HS junior looking for feedback on college list. Plans to study education (or co-major at some of school options). So far, mostly interested in LACs and other smaller schools, but open to somewhat larger campuses if they have a good program for education and/or other special programs that make the school seem smaller. But no huge schools. Pretty set on New England area, and prefers small town or outskirts of a city with a campus feel.
Demographics
US domestic (US citizen or permanent resident) or international student: US Citizen
State/Location of residency: (state is important if you apply to any state universities) MD
Type of high school (current college for transfers): Large & competitive public
Intended Major(s)
Education
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.98
Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 4.8, w/ AP and honors worth an additional point
Class Rank: school does not rank
ACT/SAT Scores: 1520 SAT
Coursework (AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s))
7 APs taken through Junior year, 4 more planned Senior year
4 yrs spanish
Freshman: AP Gov (5)
Sophomore: APUSH (5) & APCSP (5)
Junior: AP World, AP Chem, AP Calc AB, AP Lang
Senior: AP Psych, AP Lit, AP Stat, AP Physics or APES
Awards
Award for community service hours, expected to have 350+ by graduation
Multiple medals for science olympiad at state and regional competitions
Extracurriculars (Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)
-Science Olympiad-7th through 12th grade, with event leadership
-coaching science olympiad at middle school 9th-12th grade
-paid and volunteer positions as camp counselor (4 summers)
-NHS and multiple other honor societies
-Teaches preschoolers through HS class and will have teaching internship senior year
-art, soccer, other minor clubs/activities
Schools (List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below)
Safety (certain admission and affordability)
Likely (would be possible, but very unlikely or surprising, for it not to admit or be affordable)
UVM
@twogirls beat me to it, but what is the annual budget without loans?
I don’t know your gender, but the first school that jumped to mind in looking at your wishlist was Smith, a women’s college that’s part of the 5 college consortium with Mount Holyoke, Amherst, Hampshire, and UMass.
One of your in-state publics that I’d take a good look at is St. Mary’s College of Maryland (about 1500 undergrads). Students coming in with a large number of AP classes can qualify for the 3+1 program and get both their bachelor’s in a major and then a Master’s in Teaching. As it’s an in-state school, hopefully it is affordable.
If you’re open to going to a mid-sized school (like Tufts on your list), then I’d also consider Salisbury (about 6400 undergrads) as another in-state option. Once we hear back on the budget, we can give more targeted ideas.
urochester has a guaranteed 4+1 masters program that comes with a 1/3 tuition scholarship if admitted; it’s probably a similar size to tufts, an r1 university, and has a more flexible core than most schools from my understanding
Thanks for the thoughts so far. On affordablility, we’ve been doing the net price calculators and all of the schools on the list look to be affordable to us.
Kid does currently plan to go into teaching. Unsure of level – possibly upper elementary or middle. I understand that many folks don’t think it is worth it to pay too much for an education degree. However, the potential for small classes, strong advising and easier access to faculty are important factors that appeal and that we would be willing to spend more for.
Anyway, would love people’s feedback on the list so far. What are the chances with those schools?
First, for teaching, you either do elementary or secondary (middle + HS). These are different training programs with different curricula (you have to choose one), and you don’t get to choose age ranges within these categories. If you get certified and then get multiple job offers (or get a job and decide to make a lateral move to another grade level), that’s when you choose. But you have to choose the elementary track or the secondary track right from the start.
Second, for certification, it’s highly advisable to get your teaching license either in the state where you plan to teach or in a state with a reciprocal agreement such that the eventual state where you will seek a job will accept certification from the state where you got your training (that’s a mouthful, but hopefully you know what I mean).
Third, if a student changes their mind, it’s really helpful to have an academic major in college (rather than just an ed major) that makes it easier to pivot to another career choice.
So – to go into teaching, if your kid wants a traditional LAC education, then my recommendation would be to choose a teaching content area for a major (i.e., - want to teach middle school science? Then major in a science.), and maybe an ed minor. For elementary or secondary certification, there will be distribution requirements (i.e., for social studies, you need not just history, but also poli sci, sociology, anthro, etc.), so it would help to take some of those courses, too. Then do a post-Bac teacher education program in the state where they want to be certified. One advantage to doing it this way is that the student, as a post-Bac, will have field placements and a student teaching assignment in districts where professional contacts can come in handy during the job search.
These are definitely things that I can see value in. Are there state(s) that your kid would prefer to teach in? As @Shelby_Balik mentioned, the ease of getting certification or reciprocal certification can be a factor here. Additionally, some states require teachers to have [EDIT: earn] a Master’s [EDIT: within a certain amount of time], while others do not. If your kid ends up needing a Master’s, does that change how much your family is willing/able to fund for college? If possible, it would be great for your kid not to have to incur any debt to become credentialed.
I don’t know of any state that requires an MA to start teaching. A few require teachers to earn an MA within a specified time after that, but it’s often something you can do gradually. Sometimes, you can do it by earning an equivalent in continuing education credits and graduate-level course work (even if the latter doesn’t lead to an MA) – of course that wouldn’t be true in states that require the actual degree.
You’re correct…I misspoke. Some teachers are required to earn a Master’s within a certain amount of time (frequently within about 5 years). But with the current teacher shortage, those requirements may be loosening and/or being eliminated altogether.
Some states (Pennsylvania is one) have three tracks: Early Childhood (PK-4), Middle Level (4-8), High School (9-12). Early Childhood Education is a generalized degree, though students are often advised to double major in Special Education. Middle Level Education majors specialize in one or two subject areas. Students planning to teach at the high school level usually major in a subject area and also take education (pedagogy) courses.
Ah – I have not encountered that system before! I’ve been either certified myself or involved in teacher education in five different states in several regions of the country, so I’d thought I’d seen it all! Thanks for filling me in.
I think this three track system is fairly new. I’m aware of it because my D22’s best friend is a Middle Level major, with a specialization in science. In the past, it was just Elementary Education and Secondary Education.
My state has options for middle grade certification for 4-8, but in terms of getting an educational degree, the breakdowns still tend to be elementary or secondary, with a few that are all grades (like foreign language, music, art, and probably P.E.).
TCNJ has a solid education program and is on the smaller side as a public LAC. Without a budget I’m not sure if it’s affordable but oos full price is $40k or so with potential for merit.
You already have a good list of schools and there’s no need to add any more. But in case you’re looking for additional options to consider, here are some schools:
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
Drew (NJ): About 1500 undergrads
Juniata (PA ): About 1200 undergrads
Moravian (PA ): About 1900 undergrads. Part of a consortium with Lafayette, Lehigh, and Muhlenberg, among others.
Saint Anselm (NH): About 2k undergrads
Stonehill (MA): About 2500 undergrads
SUNY Geneseo (NY): About 4100 undergrads
Susquehanna (PA ): About 2200 undergrads
Ursinus (PA ): About 1500 undergrads
Likely (60-79%)
Clark (MA): About 2400 undergrads. Part of a consortium with College of the Holy Cross, Worcester Polytechnic, and others.
Toss-Up (40-59%)
Brandeis (MA): About 3700 undergrads. Can cross-register with classes at Babson, Bentley, Wellesley, Olin, and Boston College, Boston U., and Tufts.
Dickinson (PA ): About 2100 undergrads
Lower Probability (20-39%)
Low Probability (less than 20%)
Amherst (MA): About 1900 undergrads. Part of the 5 colleges consortium with UMass – Amherst, Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Hampshire.