baltimore surburb. I know lots of kids who have attended and had great experiences and got good jobs after graduation.
@scoutmom2002, my son is a junior at Roanoke College and has thrived there. We live in NJ. He’s double majoring in business and computer science and has an on campus job as a programmer. He’s also taken advantage of their mentoring program and has been paired with an IT specialist at a company in downtown Roanoke. He was awarded $26K in merit money. His stats were 3.35 GPA and 1280/1600 SAT.
https://www.roanoke.edu/academics/majors
I thought of Roanoke too, actually.
Maybe look at Bridgewater College in VA as well, and JMU/GMU. Radford is considered THE party school, where I’m from, so maybe watch out for that.
^ WVU also has a reputation as a party school, as well.
Maybe Shippensburg and Millersville in PA. McDaniel in MD.